Updates from September, 2021 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 13, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: border patrol, , , ,   

    FBI: The Border Patrol is not coming to get you 

    FBI: The Border Patrol is not coming to get you

    By Greg Collier

    Previously, we’ve seen the Border Patrol scam target seniors almost exclusively. In this scam, the scammers would call up an elderly target posing as an officer from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The scammers claim that someone rented a car using the target’s identity near the Mexican Border, and the car was found with drugs in it. The target will then be informed that there’s now a warrant out for their arrest. However, the scammers will say they believe that the target’s identity has been stolen. They’ll just need a payment in some non-monetary form to supposedly secure the target’s identity. Without the payment, though, they’ll still be forced to arrest the target.

    The FBI is now warning citizens that there has been a dramatic increase in this scam, and it’s not just targeting the elderly. A reporter from Los Angeles recently received one of these calls. She knew it was a scam and played along with it anyway. It was a robocall that warned the recipient that CBP has seized a car registered under their name that contained illicit drugs. The reporter was then asked to press 1 to speak to a CBP officer. When the ‘officer’came on the line, the reporter said she knows this is a scam and wanted to know where the caller was from. The caller said he was from Afghanistan and threatened to blow up the reporter’s home. According to an FBI agent, there’s no evidence to indicate that the caller was from Afghanistan or that the threat was credible.

    As with most scams, the FBI recommends not answering phone calls from numbers you don’t recognize. In this case, the scammers used a block of numbers used by the reporter’s employer. So even if it looks like a local call, the number can be spoofed. Also, if you take a moment to think about it, the call makes less sense. No law enforcement agency is going to call someone that they’re supposedly investigating. Even if it was a case of stolen identity, and the car full of drugs existed, agents would want to speak to you in person. Lastly, you may also want to keep in mind that police or federal agents will never ask you for money over the phone.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 10, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    There is no stimulus surprise 

    There is no stimulus surprise

    By Greg Collier

    It’s been months since the IRS issued their last round of economic impact payments, otherwise known as stimulus payments. At the time of this writing, there are no current plans to issue a fourth round of stimulus payments. However, that hasn’t stopped scammers from using promises of additional payments to get what they want from their victims. In fact, the IRS recently said that the number of scams they’ve received complaints about has been the highest that they’ve seen in over a decade.

    Recently, there’s been a nationwide uptick in scammers using the promise of stimulus payments to get information or more from their victims. The methods aren’t new, but the message is. Scammers are sending out texts and emails that claiming that the victim has been specially chosen by the President to receive a surprise credit. Other messages have stated that the victim has unclaimed stimulus money. Even more messages posing as the government ask victims for their banking information, claiming that the IRS needs it again to send out another stimulus payment. All the messages contain a link that the scammers hope you click on. Moe than likely, the link will take you to a phony website asking for your personal and financial information, which the scammers can then use for any number of illicit purposes.

    As always, there’s a good way to avoid this scam if you keep one thing in mind. The IRS does not communicate by text message or email, and they especially don’t do it out of the blue. If the IRS or just about any government agency needs to contact you for some reason, they will almost always do so through the postal mail. Everyone else is almost guaranteed to be a scammer.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 9, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    Companies are being scammed by phony freelancers 

    Companies are being scammed by phony freelancers

    By Greg Collier

    If your company has a crucial but temporary role that needs to be filled, many employers will turn to freelancers to fulfil that need. With the way’s today’s demand economy is, many of these freelancers advertise their services on a platform like Upwork. Outlets like Upwork allow companies to review and compare the work and rates of freelancers before signing them on. Unfortunately, Upwork and other freelancer marketplaces are not immune to scams. In a previous scam, scammers were posing as employers and sending fraudulent checks to freelancers. Now, at least one scam is targeting the employers.

    The Better Business Bureau is stating that they’ve seen an uptick in phony freelancers on Upwork and other platforms. The scammers are essentially stealing the online identities of actual freelancers and posing as them. Much like in many scams, the scammers are said to be offering rates that are just too good to pass up. The scammers are asking for a deposit up front and then disappearing with the employer’s money.

    The BBB Is recommending that employers shouldn’t be lured in by freelancer rates that are too good to be true because they often are. It’s also recommended that employers have a video conference with the freelancer before hiring them to make sure they are who they say they are. Another suggestion is to look the freelancer up on a professional site like LinkedIn and do a web search for their personal portfolio.

    However, you should be careful when communicating with the freelancer and not to do it outside of Upwork before hiring them. Past scammers have tricked freelancers by communicating with them outside of Upwork’s virtual walls. Scammers and other cyber-criminals often try to communicate with their victims outside of usual channels.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 8, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: accidental deposit, , , deposit scam, , , , ,   

    There’s nothing accidental about these payments 

    There's nothing accidental about these payments

    By Greg Collier

    Last week, we posted about a scam that was affecting Venmo users. In that scam, scammers were posing as friends of the Venmo account holder and asking for money. But what do you do if a stranger sends you money that you didn’t ask for and does it through a payment app? The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning about an accidental payment scam that’s been affecting users of payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, Cash App and others.

