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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 29, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: funeral ( 12 ), funeral expenses ( 9 ), funeral home scam ( 4 ), impersonation scam, Scams ( 1,239 )   

  New scam becomes disturbing trend 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Let’s just come right out and say it. Funeral scammers are ghouls. Most people are at their lowest emotional point when they’re confronted with having to inter a loved one. Since scammers use emotional manipulation as one of their tools, they’ve decided that when families are grieving is the best time to target them in a scam. But not just any scam, mind you. Scammers are specifically targeting the funeral home process to try to extort money from their victims. And unfortunately, this scam is starting to become even more prevalent.

  Funeral scammers will comb the obituaries of the recently deceased. Traditionally, obituaries will contain the name of the funeral home that’s taking care of the deceased’s funeral proceedings. While spoofing the funeral home’s phone number, scammers will call the deceased’s family claiming to be from the funeral home. Typically, the scammers will say an item was left off the billing or that the family needs to pay some form of additional insurance before asking for an immediate payment over the phone. In some instances, the scammers will even act like they’ll hold the deceased’s remains hostage until a payment is made.

  Recently, funeral scammers targeted a family from the Philadelphia area. Just hours after the deceased’s obituary had been published, scammers were calling the family looking for money. The scammers used a funeral home employee’s name they had gotten from the funeral home’s website. They told the family urn/casket insurance had not been purchased and would need to be done so immediately. Thankfully, the family recognized this for what it was, and hung up the call. They called the funeral home themselves just to verify they had spoken to a scammer.

  In the unfortunate event you have to plan a funeral for a loved one, it’s recommended to get an itemized statement from the funeral home. This will go a long way in helping to protect you and your family from these scammers.

  It’s a shame the grieving have to be warned about funeral scams, but unfortunately, that is the world we live in today.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 23, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: bank fraud ( 19 ), bank scam ( 64 ), impersonation scam, robocalls ( 8 ), Scams ( 1,239 )   

  Like we need another bank scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  We’re pretty sure it goes without saying that bank customers are one of the largest targets of scammers. If we’re not being assailed by text messages telling us to protect hacked accounts through Zelle, our debit card information is being stolen through skimmers, or people are trying to get us to deposit phony checks. Now, bank scammers are pulling an old scheme which seems almost antiquated by today’s standards.

  According to a report out of Florida, several residents have received robocalls from scammers posing as banks. And we say banks, we mean a few different banks. At one point, a potential victim could receive a robocall that says it’s from Bank of America, while getting one shortly later that says they’re from Wells Fargo. However, both robocalls say the same thing.

  The robocalls will tell you a purchase you made with your debit card has been declined, and your card has been blocked. The message also provides a customer service number for the recipient to call. The customer service number leads to a scam call center, where the scammers will attempt to obtain not only your financial information but, possibly, your money as well.

  If you were to get one of these robocalls, and it says it’s from Bank of America, and you actually bank at Bank of America, that’s a coincidence. That also goes for most of the major banks. Scammers will set out the widest net possible in order to catch as many potential victims as they can.

  If you receive one of these robocalls, do not call the number they leave. Instead, call your bank’s customer service number from the back of your debit card. If you were to call the scammers’ number, they would only need a little bit of information or a touch of misdirection before they could empty your account and disappear into the wind.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 9, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Bank of America ( 11 ), bank scam ( 64 ), customer service ( 49 ), customer support ( 23 ), impersonation scam, Scams ( 1,239 ), Zelle ( 62 )   

  No change in Zelle scam with scammers or banks 

  

  By Greg Collier

  In a few months, it will be two years since we first started posting stories about the Zelle scam. Since it’s been a while since we’ve posted about it last, let’s have a quick refresher.

  Zelle is a personal payment app whose parent company is co-owned by several of the nation’s biggest banks. Some of these banks include, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and US Bank, just to name a few. Often, these big banks will have the Zelle service baked in to that bank’s phone app. Many customers of these banks don’t even realize they have Zelle on their devices.

  Zelle is designed to be used between friends and family, much like Venmo and Cash App. However, also like Venmo and Cash App, Zelle also has its fair share of scammers.

  Another problem with the Zelle scam is the banks that use Zelle are very hesitant to offer refunds to the victims of scams. The banks state since the customer authorized the transaction, even under false pretenses, the transaction is considered legitimate. Some banks have only offered refunds after the victim has taken their story to their local media.

  Here is an example of how the scam works. Recently, a man from North Carolina received a text message asking him if he made a $7500 Zelle transfer to a person he didn’t know. The text appeared to come from his bank, Bank of America. The text message said to reply yes or no to the text message. The man sent a text reply of ‘no’, but it wouldn’t have mattered how he replied, since he was actually texting with scammers.

