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  • Geebo 8:00 am on June 21, 2022 Permalink | Reply
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    Scammers accuse victim of money laundering 

    Scammers accuse victim of money laundering

    By Greg Collier

    A woman from Rochester, Minnesota, recently lost thousands of dollars to scammers. It started when the woman received a robocall that claimed to be from Amazon. The recording said that she had been charged for several Amazon purchases, and to press 1 if she did not make them. After she pressed 1, someone claiming to be an Amazon representative spoke to her. The caller said that they would speak to her bank about the charges.

    Not too long after that call, the woman received another call from someone claiming to be with the Federal Trade Commission. This caller told her that her identity had been stolen. The caller told the woman to protect her money, she would need to withdraw the money from her bank account. However, she was told not to contact police, or she could be accused of money laundering. She was then instructed to deposit the money into a Bitcoin ATM that was at a gas station. The victim lost $7,000 in total.

    This scam has a lot of moving parts, but each one is a red flag if you know what to look for. For example, Amazon does not call customers about fraudulent charges. Even on Amazon’s own help page, they say that if you received any communication about a charge you didn’t make, it likely didn’t come from Amazon. If you receive any communication like this, first check your Amazon account for any fraudulent charges. If there are any fraudulent charges, you can dispute them with Amazon, but you need to make first contact. Amazon will not call you.

    While the FTC is a branch of the Department of Justice, they typically do not call consumers to let them know they’ve been a victim of identity theft. Unfortunately, identity theft is usually only detected by the victim and not law enforcement. Also, no government or law enforcement agency will ever call you and threaten you with arrest while supposedly trying to assist you. If someone tells you to not contact the police, your best bet is to contact the police immediately.

    Lastly, no government entity is going to ask you to move your money to Bitcoin, especially if the Bitcoin ATM is at a gas station. While cryptocurrencies may have gained a modicum of mainstream acceptance, it’s nowhere near the point where the government is using it as a consumer protection platform.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 8, 2022 Permalink | Reply
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    Victim loses $25K to disturbing bank scam 

    Victim loses $25K to disturbing bank scam

    By Greg Collier

    A woman from Waco, Texas, recently lost $25,000 to scammers who were posing as her bank’s fraud department. The victim was asked by the caller if she had made a $25,000 advance from her account. The victim replied she hadn’t and was given instructions on how to move the $25,000 to keep the money from being lost. What the victim actually did was move the money from her account into the account of the scammer. Some may ask, why would anybody allow their money to be taken like that? When you see how the scammers convinced the victim to do so, you may then think that anyone could have fallen for this scam.

    The scammers convinced the victim that they were calling from the bank by reciting the victim’s transaction history to her. According to the victim, she didn’t give the scammers any personal information. The scammers were said to have already been in possession of the victim’s account number. We wondered how the scammers were able to obtain the victim’s account number and transaction history like that. According to security experts, scammers can spoof the victim’s phone number when calling the victim’s bank. This allows the scammers to get the victim’s account number and partial transaction history without needing any additional authentication. When a scammer is armed with that kind of information, it wouldn’t be difficult to get almost anyone to fall for that scam.

    The best way to protect yourself from such a scam is to end the call, and then calling your bank’s customer service number on the back of your debit card. Even if the caller ID said the call was coming from your bank, don’t take it at face value. Scammers often spoof the bank’s phone number to make the call seem more convincing. Also keep in mind that if there had been fraudulent activity on your bank account, your bank can usually correct the matter on their end. They typically don’t have you close an account and open a new one to protect you from fraud. That is fraud in itself.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 1, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , credit card fraud, , customer support,   

    Credit card scammers pose as fraud department 

    Credit card scammers pose as fraud department

    By Greg Collier

    Police departments in the Midwest are warning consumers about a scam involving their credit cards. Scammers are posing as the credit card company’s fraud department and calling their victims. The scammers tell their victims they’ve found an unusual purchase pattern on the victim’s account. For some reason, the scammers are saying the victims are being charged close to $500 for an anti-telemarketing device. We can’t tell if that’s ironic or if the scammers are being trolls at this point.

    Of course, the victim is going to say they did not make this purchase. However, to further entice the victim, the scammers say that they will be issuing a credit to the victim’s account. The victim is then asked for their three digit security number from the back of their card to confirm that they are the cardholder.

