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  Geebo 9:00 am on February 19, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: FEMA ( 9 ), hotel scam ( 5 ), price gouging ( 8 ), Scams ( 1,229 ), texas ( 22 ), winter weather ( 6 )   

  More cold weather scams to be aware of 

  

  By Greg Collier

  When we think of natural disasters, we normally think of things like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes. However, the current brutal winter conditions that a large part of the country are currently enduring is also a natural disaster. As such, the current climate crisis is bringing scammers out of the woodwork. We’ve already touched upon how scammers are using the power outages to steal your information or gain access to your home, but other scams are starting to emerge as well.

  In Texas, where residents have been the hardest hit by the cold, FEMA is warning residents about a scam propagating on social media. In this scam, fake social media accounts are posing as FEMA and are listing a phone number for residents to call so they can be provided with a free hotel room. As of the time of this writing, FEMA is not providing any hotel room assistance, however, they are providing other emergency services to the Lone Star State. FEMA hasn’t stated what the purpose of this scam is, but one could assume it’s designed to steal your identity, money, or both.

  While Texas is feeling the brunt of the current weather situation, other states are dealing with the record-breaking weather as well. States in The Great Plains and Midwest are also dealing with rolling blackouts, just not on the level of Texas. Like any other natural disaster, this has the potential for some retailers and lodgings to start price gouging. Most states have laws preventing vendors from excessively raising their prices during a time of crisis. If you encounter price gouging, it’s recommended that you document the incident and report it to the state’s Attorney General office. Price gouging can also happen where an emergency has not been declared, so be on the lookout for that if you’re leaving your current state for a neighboring state that may not be going through the same crisis.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 17, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: charity scam ( 32 ), disaster relief ( 6 ), insurance ( 8 ), natural disasters ( 17 ), Scams ( 1,229 )   

  Scams are their own form of disaster 

  

  Along with the ‘usual’ chaos of 2020, the country is now finding itself in a midst of natural disasters. Between the fires in the West and the hurricanes in the South, the country could be potentially be facing more humanitarian crises than we already are. Of course, wherever there’s a crisis, scammers are sure to follow and today’s disasters are no exception.

  The most common scam that turns up after a natural disaster is the cleanup or repairs at a discounted price. Scammers will ask you to pay in full upfront. Legitimate contractors will have licenses that you can ask to see along with their proof of insurance. In the case of scammers, they will just take your money upfront and do very little work if they do any at all.

  Another disaster-related scam is when scammers offer to assist you in qualifying for FEMA relief assistance. FEMA does not charge any kind of application fee. So if someone claiming to be from FEMA asks you for money, they’re more than likely a fraud.

  This can go for scammers posing as your insurance company as well. If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from your insurance company, don’t give them any personal information. Instead, you should hang up and either call your local agent or the customer service phone number listed on your policy.

  For those of you living outside of disaster areas, you still have to be wary of scams as well. While you may have a charitable streak, be careful of donating to any random charity claiming to be for disaster relief. Real charities will never ask you to donate through gift cards, money orders, or wire transfers. Scammers will also try to pressure you into making a donation as quickly as possible.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 8, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Black Lives Matter, charity scam ( 32 ), Scams ( 1,229 )   

  Be careful of which charities you support 

  

  With so many Americans supporting the recent Black Lives Matter protests a number of them who could not be on the front lines have decided to donate money to related charities. While we have not seen any reports yet, if history is any indicator, scammers will be looking to take advantage of Americans’ generosity.

  In the past, scammers have used major events in the news to commit charity scams. The most common time is after a natural disaster like a hurricane, however, the recent COVID-19 outbreaks have been also been a gold mine for charity scammers. So it should come as no surprise if we start hearing reports about scammers using the current racial justice movement to fleece their victims.

  Most charity scams start with unsolicited phone calls. They’ll claim to be collecting money for an official-sounding charity or a charity that uses a similar name to an official charity. They may also use a generic phrase like they’re collecting for bond relief without giving a specific charity name. They’ll then try to pressure you into making a payment right then and there before you can hang up. Often they’ll try to get you to make a donation using an untraceable method like cash, gift cards, or wiring the money.

