Greg's Corner

Tagged: florida Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on July 20, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: back taxes, florida, property tax, real estate ( 127 ), Scams ( 1,368 )   

  This tax scam tries to claim ownership of your home 

  

  By Greg Collier

  A tax scam has recently surfaced in Pasco County, Florida. And as we like to say, if a scam can happen in one place, it can happen near you. At least one elderly resident was terrified by this scam, but thankfully she was told it was a scam before lost anything to the scam. A scammer called the woman and told her that they had paid the back taxes on her home, and they now owned it. She did the smart thing by calling the county tax collector’s office, and they informed her that this was all part of a scam. But the question remains, what is the end goal of this scam?

  With most scams today, the end goal is usually to get money out of the victim, but under what guise? One scam that uses a threat like this is one where scammers offer a service where they claim to assist in helping pay your back property taxes, especially if there is a lien on your home. Of course, this service will cost the victim money, but once payment is made, there is no tax assistance given and the scammers have made off with the victim’s payment. It could be that this particular scammer in Florida hasn’t quite grasped how the scam is supposed to work.

  That’s not to say that a home can’t switch ownership due to delinquent taxes. However, the process isn’t as simple as walking into the tax collector’s office and paying off someone’s back taxes. In Florida, the process can take years and requires an auction to take place. It’s probably safe to assume that other states have an equally lengthy process before a home can change hands due to delinquent taxes. So if you receive a call from someone either telling you that they now on your home or can help you pay your back taxes, it’s more than likely a scam.

   

  Leave a ReplyCancel reply
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on June 17, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: florida, Publishers Clearing House ( 11 ), Scams ( 1,368 ), sweepstakes ( 25 )   

  Victim refuses to believe they’re being scammed 

  

  By Greg Collier

  What can you do when someone you know is caught up in the middle of a scam, and they refuse to believe they’re being scammed. That’s the question that a community in Central Florida is currently struggling with. One of their neighbors is a 91-year-old woman who believes she won the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes. She received a phone call last year telling her that she had won $10 million. Since then, the scammers have continuously strung this woman along into making payments under the guise of taxes she needs to pay on her prize.

  Neighbors estimate that she’s paid at least $150,000 to these scammers. The woman is also said to have no cognitive disabilities, but just refuses to believe any evidence that she’s being scammed. It got to the point where she not only sold her car, but also placed her home on the market to try to pay these fictitious taxes for her non-existent prize. Her neighbors have reached out to police and the state Attorney General’s office, who both say they’re investigating the matter. One neighbor even contacted the woman’s bank to make them aware of possible fraud from the scammers.

  Some retirees love to play the lottery and enter sweepstakes as a form of entertainment. So, it’s very likely that the woman did enter the sweepstakes she believes she won. However., it’s illegal in the US for any sweepstakes to ask for money in exchange for prizes. Any legitimate sweepstakes will tell you that no purchase is necessary. The Better Business Bureau has said that sweepstakes scams claimed more money from victims than any other scam in 2020 according to the complaints they’ve received.

  If you know someone who you think might be vulnerable to this scam, please let them know that it’s illegal to make someone pay for a sweepstakes prize.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:17 am on May 27, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: florida, Scams ( 1,368 ), spoofed calls ( 8 ), virtual kidnapping ( 45 )   

  Kidnapping scam becomes even scarier 

  

  By Greg Collier

  The reason the virtual kidnapping scam is named that way is because the kidnapping victim is virtual. In essence, there is no kidnapping victim. However, that hasn’t stopped scammers from scaring families into making ransom payments for someone who was never in any danger. For new readers, in this scam, the scammers will call someone and claim to have kidnapped one of their loved ones. The scammers will even have someone screaming or crying in the background to make the call seem real. The victim of the scam will then be instructed to make a payment through untraceable means like gift cards, money transfer, prepaid debit card, or cryptocurrency. By the time the victim figures out that there was no kidnapping, the scammers are long gone with the victim’s money.

  Unfortunately, not everyone has been educated about this scam. Recently, a couple in South Florida received such a call telling them that their daughter had been kidnapped. The callers made threatened to murder their daughter if they didn’t pay $1500 in ransom. What made this call particularly terrifying was that the call appeared to be coming from the daughter’s phone. It wasn’t, though. The scammers had spoofed the daughter’s phone number which is concerning in itself. Luckily, the couple reached out to a friend they have in law enforcement who informed them this was a scam. It’s unknown how the scammers were able to obtain the daughter’s phone number.

