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  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 22, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , bing, , , fake ads, , ,   

    iPhone scam is symptom of bigger problem 

    iPhone scam is symptom of bigger problem

    By Greg Collier

    Recently, an iPhone user was locked out of her new iPhone. On her husband’s phone, she did a Google search for ‘Apple Customer Service’ and called the number she found. The person on the other end of the call said they’d be happy to help her out. Except, the woman hadn’t really called Apple. Instead, she had called a phony customer support number run by scammers. These scammers had accessed her iPhone and were able to use her Zelle app to steal $1500. However, this scam is not exclusive to either Apple or Google.

    This scam is a version of the tech support scam. Instead of trying to trick victims into believing there’s a virus on their device, this scam waits for someone with a tech problem to call the scammers. In these cases, the scammers take out ads on popular search engines. Not just Google, but Bing and Duck Duck Go as well. The scammers will submit a flurry of ads to these companies in hopes just a handful get through the vetting process. If the ads get approved, they can be listed at the top of the search engine rankings. While the search engine companies claim to be on top of the problem, scammers continue to have their ads for phony customer services approved.

    There are ways to protect yourself from this scam. The first is when you’re doing a web search, make sure the listing you’re about to click on doesn’t have a tiny ad indicator near it. These are usually little text boxes that say ‘Ad’, but sometimes have a color that’s similar to the page’s background. Another way to protect yourself is by going to the manufacturer’s website directly. For example, instead of doing a web search for Apple Customer Service, just go directly to apple.com in your device’s web browser. From there you should be able to find the customer support number if the company has one.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 21, 2022 Permalink | Reply
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    Scammer stalks victim through pizza delivery 

    Scammer stalks victim through pizza delivery

    By Greg Collier

    Two of the many things we try to hammer home about scammers is they will stoop to any length to scam someone, and once they find a victim, they’ll try to scam them again. We’ve seen scammers show up at funerals pretending to collect money for the deceased. We’ve also seen scammers pose as the families of crime victims, so they can open a GoFundMe account to attempt to garner donations. In other scams, we’ve seen scammers that repeatedly set out to fleece the same victim after they were successfully scammed. Today’s story has a little bit of both of those aspects of scams within it.

    An elderly man had been scammed for thousands of dollars. While there aren’t details on what scam it was, there’s enough evidence to suggest it was the grandparent scam. The local sheriff’s office tried to help the man from being scammed again. They suggested he turn off his cell phone, and the man also changed his landline phone number.

    The scammer had so much information about the man that the scammer knew the pizza parlor the man liked to order from. The scammer then had a pizza delivered to the man’s home. The scammer also had a note included with the pizza asking the man to call his ‘grandson’ with the scammer’s phone number attached.

    In this South Carolina county alone, over $1.3 million has been lost to scams in the past year. That amount is probably even more if you consider the losses that weren’t reported. According to the sheriff’s office, arrests are few and far between, and it becomes more a plan of defense rather than one of apprehension. They also say that the best way to prevent yourself from becoming the victim of a scam is time. Essentially, don’t give out any money or information without taking some time to assess the situation first.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 20, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,   

    Scam Round Up: New scam targets veterans and more 

    Scam Round Up: New scam targets veterans and more

    By Greg Collier

    This week in the Round Up, we’re bringing you three scams that might not be affecting you now, but you should be aware of.

    ***

    Our first scam has to be more than distressing to its victims. Scammers are targeting the families of inmates who are incarcerated in a county jail in Alabama. The scammers are posing as jail employees, telling the families that their family member has died in custody, when it isn’t true.

    From what we’ve researched, this is not a common scam, but has happened before. However, we couldn’t find any information on what the scam is hoping to achieve, since the scammers have not asked for any kind of payment. If we had to hazard a guess, we’d say this might be some kind of identity theft ploy.

    According to the local sheriff’s department, if an inmate were to die in custody, the family would be informed by the coroner’s office. If you have a family member who is incarcerated, you may want to find out what the procedure is for that jurisdiction.

    Sadly, this is not the only scam the family’s of inmates have to worry about. They are often targeted by scammers who promise their family member better privileges or an early release. These scams often ask for money. Someone receiving these offers should always check with the institution first to see if these programs are actually available, and should never give anyone their personal information over the phone.

    ***

    It always seems like social media has a never-ending stream of scams to deal with. It also seems that the short-form video platform TikTok is no exception. Lately, they’ve been dealing with a string of videos where scammers claim they can help you make a profit investing in cryptocurrency.

