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  Geebo 8:00 am on October 18, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: arrest warrant ( 22 ), DNA scam, police impersonation scam ( 49 ), police scam ( 37 ), Scams ( 1,223 )   

  Strange new police impersonation scam emerges 

  

  By Greg Collier

  As we often state, the police impersonation scam that is the most common has to be the jury duty scam. Again, this is when scammers pose as the victim’s local police, even going as far as to spoof the police department’s phone number. The victim is told they missed jury duty and a warrant has been issued for the victim’s arrest. Then the scammers tell the victim they can avoid arrest if they make an immediate payment. This payment is usually made through unconventional means such as gift cards, cryptocurrency, or money transfers. A variation of this scam is when the victim is just told flat out there’s a warrant for their arrest.

  Now, a report out of Wisconsin says there is yet another version of the police impersonation scam. A sheriff’s department has issued a statement saying they’ve received an alarming number of phone calls about this scam. In the latest scam, the scammers are still posing as local police, including spoofed phone numbers, but the scammers’ demand is more than unusual. Residents have said that not only are the scammers demanding a $1000 payment in gift cards, but they’re also telling residents they need to undergo a court-ordered DNA test, or they’ll be arrested.

  We get why the scammers would ask for money in gift cards. That’s just what they do. However, a request for a victim’s DNA is a new one for us. We can’t imagine what the DNA would be used for, but the supposed DNA test may just be a ruse to get the victim to meet the scammer in person.

  Even with this new twist on the police impersonation scam, the ways to protect yourself remain the same. No legitimate law enforcement agency, office, or department will ever call you demanding payment. They won’t threaten you over the phone with arrest if you don’t pay them immediately. If there was a warrant out for your arrest, or a court-ordered DNA test was required, the investigating officers or agents would come to you without a phone call.

  If you receive one of these phone calls asking for money, or in this case your DNA, hang up and call your local police department at their non-emergency number. Not only can they advise you the call is a scam, but they can now inform the community of the scam as well.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on August 24, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: DNA scam, Maui ( 2 ), Scams ( 1,223 ), wildfires ( 3 )   

  Grim scam targets Maui residents 

  

  By Greg Collier

  The poor people of Maui. If it wasn’t bad enough that they’ve suffered through the country’s worst wildfire in a century, they’ve had to protect themselves from a plague of scammers. If it’s not mortgage scammers, charity scammers, or FEMA impersonators, it’s predatory people trying to buy their property for pennies on the dollar. Now, the people of Maui are being targeted by one of the most deplorable scams we’ve seen yet.

  As you may know, over 100 people lost their lives in the fire, with over 1,000 still missing. Countless families are looking for some kind of closure, whether it’s to reunite with them or lay them to rest. Due to the nature of the fire, many remains have yet to be identified. Enter the scammers.

  According to Maui County officials, some residents have been receiving calls from someone claiming to be from ‘DNA Services’. These calls are believed to be offering residents assistance in help identifying the remains of their loved ones, for a fee, of course. The county claims this is a scam and should be reported to local police at their non-emergency number.

  Currently, there is only one official location that is helping residents identify loved ones. That’s the Family Assistance Center at the Hyatt Regency’s Monarchy Ballroom in Kaanapali.

  We don’t often get emotional here, but this may just be the most reprehensible scam we’ve ever heard of. This may even top the recent spate of funeral home scams.

  The people of Maui still need our help. It’s been recommended that if you want to donate to help the people of Maui directly, the best place to donate is the Maui Food Bank.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on July 22, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: DNA scam, Expedia, Fraud ( 4 ), insurance ( 8 ), phone scam ( 45 ), Scams ( 1,223 ), traveling ( 12 ), vacation ( 8 )   

  Scam strikes vacation sites! 

  

  If you’re still looking to plan your vacation for this summer, you may want to be extra careful who you book your vacation with. The Better Business Bureau has been warning potential vacation-goers to make sure you use the proper travel website when booking travel plans. While most reports we’ve seen have mentioned Expedia, we imagine that this could happen with any well-known travel website. The scam works like a lot of phishing scams by posing as a website that looks identical to sites like Expedia but directs you to call a different number than Expedia’s actual number. The scammers will then tell you that their system is down and can you make payment using a prepaid debit card. That should be your red flag as once payment is transferred from that card the money is gone. Real travel platforms will never ask you to pay by prepaid debit card or gift card.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i55BR4RtAfQ%5D

  Speaking of the BBB, they’re also warning about a scam that’s currently happening in the Pacific Northwest. It appears that a genetic testing scam is happening there now. You may see commercials for services that promise to test your genetics to give you your ethnic makeup. Most of these are established services with decent reputations. However, there are scammers trying to cash in on this craze by coming to your door or setting up shop in senior centers. If you’re asked for any kind of medical insurance information such as your Medicare number it’s a scam. This particular scam is designed just to get your medical carrier information to be able to commit future insurance fraud with your information. This scam also tends to target those who are on Medicare or Medicaid.

