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  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 24, 2020 Permalink | Reply
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    Be careful when seeking out foreclosure help 

    Be careful when seeking out foreclosure help

    With so many Americans out of work, many homeowners are having trouble making their mortgage payments. To try to keep from being evicted from their own home, some will look to so-called mortgage relief companies for assistance. Many of these companies you may see advertised through things like mailers and street fliers are not companies at all. Rather they are scammers looking to take advantage of struggling homeowners at what could be their lowest point.

    In many cases, scammers will try to get you to sign the deed of your property over to a third party. Then the homeowner is given the option to stay in the home while paying rent to the deed holder. All too often in these cases, the deed holder will be charged an astronomical rent or price the house out of reach of the original homeowner. In either case, the original homeowner could still find themselves evicted from their home. In other instances of this scam, sometimes the deed will have never been transferred. So not only will the homeowner be evicted but they’ll still be responsible for the mortgage amount.

    A different scam involves scammers calling homeowners and claiming they can help lower your mortgage payment. However, they’ll only offer this assistance if you pay a substantial fee in gift cards. These fictitious fees could be in the thousands of dollars. As we often like to remind people, no legitimate company or agency will ever ask you for payment in gift cards. Scammers often ask for gift cards because once the funds are removed from the card they become virtually untraceable.

    Instead of going to one of these potentially bogus companies, it is instead recommended that you work with your lender to see if their loan can be restructured in some way to help reduce payments. Homeowners also have the option of trying to sell their home on their own in order to pay off the mortgage.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 23, 2020 Permalink | Reply
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    Social Security scams continue to target the most vulnerable 

    Social Security scams continue to target the most vulnerable

    It seems like Social Security scams are an ever-present problem anymore. For many disabled and senior citizens, their Social Security benefits are their only source of income and for too many, it’s hardly enough to make ends meet. For these reasons, Social Security recipients are seen as easy targets by many scammers.

    We’re not saying that Social Security recipients are more or less likely to fall for scams, however, scammers can be very convincing when it comes to pressuring their victims into doing things they wouldn’t normally do.

    When it comes to Social Security recipients, scammers often pose as employees of the Social Security Administration itself. They’ll relay some phony scenario in which the victim’s Social Security benefits will be cut off if the victim doesn’t act quickly. Threatened with the loss of their only income, too many victims fall for this scam each year.

    Normally, the scammers are after one of two things. In some instances, they’re only looking for your personal information. We say only but the loss of personal information could lead to a world of problems down the line as anybody who had their identity stolen could tell you. Potentially, identity thieves could take out loans or open lines of credit in your name leaving you facing a mound of debt.

    The other trick scammers try to pull is to get you to pay some sort of fee to ‘restore’ your Social Security benefits. As has become the norm, the scammers will try to get you to pay them in either git cards, pre-paid debit cards, or wire services like Moneygram and Western Union.

    These scams have become such an issue lately that some state Attorneys General have issued warnings to their constituents.

    Please keep in mind that the SSA will rarely call you. The only time they may call you is if you have an ongoing issue with your Social Security benefits where you have already spoken with them in the past. This is important because scammers often spoof the SSA’s phone number when calling victims. Most importantly, the SSA will never ask for any sort of payment over the phone and definitely not in gift cards and the like.

    If you receive one of these phone calls, it’s recommended that you hang up right away. You can then call the Social Security Administration at (800) 772-1213 to verify if there’s an actual issue or you could call the SSA’s fraud line at (800) 269-0271.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPY-HFXZS24%5D

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 22, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: flight attendant, , , ,   

    Beware of flight attendants selling cars 

    Beware of flight attendants selling cars and other scams

    In Wisconsin, the Better Business Bureau is warning residents there about an ongoing scam involving the online sale of used cars. Scammers will post an ad online for an in-demand car. Sometimes it will be a classic car while other times it will be a modern car at a too good to be believed price. The scammer will claim to be local but currently out of the local area. In the Wisconsin case, the scammers are claiming to be a flight attendant who is currently out of town, going through a divorce and needs to move the car fast. In the more common version of this scam, the scammers will pose as members of the military who are stationed overseas.

