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  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 18, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , title loan,   

    Can a scammer take a loan out on your car? 

    Can a scammer take a loan out on your car?

    By Greg Collier

    Not too long ago, we posted a story about how car thieves were cloning vehicle identification numbers (VIN) to put on stolen cars. The thieves would put the stolen VIN on a car of the same make and model before selling it to unsuspecting buyers. More recently, another scam has emerged that also uses VIN cloning, but doesn’t involve stolen cars.

    An elderly couple in Arizona were attempting to sell their truck so they could pay some medical bills. They listed the truck for sale online and found a legitimate buyer. When the couple and the buyer went to the DMV to transfer the title, they were hit with some unusual news. The title couldn’t be transferred because there was a $12,000 lien on the vehicle. The couple said that wasn’t possible since they owned the truck outright and hadn’t taken any loans out on it.

    What had happened is a scammer got a hold of the truck’s VIN, and used it to get the truck transferred to them. The scammer created a bill of sale and forged the truck owner’s name to it. Some of the documentation was even notarized. With the title now in their name, the alleged scammer was able to take the title to a title loan office and got a $4000 loan. As you might expect, the loan was never paid, which led to the $12,000 lien. The truck was even supposed to be repossessed, but the truck couldn’t be found since the scammer never actually had possession of the truck.

    Unfortunately, the couple are still trying to get the matter straightened out with their state’s DMV.

    So, the question remains, how can you protect yourself from this happening to you? The Arizona Department of Transportation recommends selling your vehicle to a dealership to prevent your personal information from getting out. You can also check your state’s DMV website to see if they can check the current status of your title. If they do, it may be worth checking on it every once in a while.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 17, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , ,   

    Job scam uses victims to rob banks 

    Job scam uses victims to rob banks

    By Greg Collier

    Recently, the city of Omaha, Nebraska, experienced a bank robbery and an attempted bank robbery with similar M.O.s. In both instances, a woman handed a phone to the bank teller. The person on the phone threatened the bank tellers into giving money to the person who handed them the phone. Except, the people standing at the teller’s counter had no idea they were being used in a bank robbery. So, how did this happen? We could just say ‘Craigslist’ and leave it at that, but we’ll give our readers a more in-depth explanation.

    According to a local news report, the women who entered the banks had replied to a Craigslist ad looking for someone to help with a sick and elderly relative. Once the women responded to the ad, they were told they would be helping with, “light housework, grocery store runs, and helping with finances.” Don’t you think classifying ‘helping with finances’ as bank robbery is a bit much? Anyway, the women were told they needed to go to the bank to withdraw money for the relative’s medical bills. The women handed the phones to the tellers, thinking their employer was discussing a withdrawal.

    Only one of the women was ‘successful’ and thought nothing of it when the teller handed her the money. That woman was instructed to deposit the money at a Bitcoin ATM.

    To make matters worse, the supposed employer obtained the women’s bank information, promising he would pay them through direct deposit. The scammer did try to steal from one of the victim’s accounts, but was unsuccessful.

    At the time of this writing, no arrest has been made.

    While a scam like this is unlikely to happen to the average jobseeker, it does highlight a couple of red flags when looking for a job online. If your employer only communicates through text messages, instant messaging, or phone call, and won’t meet you personally, there’s an excellent chance they’re a scammer. Also, if the position requires you to make any kind of payment involving cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, there’s an even grater chance the job is a scam.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 14, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , ,   

    Shipping scams increase in wake of online sales season 

    Shipping scams increase in wake of online sales season

    By Greg Collier

    Amazon Prime Day was this past week. It’s become such a staple of the summer shopping season that a number of other online retailers have initiated their own sales which coincide with Prime Day. With so many items being purchased, the majority of shipping companies and the USPS will be extra busy delivering all these packages. This means consumers should expect various shipping scams whether they bought anything or not this week.

    The most common of these scams is the delayed delivery scam. This is where a consumer will receive a text message that claims to typically come from UPS, FedEx, or the USPS. The messages will say that your item could not be delivered for whatever reason. A link will be contained in the message where the recipient will be asked to update their shipping information. More often than not, the phony shipping company will also say there is a service fee involved, and the consumer will be asked for their payment information. While the service fee may be small, it’s really the payment information the scammers are after.

