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  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 10, 2023 Permalink | Reply
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    Secret Service warns about real estate scam 

    By Greg Collier

    Another scam that we’ve seen reported more in the news lately is the vacant lot scam. This scam typically involves scammers who try to sell a vacant lot that they do not actually own or have the right to sell.

    The process of the vacant lot scam involves scammers locating an unoccupied property without any construction and determining the owner, which can be accomplished through publicly accessible information. To appear as the genuine owner of the property, scammers will impersonate the owner and create fake identification documents. Using this guise, the scammers will enlist the help of a real estate agent to sell the property. In many cases, the scammers will not be physically present in the area where the property is located, and they may communicate solely through electronic means such as emails and text messages.

    The scam has become so prevalent, even the Secret Service is warning realtors nationwide to watch out for this scam.

    One realtor from Montana encountered this scam in a most unique way. The realtor also happens to own a vacant lot. Scammers called her office one day looking to sell a lot at a discounted price for a quick sale. When the realtor asked for the caller’s name, the scammer replied with the name of the realtor. That’s one way to tell you’re talking to a scammer.

    If someone was looking to buy a lot, they might consider investing in title insurance, which could protect them from losing money in a phony sale. Buyers should also make sure they’re dealing with the actual owner of the property. See if you can get the records of the property from the county tax office and make sure that the signatures match.

    If someone owns a vacant lot, whether they’re looking to sell or not, can take some precautions to protect their property. Make sure to regularly monitor your property and keep records of any changes or updates to it. This can help you quickly identify if someone is trying to sell or rent your property without your permission. Ensure that your property is properly secured. This can include installing fences, locks, or security cameras to deter trespassers.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 7, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: fear, , , ,   

    The Psychology of Scams 

    By Greg Collier

    Fear can be a great motivator. Fear triggers are fight or flight responses and often force us to make a split-second decision. Even though we’re making a decision in that short amount of time, that decision isn’t always the right one, and in many cases, that decision may not even make sense. That’s why fear is the greatest tool in the scammer’s arsenal.

    Let’s take a look at a scam that happened recently in Minnesota. A 65-year-old woman lost $20,000 to the Microsoft pop-up scam. She received a pop-up on her computer that said she needed to call Microsoft. That’s where the fear starts. For people not super-familiar with how computers work may think the worst when getting a message like that. Have I been hacked? Is my identity being stolen? Will I lose all my pictures and personal files? Has my entire digital life been compromised?

    The answer the woman got after calling the supposed phone number to Microsoft was probably worse than she could have imagined. The person she spoke with told her that there had been suspicious activity on her computer, and she needed to call the Federal Trade Commission and was given another number to call.

    When she called who she thought was the FTC, she was told her IP address was being cloned and used by someone in Texas for illegal activity.

    An IP address is like a phone number for your computer. Just as you need a phone number to make a call, your computer needs an IP address to connect to the internet and communicate with other devices. The IP address is a unique set of numbers assigned to your device by your internet service provider (ISP) that identifies it on the internet.

    The person who was supposedly from the FTC told the woman that her IP address was being used to view explicit illegal images and illegal gambling. At this point, the scammers have elevated their fear tactics. Illegal gambling may not seem so bad, but when you add it to one of the worst online crimes a person could commit, and that you could be blamed for it, would send anyone into a deep state of fear.

    The woman was then told that this was all part of an international money laundering scheme, and she needed to protect her money. The scammer told her she needed to take $20,000 out of her bank and UPS it to an address in Florida. She suggested she would withdraw the money and keep it in her home. The scammer told her if she did that, the local police would arrest her for money laundering. That probably pushed the woman into an even bigger panic, which is precisely what the scammers want.

    We have the benefit of hindsight to be able to look at this scam and can see how convoluted it is. Microsoft doesn’t know what’s going on your computer. They’re also infamously known for being difficult to get a hold of. Even if they did know your device was compromised, they would tell you to call the FTC, who is also known for being difficult to contact, as most government agencies are. And no government agency would ever threaten a citizen with arrest over the phone.

    So, we may look at this and wonder how anyone could fall for this scam, but when fear kicks in like this and someone is dealing with the pressure of the moment, anyone could be vulnerable to a scam.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 6, 2023 Permalink | Reply
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    Family loses $160K to home buying scam 

    By Greg Collier

    Lately, we’ve noticed an uptick in news stories about the business email compromise scam. While this is only anecdotal evidence, it can mean that scammers are getting better at it, or more people are coming forward about it. Either way, it seems we can expect to see increasing incidents of the BEC scam.