    In what’s being called the accidental payment or accidental deposit scam, the victim receives a substantial payment from someone they don’t know. That payment is then followed up by a message from the person who sent the money, saying they sent that payment accidentally, and could you please send it back? Whatever you do at this point, do not send the money back like you would a regular payment.

    According to the BBB, the money that was sent to you was done using a stolen credit card. If you send the money back like a regular payment, you’ll be responsible for that money once it’s discovered the credit card is stolen.

    Instead, you should tell the sender to cancel the payment, which can be done on most of the popular payment apps. If they refuse or try to pressure you into sending it back, it’s more than likely a scam. Also, don’t spend the money that you receive from the scammer, or you’ll be held liable for that money.

    While many of the scammers are finding their victims randomly, others are finding them through social media. In order to prevent receiving phony payments like this, it’s best to keep your account names off of social media. While you may think it’s just a quick post between friends, it can be picked up quickly by scam artists.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 7, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , ,   

    FBI twist added to sweepstakes scam 

    FBI twist added to sweepstakes scam

    By Greg Collier

    Police in Oregon are warning about a new rash of sweepstakes scams or advance fee scams, as they’re sometimes known. In this scam, the scammers pose as a sweepstakes company, usually Publishers Clearing House since they’re the most well-known. The victim will receive a call, text or email telling them that they’ve won a big jackpot, except they need the victim to pay them taxes or a processing fee. Also, the victim needs to keep this matter private, so the local media supposedly doesn’t find out. These scams often target the elderly and when a victim pays once, the scammers will keep coming back for more. Now, scammers are using a new tactic to make sure the victim keeps paying.

    According to a report out of Oregon, the sweepstakes scammers make the victims pay by check. Once the scammers receive that check, they’re calling the victim back, posing as the FBI. The phony investigators tell the victim that the check they wrote was fraudulent. The scammer then threatens the victim with arrest if they don’t make another payment. Essentially, the scammers are combining two scams into on, the advance fee scam and the police impersonation scam. As you probably surmised, the police impersonation scam involves scammers posing as police, usually telling the victim they have a warrant out for their arrest, and that the victim needs to pay over the phone to make the warrant go away.

    Please keep in mind that you can’t win prizes from a sweepstakes you never entered. Plus, it’s also illegal for any sweepstakes to make you pay for any prize. As far as the FBI goes, no law enforcement agency will call you on the phone asking for money and threatening you with arrest if you don’t pay. The report from Oregon gives a great tip when it comes to police impersonation phone calls. Ask the caller for their phone number and tell them that you’ll call them back after speaking with your attorney. If they try to pressure you into staying on the phone, it’s more than likely a scam.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 3, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    New job scam steals your identity 

    New job scam steals your identity

    By Greg Collier

    With so many job scams out there, it’s often hard to discern between a legitimate job offering and a scam. More often than not, there is usually a red flag somewhere along the line in the application process. For example, if you’re asked by the potential employer to pay for things like application fees or background checks, that’s a good indicator that the job could be a scam. Even if you get hired, there can still be red flags, such as being asked to deposit a check used for business expenses into your own bank account. But what if scammers were able to mimic a legitimate company while offering a phony position. According to the Better Business Bureau, that’s exactly what is happening.

    A woman in Rhode Island received an email that said she was eligible for a position after the company found her information on a state employment website. She was asked to reply to the email if she was interested in the position. The email appeared to come from a legitimate company in the region and even used the name of an actual company employee. The victim interviewed for the job. The report doesn’t say how she was interviewed, but it’s probably safe to assume it was a virtual interview.

    The scammers sent her a bunch of normal-looking paperwork to fill out and instructed her to verify her identity at a legitimate web portal used by many employers. After she signed in to the portal and gave all her pertinent information, she received a notification that her information was being sent to the California unemployment office. Essentially, the scammers stole her identity out from under her to apply for unemployment benefits in her name.

    If you’re unsure if a job offer is legitimate or not, check the email address the offer was sent from. If the email is from a free service like Gmail or Outlook.com, there’s a good chance the offer may not be real, as most legitimate employers have their own corporate email addresses. You can also go to the company’s website to see if the position you’re being offered is even open.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 2, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    Your Venmo friend may not be your friend 

    Your Venmo friend may not be your friend

    By Greg Collier

    Payment and wallet apps like Venmo have been a great convenience for consumers. They can allow you to make payments to friends or make purchases without having to carry cash or a card that could be easily lost. As a modern society, we seem to be more protective of our phones than our methods of payment. However, we also sometimes seem to forego security over convenience, which has led to a number of these apps being used in scams. Venmo is not a stranger to these scams, but a new scam has emerged which may have Venmo looking at one of its features.

    In our opinion, the major drawback to using Venmo is that by default, your purchases and transactions are available on a public feed. That means anyone who knows your Venmo username can see who you’ve paid and where you’ve shopped. Scammers are well aware of this and are now creating Venmo accounts that look exactly like one of your friends’ accounts. The scammers will then contact their targets asking for money, and once that money leaves your Venmo account, it’s almost impossible to retrieve. Why this public feed is considered a feature on Venmo is beyond us.