    Scammers don’t actually know whether you made a Prime purchase this week or not. They send out these text messages en masse, hoping to catch a few victims. Any unsolicited text message with a link in it should be treated as suspect. However, if you are expecting an important delivery and want to make sure there are no delivery issues, use the shipping company’s app or website to address any concerns. Clicking on links in suspicious messages could lead to having your phone infected with malware, spyware, or ransomware.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 13, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    County official targeted in AI scam 

    By Greg Collier

    We’ve come across yet another story where an AI-generated voice has been used in a scam. This time it took place in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area. There, a county official received a phone call she thought was coming from her daughter. The voice on the other end sounded exactly like her daughter, and was sobbing and crying. Then a man got on the call and claimed to be a police officer. That man said that the daughter caused a car accident after looking at her phone while driving. It wasn’t long before the man asked for $15,000 bail. Thankfully, while this was going on, the woman got a text message from her actual daughter, which spoiled the scam.

    Regular readers will recognize this as the grandparent scam. It was initially called that because scammers would target the elderly and pose as one of the victim’s grandchildren. Now, ‘grandparent scam’ is a misnomer because more recently, scammers have been targeting parents as well. This is thanks to the advancement of AI technology lately. Scammers now have the capability of spoofing the voice of just about anyone they want and making it say whatever they want. This makes a scam that was concerning at first, absolutely terrifying now. Before voice-spoofing, a scammer would have to try to imitate a loved one while claiming they had some kind of injury which made their voice sound different, such as a broken nose. Now, scammers don’t even have to bother. All they need now is a few seconds of someone’s voice they can take from a video on social media.

    But as always, If you receive a distressing call from a supposed loved one who claims they’re in some kind of trouble, it is critical to verify their situation by contacting them directly. Scammers will try to keep you on the phone by threatening arrest if you hang up or claiming there is some kind of gag order. Nothing is keeping you from hanging up on the phone call to verify the story with your family or friends. Even if you’re convinced you’re hearing your loved one’s voice, always verify the story before making any kind of payment is even considered.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 12, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    Beware the parking lot stranger with a bag of cash 

    Beware the parking lot stranger with a bag of cash

    By Greg Collier

    Recently, we came across a news article about a man who was arrested in the Washington, D.C. area for allegedly taking part in pigeon drop scams. We had never heard of the pigeon drop scam before, so we were intrigued. The articles we read about this man’s arrest didn’t go into great detail on how the scam worked, other than the man was said to have been in possession of $20,000 in counterfeit money and a letter from a phony law firm that said the man had inherited over $700,000.

    After doing some more research, we found out the pigeon drop scam is one of the older scams going on. The term “pigeon drop” comes from the world of con artists and scamming, specifically referencing the act of tricking or “dropping” a pigeon, which is slang for an easy target or a naive person. Also, from the context of the news article, this is how we think the suspect was allegedly stealing from his victims.

    One of the more popular versions of the pigeon drop scam is when the scammer approaches their victim in public. This encounter usually takes place in a parking lot. The scammer tells the victim he’s from another country, but recently inherited a great deal of money. A letter from a law office is shown to the victim, which shows the amount supposedly inherited. Except, for whatever reason, the scammer can’t take the money back to his country. So, instead, he needs help donating the money to charity.

    ‘Coincidentally’, another person walks by whom the scammer tells the same story to. However, this is no random person. It’s actually the scammer’s accomplice. If the victim is willing to help the scammer, the accomplice will act as if they want to help too. But here’s the catch. The scammer requires proof that the two people won’t just run off with the money, so the two people need to withdraw money from their own accounts as collateral. The pair will go to a bank or ATM together to get their collateral. Once they’ve done that, the scammer places both people’s collateral in a bag. It could be a duffle bag, a purse, a briefcase, what have you.

    Now that the victim has the scammer’s ‘trust’, the scammer gives the bag of money, which is also supposed to contain the victim’s collateral. When the victim opens the bag after the scammer has left, the victim typically finds bundles of newspaper cut up to resemble stacks of dollar bills. However, since movie prop money is so easy to come by these days, that has replaced newspaper. Plus, it makes the scam seem more legitimate.

    Another version of this scam is when the scammer approaches a victim, asking them if they dropped a wallet or purse containing a large amount of money.

