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  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 24, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , check scam, , , , ,   

    Car Wrap Scam: A Costly Tempting Offer 

    Car Wrap Scam: A Costly Tempting Offer

    By Greg Collier

    A deceptive scam has been quietly circulating for years, continuing to claim unsuspecting victims. It begins with what seems like a straightforward offer, get paid for letting a company advertise on your car while you drive around. The idea of easy money might be appealing, but this so-called opportunity is actually a financial trap that could leave you thousands of dollars in debt.

    The scam typically starts with an ad online, offering to turn your vehicle into a rolling billboard. The pitch is simple: allow a company to wrap your car with their brand, and you’ll be paid weekly for just driving around as you normally would. The promise of several hundred dollars per week for a few months can seem irresistible.

    Once you respond to the offer, you receive a check for a few thousand dollars, with instructions to deposit it and wire part of the money to an installer who will wrap your vehicle. This is where the real scam begins. The check is fake, but by the time your bank realizes this, you’ve already wired the scammer the money, leaving you on the hook for the full amount. Sometimes, they even ask for payment in gift cards, a hallmark of scam operations because of the difficulty in tracing them.

    It’s easy to see how this scam claims victims. The checks are often convincing, and the idea of making quick, easy money can be appealing. However, like many scams, it preys on trust and the desire for financial gain, leaving victims not only out of pocket but potentially dealing with bounced check fees and other financial fallout.

    Avoid becoming a victim by steering clear of similar unsolicited offers, and always be cautious when asked to deposit a check and send money or gift cards in return.

    Remember, no legitimate business will ever ask you to pay for services like vehicle wrapping in advance or request payment through gift cards. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Stay informed, and always verify opportunities before parting with your money.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on August 26, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: check scam, , fake order, ,   

    Fake Order Scam, Targets Small Businesses 

    Fake Order Scam, Targets Small Businesses

    By Greg Collier

    A small Los Angeles bakery specializing in unique baked goods recently fell victim to a scam that serves as a stark reminder of the dangers facing small businesses. The bakery, known for its intricate cookies and special occasion cakes, received an unexpected order for around 1,000 cupcakes. Although the bakery is not typically associated with cupcakes, the sizable order seemed like a great opportunity to generate income.

    The payment for the order arrived via priority mail. It was a check for over $7,500. After consulting a bank representative, the bakery owner felt reassured when the funds cleared and promptly began preparations, purchasing ingredients and starting the baking process. However, the situation took a turn when the person who placed the order requested that the quantity be halved and half of the payment returned. Despite initial reassurances from the bank, the bakery owner refused the refund request due to the expenses already incurred.

    The next day, the bakery received devastating news. The check had been flagged as counterfeit, and the funds were withdrawn from the account. Further investigation revealed that the scam involved stolen checks from another company, and the bakery was not the only victim. Several other businesses, mostly bakeries and landscaping companies, had received similar fraudulent orders.

    Small business owners can protect themselves from fraud by taking the following precautions. Always verify the authenticity of large or unusual orders, especially from new or unfamiliar customers. Contact the customer directly using a verified phone number to confirm details before proceeding.

    Exercise caution with payments made by check, particularly for large sums. If accepting a check, wait for the funds to be fully cleared by the bank before fulfilling the order. Remember that initial bank verification is not always final.

    Establish and communicate clear refund policies to prevent scammers from manipulating your business. Avoid issuing refunds for orders paid by check until the payment has fully cleared.

    Be wary of customers who make unusual requests, such as rushing an order, changing the quantity, or requesting refunds before the order is fulfilled. Scammers often create a sense of urgency to pressure businesses into quick decisions.

    If you suspect a scam, report it immediately to your bank, local authorities, and relevant fraud prevention agencies. Early reporting can help mitigate losses and prevent the scammer from targeting others.

    This scam left the bakery owner with excess ingredients, unsold products, and significant financial and emotional distress. The experience underscores the importance of vigilance for small business owners, who are often targeted by increasingly sophisticated scams. By sharing this story, the hope is to raise awareness and help prevent others from falling victim to similar schemes.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 30, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: artist scam, check scam, , ,   

    Fake check scam hides behind ‘artist’ facade 

    Fake check scam hides behind 'artist' facade

    By Greg Collier

    The fake check scam has been prevalent for decades. Scammers continually attempt to trick victims into depositing counterfeit or stolen checks into their bank accounts. After the check is deposited, the scammers request a portion of the money back, using various excuses.

    Our initial encounter with fake check scams was through the overpayment scam. In this scenario, online sellers post an item for sale on a marketplace website or app, and scammers send a counterfeit check for more than the asking price. The scammer then claims it was a mistake and asks for the ‘overpayment’ to be returned.