  Scammers use tactics like this to catch you off guard to say the least. They want you to think emotionally rather than logically. The more emotionally charged the scenario is, the more likely the scammers are able to convince a victim into making a payment. If you ever receive a call like this don’t give the scammers any personal information. If they say they have your daughter, for example, don’t say your daughter’s name. Then have someone else contact the person the callers claim to have kidnapped. More often than not, that person will be just fine and will have no idea that people are claiming that they’re holding them hostage.

  Remember, kidnapping for ransom in the United States is extremely rare, but is kept in the public’s consciousness thanks to popular media.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on May 25, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: boat scam ( 2 ), florida, Scams ( 1,368 )   

  Scammers imitate defunct boat business 

  

  By Greg Collier

  The weather is getting warmer and pandemic restrictions continue to be lifted. This has led to many consumers being in the market for buying a boat. (While we’re thinking about it, please check out Geebo.com’s boat listings.) However, like any other major purchase, you don’t want to buy a boat sight unseen through an online ad. Scammers are hoping you do, though, and they’re going to great lengths to try to fool you.

  An overseas scam ring is allegedly taking tens of thousands of dollars from each victim who thinks they’re buying a boat. The way the scammers did it would even be considered clever if it wasn’t for the fact they may be stealing people’s life savings. The scammers assumed the name of a Florida boat dealer that actually closed its doors in 2010. The scammers set up a website using the defunct business’ name and listed pictures of boats that they claimed to be selling. The boats don’t actually exist, and the pictures were stolen from various places on the internet.

  People were buying these fictitious boats, then they would show up to the vacant business looking for the boat they just bought. One victim was even set to have a boat shipped to Australia.

  You wouldn’t buy a house or car without seeing it in person, so you shouldn’t purchase a boat this way either. Boats especially need to be inspected before being purchased since a buyer would need to know if the boat is actually seaworthy or not. If you’re in the market to purchase a boat, try to stay as local as possible when conducting your search. This way you can pretty much guarantee you’ll be able to inspect it in person. Lastly, if an ad says that your purchase is guaranteed by a platform like eBay or PayPal, that is definitely a scam as these platforms don’t provide such guarantees.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on May 19, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: florida, oil rig ( 4 ), orlando, romance scam ( 70 ), Scams ( 1,368 )   

  Oil rig romance scams hit Florida 

  

  By Greg Collier

  According to local news reports, a number of romance scam victims have come forward recently in the Orlando-area of Florida. If you’re not familiar with the romance scam, the scam targets older people who may be widows or widowers, or who don’t have a partner for whatever reason. The scammers will approach the victim on social media or through dating websites and apps. The supposed romantic interest will claim to either work in a remote location, possibly overseas, or they’re stationed overseas with the military. A romance scammer will never meet face to face with a victim including the avoidance of video chat apps like Skype and Zoom. The scammers will then continually ask the victims for money under the false pretense of some kind of emergency.

  A 60-year-old woman from Florida, recently found herself out of $11,000 after falling for one of these scams. The scammer claimed to be working on an oil rig and used the profile picture of a somewhat famous actor but not someone as obvious as Brad Pitt or George Clooney. The woman allowed the scammer to deposit three supposed paychecks into her bank account so he could pay his daughter’s nanny back in Houston. After sending the payments to the supposed nanny, the woman’s bank discovered the checks were fake and since she used her own account she owed the bank that $11,000.

  As we have said in the past, the romance scam is one of those scams that could victimize just about anyone. We have seen the scam hurt people from those who have refused to admit they were scammed, to CEOs who have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the scam. It can affect anyone from any economic or educational status. So, when you ask how could anybody be this dumb to fall for a romance scam, these people are not dumb in the least. They’re just in a vulnerable place in their life.