  After he sent his reply, he received a phone call that looked like it was coming from B of A, complete with the caller ID showing the B of A customer service number. The number was spoofed by the scammers, which is an easy thing for them to do. The scammers were posing as customer service agents from B of A. They gave the man instructions on how to protect his money from the fraudulent transaction, but what they were really doing was walking him through the steps to send money to the scammers. In his case, it was $1500. The man claims when he inquired with B of A, they allegedly told him it was his responsibility.

  Anytime you receive a notification that looks like it came from your bank asking you about a transaction or telling you your account is at risk, do not reply. Instead, call your bank’s customer service department directly to verify if there is an actual problem with your account.

  If you’ve fallen victim to this scam, contact police immediately. While it’s not a guarantee of getting your money back, it does go a long way in helping. Lastly, if your bank is refusing a refund, think about going to your local media with your story, as we have seen some successes after victims have done that.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 8, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: car wrapping ( 10 ), check scam ( 76 ), fake check ( 43 ), funeral ( 12 ), funeral home scam ( 4 ), impersonation scam, Scams ( 1,239 ), social security ( 28 ), SSA ( 4 )   

  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.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 6, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: FBI ( 18 ), IC3, impersonation scam, police impersonation scam ( 50 ), Scams ( 1,239 )   

  Phony FBI letters sent by scammers 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Scammers will take advantage of a victim. ‘Good’ scammers will try to take advantage of the same victim twice. You can see this in the scam recovery service scam we’ve posted about in the recent past. That’s where scammers go after scam victims and promise the victims they can recover their money for a fee, of course. Now, a new scam has emerged, and while it doesn’t specifically target scam victims., they can be more vulnerable to this scam.

  It’s being reported in South Central Pennsylvania that residents are receiving a letter which appears to come from the FBI. Well, the letters are actually embedded in emails sent to victims. The letters claim to not only be from the FBI, but also from the Internet Crime Complaint Center, which is better known as IC3. The IC3 website is where scam victims can go to report internet scams.

  Getting back to the letters, they claim that the recipient was the victim of a cybercrime. The letter goes on to state that the recipient’s email address was found in the database of a Nigerian scammer. The hook to this scam is the letter says the recipient is eligible for restitution in the amount of $1.4 million.

  The report we read doesn’t state what the scammers are after, but if history is any indicator, it could be one of three things. The first is the scammers will need victims to make a payment which will be disguised as taxes or processing fees. The second thing the scammers could want is the victim’s personal and financial information under the guise of where they should send the phony payment. This could give the scammers access to the victim’s bank accounts. Lastly, the scammers could include a link in the email which could inject malware into the victim’s device. If it’s the right device, the scammers could steal the victim’s identity and take over their life.

  Thankfully, there is a simple way to protect yourself from this scam. Law enforcement will not conduct official business through email. If the FBI really wanted to get a hold of you, they would do it by official mail or a personal visit. Secondly, very few scam victims are scammed for $1.4 million dollars. If the FBI recovered that much money and there were multiple victims, you may get partial payment by check in an amount that would be similar to those issued in a class action lawsuit, i.e., nowhere near $1.4 million. If you receive one of these emails and still have questions, contact your nearest FBI Office directly, and do not use any contact information included in the letter.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on May 24, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: funeral ( 12 ), funeral expenses ( 9 ), impersonation scam, Scams ( 1,239 )   

  Is there any scam worse than a funeral scam? 

  

  By Greg Collier

  We’re never in a more vulnerable state than after the loss of a loved one. It’s even worse when the loss was unexpected. Nobody ever wants to arrange a funeral. Unfortunately, for most of us, it’s an inevitability. Whether it’s a spouse, a parent, or even a child, no one ever wants to have to discuss the financial details of having their loved one laid to rest. For scammers, this is just another opportunity for them to use emotional manipulation to trick grieving families into giving them money.

  In Georgia, a family almost lost $14,000 after falling prey to a funeral scammer. Some scammers keep an eye on the local obituaries. When someone passes and their obituary is published, scammers will pose as employees of the funeral home. The scammers will tell their victims there’s been an error in billing and the victim needs to pay more money. They’ll often show up at the victim’s home to collect the payment in cash or check.

  In the Georgia case, the suspects were arrested after they had difficulty trying to cash the check. In previous instances of this scam, we’ve seen scammers make it appear as if they were holding the remains of the deceased hostage until the victim made a payment.

  In order to protect yourself from such a scam, it is recommended to get an itemized bill from the funeral home that shows exactly how much services cost.