    So if a stranger approaches you in a parking lot talking about inheritances or lost wallets, just tell them you’re sorry, but you’re in a hurry. Remember, no one is going to give you more money for less money.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 11, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: hostage loads, , ,   

    Don’t let your belongings be held hostage 

    By Greg Collier

    Moving happens all year round, but during the warmer months it really picks up. No pun intended. But as more people move around the country, more moving scams will find victims. Real estate scams are one thing, but we’re discussing the act of moving itself, specifically the moving companies. While there are many trustworthy moving companies and van lines, there are a number of shady moving companies out there as well.

    The shady moving companies will give you a quote without even coming out to your home to measure your stuff. Once all your belongings are packed on their truck, the movers will increase their fee. At this point, the movers are essentially extorting you for more money. If you don’t have the money to pay these shady movers, they’ll drive off with your stuff and hold it hostage until you pay them. Previously, we’ve seen shady movers dump the customer’s belongings in warehouses in a state the customer was neither from nor moving to. It’s become such a problem in Arizona, the state Attorney General’s Office has referred to the lost merchandise as ‘hostage loads’.

    The Grand Canyon State even has a law that prohibits in-state movers from holding possessions hostage once the quoted price has been paid.

    If you’re looking to move in the near future, check with your state legislation to find out what rights you have when it comes to moving companies.

    To better protect yourself from a scam like this, avoid any moving company that identifies themselves over the phone just as ‘moving company’. If a moving company gives you a quote over the phone without coming out to your house, they’re not to be trusted. Get multiple quotes from different moving companies before paying any money, but still ask the company if there are any hidden fees. Lastly, move the most valuable items like jewelry, money, electronics, medical equipment, and personal records yourself.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 10, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , ,   

    Another family homeless after rental scam 

    By Greg Collier

    After mistakenly believing they had legitimately rented a home, a Florida family finds themselves homeless and forced to live on the streets. Tragically, stories like this are becoming far too common, as rental scammers continue to prey on families who are just looking for a roof over their heads.

    This family found a home for rent in their price range on Facebook Marketplace. The person who listed the home on Marketplace then directed the family to tour the home using an app called Rently. For those unfamiliar with Rently, it’s a service that allows prospective tenants to view and access rental properties without the need for a leasing agent or property manager to be present. Lockboxes are put on the doors of homes for rent or sale, and people who want to tour the home are given a combination to the lockbox, which has the keys in it.

    To get access to these homes, scammers will pose as prospective renters or buyers just so they can get the lockbox combination. Many realtors aren’t very good about changing the lockbox combinations, so scammers can use them repeatedly if need be.

    After the family toured the home and said they were interested in renting, the supposed landlord asked them for four months rent in advance, which came to an eye-watering $7000. Part of the payment was even asked for in eBay gift cards.

    After they moved in to the home, a sheriff’s deputy showed up at the door to inform the family they were trespassing and needed to leave.

    The home was available for rent, but was being rented out by a property management company.

    To add insult to injury, the family’s trailer that they were towing broke just a few feet after leaving the property.

    Just because an ad is listed on a multi-billion dollar platform like Facebook Marketplace doesn’t guarantee the listing is legitimate. Facebook was a haven for scammers long before Marketplace was implemented. Another red flag in this story is the landlord not being present during the home’s tour, or at any other time at all. And the biggest red flag was when partial payment was asked for in gift cards. As we are fond of saying, gift cards are the currency of scammers.

    We understand there are times when someone needs to find a new home quickly as possible. But no matter the reason, prospective renters should always take the time to research a property before paying any money. Research the going rate for rental homes in that area. If the home you’re looking at seems like a bargain, be suspicious. Do a web search on the address to see if other listings appear with different realtor names and rental prices, as scammers often copy legitimate real estate listings. And as always, you can check with the county’s tax assessor office or website to see who the true owner of the home really is.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 7, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , infidelity letter scam, ,   

    Scam letter accuses victim of infidelity 

    Scam letter accuses victim of infidelity

    By Greg Collier

    We try to keep our stories as family-friendly as possible. So, please excuse us if we verbally dance around certain topics. However, today’s scam was just too good of a story to pass up. It’s an old scam that predates the internet, and we’re pretty sure it was featured on multiple detective shows from the 1970s and before.