    In any case, the scammer will tell you that the car is being held by a shipping or logistics company and that you need to pay the shipping company. They’ll then instruct you to make the payment through wire transfer services like Moneygram or Western Union. The scammers will often use the name of legitimate shipping companies to make the transaction seem more legitimate but once the money is wired the person pretending to be the seller disappears with your money. In all likelihood, the car being advertised never existed.

    When shopping for a vehicle online, you should automatically stop dealing with a seller if they give you a story about being out of town and unable to show the vehicle. Even if they say they can’t show the vehicle due to coronavirus concerns you should stop dealing with them. Also, you should never wire money to someone you don’t personally know. Money transfers are one of the standard tools used by scammers due to the fact they can use them to take your money and vanish into the wind.

    So hopefully, the next time you’re searching for a car to buy, you won’t waste your time dealing with a con artist.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 21, 2020 Permalink | Reply
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    BBB warns this Amazon scam is on the rise 

    BBB warns this Amazon scam is on the rise

    If you’re trying to maintain social distancing, you’re probably doing a fair bit of shopping online. When you shop online, it’s difficult to avoid a massive retailer like Amazon. Since so many third-party vendors sell their wares on Amazon, this can lead to some vendors trying to get one over on Amazon and its customers.

    The Better Business Bureau recently released a warning to consumers about a scam called brushing. This occurs when you receive an item that was delivered by Amazon that you didn’t order. Legally, you’re allowed to keep that item but it could indicate that your Amazon account has been compromised.

    Vendors do this to make it look like that you’ve purchased their product. They’ll then use your information to post a positive review of the product that’s marked as a verified purchase on Amazon. This is intended to gain a higher ranking on Amazon which in turn is supposed to lead to more sales for the vendor.

    But just stop and think a moment about what information is in your Amazon account. Not only is your home address listed within, but your payment information as well. These supposedly free items could be costing you without you even noticing it at first.

    So, what should you do if you start receiving these unsolicited deliveries? The first thing you should do is immediately change the password on your Amazon account. Since the scammers may have also compromised your email account you may want to consider changing the email address attached to your Amazon account also. These deliveries should also be reported to Amazon itself so they can take down any fake reviews in your name which is against their policy.

    If any of your debit or credit cards have been used in this scam you’ll want to cancel them and have new ones issued. The only consolation to the victim of this scam is that they can legally keep the items sent to them, however, they’re usually not the type of items you’d normally want to keep.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 20, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Appalachian Power Co., , ,   

    Local pronunciation foils scammers 

    We’ve discussed utility scams in the past. The utility scam is another impersonation scam where scammers will pose as your local power company. They’ll call you and threaten to shut off your power if you don’t make an immediate payment with gift cards or prepaid debit cards. As we’ve also mentioned in the past, no legitimate company or agency will ever ask you to make payment in gift cards. Recently in Virginia, scammers failed to trick at least one person in this scam due to their pronunciation of the local power company.

    Appalachian Power Co. operates in the western part of Virginia and in West Virginia near the Appalachian Mountains. One report states that scammers have been targeting Appalachian Power Co. with threats to shut off their service. The scammers will tell Appalachian Power Co. customers that they have trucks in the customer’s neighborhood and will cut off their power in less than 30 minutes. Scammers will often present high-pressure situations like this in order to keep their victims emotionally off-balance.

    What the scammers didn’t count on was the correct pronunciation of the word ‘Appalachian’. Most people who live outside the region of the Appalachian Mountains will pronounce it like ‘apple-AY-shun’ while people from the region pronounce it as ‘apple-ATCH-un’. This pronunciation error tipped off at least one man that the call was a scam.