    For those who may not be familiar, the BEC scam is a scam that targets businesses and individuals who regularly perform wire transfers or make large payments via email. In this scam, the attackers use social engineering tactics to trick the victim into sending money to a fraudulent account instead of the intended recipient.

    In the context of buying a house, the BEC scam typically involves impersonating a real estate agent, lawyer, or title company representative. The attacker sends an email that appears to be from one of these legitimate sources and instructs the homebuyer to wire transfer the funds for the down payment or closing costs to a specified account. The email may seem convincing and use language that mimics that of the real estate professional, including branding and logos.

    A family from Ohio recently fell victim to this scam while closing on their home after the husband retired from the military. Since they were a military family, they are familiar with the home buying process. However, in Ohio, it’s required by law to wire any closing costs over $10,000, instead of paying by check. They received an email from who they thought was the title company, and followed the included instructions on where to wire the funds. The transfer was for $160,000. It wasn’t until the next day when the family discovered the title company wasn’t the one who requested the transfer.

    The family contacted their bank, and the wire transfer was stopped before going into the scammer’s account, but the bank is allegedly dragging their feet as far as issuing a refund to the family. This isn’t surprising considering the amount of bank scams we’ve seen where the banks refuse to issue refunds.

    The family was still able to close on their home, but not everyone has that luxury.

    To avoid falling victim to a BEC scam when buying a house, it is important to always verify payment instructions before sending any money. This can involve calling the real estate professional or company to confirm that the account details are correct. Additionally, it is wise to be cautious of emails that seem urgent or that request immediate wire transfers without sufficient verification.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 5, 2023 Permalink | Reply
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    Zelle refunding scam victims, but won’t say which ones 

    Zelle refunding scam victims, but won't say which ones

    By Greg Collier

    The Zelle payment app has been popular with scammers for the past year and a half now. If you’re unfamiliar with the app, it’s a personal payment app. It’s supposed to allow you to make payments to friends and family instantly. However, scammers have used it to have their victims direct money to scammers’ bank accounts. Zelle is owned by a group of some of the nation’s leading banks, and in the past, these banks have been hesitant to refund scam victims. Now, Zelle is seemingly saying they’re going to be refusing scam victims, but are being vague about the details.

    But first, let’s look into how Zelle scams work. The most prolific of these scams is the bank impersonation scam. In this fraudulent scheme, the target receives a text message inquiring whether they have recently made a substantial purchase or transfer. The recipient is instructed to reply with a simple yes or no. After the response, scammers follow up with a phone call, pretending to represent the victim’s bank’s fraud department. The fraudsters then urge the victim to safeguard their bank account by either transferring their funds or using Zelle to “pay themselves.” However, what actually happens is that the scammers are guiding the victim through the process of transferring funds to them via Zelle.

    Zelle can also be used in almost any scam where money is involved, such as phony landlords, and scammers who pose as police threatening victims with arrest. A good rule to follow to protect yourself from these scam is to only use it to send money to someone you know personally. Even then, you should make sure that person requested money from you.

    Getting back to the refunds, Zelle’s parent company recently released a statement saying they were going to, “mandate consumer reimbursement for certain types of scams.” But that’s basically all the information they’ve released. Now, it’s understandable that Zelle would want to keep the details quiet to keep scammers from finding out, but once refunds start happening, people are going to know. We believe that Zelle should be more transparent to keep its users and scam victims better informed. To keep the process secret, it seems like Zelle has something to hide.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 4, 2023 Permalink | Reply
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    Scams warned in wake of devastating storms 

    Scams warned in wake of devastating storms

    By Greg Collier

    A series of devastating storms recently ravaged parts of the South and the Midwest. At least 50 tornadoes touched down, leaving much destruction in their wakes. To make matters worse, another series of dangerous storms is expected later today. Sadly, the havoc left by the storms is only part of what residents of these areas will have to deal with. Whenever there is a natural disaster, scammers always follow to prey on the victims.

    The one state that appears to have been devastated most by the recent storms is Arkansas. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued a warning to the residents of Arkansas that can apply to any area that’s experienced a disaster. One of the most common scams FEMA agents see is scammers impersonating FEMA itself.

    Scammers pose as representatives of FEMA and contact individuals to offer assistance with disaster relief or financial aid.

    The scammers may use various methods to reach out to potential victims, including phone calls, emails, text messages, or social media messages. They may claim that the individual has been approved for financial assistance, or that they need to provide personal information in order to receive aid.

    Once the scammers have gained the trust of the victim, they may ask for personal and financial information, such as Social Security numbers, bank account information, or credit card numbers. They may also ask the victim to send money or purchase gift cards as a way to receive aid.