    The videos usually have someone flaunting stacks of cash or other signs of wealth while promising to make the viewer money. However, this is just a variation of the money flipping scam that has plagued Instagram. The scammers will promise they can get viewers thousands of dollars if they just send the scammer a few hundred.

    The scammers end up keeping the money sent to them and often ask victims for more money using promises of returning even more profit to the victim.

    Cryptocurrency on its own is already flush with scammers. Unless you know the cryptocurrency market intimately and can afford to lose an investment, you shouldn’t let other people invest in it for you, especially people you don’t know personally.

    ***

    Recently, an act was passed into law that allows U.S. veterans and their family to sue the government if they were exposed to toxic burn pits at military bases. The Better Business Bureau is reporting that scammers are using this new law to their advantage by promising veterans and their families they can sue the government for them. Once they get the veteran’s money and information, the scammers disappear.

    Another scam targeting veterans is one where the scammers are posing as Veterans Affairs. Again, the scammers are after the veteran’s personal information for identity theft purposes.

    The VA recommends that if you received unsolicited communication from someone claiming to be from the VA, you should contact the VA through their website. You can also find if you’re eligible under the new law here.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 19, 2022 Permalink | Reply
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    New twist to Amazon phone scam 

    New twist to Amazon phone scam

    By Greg Collier

    Due to the popularity and reach of Amazon, it’s no surprise that the online retailer has been used in many scams. Whether it’s because of third-party sellers committing brushing scams, or scammers asking for payment in Amazon gift cards, the Amazon brand is no stranger to being used as a weapon in the scammer’s arsenal.

    However, the most common Amazon scam is the Amazon impersonation scam. This is where scammers will pose as an Amazon employee, typically over the phone. Sometimes the scam will start with an email that looks like an official email from Amazon, complete with the Amazon logo. Other times, the victims will be called directly. In both instances, the victim will be told there has been a large purchase on their account.

    Once the victim states that they didn’t make the purchase, the fake Amazon rep will direct the victim through some convoluted way of reversing the phony charge. Instead, what typically happens is the victim ends up losing money after giving their payment information to the scammers.

    More recently, law enforcement in the Kansas City Metro area have been receiving complaints about a new twist in this scam. According to reports, the scammers are now using a robocall that tells potential victims that if they hang up on the call, they’ll be charged $200 by Amazon and another $900 by their credit or debit card company.

    Scammers will almost always use some type of threat to get their victims into a panicked state. An $1100 penalty payment would just about get anyone to panic. And when someone panics, they’re not thinking clearly. This can allow scammers to get a victim’s financial information almost effortlessly.

    The best way to prevent a scam is to be prepared for one. If you receive a call or email from Amazon saying there’s a fraudulent charge on your account, check your Amazon account first and your payment method second to make sure there have been no fraudulent charges. But you should also keep in mind that Amazon seldom calls one of their customers. Even if they did, there’s no scenario where they can charge you $900 for hanging up on them.

    If you’re feeling pressured by anyone who calls you out of the blue talking about money, there are good odds that they are a scammer.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 16, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , MoneyPak, , , ,   

    Jury duty scammers continue to harass victims 

    Jury duty scammers continue to harass victims

    By Greg Collier

    As we’ve said previously, not a day goes by where we don’t see a news headline warning readers about jury duty scams. This is where scammers try to take advantage of a victim’s inexperience in dealing with the court system. Most of us have heard that you can be potentially arrested if you miss reporting for jury duty after receiving a summons. However, not everyone knows the court’s process if someone is to be fined or arrested, and the scammers are counting on that.

    Recently, scammers tried to take advantage of a young woman from North Carolina. They had called her, posing as the local sheriff’s office. They told her that not only did she miss jury duty, but now had to pay a $950 fine or be arrested. The scammers even tried to make every part of their scam seem official. They informed her that she needed to pay the supposed fine in MoneyPak vouchers. MoneyPaks are not vouchers, but a brand of prepaid debit card like Green Dot. Then the scammers tried to have the woman meet them in front of the county courthouse to make the payment.

    While this was a harrowing experience for the young woman, she thankfully had someone on her side helping her. The conversation the woman had with the scammer was on speaker, and the woman’s mother had a feeling this was a scam. Her mother called the local sheriff’s office, who assured her this was a scam.

