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  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 20, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , airport jail scam, , ,   

    A new airport scam just in time for the holidays 

    A new airport scam just in time for the holidays

    With many people getting ready to travel for the holidays, even though they should stay home, a new scam has popped up. It’s a type of impersonation scam that takes many of its cues from the grandparent scam. Let’s call it the airport jail scam.

    In this scam, the scammer calls the victim pretending to be a friend or relative. They’ll claim that they’re being detained at the airport for whatever reason and need you to wire them money so they can be released. Sometimes the scammers will have a second person pose as someone in authority like a lawyer or police officer to make the scam sound more convincing and to place extra pressure on the victim. As with most scams, once you wire the money, the scammer disappears and you never see the money again.

    Now, most major airports do have a detention center where people who have been arrested are held. However, unless they’ve been arrested on a federal offense, an arrestee wouldn’t be able to make a phone call until they were transferred to the local police department for processing. We first heard of this scam using Fresno Yosemite International Airport in Fresno, California as the place where the alleged friend was being held in ‘airport jail. This airport is not a major airport like LAX or Newark International and does not have a detaining area.

    And just like in the grandparent scam, it is recommended that if you receive one of these phone calls that you don’t immediately make arrangements for payment. Instead, you should try to contact the person claiming to be in ‘airport jail’. You can also ask the person a question only they might know that couldn’t be gleaned from social media.

    While you think you may not fall for a scam like this, reports say that some people have already fallen for it. It’s easy to be led down that path when you think a loved one may be in danger. if your friend or relative is being detained, they will not get into any additional trouble if you verify their story.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 19, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , ,   

    Unemployment scams continue to plague states 

    Unemployment scams continue to plague states

    We’ve been keeping our readers informed of the various unemployment scams for months now. One might assume that the states may have put a stop to these scams by now but that assumption would be incorrect. As we’re about to show, many states are still having trouble putting a stop to the abuse of their unemployment benefits.

    West Virginia has had over 50,000 of its residents receive unemployment benefit debit cards that they did not apply for. This isn’t just abusing the West Virginia system as many of these claims were filed out of state. For example, one woman who lives in Morganton received a debit card for unemployment benefits that was issued out of Colorado. This could be particularly difficult for West Virginia residents as their unemployment rate is above that of the national average. These scams could be taking away benefits from the people who may need it most.

    The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development has issued a warning to residents about a nationwide email scam that is targeting the unemployed. The email states that there is a problem with an applicant’s claim. The applicant is then directed to click a link that takes them to a malicious website where they’ll be asked for their personal information. The TDLWD is reminding applicants that any email from them will come from a tn.gov address which could also be applicable in many other states. The address will come from whatever the state’s website is. Most states use the two-letter state abbreviation followed by .gov but there are a few exceptions.

    Arizona is another example of where scammers are filing for benefits in other people’s names. The scammers get this information from previous data breaches where personal information has been exposed. They then file for unemployment benefits using this stolen information. The scammers attempt to change the address or banking information to steal the benefits but when they can’t, the benefits get delivered to the victim’s possession. One woman had filed for unemployment in Arizona where she lives on May 10th. Scammers then applied for benefits in her name in Michigan two weeks later. Arizona is said to be investigating one million cases of fraudulent unemployment activity.

    Considering that the nation is seeing a rise in coronavirus cases and more states are issuing new lockdown orders we could be seeing even more unemployment in the foreseeable future. This will give more scammers even more opportunities to scam each of the 50 states.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 18, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    Even upscale sites can have scams 

    Even upscale sites can have scams

    There are a handful of marketplace websites that only deal in high-end goods. We’re talking about brands like Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Coach, and Chanel among others. Many singles items from these brands can cost you a few thousand dollars even if the item is pre-owned. You might think that such a posh marketplace may be free of scams but you’d be mistaken.

    Recently in Ohio, a woman found a purse for sale on one of these marketplaces that she wished to purchase. The listing said to text the seller. The seller texted the woman back telling her to send $375 through the Zelle payment app. As you can probably surmise, the woman never received the purse and the seller made off with the money.