    The reason the scammers are asking for the security number and not the card number itself is because the scammers already have the card number. The security number is the only piece of information they need to start using the victim’s credit card for fraudulent purchases. The card numbers are often made available to scammers through no fault of the cardholder. The card numbers are often sold in the dark corners of the internet after a major data breach.

    If you receive one of these calls, do not give any personal information to the caller. Real credit card representatives will already have all of that information. Instead, hang up the call and check your credit card account for any fraudulent activity. Even if you don’t see any fraudulent activity on your card, call the card’s customer service department at the number listed on the back of your card, or from the card company’s website. If it turns out it was a scammer who called you, let your credit card company know, so they can be on the lookout for fraudulent activity.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 21, 2022 Permalink | Reply
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    Even sending money to yourself through Zelle is a scam 

    By Greg Collier

    Before we get started with today’s blog post, we wanted to share this article from The Guardian about why we shouldn’t blame the victims of scams. Please keep in mind that anyone could fall for a scam, and it doesn’t help to mock those that do.

    In today’s post, we’re going to discuss a scam that we’ve been focusing on a lot lately. Once again, the Zelle scam has turned up in the headlines again. For those who may not know, Zelle is a payment app that is co-owned by a number of high-profile banks. Since at least Fall of last year, scammers have been using Zelle in a customer service impersonation scam to get their victims to empty their bank accounts.

    The way the scam works is the scammer will send you a text message that appears to come from your bank. The text message asks if you recently made a large purchase or transfer. You’re asked to reply YES or NO to the text message. If you reply to the text message, you’ll receive a call from the scammer posing as your bank’s fraud department. The scammer will tell you that to protect your money, it needs to be moved through Zelle. What the scammer is really doing is walking you through the directions on how to move your money from your account to the scammer’s account.

    Recently, another level to this scam has been added. A number of Wells Fargo customers have reported falling for the Zelle scam. However, in the latest instances, the scammers had their victims open Zelle accounts in the victims’ names before transferring the money. This lends an appearance of legitimacy to the scam, since the account is in the customer’s name. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop the scammers from taking the money sent to the new Zelle account.

    Since Zelle is co-owned by some of the nation’s leading banks, many consumers think that there is some form of protection against scams, but that is not the case. Victims of the Zelle scam rarely ever recover their money.

    There are a few ways to protect yourself from this scam. The first is to not respond to text messages that appear to come from your bank. If there is an issue with your account, you’re always better off calling the customer service number on the back of your debit card. You can also visit your bank’s local branch during business hours. The best way to protect yourself is to keep in mind that payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App, are only supposed to be used with people you know. If someone says you need to use one of these apps to protect your money, they’re more than likely trying to rip you off.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 17, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , customer support, , ,   

    Keeping secrets for scammers 

    Keeping secrets for scammers

    By Greg Collier

    A man from Indiana recently fell victim to a tech support scam. A pop-up appeared on his computer that said his computer had been compromised, and he needed to call Microsoft at the attached phone number. However, the phone number didn’t actually go to Microsoft. Instead, it went to a call center run by scammers posing as Microsoft technicians. They told the man his computer had been hacked. The disturbing part was that the scammers knew what bank the man used and the last four digits of his bank account. The scammers used this knowledge to convince the man that his bank account was in danger, and he needed to move his money to protect it. The man was instructed to go to his bank and wire transfer his money to a bank account set up by the scammers. In total, the man lost $79,000 to the scammers.

    To get around any suspicions the bank may have had regarding the large transfer of funds, the scammers instructed the man to tell the bank that he was starting a business with his daughter in Thailand. As more people become aware of scams, scammers will come up with lies for their victims to try to avoid detection. We have seen this ploy used in several different scams. Sometimes it’s the phony grandchild telling a grandparent not to tell the rest of the family they need bail money. Other times it can be a fake police officer threatening a victim with arrest and giving victims the lie to tell a store employee if they get suspicious about why the victim is buying so many gift cards. Often, banks, stores, and money transfer companies are aware of many of these scams and will ask probing questions to try to rescue victims from a scam. Anytime you need to make an emergency financial transaction and someone asks you to keep quiet about it, the odds are you’re being scammed.