    As always with these utility scams, power companies will never call you demanding payment while threatening to terminate your service. All notices will be sent through the mail. Not only that, but keep ion mind that many power companies now use smart meters which means that power can now be terminated remotely if need be.

    The trick is to keep things like this in mind when one of these scammers call you. Pronunciation of city and area names will be known to people working in the area. If the scammers mispronounce the local variation of the name, that’s a good indicator they’re a scammer. Generally, if something feels off about a call like this there’s no harm in hanging up on them then calling your power company directly.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 17, 2020 Permalink | Reply
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    FTC: SIM swapping on the rise 

    FTC: SIM swapping on the rise

    Around a decade ago, not everyone had a smartphone. While the iPhone had already been out for three years, many people only had phones that could only make calls and send text messages. Now, the majority of us have smartphones which are basically like having a full-blown computer in your pocket. As such, many of us have very sensitive personal and financial information on our phones. Now, what if someone was able to steal all of that information without having to steal your phone? That’s exactly what happens with SIM swapping.

    SIM swapping is when a scammer or other bad actor is able to convince your cell phone carrier to switch your service to their phone. This way they can have access to the various social media, email, and financial apps that you may have on your phone. SIM swapping is lucrative to scammers because this way they can easily access accounts that are protected by two-factor authentication since many of us use text messaging as our preferred method of 2FA. This is also how they can lock you out of your own accounts after having email addresses and passwords changed.

    Normally, someone would have to give your cell phone carrier a PIN number in order to transfer service to a new device. However, since so many people forget their PINs, some carriers will let you change service after answering a couple of security questions. Scammers can often find the answer to these questions, like your pet’s name or the street you grew up on, from your social media accounts. The Federal Trade Commission has said that SIM swapping has been on the rise in the past few years.

    There are ways to protect yourself from SIM swapping. The first is to not share too much information about yourself on social media that could lead to scammers knowing the answers to your security questions. The other way is to contact your carrier and tell them not to allow any device switching on your account. However, to get your account unfrozen you may have to visit your carrier’s store with your ID.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 16, 2020 Permalink | Reply
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    Twitter hacked in major cryptocurrency scam 

    Twitter hacked in major cryptocurrency scam

    Yesterday, the accounts of some very high profile individuals were compromised in a cryptocurrency scam. Some of the names who had their Twitter accounts hacked include Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Apple Computers just to name a few. As of the time of writing this post, it’s unknown how so many Twitter accounts belonging to so many celebrities and business magnates were hijacked.

    The phony tweets from the hijacked accounts promised that people could double their Bitcoin value if they just send it to a designated Bitcoin wallet. Many of the Tweets said that the poster was feeling generous and wanted to double people’s Bitcoin in support of COVID-19 efforts. By the time the bogus tweets were caught, scammers were able to collect at least $100,000 in cryptocurrency.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tYk4HM_LUw%5D

    While the level of complexity of this scam in unprecedented, the scam itself is not a new one. Crypto-scammers will often post links on social media promising to increase the value of someone’s cryptocurrency if they just send it to the person making the post. In reality, the scammer just takes the person’s cryptocurrency and disappears into the ether.

    You don’t even have to be a cryptocurrency speculator to fall for a very similar scam. If you’ve ever seen the hashtag #CashAppFridays you may know what we’re talking about.

    When the Cash App has one of its weekly giveaways, a number of scammers will use the hashtag with promises of giving people $500 if they give them $50 through Cash App. This is what’s called cash flipping and the Cash App users often find themselves out of the money they gave the scammer.

    These scams are akin to handing your money to a stranger on the street who promised you $50 for $5. Even if they claim to be financial giants like Elon Musk and Bill Gates, no one is giving away free money to random people on the internet. While many of the people hacked in this scam may be philanthropists, their donations generally go to charities and non-profits and not to random Twitter followers.

    (H/T: TechCrunch)

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 15, 2020 Permalink | Reply
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    Can you get your money back after a gift card scam? 