    Now, it is true you can be fined or arrested for missing jury duty, however, the scam is not even close to how the courts really work. If someone were to somehow miss jury duty, they would receive an additional summons in the mail. At this point, they can contact the court to try to settle the matter. Neither the courts nor the police will ever call someone to harass them into making a payment. Even if someone did need to pay a fine to the courts, it wouldn’t be through nontraditional means like prepaid debit cards, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. These forms of payment are tools for scammers to avoid having the payment traced by the actual police.

    If you are ever unsure about whether a call from police is official or not, you have the right to hang up and verify the call with law enforcement.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 15, 2022 Permalink | Reply
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    Million dollar home lists for $22K 

    Million dollar home lists for $22K

    By Greg Collier

    The online real estate market has been rife with scams and fraud almost since the beginning. It almost seems like you can’t post an online real estate listing without someone copying it. This is what usually leads to the numerous rental scams out there. However, it’s not just rental scams you have to worry about, but there are scams when trying to buy a home too. Except, the scam we’re about to discuss today had so many red flags it could have been part of the Soviet Navy.

    A local realtor in Atlanta found a peculiar listing on Zillow. The home was in an affluent Atlanta neighborhood and was estimated to be worth at least a million dollars. However, the Zillow listing claimed the house was for sale at the low, low price of $22,000. The supposed owner of the house claimed the price was so cheap because they owned a number of properties and this would be a tax write-off for them.

    If those weren’t enough warnings, this listing could be a scam, it also came with plenty of strings attached. The listing specified that this was for first time buyers only, who didn’t have any representation. The listing also stated that the price was non-negotiable and approved applicants would pay a $2,000 payment through Zelle.

    No matter how bad the real estate market may be, no one is going to sell a million dollar home for .02% of its value. The scammer was obviously looking for homebuyers with no experience in the market, so they easily could be taken advantage of. If a listing specifies that you should have no representation, you should assume it’s a scam.

    Lastly, the fact that the listing is asking for payment through Zelle should be a dead giveaway that it’s a scam. As we’ve said previously, Zelle should only be used to pay people you know personally and not to random strangers on the internet.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 14, 2022 Permalink | Reply
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    COVID con coaxes college kids out of cash 

    COVID con coaxes college kids out of cash

    By Greg Collier

    Just when we thought we might finally be done with COVID-19 related scams, another one pops up. To make matters worse, this scam is targeting college students who have been getting hit extra hard by scammers lately. However, this new scam is actually an old scam with a COVID colored coat of paint on it.

    As you probably know, a considerable number of college students are always on the lookout to make some extra money. This makes them a high-value target for scammers. In this new scam, the students are being sent emails telling them they’ve qualified for a COVID relief fund. The scammers then have the students fill out an application.

    The student is then sent a check. Once the check has been deposited into the student’s bank account, the supposed fund will say there’s been an error and the student needs to send the money back. After the student sends the money back, their bank discovers the check is fraudulent. This leaves the student overdrawn on their account and responsible for paying the bank back even though they were scammed.

    So if a student falls for this scam, not only are they in debt to their bank, but they’ve probably been the victim of identity theft as well. If they gave any personal information during the application process, such as their Social Security number, they have most likely had their identity stolen. Again, college students are high-value targets for identity theft since they tend to have little to no credit history.

    If you think you may have been tricked into depositing a fraudulent check into your bank account, don’t withdrawal that money, even if the sender asks for some or all of it back. Instead, contact your bank and ask them if they can verify the legitimacy of the check. If the check turns out to be fraudulent, but you haven’t spent any of it, it will just be removed from your account.

    If you receive any communication that tells you that you’ve qualified for some kind of fund or grant, do not take it at face value. Research the agency making the offer to find out whether they are legitimate or not. In general, be suspicious of any offer of ‘free money’ because it could cost you in the end.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 13, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: blackouts, , , ,   

    Scammers take advantage of rolling blackouts 

    By Greg Collier

    Many areas in the western part of the US are either dealing with wildfires or they’re trying to prevent them. This often requires power companies to schedule rolling blackouts to try to ensure that power infrastructure doesn’t exacerbate the problem. The power companies notify their customers when these outages are scheduled to take place, but not every customer gets the message, unfortunately.

    This has led to a dramatic increase in the shut-off scam. This is when scammers will call their victims, posing as the power company. They’ll tell the victims that they’re behind in their payments and their service will be shut off in 30 minutes. The scammers will then demand payment in largely untraceable means, such as gift cards, cryptocurrency, or payments through apps like Zelle and Venmo.