    In our view, the fake check scam is most commonly used in job scams. Typically, a fraudulent employer sends a check to the victim, instructing them to deposit it into their bank account. The victim is then told to use the money to buy supplies needed for the job. However, the supply vendor is also fake, resulting in the victim unwittingly giving the money back to the scammer.

    Unfortunately, most banks do not consider it their responsibility to wait for the check to fully process before making the funds available to the account holder. This often leaves scam victims owing their bank the full amount of the fake check.

    Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a warning about a new tactic scammers are using to trick victims into depositing fake payments. This alert is warning consumers about an online scam involving an ‘artist’ who offers to pay you to paint your photo.

    The scam typically starts with a direct message on social media. You receive a compliment on one of your photos, and the sender expresses interest in painting it. They promise to send you a check in exchange for permission to use your image, which might seem flattering and harmless at first glance.

    Once you agree, the scammer sends you a check and instructs you to deposit it. You’re asked to set aside a portion of the funds to send back to the “artist” for supplies, with the assurance that you’ll keep the remainder. The scammer might even promise to reimburse you for any money you send back, making the offer seem even more enticing.

    Despite appearing legitimate, the check is fake. Initially, the funds may be deposited into your bank account, giving you a false sense of security. However, once you send money back to the scammer, you’ll soon discover that the check was counterfeit. This means you’ll be out of the money you sent, and the funds from the fake check will be withdrawn from your account.

    If someone you don’t know reaches out with an offer that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be cautious of any requests involving checks and money transfers. If something feels off about the communication, trust your instincts. Scammers often use charm and flattery to gain your trust.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on March 8, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: check scam, , , , , ,   

    A warning about the mystery shopper scam 

    By Greg Collier

    In the world of scams and fraudulent schemes, there are some that lurk in the shadows, waiting for unsuspecting victims to fall into their traps. One such scam that continues to circulate, albeit not as commonly known as others, is the mystery shopper scam.

    A mystery shopper, also known as a secret shopper, is someone who is hired by a company to pose as a regular customer and evaluate the quality of service, products, or overall experience provided by a business. Mystery shoppers typically visit retail stores, restaurants, hotels, banks, or other service-based establishments and then provide detailed feedback on various aspects such as customer service, cleanliness, product knowledge, adherence to company policies, and overall satisfaction. While the role of a mystery shopper is a legitimate position within many retail establishments, it unfortunately serves as a guise for scammers to target unsuspecting victims.

    The scenario typically begins innocuously enough. An individual receives an email offering them an opportunity to become a mystery shopper. Intrigued by the prospect of earning some extra income while performing simple tasks, the recipient responds to the email and awaits further instructions.

    In one instance, a potential victim received two letters in the mail, each seemingly from reputable companies. One was purportedly from Walmart and the other from American Express. Enclosed within these letters were checks, one for almost $3,500 and the other for $2,900, respectively.

    This is where the mystery shopper scam quickly reveals itself. The recipient is instructed to deposit the checks into their personal bank account, a seemingly harmless step in the process. However, the plot thickens as they are then directed to immediately withdraw a portion of the deposited funds and use it to purchase money orders or gift cards.

    For instance, in the case of the Walmart letter, the recipient is instructed to purchase three $1,000 money orders, while the American Express letter directs them to buy $2,500 worth of gift cards. The final twist comes when the victim is asked to relay the serial numbers on the back of the gift cards or money orders to their supposed supervisors.

    This is where the trap snaps shut. Unbeknownst to the victim, the checks they deposited into their bank account are counterfeit, and the funds they withdrew and sent away are irretrievable. The victim is left facing the consequences, liable for the full amount of the fraudulent checks.

    No legitimate employer will ever request you to deposit funds into your personal account that are intended for business purposes. If such a request is made, it’s a strong indicator of a fraudulent check. Additionally, anything involving gift cards should raise suspicion. Unless the cards are intended as a gift, refrain from sharing their numbers over the phone or with anyone else.

    To protect yourself from falling victim to the mystery shopper scam, it’s crucial to remain vigilant and skeptical of unsolicited offers, especially those promising large sums of money for minimal effort.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 27, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , check scam, , , , , tree cutters   

    Homeowner almost loses trees to business scam 

    By Greg Collier

    Scams come in various shapes and sizes. Take the widespread jury duty scam, for instance. Scammers reach out to numerous individuals, aiming to persuade as many as possible into parting with their money. On the other hand, scams can also be highly specific, honing in on niche industries that most people wouldn’t consider as typical scam targets.

    In a recent incident in Nashville, a homeowner found themselves warding off multiple tree-cutting companies attempting to remove perfectly healthy and mature trees from their property. While it might initially seem like the mischief of local pranksters or a vexed neighbor, the homeowner wasn’t actually the main focus of the scam.