  If you’re thinking about donating to a charity that collects online you may want to think about doing a proper web search about the charity first. Put the name of the charity into the search engine along with phrases like ‘complaints’, ‘review’, or even ‘scam. Also, make sure that you’re not signing up for a series of monthly donations.

  If you’re looking to donate in order to support the cause, you can use the Better Business Bureau’s Give.org to aid you in your research of charities. New York Magazine has also compiled a list of charities that they say they have vetted.

  Please do not let your charitable donation fall into the hands of scammers that are looking to take advantage of the sacrifices that have been made.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on October 18, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: snow, Spokane ( 3 ), utility scam ( 30 ), Washington ( 11 )   

  Con men use snowfall to try to fleece victims 

  

  Scammers are notorious for trying to take advantage of people after a natural disaster. One of the more common times this happens in the US is right after a hurricane. There are so many hurricane-related scams that they are almost a state of emergency themselves. But did you know scammers can use even seasonal weather occurrences to try and take money from unsuspecting victims? They do as one city in the Pacific Northwest recently found out.

  Recently, many western parts of the United States experienced an early snowfall. Some areas received just a light dusting while others experienced up to a foot of snow. Spokane, Washington got hit pretty good by the snow leading to many downed tree branches which can cause headaches for the city’s electrical infrastructure. Loss of power could mean loss of heat as well for many households. Scammers took advantage of this anxiety by posing as the local power company and calling residents to tell them that their power was in danger of being shut off if they did not pay a fee. One person who received one of these calls didn’t believe the call was legitimate and said that she was refusing to pay. She was then transferred to another person who claimed to be a manager.

  The power company in Spokane said that they always send out paper notices through the mail before terminating someone’s service. That probably goes for most utility providers as well. If you receive a call like this no matter where you live, hang up and call your local utility company to make sure that your account is actually in good standing. And while it’s not mentioned in this particualr story, never make any payments over the phone using any kind of gift card as this is almost guaranteed to be part of a scam.

   
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  Geebo 9:05 am on August 8, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Miami, rental scam ( 84 ), Roomster   

  Craigslist isn’t the only place for rental scams 

  

  We’ve documented the rental scams that have proliferated on craigslist a number of times. In case you’re unfamiliar with the scam, someone posing as a landlord will post a phony ad for a rental property on craigslist. Then they’ll either try to get you to wire them money as a deposit, and even in some cases will collect the money in person. However, in each case, the phony landlord doesn’t own the property. In many instances, families have been left broke and homeless. Now, there’s a new place online where this scam has propagated.

  Roomster is a website/app that allows you to look for rooms to rent. Recently, a woman who left Puerto Rico after the devastating Hurricane Maria was looking for a place to live in the Miami area. She found a place on Roomster and was told by the supposed landlord to wire the deposit and the first and last month’s rent. That was all the money the victim had. Also, it seems that this isn’t the only scam taking place on Roomster.

  Roomster itself has been accused of not only deceptive billing practices but also hijacking other sites in order to push users into their paid subscription service. A casual Google search found a number of complaints regarding not only the alleged hidden subscription fees but fraudulent listings as well. The last thing the online classifieds industry needs is yet another site or app that puts profits ahead of protecting its users.

   
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  Geebo 8:58 am on September 5, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: gasoline, Hurricane Harvey ( 3 )   

  Stop buying gas you don’t need 

  

  Whenever a natural disaster like a hurricane hits the Gulf Coast, it’s almost a guarantee that some of the oil refineries will be knocked off-line. Hurricane Harvey was no different, flooding several refineries and closing them down. This has caused a run on gas stations in Texas in such cities as Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. Gas stations in these areas have run out of gas, but it’s a man-made crisis born out of fear.

