Recent Updates Page 94 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 9, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , pinhole camera, , , , ,   

    Scam Round Up: New sweepstakes scam and more 

    By Greg Collier

    Today we’re our readers three more scams that are happening around the country that could be coming to your area.

    ***

    In Raleigh, North Carolina, people are reporting being called by scammers posing as Publisher’s Clearing House telling them that they’re winners in the famous sweepstakes. PCH’s name has been used in scams for a number of years. What’s different this time is the scammers are leaving voicemail messages that say, “This is a legitimate call notifying you that you have won.” That’s the equivalent of leaving a message that says, “We’re totally not scammers, we promise.” If you were to call the number provided, you would more than likely be lured into an advance fee scam, where the scammers would get you to pay a phony tax or processing fee on your winnings. That’s illegal in the US, and why all legitimate sweepstakes say that no purchase is necessary.

    ***

    It was brought to the attention of police in Fairfield, California, that an ATM had a small camera known as a pinhole camera attached to it. The camera was attached to what was supposed to be a rearview security mirror. The camera is used in an operation known as skimming. Skimmers are usually attached to the card reader to get the information from your debit card’s magnetic strip. However, the camera helps the scammers get your card number and PIN. Devices like this are normally attached to freestanding ATMs like the ones in convenience stores and gas stations. However, bank ATMs are not immune to these devices.

    ***

    Recently, the state of Pennsylvania has issued a warning to its residents about text messages related to unemployment benefits. Some residents of the Keystone State have received text messages saying that their unemployment benefit debit card has been frozen. The text contains a link to supposedly verify the recipient’s identity and card status. Clicking such a link could lead to identity theft or having malware infect your device. The state has said that they never send out text messages with embedded links.

    ***

    While these scams may not be happening in your area right now, doesn’t mean that they couldn’t. But now you have the knowledge to protect you if they do.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 8, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , death threat, , ,   

    Victim loses $1000 to cartel scam 

    By Greg Collier

    While it’s been a while, we’ve discussed the cartel scam before. Previously with this scam, scammers text their victims claiming to be part of a crime cartel from Mexico. They threaten their victims and the victims’ families with violence if they don’t pay money to the scammers. This is often followed up with violent images texted to the victims, with the scammers claiming this was the last person who didn’t pay. While many of us would deduce that this was a scam, what if we had family that lived on the border?

    A Dallas, Texas man recently received a text from someone claiming to be part of a cartel. The text said that the man owed them money and if he didn’t pay them, they were going to hurt him and his family. The man texted them back saying that he had no idea what they were talking about. The scammers called the man and listed the names of the man’s family members they were going to harm. The man’s family happened to live in El Paso, Texas, which is right across the border from Juarez, Mexico. Juarez is where many of the infamous crime cartels operate out of. The man paid the scammers $1000 before contacting Dallas police, who told him it was a scam. We can’t say we blame the man for falling victim to this scam.

    This is part of the reason why we say that anyone can fall for a scam. There is a set of circumstances where anyone could fall prey to a scammer.

    As far as this scam goes, if you receive text like this, do not respond to it. Instead, you should contact your local police department. Then contact your family members to make sure they’re ok. You should also limit what you share on social media, as that’s how scammers are able to obtain such in-depth information about their victims and their families.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on November 5, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    Puppy scam back in time for holidays 

    Puppy scam back in time for holidays

    By Greg Collier

    With the holidays approaching, many people may be looking to add a new pet to their families. These same people may also not be aware of the pitfalls that await them when trying to buy a puppy online. When online puppy scams first started they were simple. The scammer would place an online ad for a trendy breed of puppy for sale, where the price would be well below market value. The victim would send their money for the puppy, but the puppy would never show up because the puppy never existed. While this scam is generally the same, in more recent times, scammers have added extra steps to try to get their victims to pay even more money.

    For example, a Michigan woman was scammed out of $5300 when she fell victim to a puppy scam. Not only did the scammer ask for the price of the puppy, but also said there were additional fees for shipping the puppy. This included shipping insurance, vaccines, and housing among other charges. More often than not, scammers will also try to charge victims for a special shipping crate. The victim was also instructed to send all payments through the Zelle app, which we know now doesn’t have the best protection when it comes to scammers.