    As far as tech support scams go, virtually no legitimate company will tell you to call them through a pop-up window. Companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Facebook tend to discourage end users from trying to call them. Also, you should never call any phone number that appears on a pop-up window, as it’s almost guaranteed to lead you to a scammer. If you really feel the need to try to call the company mentioned, don’t just use the first phone number that comes up in a web search, as they can be scam numbers as well. Only use phone numbers you get directly from the source, such as a company’s official website. Lastly, you should never let anyone you don’t know to have remote access to your device.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 30, 2021 Permalink | Reply
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    Victim scammed by fake Cash App website 

    Victim scammed by fake Cash App website

    By Greg Collier

    Cash App has an advantage over its competitors like PayPal and Zelle. A Cash App user doesn’t need to have a bank account linked to their Cash App account. This is a great benefit to many Cash App users who are underserved by banks in their communities. However, that advantage comes at a cost. Cash App doesn’t offer the same protections that a bank might when it comes to scams, and unfortunately, Cash App is probably the most popular mobile payment app used by scammers. One of the more common Cash App scams is the fake customer service number scam. This is where scammers take out ads on popular search engines claiming to be Cash App’s official customer service number, but instead you’re directed to a scammer.

    Something similar recently happened to a woman from Arizona. She used Cash App exclusively and did not have a bank account. She recently purchased a new phone and wasn’t sure how to transfer her Cash App account to her new phone. Just because smartphones are commonplace now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone knows all the ins and outs of them, and purchasing a new phone can be a daunting task for some. The woman and her son looked on the internet for instructions on how to do this and came across a website that looked like an official Cash App site.

    The phony website even listed the correct customer service number for Cash App. However, when they clicked on the phone number, it redirected them to a scam call center. The phony rep asked for her account information and transferred all of her entire paycheck to a bank account controlled by the scammers. Another drawback to Cash App is that once a transfer is made, the account who received the money can block the account that sent the money. Or, in this case, the account that had money stolen from it.

    With payment apps like Cash App, your account isn’t permanently tied to the phone you first started using it on. As long as you haven’t changed your phone number, you should be able to redownload the app to your new phone and enter your login information and everything should be on the new phone.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 2, 2021 Permalink | Reply
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    Amazon robocall scam on the rise 

    Amazon robocall scam on the rise

    By Greg Collier

    Not too long ago, we posted about an email phishing scam where the scammers posed as online retailer Amazon. Essentially, the victim received an email that said someone had made a large purchase on their Amazon account. When they called the phony customer service number included in the email they were told to buy thousands of dollars in gift cards to cancel the order. This scam seems to have returned with a vengeance across the county except this time in the form of robocalls.

    Robocalls are those automated spam calls that many of use keep receiving. It’s become an almost unavoidable everyday occurrence. Robocalls are illegal in the United States, but scammers rarely ever care about the law. This is why you still receive these calls even after being added to the national do not call list.

    Many reports are coming in from all over the country where consumers say they’ve been receiving robocalls purporting to be from Amazon. It’s an automated voice message that wants to confirm a high-dollar purchase that you supposedly made on Amazon. The message then provides a number to a phony customer service number which most certainly is not to Amazon. Other robocalls of this sort will ask you to press 1 to be transferred to someone who again, most likely does not work for Amazon.

    As we previously advised, if you receive one of these calls, do not call the number provided or press whatever number the call suggests to talk to someone. Instead, log into your Amazon account to make sure that no order of that type has been made to your account. If it has, you can dispute the order with Amazon right on their platform. We also recommend routinely changing your Amazon password if you receive one of these scam calls or emails.

     

  • Geebo 8:01 am on April 1, 2021 Permalink | Reply
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    Streaming devices are vulnerable to scam 

    Streaming devices are vulnerable to scam

    By Greg Collier

    In case you’re not familiar with Roku TV, it’s a device or service that comes with your TV that allows you to access multiple streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and the like. There are other brands of streaming devices, but Roku is the most popular one with consumers. And like most internet-connected devices, they are vulnerable to attacks and scams. Recently, there seems to be a string of attacks happening to new device owners that is costing them a lot of money. It’s known as the activation scam.

    One victim who spoke to the media said she was setting up her Roku device when a message flashed on her TV screen. It told her to call a customer service number to help with the activation. The woman called the number and the person who was supposedly helping her with the activation sold her a year’s service plan for close to $200. A short time later, the customer service agent called back demanding more money or her service would be shut off. It was at this point the victim realized she had been scammed.