  The runs on gas stations have become so prevalent in Texas that not only has fighting broken out between customers, but some people were also filling up illegal containers like trash cans in order to hoard gas. It was these runs on the gas stations that caused the outlets to run out of gas because they’re not designed to distribute that much gas when everyone in the area is looking to fill up their tanks, or whatever other container they might have.

  If people had just gassed their cars like they normally would, there wouldn’t have been shortages. The gas is out there, but these runs are disrupting the delivery schedule to gas stations. Just think of all the gas that must have been wasted by people waiting hours in line to top off their tanks. Instead of reacting to fear, we should be conserving gas instead. While the supplies are being replenished, think about limiting your driving to only essential matters or not running your air conditioner as much when you drive.

  In times of crisis we need to think more about everyone else than just ourselves.

   
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  Geebo 8:58 am on September 1, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: disaster relief ( 6 ), Hurricane Harvey ( 3 ), job scam ( 71 )   

  Disaster relief jobs may be a scam 

  

  A few days ago, we told you about some scams to avoid in the wake of Hurricane Harvey which has devastated the city of Houston. It’s come to our attention we missed one scam that could also have calamitous effects on people. On certain websites, there have been postings for disaster relief job that may not be legitimate jobs.

  This is reminiscent of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill from 2010 where fake jobs were being offered to help clean up the coastal Gulf region. It’s just a different twist on the usual job scam where the ad poster will ask you for money for either training or a background check for a job that doesn’t exist. No legitimate employer will ask you for money in advance.

  In order to protect yourself, make sure that any disaster relief work has either a contracted company behind. You should be able to check through the Better Business Bureau or the state government to see who has legitimate job offers for hurricane clean up.

   
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  Geebo 10:00 am on July 13, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: donating blood, healthcare ( 36 ), Red Cross, summer ( 2 )   

  Red Cross facing severe summer shortage 

  

  A great many of us will donate blood to the American Red Cross after a natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy or a crime of great tragedy like the Orlando massacre. Instead of waiting for an event like that to occur before donating we should be donating now. Right now the American Red Cross is facing a severe shortage of blood donations. Most of the shortage is due to it being summer here in America and with schools out and families on vacations not many people are thinking about blood donation nor are many blood drives being organized.

  If you think about it, summertime is great time to donate blood. Summertime always has the potential to bring about the most widespread natural disasters in our country, like hurricanes. Rising temperatures can also lead to massive brush and forest fires and heavy rains have already brought major flooding to the country. Sadly, our country is also susceptible to tragedies like those that happened recently on Orlando and Dallas. While I’m sure the Red Cross is grateful for the donations received in the wake of events like this, wouldn’t it be better if they had enough blood on hand before these events take place?

  Please visit http://www.redcrossblood.org/ today ro find a donation site near you.

   
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  Greg Collier 12:09 pm on November 12, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Interview with Michael Hackmer 

  The growth of online classifieds has continued, even though online spending has diminished with the recession and bad press has plagued some online classified sites, like Craigslist.  Recently I had a chance to be interveiwed by Michael Hackmer of BIA Kelsey, about how Geebo has fared over the last several months, my view of the industry and where we are headed in the future.

  

   

   

   

  Michael Hackmer:
  For people who are not familiar with Geebo. What is Geebo?

  Greg Collier:
  Geebo is classified ads format with everything from roommates and real estate to jobs. It is a site that was developed in late 1999 when the company was located in Sacramento, CA, and was designed to compete against the local town newspaper – The Sacramento Bee. We felt they were doing a so-so job in presentation, layout and navigation, and we thought that we could create a better online classifieds community. Today, the company is based in McLean, VA and I am proud to say that we have grown and are now in 143 communities in the United States.

  Michael Hackmer:
  What makes you different from other online classified companies in the digital media space?

  Greg Collier:
  One way we are different is that all our job postings are syndicated, which means if you post a job on Geebo they will get picked up by SimplyHired, Indeed, Tweet Mart, TwitterJobSearch.com, Google Base, Hispanic-jobs.com and several others. We did this to benefit our advertisers, and to help increase their exposure and grow the demographics their job posts reach.