    It’s suspected that the tree-cutters were ensnared in the overpayment scam, often known as the fake check scam. In this ploy, a check surpassing the agreed-upon amount is furnished for a transaction, with scammers urging the return of the excess before the victim or their bank detects the check’s falsity. This tactic leaves the victim liable for the entire amount to their bank.

    The homeowner’s property was targeted in the scam due to its status as a listed property for sale. Scammers often exploit homes in this situation, assuming they are unoccupied during the sales process.

    Business owners can take proactive measures to safeguard themselves against the overpayment or fake check scam.

    Before proceeding with any transaction, especially involving a check for an amount exceeding the agreed-upon price, confirm the customer’s identity and purpose of the transaction.

    Whenever possible, encourage or require the use of secure and traceable payment methods such as electronic funds transfer, credit cards, or certified checks. These methods offer more security compared to personal or business checks.

    If you receive a check, especially if it’s unusually large or if there’s pressure to return a portion of the payment, independently verify its authenticity. Contact the issuing bank directly to confirm the validity of the check.

    Don’t release goods or provide services until the check has fully cleared. Depositing a check doesn’t guarantee its clearance, and it may take time for banks to confirm its legitimacy.

    By implementing these precautions, business owners can reduce the risk of falling victim to the overpayment or fake check scam.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on December 8, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , check scam, , , ,   

    New twist added to sweepstakes scam 

    New twist added to sweepstakes scam

    By Greg Collier

    Scammers have often impersonated Publishers Clearing House (PCH) due to their famous sweepstakes that award winners large sums of money from their Prize Patrol van. Typically, fraudsters will pose as PCH in order to perpetrate what’s known as an advance fee scam. In that scam, the scammers will tell their victim they won a substantial monetary prize from the PCH Sweepstakes, but to claim the prize the victim needs to pay a processing fee or taxes before they can claim the prize. This scam can go on for months, with the scammers always claiming that more money is needed from the victim before the prize can be claimed. However, there is a new PCH-related scam that builds on the advance fee scam.

    An elderly woman from Florida recently received a letter indicating she had won a prize from PCH. Included with the letter was a check for $9,450 to assist with taxes and processing fees. She was instructed to call a phone number once the check had been deposited into her account. Thankfully, she did not fall for this scam and called her local news channel instead.

    Frequent readers probably recognize this scam as the fake check scam. The scammer’s goal here was to get the woman to deposit the check into her bank account, Once she did that, she would have been instructed to send that money to a third party to pay for the ‘taxes and fees’. With the check almost assuredly being a fake, the victim would be responsible for that money once her bank discovered the check was fraudulent.

    To protect yourself from a scam like this, it’s always prudent to keep the phrase ‘no purchase necessary’ in mind. It’s illegal to be charged a fee for a sweepstakes prize, even if a check is included to help pay the fees. Also, anytime a person you don’t know asks you to deposit a check before sending someone else the money, the odds are pretty good they’re trying to scam you.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on November 3, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: check scam, , , ,   

    Young people fall for this scam more than any other 

    By Greg Collier

    Millions of people have checking accounts with their bank. However, they are mostly a checking account in name only. Thanks to the rise of debit cards and online payments, many checking account holders have never written a check in their lives. Even places of employment insist on having employees’ paychecks sent through direct deposit. While many may see this as the natural progression of technological advancement, scammers see it as an opportunity to put one over on younger victims.

    Younger people with no experience in handling paper checks are falling victim to online job scams. Many of these fake jobs are work from home positions. Once a younger person has been ‘hired’, they’re sent a paper check, so they can buy supplies for their new job. The victims are told to deposit the check into their own bank account, and use a specific vendor to purchase their supplies.

    The checks are always stolen or fraudulent. Banks don’t find out the checks are bad until days after being deposited. By then, the victim has already paid the vendor, who is just another part of the scam. When the bank finally catches up with their records, it’s the victim who’s on the hook for the money lost by the bank. With so many young people struggling to make ends meet, this could be a devastating financial loss.

    If you know a young person who is just starting out in the workforce, or one who is between jobs, we ask that you pass on this information to them. No legitimate job will ever send you a check before any work is done. Neither will they ask you to deposit a check into your own bank account to pay for company supplies. Lastly, just because a deposited check appears in your account, that doesn’t mean it’s not a fake.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on June 8, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , check scam, , , , , , ,   

    Scam Round Up: Money recovered in Social Security scam and more 

    By Greg Collier

    We’re starting off with a pretty grim scam today. We’ve posted about it before, but it seems to be becoming more common, so we thought we’d remind our readers about it. We’re talking about the funeral home scam. Scammers have been going through obituaries and targeting the families of the recently deceased. As a family is in the process of grieving, scammers will call them, posing as whatever funeral home the family is using. The scammers will claim the family needs to make an additional payment before their loved one could be interred.