  Lastly, we have a scam out of the Midwest where some Sheriffs Offices are warning residents about it. In this scam, you’ll receive a phone call from someone claiming to be a border agent from either the Canadian or Mexican border. These fake agents will say that a rental car registered in your name has been found with drugs in it. They’ll even try to say that your name has been connected with a drug cartel. The scammers will then try to ask you for financial information to try to clear the incident up such as your bank account or credit card numbers. If you receive one of these calls it’s recommended that you hang up immediately.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 22, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: DNA scam, gift cards ( 98 ), paycheck scam, Scams ( 1,223 )   

  Paychecks, DNA tests, and Newscasters: Your latest scams 

  

  Today, we have three new scams for you to be aware of on this Monday morning.

  This first one is more out of your hands and could be targeting your HR department. Overseas scammers are now posing as employees of a company and trying to get HR departments to reroute an employee’s direct deposit for their paycheck. They’re also posing as company CEOs and CFOs in urgent need of changing their direct deposit as well. The scams are all done through email with email addresses that come from outside the company. Most companies are wise to this scam but if you have a small company you may want to let your HR person know to be aware of this particular scam.

  The next scam involves medical DNA testing. Authorities are warning people that seniors are being targeted in this scam where people are offering to perform medical screening DNA tests. They’re not trying to steal your family’s DNA but instead are looking to gather enough information to steal your family member’s identity. In other aspects of the scam, these phony DNA testers are looking to bill Medicare and Medicaid for unneeded medical tests. The scammers will pose as legitimate medical companies but you shouldn’t take part in these tests unless done by a professional your doctor has referred you to.

  Our last scam for today comes to us from the Raleigh, North Carolina area where residents have been receiving texts and phishing emails claiming to be from a local newscaster. The messages state that the recipient has won a contest but in order to claim the prize they would need to purchase $200 in various gift cards then send a picture of the cards back to the person who sent the message. This is just another twist on the gift card scam where scammers try to pressure you into sending them the serial number on gift cards so they can drain the money from the cards and leave you out of a substantial sum of money.

  Hopefully, none of these scams will find their way to you, but if they do now you’re prepared.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on March 26, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: car wrapping ( 10 ), check scam ( 76 ), DNA scam, job scam ( 71 ), Scams ( 1,223 ), taxes ( 8 )   

  Wrapped car jobs, more from the IRS, and DNA scams 

  

  What a wrapped car may look like.

  We have three scams happening across the country for you again. As we’ve stated before, if the scams are happening in one community, they could be happening in yours.

  If you think you’re not going to get scammed by using your local newspaper’s classified section you’d be wrong. While not as prevalent on some of our competitor’s sites, scams do happen on print classifieds as well. For example, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the BBB is reporting that a number of people have submitted complaints about an ad promising $300-$400 per week by driving your car around with advertisements on it. It’s called car wrapping and is usually as much as a legitimate job as a secret shopper. And the goal of the car wrapping scam is the same as the secret shopper. People who applied for the job were told to cash a check they were sent, keep some of it as your payment, and send the remainder to someone else. The check turns out to be phony but if you cashed the check your bank will make you foot the full amount of the check. Remember, there’s no such thing as easy money.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVZ-ipPX7ao%5D

  With the annual income tax deadline looming, the IRS has released their Dirty Dozen of IRS scams. Some of these scams we’ve covered before such as don’t take calls from someone claiming to be the IRS as they ever rarely call someone over tax issues. One of the scams that we’ve not mentioned before is to be wary of shady tax return preparers. While most tax professionals would never try to rip off a client, there are some shifty ones who would use your tax return as a way to steal your identity. They may also promise you an unusually high return. The IRS also warns you not to avoid paying taxes by claiming that income tax is somehow illegal or unconstitutional. No one has ever proven that and you’ll end up owing the government a lot more money than you did before.

  Previously we’ve posted about a scam where a scammer poses as your county and threatens to send you to jail for skipping jury duty. The scammers will try to make you pay a fine over the phone which most county governments never do. Now, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada is warning about a twist on that scam. In this new scam, the perpetrators claim to be local police and that your DNA has been found at a crime scene. They’ll then try to get you to make a payment through Bitcoin, wire transfer, or gift cards. Again, if you’re DNA was found at a crime scene, police would come to your location and not make a phone call. That’s not to mention that county governments would not ask for payment outside of check, cash or credit/debit card.