  Michael Hackmer:
  Since Geebo has been around for about ten years now, competing against newspapers, Craigslist and others, how have you seen online classifieds evolve?

  Greg Collier:
  It’s been an interesting time. When we came on the scene, there was really nobody else out there other than the newspapers and a handful of online operators. We did not even know about Craigslist for the first few months. At the time we started, Craigslist was still exclusively in San Francisco. Newspapers were very limited in their online presentation of classifieds. In most cases, you could not contact someone who posted on a newspaper by email – you had a call a phone number. But until online classified communities like Geebo and Cragislist came around, newspapers had no real competition. The web changed all that. The cost of doing business online is lower, and with the expansion of internet use – there is a lot more opportunity and a lot more competition.

  Michael Hackmer:
  Speaking to the growing use of the Internet, the expansion of broadband access and computer access has provided a lot of value. However, there are some growing challenges facing online communities, including the rise in criminal activity online. This has created a growing interest among users of online classifieds in safety. Does Geebo take any particular steps to ensure greater safety for people who use your online classifieds?

  Greg Collier:
  You are absolutely right, unfortunately, about there being some bad people out there using online classifieds. These things are out there, and it’s been going on for a while. We have been watching this trend. A few years ago we considered implementing an adult service section, but asked ourselves, “What comes along with that?” We quickly decided that was not a direction we wanted to go in. So, we’ve kept adult content off Geebo. We also do not have a rants and raves section, because that has opened the door to a lot of hate speech and other challenges. But no site is immune to people making scandalous or harmful posts. So, we’ve developed some safeguards. In certain sections of the site, a person on our team reviews the content before it is posted. We also block IP addresses from repeat offenders. No system is full-proof, but we think these controls definitely give us a safer environment.

  Michael Hackmer:
  You’re a small company, but part of your corporate mission is to give back to the communities you reach. What does Geebo do in terms of community service?

  Greg Collier:
  Well, that is part of the business I am most proud of and enjoy. This past September we helped co-sponsor the National Press Club’s 5k run. We’ve donated programming services, for example, to OneBrick.org, which promotes volunteerism. We’ve donated job postings to non-profits. In fact, all non-profits are able to post jobs free of charge, they just need to contact us and we can set that up. We’ve been involved in Sierra Adoption Services, The Child and Family Institute and the Mustard Seed School. Also, after Hurricane Katrina we helped restaurants that were struggling to hire people to reach out through out network to help fill urgent vacancies. We hope to be able to much more, and more on a larger scale as time goes – as the business and revenues grow.

  Michael Hackmer:
  You mention revenues. No one has been immune from the economic conditions that continue to make it struggle for businesses. Unemployment is up past 10%. What has the economic downturn done to a company like Geebo? And the industry as a whole?

  Greg Collier:
  Well, our income is down 25% from the same time last year. I’ve spoke to many business owners who are struggling. While I am not pleased, I’ve heard other businesses are suffering even greater losses. Newspapers and other companies are cutting 8% and 10% of their staff. We have not had to go that far, so we are fortunate in that respect. Clearly, the economy is not rebounding as quickly as we would like and this will impact advertising and hiring well in the future, not just for Geebo, but for everyone. To combat this to a degree, we are expanding the reach of our job postings to give our advertisers as much bang for the buck as possible.

  Michael Hackmer:
  Even though the economy is not recovering as fast as we all would like, it will recover at some point. What does Geebo have planned for the future? And what do you see for the industry going forward?

  Greg Collier:
  I think content sharing will expand and classified sites will get better in their design, connecting the content they provide to social media outlets, through mobile technology and other mediums. For Geebo, we are working on some media partnerships where Geebo will power media company classifieds. We will tap into Twitter more as well so more people see the jobs that come from Geebo. We also are going to implement a more SEO-friendly website in the near future.

  Listen to the full interview which will be aired on The Mike Hackmer Radio Show, Sunday, November 15th at 12:00 pm, Eastern. To hear to program, go to: http://www.hackmer.com/live.htm