    Scammers are constantly looking for victims who may be emotionally vulnerable, and what’s more emotional than the passing of a loved one. If you receive a phone call like this, please keep in mind that in most instances, financial arrangements are always handled at the funeral home itself. Hang up on the call, and call the funeral home directly to verify if there are any issues.

    In our second scam story, the summer months can bring about their own scams. One of those is the car wrapping scam. This is when scammers will offer to pay you for wrapping your car with advertisements. In the majority of cases, this is just an avenue for scammers to send their victims a fake check. The victim will be sent a check and told to deposit in their bank account. Then they’re told to use that money to pay the car wrap vendor through apps like Venmo or Cash App before the victim’s bank discovers the check is fraudulent. This leaves the victim on the hook to their bank for the full amount of the check and any associated fees.

    Lastly, a woman from Louisiana was one of the lucky ones recently as authorities were able to recover over $100,000 from a Social Security scam. The woman received a call from who she thought was the Social Security Administration. The news report didn’t say what the scammers were asking payment for, but typically in this scam, the scammers threaten the victim by claiming the victim’s benefits will be cut off if they don’t make the payment.

    The victim wired $146,000 to the scammers’ bank account, but police were able to work with the bank to recover $122,000 of the woman’s money. However, this is the exception and not the rule. In many scams that involve banks, the banks see the transactions as legitimate since they were made by the customer, even if it was done under duress.

    If you receive a call from the SSA, the odds are that caller is a scammer. Hang up the phone, then call the SSA directly at 1-800-772-1213 and let them know what the caller said. If there really is an issue, the SSA will contact you by mail first.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on May 18, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: check scam, , , , ,   

    Check scam has police impostor twist 

    By Greg Collier

    The check scam is so common place, it is often used in multiple scams. For example, there is the overpayment scam. If you’re selling something online, the buyer will send you a check that’s more than the asking amount. In employment scams, it’s used to falsely pay the employee while they pay out to scam vendors. Fake checks are even sent as prizes for contests the victims never entered. However, they all have one thing in common. The scammers want the victim to deposit the check into the victim’s bank account and have the victim send money from the account before the check is detected as fraudulent. The scammer gets paid, while the victim is held responsible for the amount of the check.

    Now, scammers are using fake checks as an intimidation tactic. Victims in South Carolina have been receiving fake checks in one of the scams listed above. After receiving the check, victims are emailed by scammers posing as the FBI. The victims are threatened with arrest by being accused of being part of a money laundering ring. While the news report doesn’t mention, we’re assuming the scammers follow up the threat by asking for the money from the check to be sent to them. Meanwhile, the supposed FBI emails are sent from a Gmail account.

    Even if a check appears to clear initially, it doesn’t guarantee its authenticity. Avoid withdrawing or spending the funds until your bank confirms that the check has fully cleared, which can take several days or even weeks.

    If someone asks you to send a portion of the money back after depositing a check, consider it a red flag. Legitimate transactions rarely involve sending money back in such a manner.

    It’s also important to remember that legitimate law enforcement agencies typically do not make arrest threats or demand immediate payments over the phone or through email. They follow proper procedures and protocols when dealing with legal matters.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on March 14, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: check scam, , , , ,   

    Scammers send fake check to police department 

    Scammers send fake check to police department

    By Greg Collier

    When we came across this story, not only did we find it amusing, but it also shows a key part of most scams.

    A police captain in Appleton, Wisconsin, received a strange piece of mail at his office. It was a priority envelope that contained a letter and a check. The letter offered its recipient a position as a mystery shopper. The mystery shopper or secret shopper scam is one that’s been around a long time. It even predates the internet but has adapted well to the online world.

    For those who may not know, many of the bigger chain stores employ mystery shoppers. These are store employees who go around to each store posing as a customer. Their job is to rate the store’s performance through things like appearance, customer service, and selection. However, the job isn’t as commonplace as the scammers would have you believe.

    In the mystery shopper scam, scammers send their victims a fake or stolen check. The victim is told to deposit the check in their bank account and use the funds to purchase store gift cards. Big box stores like Walmart and Target often have their names used in this scam. Once the victim buys the gift cards, they’re supposed to give the gift card numbers to the scammer, who tells the victim to keep some of the money from the check as payment.

    By the time the victim’s bank realizes the check is fake, the scammer has already made off with the gift cards, leaving the victim responsible for the amount of the fake check to their bank.

    So, did scammers intentionally try to recruit a police captain? Probably not. Scammers like to cast as wide a net as possible. The scammers most likely bought a bunch of mailing lists, and sent fake checks to as many people as possible. Most modern scams can be profitable to scammers if they only get a handful of victims to take the bait out of the thousands they try to fool.

    As far as this particular scam goes, real companies are not just going to send out checks to random people telling them they now have a job with them. And any job that asks you to deposit a check into your personal bank account to use for business purposes is a scammer.

     

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