    If you are thinking about getting a puppy this holiday season, please take the decision seriously. Depending on the breed, some dogs can live as long as 20 years. Getting a puppy is something you and your family should be physically and financially ready for. Too many people who adopted pets during the pandemic ended up leaving them at shelters and abandoning them.

    However, if you have given this decision serious thought, try to avoid buying a puppy online. Scammers often set up phony websites with stolen pictures of puppies to make it look like they are legitimate breeders. Your best bet is to stick with a local breeder. Make sure that the breeder is licensed, as backyard breeders often sell puppies that have terminal illnesses like parvo.

    But before you head to your local breeder, we ask that you stop at your local animal shelter or humane society first. More often than not, you can adopt a dog, puppy or even a cat at little to no cost, and many shelters have already given the animals their first set of shots. Shelter dogs get a bad rap because too many people think that they’re problem dogs, but in most cases they’re at the shelter through no fault of their own.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on November 4, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    New Medicare card scam is back 

    By Greg Collier

    Currently, we are in the middle of Medicare’s open enrollment period. This is the time of year when Medicare recipients can either stay with their current coverage or seek out a new plan. As we have previously mentioned, open enrollment is also open season for Medicare scammers. This is the time of year when many scammers use Medicare’s open enrollment as an opportunity to try to steal their victims’ Medicare information. The stolen information can then be used to file fraudulent Medicare claims.

    One of the ways scammers get this information is to pose as Medicare and call people to tell them they’re getting a new Medicare card. The scammers will then ask the victim to ‘verify’ their Medicare number and other information so they can issue a new card. A woman in Tennessee was approached by scammers over the phone and was told she was getting a new Medicare card that had a chip in it like a debit or credit card. The woman even asked if the caller was from Medicare or a third party, and the scammer claimed to be from Medicare. The woman knew this was a scam and gave the caller some phony information before hanging up on them.

    The main thing to keep in mind with Medicare scams is that unless you have an ongoing issue with your Medicare coverage and have spoken to an actual Medicare rep, Medicare will never call you. Any major communications that Medicare has with its recipients is done through the postal mail, that includes when new cards are to be issued. If someone calls you claiming to be from Medicare, hang up, even if the caller ID says they’re calling from Medicare. As we’ve known for some time, any phone number can be spoofed.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on November 3, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , security card   

    Gift cards are not ‘security cards’ 

    By Greg Collier

    We have long said that if someone is asked to use a gift card for anything besides a gift, it is almost assuredly a scam. Once a scam victim buys a gift card and gives the scammer the card number, that money is immediately lost to the scammer. We can’t stress this enough that no legitimate company or agency will ever ask for payment of a debt or service in gift cards. As more consumers become aware of gift card scams, scammers have to adapt their tactics in order to fool their victims.

    Lately, there has been a rise in the Amazon impersonation scam. This is where scammers send out emails or text messages that look like they’ve come from Amazon. The messages say that an expensive item was fraudulently purchased through the victim’s Amazon account. The messages include a fake customer service number to call. Once the victim calls the fake customer service number, they leave themselves open for a number of scams.

    For example, a woman in Colorado recently fell victim to this scam. She says she received a call from someone posing as an Amazon agent. The victim was told that in order to prevent her account from being hacked that she needed to buy a ‘security card’ from a local retailer. She was informed that both Apple and Google have these kinds of cards. However, security cards aren’t really a thing, and these were just gift cards. After she gave the card numbers to the scammer, the scammer continued to hound the victim for more money, promising that the next payment would definitely secure the victim’s Amazon account.

    If you receive a message or call from someone claiming to be from Amazon and there’s fraudulent activity on your account, don’t just take their word for it. Before taking any action given by the message, check your Amazon account for any fraudulent activity. If there isn’t any, then you can disregard any instructions you received as being part of a scam. And just because a scammer calls something a ‘security card’ doesn’t make it so.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on November 2, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: cold weather rule, , , Xcel Energy,   

    Colder weather brings out this scam 

    By Greg Collier

    Even though this is a year-round scam, it’s become more threatening as the colder weather approaches. Scammers are once again posing as power companies and threatening customers with turning off their service. Usually, the scammers will call their victim and tell them that the victim’s bill is overdue. The scammers will then claim that they’re turning off the victim’s service in 15-30 minutes if they don’t make an immediate payment. The victim will then be instructed to make the payment in a nontraditional way, such as gift cards or cryptocurrency. These methods are used because the payments made to the scammers can’t normally be recovered.