    In the platform’s defense, this is not how payments are supposed to work. These high-end marketplaces work almost like eBay. You make the payment through the platform itself rather than to the seller directly. This way, there are certain protections afforded to the buyer if the item is not delivered. If a seller directs you to make payment off of the platform, it’s almost guaranteed to be a scam.

    Also, for the marketplace and the items they sell, $375 sounds like an amazing deal for the items that are sold there. If an item online is being sold for well below market value it’s possible that it’s either counterfeit or it doesn’t exist at all.

    Speaking of counterfeits, that’s another danger you have to worry about when dealing with high-end goods like these. There are probably more fakes than the real deal online. These counterfeits have been known to fund organized crime or sweatshops that use child labor.

    If the seller is used to dealing with luxury items, they should have the receipt from the original purchase. Ask to see it. While it’s not a perfect way to prevent being ripped off, it does go a long way.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 17, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , ,   

    Elderly man loses over half a million dollars in scam 

    Elderly man loses over half of a million dollars in scam

    Imagine working hard your whole life to be able to retire with a substantial amount of money. Then imagine losing over $500,000 of that retirement money to scammers. This recently happened to an 82-year-old man from Sioux Falls, South Dakota when he fell victim to an impersonation scam.

    The man received a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS. The caller claimed that a car in the man’s name was found to have drugs in it.

    This is a common tactic used in a number of scams. Often, the victim will be told that a rental car in their name was found in Texas near the Mexican border with drugs in it. Often the scammers will say that the victim’s Social Security number and benefits will be suspended if they don’t pay to clear things up which is what the phony IRS agent told the man.

    This was followed up by similar calls from scammers posing as both the FBI and the DEA. The man ended up making payments to the scammers through money transfers and gift cards. Before it was all over, the man had ended up paying $550,000 to the scammers. While it’s not mentioned in the report, we have to wonder how much of his life savings did that entail? For most people, they would have been cleaned out much earlier in the scam.

    However, a few lessons can be learned from this man’s experience. The first is that agencies like the IRS, FBI, and DEA will not call you about such matters. The IRS would contact you by mail but a situation like this is out of their jurisdiction. While it is in the jurisdiction of the FBI and DEA, they would more than likely send an agent or two to your home to discuss such matters.

    Speaking of government agencies, none of them would ever ask for payment over the phone and if they did, they wouldn’t ask for payment in such unorthodox means like money transfers or gift cards.

    If you receive a phone call like this, it’s best to hang up and call your local police department at their non-emergency number. They’ll be able to tell you if the call is a scam.

    If you ever fall for one of these scams, it signifies to scammers that you could potentially fall for other scams as well. Scammers ceaselessly preyed upon this poor man until he was out of over half a million dollars.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 16, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    Scammers still use old-school means to find victims 

    Scammers still use old-school means to find victims

    Back in the days before the internet, it was somewhat of a special occasion to receive something in the mail that wasn’t a bill or junk mail. Apparently, it seems that some scammers are still using snail mail in order to find more victims. The thinking here might be that by using the postal mail it gives the scam more of an air of legitimacy than an online scam. However, postal scams can be just as devastating as online scams. Although, the red flags can be just as recognizable.

    A man in Virginia recently received a letter in the mail with a check attached to it. The letter offered a secret shopper position with directions to cash the check before buying Nike gift cards and keeping $450 for himself. Then he would have to take pictures of the front and back of the gift cards to email back to the ‘company’.

    As you’ve probably surmised, the check was fake. The man even said that the check looked like a fake to him. If he were to deposit this check, he would be responsible for the amount to his bank once they found out the check was fake. That’s not even taking into account that companies that employ secret shoppers don’t send out unsolicited mail to random people. Not to mention that any transaction that’s not for a gift card’s intended purpose is almost guaranteed to be a scam.

    Thankfully, the man noticed some other red flags as well. One was that the supposed company that was employing secret shoppers didn’t exist. He found this out after a quick web search. Then he noticed that the name of the company on the check didn’t match that of the company who claimed to have sent it.