    In reality, FEMA representatives will never ask for personal or financial information over the phone or email, and they will never ask for money or gift cards in exchange for disaster relief. If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from FEMA, you should contact the agency directly to verify the authenticity of the communication.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 3, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , RFID,   

    A new scam at the ATM 

    A new scam at the ATM

    By Greg Collier

    Previously, if someone was going to be scammed at an ATM, it was typically done through ATM skimmers. These were devices that could be placed in the card slot of an ATM, which would read the details from the magnetic strip of a debit card. ATM users still have to worry about this scam, but skimmers can often be detected by pulling on the ATM’s card slot to see if it comes out. However, there’s a new scam going around where the device used to scan your card is not so noticeable.

    In most modern debit and credit cards, there is an RFID chip. RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. This allows card users to use the ‘tap to pay’ feature at many stores in ATMs. We’re going to focus on debit cards, as credit cards have some protection built-in to prevent this scam. If someone were to go to an ATM and find the card reader blocked or inoperable, they might be directed to use the tap feature on the ATM. If a user did this at a targeted ATM, an RFID reader would be able to obtain the details from the debit card. This would allow scammers to duplicate the card and empty the bank account attached to it.

    Unfortunately, these RFID devices can be well hidden and virtually unnoticeable. However, there are ways to try to protect yourself from this scam. When at the ATM, avoid using the tap feature. If the card reader has been disabled, go inside the bank or use a different ATM at another location. If you have one, think about using a credit card ATM instead. As we mentioned, credit cards have a safeguard that helps prevent this scam. Not only that, but credit cards themselves offer more consumer protection than a debit card.

    If someone were to fall victim to this scam with their debit card, the bank would not offer a refund. As we’ve seen with most bank scams, the banks view these as legitimate transactions.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on March 31, 2023 Permalink | Reply
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    BBB warns of Smart TV scam 

    By Greg Collier

    With our homes having more and more internet-connected devices, many of these devices can be vulnerable to cyberattacks. This includes your smart TV or any internet-connected device you may have connected to your TV, like a Roku or Amazon Fire Stick. And whenever someone is vulnerable to a cyberattack, scammers are sure to follow. The Better Business Bureau has issued an urgent warning about smart TV attacks, which can cause the victim to lose money.

    Hackers can hijack smart TVs through various methods, including exploiting vulnerabilities in the software, using phishing scams to gain access to the TV’s credentials, or exploiting weaknesses in the network that the TV is connected to.

    One common method is to use malware to exploit vulnerabilities in the TV’s software, such as outdated firmware or unpatched security holes. Once the malware gains access to the TV, it can be used to control the TV remotely and perform a variety of malicious actions, such as displaying fake messages, installing additional malware, or even spying on the user through the TV’s camera and microphone.

    What we’re concerned with today is smart TVs that display fake messages. If a smart TV has been exploited, scammers will prevent the user from setting up their TV properly. A pop-up message will appear on the TV claiming there is an issue with setting up the TV or possibly a streaming service. A phone number is typically displayed within the pop-up.

    If someone were to call the number listed on the screen, they would be connected with scammers posing as a customer service department. The scammers will try to convince the user that a fee is required in order to obtain TV service. More often than not, the scammers will ask for payment in the usual scammer ways, such as gift cards or cryptocurrency.

    To prevent smart TV hijacking, it is important to keep the TV’s software updated, use strong passwords for the TV and network, and avoid clicking on suspicious links or downloading unknown apps. Additionally, users should be wary of giving unnecessary permissions to apps installed on the TV, such as access to the camera and microphone.

    Also, be suspicious of any pop-up messages that come across your TV asking you to call a customer service department. A Google search for the number could turn up if it’s a scam calling center. If you do need to call a manufacturer or service provider, make sure to get their official phone number of the company’s website.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on March 30, 2023 Permalink | Reply
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    Crypto-Romance scam runs rampant among retirees 

    Crypto-Romance scam runs rampant among retirees

    By Greg Collier

    When we think of Florida, we often think of retirees, since Florida is one of the most popular states to retire to. And since Florida has so many retirees, scammers see the Sunshine State as an easy target. Recently, Florida has seen an uptick in romance scams that involve the victim thinking they’re investing their savings into cryptocurrency. It’s called the pig butchering scam, and it has cost its Florida victims hundreds of thousands of dollars each. It’s called that because the victims are seen as pigs who the scammers ‘raise’ until it’s time to lead the victim to financial slaughter.