    Can you get your money back after a gift card scam?

    If you’re one of our regular readers, there’s a good chance that you’re tired of hearing about gift cards. That’s understandable, we talk about them a lot However, there is a very good reason why we talk about them all the time. If there’s a new scam going around or an old one showing a resurgence, there’s a good chance that gift cards are somehow involved.

    If you’re a new reader, the reason that scammers covet gift cards is that they’re an easy way to get virtually untraceable money from their victims. If someone is trying to pressure you into making any kind of payment through gift cards, it’s almost guaranteed to be a scam.

    For example, a couple in Arizona recently paid $13,000 in gift cards to a scammer who claimed to be from Apple and told the couple that their Apple accounts had been compromised. All they needed to do was buy $13,000 in Apple gift cards and give the gift card numbers to the phony Apple representative to get their accounts restored. They were told they would be reimbursed but they never were. The couple called Apple directly who informed them that they had been scammed.

    Unfortunately, it was too late for this couple but there is a way to prevent your money from being taken if you act quick enough. As we noted in a previous post, gift card scammers employ people they call runners. Once the scammers have the gift card numbers the runners go to various outlets to try to get the money off of the gift cards. In theory, there’s a brief window between the time you give the scammers the card numbers and the time the runners cash out the cards.

    If you realize you have just been scammed, you should immediately call the customer service number on the back of the gift cards. Remember, you still have the physical cards and the customer service representative should be able to help freeze those numbers if you get to them in time.

    Just remember that gift cards are the currency of thieves and scammers. No legitimate business or agency will ever ask you to make payment through gift cards.

     

    • roland/ruth smith 11:23 pm on June 4, 2021 Permalink

      I lost a gift card can I get my money from it?

    • Geebo 12:37 pm on June 5, 2021 Permalink

      Unless you have the number from the card, the money is probably lost. However, you may want to check with the vendor who issued the card to make sure.

    • Mark Tyree 5:06 am on February 12, 2022 Permalink

      bought a google gift cardfor $50 dollars and it is frozen how do i get my $50 dollers back

    • Geebo 12:15 pm on February 12, 2022 Permalink

      Unfortunately, we don’t have the answer for every gift card. However, you may want to check this link. https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/11564359?hl=en&visit_id=637802828105977099-2072104115&rd=1

    • Brenda Burke 10:22 am on October 28, 2022 Permalink

      Bought 4 Freeze gift cards and they were havked

    • tim riker 10:24 pm on December 19, 2022 Permalink

      I was scammed through email. The scammer mimicked the president of the company’s email and I didn’t catch the difference on my phone. it worked because he acted like the president who lives out of state and rarely is in town. He asked if I could buy 4, $500 Target gift cards and then asked for pictures of the numbers after I scratched them off. This is also what the president would have done, to make sure I actually bought the cards and they were actually activated. I did that and he emailed again and asked for Am Ex, same amount. Saying he wanted to provide gift cards for Christmas to the staff. Well, the number of gift cards were the same as the number of employees so it all seemed so legit, especially with the boss not coming into town for Christmas. Well, when he asked for pics of the Am Ex cards front I started thinking I better double check and I text the president and guess what it was not him emailing. I, through the grace of God, got all $4000 back. For the Target cards i have no idea how he never used the cards by the time I contacted Target. Thank God.

    • Josephine Maitre 4:04 pm on May 9, 2023 Permalink

      I had a similar case almost like that. I received an email mimicking McAfee. They went to my bank account because it used to be an automatic withdraw. I told them I did not want to renew. They said oops in that case there was a mistake and I said how because I did not renew. They said well, we can fix that. I don’t remember all the details now but they told me to type $50 so they could correct the mistake. After that they told me oops you type $500 and I said know I did not. They said look at your balance.They showed me my balance which was $4,000 more than I had. At that time I convinced myself that I made the mistake and I must return this money.They said you must return the $4,000 by buying Target gifts card at CVS and Walmart gift cards….. and the rest is history. I still have the gift cards numbers but I know I will never recover this money…Is there any chance. I did file a report but…

    • Barbara Logan 9:24 pm on May 20, 2023 Permalink

      I bought three Google Play gift cards for $100 each. They have already been redeemed. How can I get my money back? I have pictures of the cards and the receipts.