    The more concerning part is that the scammers tried following up with the man over text message. They had both his name and his phone number.

    If you receive one of these secret shopper letters, just throw it out. If you receive a text message related to the letter just ignore it. Any response to the scammers will let them know that there is a real person on the other end who could potentially be targeted for more scams.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 13, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    Secret Sister scam returns for the holiday season 

    Secret Sister scam returns for the holiday season

    It feels a little early for the Better Business Bureau to be warning about holiday scams, but then again it is mid-November already.

    The BBB has issued a national warning about the Secret Sister Gift Exchange scam that seems to crop up on social media around this time of year. If you’re not familiar with the Secret Sister scam, it’s a scam that’s mostly targeted at women as you can tell by the name. It starts when someone posts on social media asking you to add your name and address to a list where you send in a small $10 gift. In return, you’re promised to receive up to 36 of the gifts. You’re also asked to recruit at least six more people into the gift exchange.

    This is how you can tell it’s a pyramid scheme. Anytime you’re asked to recruit more people to advance an exchange like this whether it’s gifts or money, it’s a pyramid scheme. In pyramid schemes, it’s the people at the top of the pyramid who reap the rewards of the scam while those on the bottom of the pyramid often find themselves out of luck.

    Add to that, you’re potentially putting yourself at risk for identity theft. While $10 sounds like a small amount to lose, you could lose more by giving out your personal information.

    The worst part of social media pyramid schemes like this is that a victim could find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Pyramid schemes are illegal in the United States. Even if you’re unaware you’re being taken advantage of if you’re caught recruiting others into the exchange you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law.

    Some of those organizing these exchanges will say that it’s legal or even that it’s approved by the government. That is false.

    If you’re invited to one of these gift exchanges online, just politely decline. However, if it’s someone close to you, you may want to explain to them the perils of the exchange. You could be saving them a lot of trouble.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 12, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: ,   

    This Social Security scam uses kindness instead of threats 

    This Social Security scam uses kindness instead of threats

    Normally when we hear about a Social Security scam the victim is being threatened with having their benefits suspended. For example, one of the more common scams is when someone calls you saying that your Social Security number was used in a crime and your benefits will be suspended. Then you’ll be told that the problem can be resolved if you make some kind of payment. More recently, we’ve heard of a scam that does the exact opposite.

    A man from Louisiana received a call from someone claiming to be with the Social Security Administration. He was told that they were in the process of updating the man’s file and that he could be eligible for an increase in benefits. The man stated that he thought it was the real SSA since the person who called was discussing the cost of living which is why he may have been eligible for an increase.

    The man did end up giving the caller personal and financial information. When he went to the bank to get his most recent Social Security payment, it wasn’t there. He called the real SSA who told him that the scammers redirected his payments to somewhere else. Luckily, the SSA is correcting the issue.

    Unless you have an ongoing issue that you’ve already discussed with the SSA, they will not call you out of the blue. They will not threaten you with arrest or a suspension of benefits. They won’t call to tell you that you could have an increase in benefits either. This goes for emails as well. The SSA does the majority of its communication by mail.

    If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from the SSA hang up. Then call the SSA at 1 (800) 772-1213 to make sure there isn’t a legitimate issue.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 11, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: clinical trial, , , ,   

    COVID drug trial scam emerges 

    COVID drug trial scam emerges

    With the news of a potential COVID-19 vaccine being possibly on the horizon, scammers have wasted no time in using this news to their advantage. The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning about a new COVID-related scam that could show up on your phone.

    According to the BBB, scammers are sending text messages claiming to offer money in exchange for being part of a COVID-19 clinical trial. To be more specific, the text messages are saying that you could make $1200 as a volunteer in a COVID study. The text message then requests that you click on an included link to see if you qualify.

    The main goal of the scam is to get you to click on the link included in the text message. A few things could happen if you do click on the link. You could end up with some type of malware infecting your device. This malware could be used to hijack your device in order to read your contacts list so the scammers can find more targets. Malware could also be used to find your personal and financial information that’s kept on your device. The link could also take you to a phony website that requests your personal and financial information to see if you ‘qualify’ for the phony trial. In any case, it could mean identity theft or worse.