  As always, if you think you or someone you know is the victim of an ongoing romance scam, please show them our posts on romance scams, or direct them to the FTC’s website about romance scam.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on May 14, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Cash App ( 42 ), craigslist ( 129 ), Facebook Marketplace ( 62 ), florida, real estate ( 127 ), rental scam ( 87 ), Zelle ( 66 )   

  Rental scammer takes advantage of pandemic victims 

  

  By Greg Collier

  As we’ve said in the past, the rental scam is probably the most common online scam. It has several variations, but they all result in the same thing, the victim pays for a home rental. More often than not, these scammers are from overseas, however, since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, we’ve seen more and more domestic scammers getting involved with rental scams. One of those scammers was recently arrested after taking advantage of desperate families for over six months.

  The 38-year-old Florida woman was said to have placed ads for rental properties on both Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. As with most rental scams, she allegedly copied ads from legitimate real estate listings and posted them online with her contact information. She is said to have collected deposits from over 20 victims who were desperate to find housing during the pandemic. Her victims ranged in age from 20 to 71. After she received the payments through a payment app she would then ignore and block her victims. Currently, she’s believed to have swindled over $20,000 from her victims.

  Rental scammers are always looking for victims who are in vulnerable situations such as needing immediate housing. This way, the scammers know they can catch their victims off-guard and get them to make mental mistakes that would benefit the scammer. These include sending money through payment apps like Zelle and Cash App. Victims who pay through these apps can be easily blocked by scammers after the victim loses their money.

  Even if you find yourself in a desperate housing situation, it always pays to research the property in question. If the property is actually for rent, the county’s tax assessor office or website will be able to tell you who actually owns the property. If the name doesn’t match the person or organization claiming to rent the property, it’s more than likely a scam.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on April 16, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: florida, grandparent scam ( 69 ), nurse practitioner, Scams ( 1,368 )   

  Medical professional charged in grandparent scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  In South Florida, the demand for cosmetic procedures like Botox injections can command a substantial price tag. We’re pretty certain that the medical professionals who provide these services are paid handsomely. That’s why it was somewhat surprising to hear this story about a cosmetic medial professional who was arrested for allegedly participating in a grandparent scam ring.

  The person arrested was a 31-year-old Nurse Practitioner who practices at a premier medical spa that specializes in cosmetic procedures. She is said to have taken close to $50,000 from only two victims of the scam. In both cases the alleged scammer is believed to have called both victims and claimed that a relative of the victims had been involved in an accident. We haven’t read what pitch the Nurse Practitioner used in her scam, but usually the scammers either ask for bail money or money for medical expenses that have resulted from the fictitious accident.

  In one of the instances, the Nurse Practitioner is said to have had $20,000 wired from a victim directly into her bank account. The victim reported the scam to their bank and an investigation began. When a bank investigator confronted the Nurse Practitioner about it, the NP claimed that the money was from a friend who paid the money for a Super Bowl party. When the bank investigator told her that the transfer may have been fraudulent, the NP reportedly replied with “How is that my problem?”

  When we think of scammers like this, we tend to think of scammers from overseas who participate in a complete scamming industry. However, this story shows that scammers can be from just about anywhere and have any type of economic status. Not only that, but this story also shows to just what lengths scammers will go to, so they can keep their ill-gotten gains.

   
• 

  Geebo 9:00 am on January 4, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: economic impact payment ( 21 ), florida, Illinois ( 4 ), Scams ( 1,368 ), stimulus checks ( 19 ), unemployment benefits ( 23 ), unemployment scam ( 30 )   

  New unemployment and stimulus scams emerge 

  

  Two of the biggest scams that dominated the headlines in 2020 were scams involving either the stimulus payments or unemployment benefits. Early in the year, scammers were hot to get their hands on the $1200 economic impact payments issued to eligible citizens. Then later on in the year, a massive wave of scammers filed for billions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment benefits taxing already overburdened unemployment systems in each state. With 2021 just barely being underway, it seems like we’re in for more of the same for now.

  Previously in unemployment scams, the scammers would file for fraudulent benefits using stolen identities. Sometimes, they would be filed in the name of people who were still employed. This tipped off the employers that unemployment benefits were filed falsely for current employees. Employers could then notify employees who could notify the state about the fraudulent filing. More recently, the state of Illinois has discovered a new tactic being used by unemployment scammers. Somehow, the scammers are changing the employer’s address when filing for benefits, so the employer does not get a notice. This removes a key barrier to preventing fraudulent benefits from being claimed. The state says they are already taking steps to prevent this information from being altered and are notifying any potential victims.