    Now, scammers are using the rolling blackouts to prove to customers that their power is actually being terminated. If the power were to stop working while a scammer was on the phone with their victim, that could lead the victim into making a panic payment.

    If you live in an area dealing with wildfires or is in danger of wildfires, keep an eye on your local news or your power company’s website. This way, you’ll be better prepared if a rolling blackout affects your area.

    But at the end of the day, this is the usual shut-off scam, just with better timing. Your utility companies will never call you and threaten you with service termination. If your account balance is behind, you would receive a notice in the mail about any scheduled termination. Also, utility companies will never ask for payment in non-traditional means like cryptocurrency.

    If you receive a call like this, or even have someone show up at your home claiming to be a power company employee, call the power company directly at the phone number on your statement. No legitimate utility is ever only going to give you 30 minutes notice before shutting off your service.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 12, 2022 Permalink | Reply
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    Student debt scammers now using robocalls 

    Student debt scammers now using robocalls

    By Greg Collier

    Once again, the scammers have wasted no time in trying to fleece people who may be eligible for the government’s student debt forgiveness program. In this latest iteration of the scam, scammers are using robocalls to try to find victims. It’s being reported that in the Indianapolis area, residents are receiving phone calls and voicemails about student debt relief.

    One Indiana resident says they received a voicemail that told them they were pre-qualified for student loan forgiveness, with the possibility of having their entire loan discharged. The resident was told to act fast because their status may expire soon. The caller even left their name.

    When the resident called the number from the voice mail, he asked for the person who left the message. He was told that person worked in marketing. The representative then asked her if he had any questions about the program. He asked who they were, and he was given a generic bank name that is used by several different banks across the country. When he asked if there was a charge for the bank’s assistance, he was told there could be fees.

    However, the scammers had called the wrong person. Not only did the Indianapolis resident not have any student loans, but he’s also the news director for a local station. When he told the representative it’s free to apply for the government program, they hung up.

    Scammers use robocalls to cast the widest net possible to try to find just a handful of victims. They don’t actually know whether someone they call has student debt or not.

    As we and others have been warning since these scams started, anyone calling you from out of the blue about student loan forgiveness is probably a scammer. When the application process starts next month, the government will not reach out to you. The forgiveness process will not be automatically applied to your student debt. Anyone who is eligible will need to apply on their own.

    If you have any further questions about the student debt relief program, you can go to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on the Federal Government’s Student Aid website. They also have a section about scams.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 9, 2022 Permalink | Reply
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    Uber driver loses week’s wages in scam 

    By Greg Collier

    The scam we’re about to talk about today exclusively targets rideshare drivers. Even though the majority of our readers probably aren’t rideshare drivers, we think this story can be useful to our other readers as well. Not only does it show how gig economy workers can be vulnerable to scams, we also think it’s a commentary on how some gig economy companies treat their workers.

    The victim in today’s story is an Uber driver from Salt Lake City. He loves his work and seems to be very successful at it. Rather than driving as a means to make extra money, the driver dos it full-time and is able to make a comfortable living. As an aside, that’s the exception rather than the rule, but that’s neither here nor there for right now.

    Last week, the man received a call from someone claiming to be from Uber. The caller said that the driver had received a complaint and needed to issue a refund. He was instructed to log into the Uber app and given directions on how to issue the supposed refund. What actually happened is that scammers were directing him to issue $1200 directly to the scammers. This wiped out a week’s worth of wages for the driver. Our story doesn’t end there, however.

    The driver reached out to Uber for assistance, who said they investigated the matter, but the man wasn’t due for a refund. It wasn’t until the driver reached out to his local media before Uber issued him a refund.

    Our earning to not only rideshare drivers but other gig economy workers, if you receive a phone call from the company you’re working for about your earnings, contact them through official channels before issuing any supposed refunds. You may also want to research how refunds are actually handled beforehand, so you know what’s a scam and what isn’t.

    However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out how similarly Uber acted like the banks that have had customers scammed through Zelle. Just like in the Zelle scams, Uber didn’t act in the worker’s interest until it became a potential PR issue.

    Learn your rights before joining a gig economy company. In the majority of these companies, you’re not an employee, but rather an outside contractor. These independent contractors do not receive nearly the same protections as an actual employee.

     

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