    Now, there are legitimate clinical trials that you can sign up for and possibly get paid if you qualify. Some of these trials even advertise to find potential applicants. However, what they do not do is send out unsolicited text messages to random people, Usually, these trials are looking for a specific type of person. In many cases, the trials are looking for people who may suffer from a certain illness or condition that’s specific to their trial. They won’t ask for your financial information either. Like many scams, the scammers may try to get you to make a payment first to get into their phony trial.

    If you receive one of these text messages, your best course of action is to delete the text and block the number. Even if you text them to stop, the scammers will then know that they found a working number and may target you for future scams.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 10, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    Texting scam threatens victims with violence 

    Texting scam threatens victims with violence

    While not a new scam, there seems to be a resurgence in a disturbing text messaging scam. In this scam, the scammers will text their victims claiming to be from an organized crime cartel. The scammers will try to intimidate their victims into sending them money by threatening the victim with violence and sending the victim graphic pictures of people who have been violently murdered. This is usually followed up with the threat of this is what they’ll do to you if you don’t pay them. In reality, the victim is rarely ever in any real danger. Now, it seems, the scammers are increasing their intimidation tactics.

    A man in North Carolina recently received one of these text messages. The messages he received said that he owed the cartel $1500 and followed up with the graphic images and threats. However, what made this instance particularly disturbing was that the scammers knew the man’s name and address. They also had the names and addresses of some of his family members. They even claimed that they had men outside of his home in case he didn’t pay them. The man ended up blocking the number and contacting police.

    These types of scammers are hoping that by using threats of violence they can put their victims in such an emotional state that the victims will give in to the scammer’s demands. More often than not, the scammers are calling or messaging from overseas and have no real way of carrying out these threats.

    If you receive one of these threatening texts it is recommended that you do not respond to the scammers. Instead, you should contact law enforcement.

    Victims who have fallen for the scam have were instructed to make payment through gift cards, prepaid debit cards, or money transfers. These are hallmarks of the majority of scams as once the payment is sent it’s almost impossible to get back and is even more difficult to trace.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 9, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    New type of threat used in grandparent scam 

    New type of threat used in grandparent scam

    Scams are almost like their own form of life. They are constantly evolving to adapt to the warnings against them. For example, a scammer may try to keep their victim on the phone while the victim purchases gift cards or withdrawals money from the bank. The scammer will do this in order to tell the victim exactly what to say in case someone recognizes the scam. Scammers will use just about any tactic to pressure their victims into making a payment. Recently, the grandparent scam has seen a new tactic added to it to try to keep victims from notifying anyone.

    As you may know, the grandparent scam specifically targets the elderly as the name implies. The scammer will pose as one of the victim’s grandchildren and claim that they need money for bail or some other kind of emergency. They’ll ask the victims not to say anything to the rest of the family. Sometimes the scammers will pose as police demanding payment from the victim stating their grandchild committed some kind of crime.

    As more people become aware of the grandparent scam, the scammers will change their tactics in order to pressure future victims into staying silent. Recently, in the state of New Hampshire, the Attorney General issued a warning about the grandparent scam. The New Hampshire AG stated that scammers are calling victims posing as police demanding payment and threatening the victim into not telling anyone by claiming the victim is now under a ‘legal gag order’.

    Legitimate gag orders are usually only issued to those involved with a court matter and are not issued by police. You can’t legally be placed under a gag order while trying to bail a loved one out of jail.

    If you receive a phone call like this or a similar one, don’t let the scammer pressure you into making any kind of payment without verifying their story. Hang up and make contact with the relative the scammers are claiming to be or with someone who will know the relative’s current location. You may also want to ask the person on the phone a question only the person they’re claiming to be would know. In either case, it’s recommended that you contact the actual police if you receive a call like this so they can inform the public.

    Again, we ask that if you know an elderly person or couple who live alone and do not have access to the internet, please let them know about this scam.

     

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