    There are steps you can take to make your Venmo account more secure. The first thing you should do is make all your transactions private, which you can find the instructions for here. The second thing you can do is verify with your friends if they’re the ones actually asking you for money. That may require an awkward conversation depending on the situation, but that’s better than losing your money. You should only use apps like Venmo with people you know and verified merchants. Anybody else could be a security threat. Enable two-factor authentication to keep opportunists out of your account if they become in possession of your phone. Lastly, if you have the ability to do so, link a credit card to your account, as it will give you more protection than these apps offer on their own.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 1, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    Your church isn’t calling to arrest you 

    Your church isn't calling to arrest you

    By Greg Collier

    One of the more common scams is the police impersonation scam. As you can probably guess, this is when scammers spoof the police’s phone number and try to convince you that there’s a warrant out for your arrest. The scammers will then pressure you into making a payment over the phone that they claim will make the warrant go away. Usually, they’ll ask for payment in nontraditional and untraceable means, like gift cards or cryptocurrency. It seems that people aren’t exactly picking up phone calls that purport to be from their local police department as much as they used to. Recently, scammers have changed one of their tactics to get their victims to answer the phone.

    In the Springfield area of Missouri, scammers have taken to spoofing the number of a local church to try to get their targets to answer the phone. Churches are no stranger to being used as part of a scam. Often, scammers will send out emails posing as a priest or pastor asking their congregation to buy them gift cards. However, in this instance, the scammers are still posing as police to threaten victims with arrest. While police are allowed to use a certain level of deception when conducting an investigation, It would be a huge PR nightmare for them if they posed as a church to make threatening phone calls.

    The arrest warrant scam at its heart preys on people’s lack of knowledge on how arrests actually work. No law enforcement agency is ever going to call you on the phone if you have a warrant out for your arrest. You might receive a notification in the mail, but more than likely you’ll be visited by the police in person. So, even if your church seems to be calling you, you can’t be arrested over the phone.

    We wonder how long it will be before scammers are able to spoof the numbers of your immediate family members. Once they can do that, almost no phone call will be able to be trusted.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on August 31, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    Bail bond scam adds insult to injury 

    Bail bond scam adds insult to injury

    By Greg Collier

    Getting a phone call telling you that a loved one has been arrested can be one of the most harrowing experiences you can possibly have. For people in lower-income families, this is especially true, as it puts another financial burden on an already overburdened family. Even the most minor of offenses can set a family back months when it comes to paying the bills. Now imagine getting that call and losing the money you scraped up for bail to scammers.

    If you’re a regular reader, you may think we’re talking about the grandparent scam once again. That’s where scammers pose as a loved one pretending to be in jail and ask for bail money. However, this time, we’re talking about a different scam where the loved one has been actually arrested. In Florida, a man had been arrested for DUI. Since most arrests are publicly available information, scammers called the man’s mother, posing as a bail bonds agency. The scammers told the woman that her son told them to call her and that she needed to pay $900 to bail out her son. The payment was requested in prepaid debit cards. When the woman went to get her son out of jail, she discovered that the bail bonds agency didn’t even exist. She had to go to another bail bondsman to get her son out of jail.

    No matter what you may think of this man’s alleged crime, a family doesn’t need to be victimized like this during what is potentially one of their lowest points. While your family may never have to experience something like this, it’s still better to know what to actually do in such a situation. Keep in mind that bail cannot be paid over the phone, and no bail bondsman will ever call you to make a payment. Your loved one will not receive extra time in jail or further punishment if you take your time to verify their story. Lastly, always work with a licensed bail bondsman. Anyone can call, claiming there a bondsman, but do your research before committing any money.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on August 30, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Gulf Coast, , hurricane ida, , ,   

    Price gouging, a concern in wake of hurricane 

    By Greg Collier

    With Hurricane Ida touching down in Louisiana, states of emergency have been declared in several Gulf Coast states. Typically, when a state of emergency is declared, laws go into effect that are designed to prevent price gouging. This is when vendors overcharge for products or services in order to maximize profit during a crisis. Historically, you might have seen gas stations and motels charging outlandish prices leading up to or in the wake of a hurricane. Some hardware and grocery stores have also been offenders of this practice in the past.

    Thanks to consumer protection laws in most storm-prone states, price gouging isn’t as much of a problem as it used to be. That’s not to say it still doesn’t happen. For example, if you were to travel to a state that’s not in a state of emergency to ride out the storm, you might encounter price gouging in the safe location. That’s also not to say that some vendors in the emergency areas won’t defy state law and try to gouge customers anyway.

    If you do happen to encounter price gouging, be sure to document it as well as you can. You can then report it to either the local police or the state’s Attorney General’s office. Some states even have price gouging hotlines that you can call if you’ve been victimized by a vendor. A quick web search should show you where price gouging can be reported in your area.

    We hope everyone who is living in the affected storm areas stays safe.

     

← Older posts

Newer posts →

c
Compose new post
j
Next post/Next comment
k
Previous post/Previous comment
r
Reply
e
Edit
o
Show/Hide comments
t
Go to top
l
Go to login
h
Show/Hide help
shift + esc
Cancel