    For example, a news station in Denver is reporting that scammers are posing as Xcel Energy. Xcel is one of the larger electric companies in the country, serving customers from Minnesota to New Mexico. One victim has reported that she received a call from a scammer posing as Xcel and threatening to turn off her service. As usual, the scammers demanded payment, but instead of git cards or Bitcoin, they demanded payment through the Zelle payment app. Zelle has been used in a number of scams recently. Since Zelle doesn’t offer many protections like a credit card would, scammers are able to withdraw the Zelle payment almost immediately. Thankfully, the woman recognized that this was a scam and did not lose any money.

    There are a number of ways to recognize this scam. First, electric companies won’t call you and threaten you with termination of service that same day. Instead, you would receive a written notice in the mail letting you know that your balance is overdue before any termination of service happened. Secondly, no utility company is going to pressure you into making a payment with virtually anonymous methods like cryptocurrency and gift cards. Lastly, if you live in a cold weather state, your state may have a cold weather moratorium where it’s illegal for companies to turn off certain services during the colder months of the year. You can check with your state to find out when the cold weather rule is in effect.

     

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

    Scammers stealing phone numbers from online sellers 

    Scammers stealing phone numbers from online sellers

    By Greg Collier

    When you use an unmoderated online marketplace like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, there’s a better than average chance that you’ll be dealing with at least one scammer. It doesn’t matter if you’re buying or selling, but today we’re going to focus on the latest scam that’s been plaguing sellers in recent months. While it’s not a new scam, online security experts say that they’ve seen a resurgence of the scam since August. It goes by a few names, like the verification code scam or the Google Voice scam, but it’s still a scam that everyone should be aware of.

    Scammers are approaching online sellers as if they’re interested in the item being sold. The scammers will ironically tell the seller that they’re concerned about scams and that they have a way to verify that the seller is a real person. The seller will then receive a text message with a verification code on it, and the scammers will ask for this code. Once the scammers have the code, they’ll use it to open a Google Voice account using the seller’s phone number. This is done so the scammers can have a legitimate US phone number that can be used in future scams. Meanwhile, the seller is completely unaware that a Google Voice account has been opened in their name. And if someone complains to Google that the number is being used in a scam, it will trace back to the seller’s phone number and not the scammers’.

    There are a couple of ways to avoid falling victim to this scam. The first way is that if you receive one of these verification texts, the text will say not to share the number with anyone. Verification code texts are also used by scammers to bypass two-factor authentication. So no matter who sent the text, never share any verification codes. The second way to help avoid this scam is to get your own Google Voice number. They can be very handy, such as giving your Google Voice number to any store or website that asks for a phone number at checkout. Instead of giving them your actual phone number, you can give them the Google Voice number instead.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on October 29, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , ,   

    Retirees lose savings to new Venmo scam 

    Retirees lose savings to new Venmo scam

    By Greg Collier

    While Venmo is no stranger to scams on their platform, this may be one of the most heinous Venmo scams we’ve heard of. What makes this one worse than most is that the people being scammed didn’t even use Venmo.

    A retired couple from Florida who are said to be in ill health lost their life savings of close to $20,000 to a Venmo scammer. While it’s not required to use Venmo, some Venmo users connect a bank account to their Venmo account. Somehow, the scammer got a hold of the couple’s banking information and linked it to a Venmo account that the couple was unaware of.

    The scammer started slowly, at first only transferring small amounts under a dollar out of the couple’s account. Before too long, the scammer was transferring $1500 a week until the bank account was drained of $19,500. The couple didn’t notice until their rent check bounced. When they called their bank to try and resolve the matter, the bank reportedly told the couple to call Venmo. Venmo in turn is said to have told the couple to call the bank. The couple didn’t even know what Venmo was prior to this. Now, the couple is facing health and housing issues while the bank, Venmo, and police investigate the situation.

