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  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 13, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: barcodes, , ,   

    New twist on shut-off scam 

    New twist on shut-off scam

    By Greg Collier

    The shut-off scam has increased in number during the summer months, especially in hotter areas of the country. The scam starts when a scammer calls a victim, posing as the local power company. The scammer tells the victim that thy’re behind on their power bill. If the victim doesn’t make a payment right then and there, their power service will be terminated in 15-30 minutes.

    Not wanting to have their power turned off in this sweltering heat, victims typically pay the scammer through gift cards. The victim is instructed to go to a store to buy gift cards before giving the card numbers to the scammers as payment. More recently, scammers have been instructing their victims to send their money through Bitcoin ATMs. In both cases, the victim’s money is virtually unrecoverable.

    Now, a city in Florida has had to deal with a new variation of the shut-off scam. In Kissimmee, Florida, residents there started receiving text messages that claimed to be from the local power company. Again, the victims were threatened with service termination if they didn’t make an immediate payment. However, instead of asking for payment in gift cards or cryptocurrency, the scammers sent a bar code in the text message. If the bar code is scanned at certain stores, the victim sends the money to the scammer’s PayPal or bank account. Some victims lost as much as $4000.

    While we all may be more connected than we’ve ever been, utility companies still stick to more tried and trusted ways when it comes to communicating with customers. If a utility account is in arrears, the utility company will send out written warnings in the mail rather than phone calls or text messages. Also, no legitimate company or agency will ask for payment in gift cards, cryptocurrency, or bar codes that can be scanned from your phone.

    If you receive one of these calls or messages, call your utility company directly to verify that it’s a scam.

     
  • Geebo 10:34 am on October 10, 2017 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: barcodes, ,   

    Don’t take pictures of your tickets 

    Don't take pictures of your tickets

    In the past, we’ve talked about online ticket scams and how to protect yourself from buying fraudulent event tickets. Whether they’re to a sporting event, a concert, or a Broadway show, there are many con artists out there with a myriad of way to produce fake tickets.

    But say that you have tickets and you bought them from a legitimate retailer. You’re good to go right? Not necessarily. When some people buy tickets to an event, they’re proud of the fact they were lucky enough to find these tickets, or they’re bragging to their friends. They’ll then take pictures of the tickets, or take a selfie with them, and post them to social media. That’s when the trouble starts.

    Tickets have barcodes on them and if your picture of them is clear enough, scammers can print out realistic looking tickets with your barcode on them. Then, if they, or the people the scammers have sold the tickets to, enter the venue before you, your tickets will be rendered null and void.

    You wouldn’t post a picture of your credit card online, this is very much along those lines.

     
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