    If you buy a Roku or any other streaming device, there is no monthly fees to use these devices. Instead, you pay to whatever streaming service you want to subscribe to. Roku does not offer a service plan. You can elect to buy a program like that at the point of purchase like Walmart or Best Buy.

    So, how does a scam like this happen on a streaming box? From everything we’ve researched it happens when the user goes to a phony activation website. Anybody can make a website that says ‘Roku Activation Help’. That’s when the phony customer service or activation number comes up. In the user guide to most streaming boxes it will give you the authentic website to use for help and activation. If you just do a web search for activation you could be led to a scam site that could cost you time and money.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on March 16, 2021 Permalink | Reply
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    Victim loses $16,000 in Amazon scam 

    Victim loses $16,000 in Amazon scam

    By Greg Collier

    Amazon scams are nothing new. To be clear, we’re not talking about scams perpetrated by the online retailer giant. Instead, we’re talking about scams that use the Amazon name. The most infamous of these scams is the brushing scam. The brushing scam is when you get sent packages to your home of things you didn’t order. Usually, these packages come from Amazon and contain low-cost items. This is done so third-party vendors that sell through Amazon can give themselves good online reviews in your name, and the review shows up on Amazon as a verified purchase giving the phony review more legitimacy. In turn, this leads to these products being more recommended by Amazon. Sometimes, these items are charged to someone’s Amazon account.

    Today, we’re going to talk about what we’re going to call the false order scam. In this scam, the victim receives an email that looks like it came from Amazon. The email claims that expensive and high-end items have been charged to you. It then conveniently goes on to say that if you didn’t order these items, call the toll-free number contained in the email. The phone number goes to a phony customer service department that will either try to steal your personal and financial information or your money.

    Recently, a woman in North Carolina fell victim to this scam and lost $16,000. She received a scam email and when she called the fake customer service number she was instructed that she needed to buy thousands of dollars in gift cards to cancel the phony purchase. What made this scam particularly egregious was when the scammer stayed on the phone with the woman the entire time she went from store to store buying multiple gift cards. When she started suspecting this was a scam the scammer allegedly said that “You called us, scammers call you.”

    This is nowhere near being true. Scammers often set up phony customer service numbers for popular platforms. The Cash App customer service scam is one that immediately comes to mind.

    There are several ways to protect yourself from this kind of scam. The first is to check the email address from the sender. If it’s not from Amazon.com, it’s a scam. Also, before you go calling anyone suggested by the email, you can go into your Amazon account and check your order history to see if the order is real or not. Lastly, if you actually need to call Amazon, you can click on the Customer Service tab at the top of Amazon’s website for more information.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on October 7, 2020 Permalink | Reply
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    Cash App continues to be connected with scammers 

    Cash App continues to be connected with scammers

    Mobile payment service Cash App can’t seem to keep itself out of the headlines lately and those headlines continue to be about scams. Cash App is supposed to allow quick mobile payments between friends or vendors but has allowed an industry of scammers to flourish.

    Cash App scams usually work in one of two ways. In the first way, a scammer will be claiming to provide some good or service if you just send them payment through Cash App. However, once the payment goes through the scammer can then block the victim on Cash App. The only way to get a refund on Cash App is if the person you sent the money to agrees to send it back. The scammers can then close out their Cash App account after cashing out.

    The first Cash App scam usually leads to the second one which is a customer service scam. Cash App has no customer service number where you can reach a representative to dispute any charges. In order to contact Cash App’s customer service, you need to navigate through a rash of menus within the app and even then you probably won’t reach a real person.

    So some people will do a web search for Cash App’s customer service number. Just because Cash App doesn’t have one doesn’t mean that a Google search won’t bring one up. The thing is that these phone numbers belong to scammers and not Cash App. Just about anyone can take out a search engine ad claiming to be a customer service number. Once you call one of these phony customer service numbers, the scammers will lead you through a process that will drain your Cash App account of your money.

    Now, these customer service scammers aren’t even waiting for victims to call their fake customer service numbers. One victim says that she received an email that appeared to be from Cash App stating that $500 was about to be taken from her account if she didn’t call the attached number. The victim called the number and ended up losing $1600 to the scammers.

    To better protect its users maybe it would benefit Cash App if they set up an official customer service phone line that was easily accessible from the app.

     

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