    It’s called the ‘infidelity letter scam’ or the ‘cheating spouse scam’. It typically involves sending a letter to a spouse, alleging that their partner is engaging in an extramarital affair. The scammer aims to create doubt, suspicion, and conflict within the relationship, often with the intention of extorting money or causing emotional distress.

    The letter may contain false evidence, fabricated details, or anonymous claims about the alleged infidelity. The scammer might demand a payment to keep the information confidential or threaten to expose the affair publicly if the recipient does not comply.

    This recently happened in a Houston, Texas neighborhood, where 10 residents have come forward saying they received these letters. In this instance, the letter was supposedly written by a woman named Gina. The letter also included a picture of Gina’s license and Social Security card as proof of authenticity. Unfortunately, whoever’s card they used is also a victim, as that person has a documented claim of identity theft.

    The letter goes on to ask for ‘a reasonable offer’ for the letter writer’s confidentiality. The money is supposed to go to the medical bills for the child the supposed cheating spouse had with the letter writer.

    Of course, the accusations aren’t true, but thanks to social media, it’s not difficult for scammers to find victims and write them by name.

    It’s important to be cautious if you receive such a letter. Seek evidence or clarification before making any decisions. If you suspect a scam, report it to the relevant authorities, such as local law enforcement, to help prevent others from falling victim to the scam.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 6, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    Are obituaries gold mines for scammers? 

    Are obituaries gold mines for scammers?

    By Greg Collier

    Recently, we’ve published a number of posts about a scam that involves funeral homes. In this scam, scammers comb the obituaries, looking for a notice that lists the funeral home being used. This allows the scammers to pose as the funeral home while trying to extort money from the deceased’s family. Now, it seems, that scammers are using the obituaries for a different scam.

    In Pennsylvania, a family was looking for a new home to rent. The family found a home for rent on Facebook Marketplace that they thought was quite the bargain at $800 a month. The home’s supposed owner said they had just accepted a job out of state, as to why they were renting the home. When the family asked to see inside the home, they were told they would need to send the money first, then they would be sent a key and a contract.

    This struck the family as odd, so they decided to do a web search on the homeowner. The name the family had been given belonged to a man who had just recently passed away. The home that was listed had belonged to the deceased man, but it was actually being put up for sale.

    The theory is scammers are using the properties of the recently deceased in order to avoid having their potential victims being warned away.

    While this family thankfully avoided being scammed, there could potentially be victims out there who lost money to this scam.

    When looking to rent a new home, you can never do enough research. Not only should you web search the home’s address to look for duplicate listings, also check the names of anyone involved who claims to be the landlord or homeowner. This is especially important when the rental price seems too good to be true.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 5, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    New tax scam arriving in the mail 

    By Greg Collier

    Whenever there is a scam that involves a government agency like the IRS, Medicare, or Social Security, we tell our readers that if those agencies need to get in touch with you, they will do it by postal mail. However, even then, you have to be careful about what you can accept as fact, and what is a scam. Just this week, the IRS sent out a warning to taxpayers about a scam, which is being sent through the mail.

    According to the IRS, official looking letters are being sent in cardboard envelopes to unsuspecting victims. The letters appear to come with official IRS letterhead. But the more someone looks into the letter, the more it looks like a scam.

    The letter tells the recipient they have an unclaimed refund. The promise of ‘free money’ can cause some to ignore the red flags contained in the rest of the letter. For example, the letter asks for a copy of your driver’s license, but the instructions ask for “A Clear Phone of Your Driver’s License.” Then the letter recommends you “Try to Be Checking Your Email for Response”. While many aren’t particularly fond of the IRS, they would never allow a letter to be issued with this many grammatical errors. Not to mention, they wouldn’t capitalize every word.

    The letter also asks for personal information such as the recipient’s Social Security number, cellphone number, and bank account information. Along with a copy of someone’s driver’s license, scammers could easily steal someone’s identity and start taking out loans or opening lines of credit in that person’s name.

    There is also a phony customer service number contained in the letter.

    If you receive mail like this, and you have questions, do not call the number in the letter and don’t reply to any email addresses or websites listed. Instead, contact that federal office directly through their .gov website, or call them at their official customer service number, which can also be found on their website.

     

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