    What really is concerning is how was the scammer able to obtain the couple’s bank account information. One way that has been increasingly popular with scammers recently is stealing outgoing mail from people’s mailboxes. This is done in order to either obtain a check, so the scammers can rewrite the check. The mail and checks can also be used to obtain banking information as well. We’re not saying that this exactly what happened to this unfortunate couple, but it’s a good possibility.

    In this day and age, it’s always a good idea to make regular checks of your bank accounts for fraudulent activity. For most people, this can be done through mobile apps, where you can check your account at any time. However, for seniors who may still use older methods like waiting for their bank statement in the mail, there are other options. They can always call the customer service department of their bank to get a rundown of their account activity over the phone. They can also go to their bank’s local branch to obtain a print out of their account’s activity that they can review at home.

    If you have older relatives or friends who may not be tech-savvy, you may want to suggest that they keep a close eye on their bank accounts.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on October 28, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , ,   

    Veteran loses college fund to nationwide bank scam 

    By Greg Collier

    A naval veteran from Southern California recently lost $19,000 to bank scammers. This particular bank account that was targeted by scammers was for his daughter’s college tuition. The man is a customer of Chase Bank and says the scam started with a text message that appeared to come from Chase. This was followed up by a phone call from someone claiming to be a Chase representative. The phone number the call came from was even said to have matched Chase Bank’s customer service number.

    The representative identified the man by name and also reportedly knew the last four digits of the man’s Social Security and debit card number. The man was told that there was fraudulent activity on his account. Before the man knew it, he was locked out of his bank account. When he got a hold of an actual Chase representative, he was told that wire transfers had been made from the account to a recipient in Florida. The entire account had been depleted.

    If you’ve been a reader of our blog for at least the past couple of weeks, this scam may sound familiar to you. This scam has a lot of the same hallmarks of the Zelle scam that’s been affecting bank customers nationwide. The difference here is that this is the first time we’ve heard of the scammers having a victim’s identifying information. With that information, they’d be able to bypass using Zelle, and access the account directly. It’s possible that the information was gained from some form of data breach and the call was made to confirm the information was up-to-date.

    If you receive a text from yours or any bank about fraudulent activity, do not respond to that text. Instead, call the bank from the customer service number that’s on your debit card or on the bank’s website. If you respond to the text, scammers may know that they’ve reached a live number where they can target a vulnerable consumer.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on October 27, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    Scammers pose as Powerball winner 

    By Greg Collier

    We all have dreams of what we would do if we won a multi-million dollar lottery like Powerball. We even think of how generous we would be if we won. A lot of us even think about being charitable with the money, even if it’s paying off our parent’s mortgage or buying a friend a new car. Others even think about donating a large chunk of the winnings to charity or even total strangers. It’s that last part that scammers hope you’ll believe in being on the receiving end of the donation to a total stranger.

    The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers that scammers are posing as a somewhat famous Powerball winner from Wisconsin. The actual winner was a man who won a $768 million lottery jackpot in 2019. He was a retail employee before hitting the jackpot. After winning, he was known to go back to his previous employer just to hand out gift cards to random customers in the store.

    Scammers are using this man’s name in a phishing scheme. They claim to be the Powerball winner and are sending out text and social media messages telling people nationwide they’ve been chosen to receive a $50,000 gift The victims are then instructed to click on a link which will help them claim their gift. Victims have reported giving scammers their Social Security numbers along with their driver’s license information. Those two pieces of information are essentially the keys needed to steal your identity completely. Other victims have reported losing money when asked for processing fees and taxes.

    We understand there are people out there who are in dire financial need. The pressure and stress of these situations can cause almost anybody to misjudge a situation. However, if you receive an unsolicited message promising you money out of the blue, the odds are almost 100% that it’s a scam. The generous lottery winner that gives out free money is largely only seen in fiction. Even if a lottery winner wanted to give out money to random strangers like this, the legalities and logistics of doing so would make it not worth doing.

     

← 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