    The scam typically begins when the victim establishes a relationship with a potential romantic partner through a dating platform or social media. The scammer will keep the victim interested and eventually offer to help them make money by investing in cryptocurrency. The victim is then directed to a cryptocurrency exchange that is controlled by the scammers. They are instructed to invest their money into the exchange, which the scammer will claim has generated substantial returns. However, when the victim attempts to withdraw their funds, they are informed that they need to pay additional fees in order to receive their returns. This pattern of demands for more money continues until the victim either runs out of funds or realizes that they are being scammed.

    Recently, a retiree from Port St. Lucie, Florida came forward to local media after losing $250,000 to this scam. He though ht had entered into an online relationship with a woman. The scammer cultivated the relationship before asking the man if he wanted to make money through cryptocurrency. After losing the $250,000, the scammer cut off all communication with the man, now he’s in danger of losing his home.

    The best way to protect yourself from this scam is to avoid anyone offering to help you make money through cryptocurrency, especially if you’ve never met them in person. Cryptocurrency markets are so volatile that even legitimate investments can disappear quickly. Plus, cryptocurrency is a preferred method of payment for scammers and other cybercriminals.

    Even though this scam has a fancy name, at its heart it’s still a romance scam. If you develop an online relationship and your online partner starts asking for money, they’re more than likely a scammer. If the person has provided you with photos, try using reverse image search to see if the photos have been used elsewhere on the internet. Romance scammers often use photos of other people to create fake identities.

    Romance scammers often ask their victims for money or personal information, such as bank account details, credit card numbers, or social security numbers. Be suspicious of anyone who makes these requests, especially if you have not met them in person.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on March 29, 2023 Permalink | Reply
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    Protect Yourself from the Jury Duty Scam 

    By Greg Collier

    As we tend to say, the most common scam featured in the news is the jury duty scam. We find news stories about this scam every day. Just a quick Google search found us jury duty scam warnings from police departments or sheriff’s office in Pennsylvania, Iowa, and New Mexico. If it hasn’t been reported in your area yet, it’s only a matter of time before it does. Even with all the warnings going around, the jury duty scam continues to find victims. So, we thought it’s probably time to remind our readers of this scam.

    The jury duty scam is a common scheme in which scammers impersonate officials from a court or law enforcement agency and contact people by phone, email, or text message. They claim that the person has failed to appear for jury duty and that there is a warrant out for their arrest. The scammers then demand payment of a fine or fee to avoid being arrested.

    In some cases, the scammers may ask for personal information such as Social Security numbers or financial information, which they can use for identity theft or to steal money from the victim’s accounts.

    It is important to note that legitimate court officials or law enforcement agencies will never ask for payment or personal information over the phone or email, and they will not threaten to arrest someone for failing to appear for jury duty. If you receive a suspicious call or message, do not give out any personal information or send any money, and report the incident to the appropriate authorities.

    If someone legitimately misses jury duty, they may face penalties or consequences, depending on the jurisdiction and the specific circumstances. In some cases, the court may issue a bench warrant for their arrest, and they may be required to appear before a judge to explain why they failed to appear for jury duty.

    However, please keep in mind, that when police do issue an arrest warrant for someone, they do not call them over the phone to warn them.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on March 28, 2023 Permalink | Reply
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    Not all tax preparers are on the level 

    Not all tax preparers are on the level

    By Greg Collier

    With the income tax deadline less than a month away, we’re sure there are still some who haven’t filed their tax return yet. One of the many benefits of filing early is avoiding a scam that was commonplace during the pandemic. Scammers would file returns in their victim’s name, and collect the return payment. When the victim went to file their return themselves, they would get a letter stating someone else had already claimed their return. This resulted in a bureaucratic nightmare for the victims. If you still haven’t filed, there’s another scam that you need to be aware of, especially if you’re having your taxes done professionally.

    A woman from Virginia is out $3000 after she allowed a company to process her tax return. She found an ad for the company through a social media ad, which we would never recommend doing. The victim went to the company’s website, and they appeared to be legitimate. She even had multiple conversations with the company over the phone and through emails. However, when it came to her tax return, the company allegedly filed her return without her permission and stole the payment. When the victim tried to contact the company, they had already disappeared.

    If you still need your taxes prepared, there are ways to protect yourself from this scam. Make sure to choose a tax preparer who is licensed and registered with the IRS. You can check the credentials of a tax preparer on the IRS website or through the Better Business Bureau.

    If a tax preparer promises you a big refund without even looking at your tax documents, it’s probably too good to be true. Avoid tax preparers who make unrealistic promises.

    Never sign a blank tax return or one that has incomplete information. Review your tax return thoroughly before signing it.

    Review your tax return for accuracy before submitting it to the IRS. If you notice any errors, contact your tax preparer immediately.

     

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