  In Florida, scammers are looking to take advantage of not just the unemployed but those awaiting their economic impact payments as well. Phishing emails have already gone out that look like they’re from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. The legitimate looking emails are being sent to those already on unemployment and promise recipients a payment of $12,600. The email then asks you to click on a link that says ‘Accept My Claims’. A copy of the email can be viewed here. If you’ll notice, the email says that payment will be in USD. That’s kind of redundant since this supposedly from a US-based organization. Anytime USD is used in an email like this, it’s almost a guarantee that it’s an overseas scam.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on August 19, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: bank scam ( 70 ), credit card ( 8 ), debit cards ( 13 ), florida, Scams ( 1,368 )   

  New scam targets seniors’ bank cards 

  

  Through no fault of their own, senior citizens are often the targets in scams. This can often be attributed to the fact that in their day, phone calls were largely important communications. Today, it seems almost unthinkable to answer a phone call from a number we don’t recognize, but back then, people would rush to the answer the phone without even knowing who was on the other line. This could be why two senior Florida residents were taken in a very brazen scam recently.

  In Boynton Beach, Florida, two senior residents had their bank cards physically stolen by someone claiming to be a bank representative. In the first instance, a 77-year-old woman received a call from someone claiming to be from Chase Bank telling the woman that one of her cards had been used in a fraudulent transaction. She was then told that a bank representative would come to her house to take her old cards and give her new ones. A woman in a navy blue dress showed up to her home and took her cards. As you can suspect, the cards given to the woman in the navy dress were used in various fraudulent transactions and $2500 was taken out of the woman’s checking account. A similar incident happened to an 89-year-old man in the same area except he was told that it was Wells Fargo who was calling.

  A question we get often is who falls for scams like these. Scammers like to cast as wide a net as possible in order to trick a handful of victims. It only takes a small number of victims to make these scams profitable for scammers. We would imagine this scam or scammers called an inordinate amount of people just to find these two victims. While you may recognize this as a scam, not everyone would. We discuss these scams so you could potentially help someone who may be a vulnerable target for scammers.

  If you or someone you know receives a call like this, it’s advised that you hang up and report the call to police. If your bank suspects fraudulent activity on your account, they will call you to ask if you made the purchase or transaction. If one of your cards had been used fraudulently, your bank would more than likely cancel your current one and either send you a new one in the mail or have you pick up a temporary card at your local branch. They would also instruct you to destroy your current card. They would not ask to reclaim your old card.

  Also, please keep in mind that even though this scam may not have happened in your area, it could show up near you at any time.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on June 17, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: coronavirus ( 40 ), covid-19 ( 48 ), florida, grants ( 15 ), Scams ( 1,368 )   

  New scam promises money if you stay home 

  

  Just when we thought COVID-19 scams were on the decline, we read about one that we would consider impressive if it wasn’t so reprehensible.

  The Florida Attorney General’s office has warned residents of the Sunshine State about this new and elaborate scam. At the heart of the scam is a promise of receiving grant money from the U.S. Treasury if you just stay home during the current pandemic. The scam seems to be mostly targeted at senior citizens. The scammers were even said to have created a phony website that appeared as if it was an official U.S. Treasury website. The phony website was said to be so convincing that it even had phony video testimonials.

  Victims of the scam would often be directed to the phony website by messages from their friends on Facebook. These messages were often sent through hacked Facebook accounts by the scammers themselves.

  The fake website would ask people for their personal information including Social Security numbers and banking information. It would also ask for payment to insure the grant delivery that will actually never come.

  The website has since been removed, however, as the Miami Herald points out, it could reappear at any time.

  In order to prevent falling victim to a scam like this always make sure any federal website address ends in .gov. If it doesn’t, it’s probably not authentic. If anytime a Facebook friend messages you about getting grant money, the odds are more likely that their account has been hacked. Grant scams similar to this one have been spread around Facebook for years.

  If you’ve fallen victim to this website in Florida it’s recommended that you contact the Attorney General’s office. If you’re not in Florida we recommend contacting the Federal Trade Commission.