    • Geebo 5:56 am on May 21, 2023 Permalink

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 14, 2020 Permalink | Reply
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    Victim held hostage in romance scam 

    Victim held hostage in romance scam

    When we’ve discussed romance scams in the past, we always mention the potential financial and emotional toll it can take on its victims. What we haven’t mentioned is the physical toll when it comes to the safety of romance scam victims.

    If you’re unfamiliar with what a romance scam is, it’s when a scammer poses online as someone their not and luring victims in with the prospect of a romantic relationship. When the scammer has fully fooled their victim into believing they’re in an authentic relationship, the scammer will start asking their victim for money. Previous romance scams have seen victims lose anywhere from thousands of dollars to literally over a million dollars.

    Red flags that could indicate a romance scam is if the person keeps giving excuses as to why they can’t meet you in person. Another red flag can be if the person claims to be working or stationed overseas. Romance scammers often pose as American military members and steal the photos of active military personnel.

    Recently, an American woman who was caught up in a romance scam was rescued from her captors who had allegedly perpetrated a romance scam on her. The woman was lured to Nigeria with the promise of marriage. She actually married the man who was scamming her. After the marriage, the scammer was said to have taken control of all her financial accounts including her retirement account. The victim was held captive by her scammer for 16 months in a hotel room. This type of captivity is not unheard of as authorities rescued a woman from the Philippines who had been held in Nigeria for six months.

    Again, we can’t stress this enough that anybody from any cultural, financial, or educational background can be a victim of a romance scam. We’ve seen people from widows/widowers to corporate CEOs who have been taken in romance scams. Now, with the added danger of being held captive being thrown into the mix, you should be more cautious than ever when it comes to making relationships online.

    If you think you or someone you know may be the victim of a romance scam, the Federal Trade Commission has a great website on how to recognize a romance scam. Don’t let your heart trick you into making dangerous decisions.

     

  • Geebo 8:03 am on July 13, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    Long-distance moving scam 

    Long-distance moving scam

    While not as many people are thinking about moving right now there are still plenty of people looking to plant new roots. Whether it’s a local move or a move across the country, the job may be too much to handle by yourself. In that case, you may be considering hiring a moving company. if so you don’t want to hire just any moving company. There are a plethora of ads on the internet for moving companies but some of them could lead to disaster.

    Just about anyone can post an ad online calling themselves a moving company. That doesn’t necessarily make them one although an unlicensed moving company might be the least of your worries. Some moving companies are just out to hold your possessions for ransom. For example, a man from Cleveland, Ohio was moving to Alabama. He hired a moving company to take his belongings to Alabama but then a number of problems arose.

    After giving the man an estimate, the movers said that the man had more boxes than were estimated and demanded more money. Then after taking the items to be moved, the movers asked for an additional payment as a pickup fee to move the man’s items from their warehouse to his new home. Thousands of dollars and nine months later, the man still doesn’t have his belongings and the alleged moving company is now out of business.

    Just like any other major life decision, you should do a lot of research before picking out a moving company. Check online reviews and ask friends on social media for recommendations. You can also check the mover’s license number with the Department of Transportation to see their complaint history and if they’re not registered with the DOT, that can be a big red flag that the company may not be legitimate.

    If a company gives you an estimate sight unseen they may also be trying to scam you. Always get at least three estimates from three different movers and get them in writing. Never make payment in full upfront and make sure that the movers provide full-value protection insurance. Lastly, if anything feels out of the ordinary with your movers don’t be afraid to go with another company.

     

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