  Whenever you receive a call from someone requesting an unexpected payment, it is crucial to verify their claims. Do not automatically assume the call is authentic merely based on the displayed caller ID. Take the initiative to contact the business or agency directly, as they will provide guidance regarding the legitimacy of the caller’s demands.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on May 18, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: check scam ( 76 ), fake check ( 43 ), FBI ( 18 ), impersonation scam, police impersonation scam ( 50 ), Scams ( 1,239 )   

  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.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 19, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: funeral ( 12 ), funeral expenses ( 9 ), impersonation scam, Scams ( 1,239 ), spoofed calls ( 8 )   

  Funeral home impersonation scam victimizes widow 

  

  By Greg Collier

  We’ve posted some absolutely heart-wrenching scams lately. One that stands out is the scam where con artists tried to collect imaginary tax debts from the families of the recently deceased. The one we’re about to discuss is much worse. This scam tries to take advantage of the grieving before a proper funeral has even occurred.

  A woman from the San Diego Metro Area recently lost her husband at a much too young age. The husband also left behind their two-year-old son. Before her husband could even be buried, she received a call from someone saying they were with the funeral home.

  The caller asked the woman for a $50 payment, claiming it was for some type of insurance in case a funeral home worker were to get injured. The phone number was spoofed, so it appeared the call was actually coming from the funeral home.

  The caller the started pressuring the woman to make a payment then and there over the phone. She was told that she couldn’t come down to the funeral home, she couldn’t pay in cash, and had to pay by credit card over the phone.

  After not giving the caller any money, they called back again to tell the grieving widow that they were refusing her service because she was so ‘rude’ to them. The panic she experienced must have been unimaginable while trying to figure out what to do after a funeral home has refused service.

  To her credit, she made some phone calls and determined the whole thing was a scam.

  When someone is grieving, they’re at their most vulnerable time of their life. As we know, scammers prefer to target the vulnerable, hoping that their victims are in such an emotional state they’re not thinking straight.

  Any time you receive a call from someone asking for any kind of surprise payment, verify their story. Don’t believe the call is legitimate just because the caller ID shows the correct number. Call the business or agency directly, and they’ll be able to advise you on the veracity of the caller’s request.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 18, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: arrest warrant ( 23 ), grandparent scam ( 66 ), impersonation scam, police impersonation scam ( 50 ), Scams ( 1,239 )   

  Scam Round Up: Police Impersonation Scams 

  

  By Greg Collier

  We often say the jury duty scam is probably the most common scam going if news reports are any indication. As we do research for this blog, we’ll find news stories about the jury duty scam on an almost daily basis. The jury duty scam is a form of another scam called the police impersonation scam, since the jury duty scam always involves the scammer posing as police. However, that is only one version of the police impersonation scam. Today, we’re bringing you three police impersonation scams that are happening around the country.

  You might have guesses that our first story is the arrest warrant scam. This is where scammers will call a victim while posing as police and telling the victim they have a warrant out for their arrest. Recently, the Pittsburgh office of the FBI has issued a warning that scammers are posing as the FBI. The phone calls to victims even show up as the FBI on caller IDs. Along with the threat of arrest, victims are being asked to purchase pre-paid debit cards and give the numbers to the scammers. The scammers claim these are to prove the victim’s identity.

  As with most police impersonation scams, real police do not call people who have warrants out for their arrest. Police would never give a real suspect a chance like that to flee.

  In Lawrence, Kansas, at least one victim has received phone calls that appeared to have come from the Lawrence Police Department. The caller accused the victim of harassment, while the caller ID carried a non-emergency number used by the LPD. The victim hung up on the caller and called the actual LPD. While the victim was on the phone with the LPD, the scammer called three more times.

  The LPD recommends if you receive a call like that, ask the caller for a name and badge number, then call the department the caller claims to be from.

  In Columbus, Ohio, the parents of a college-aged athlete got the scare of their life from a scammer. They received a call from someone claiming to be with the campus police from Ohio State University. The scammer claimed the couple’s daughter was arrested while leaving a nightclub, and if the parents didn’t pay $2000 their daughter would be turned over to the Columbus Police Department. Again, the caller ID had the number of the OSUPD.

  The parents didn’t fall for the scam, as their daughter had a game the next day, and she wouldn’t typically go out the night before a game. It turns out, the scammer targeted the parents of a number of athletes from the same team.

  If you think this sounds a lot like the grandparent scam, you’d be correct, as the grandparent scam is also another version of a police impersonation scam.

  If someone claims to be a police officer, ask for their name, badge number, and the name of the department they work for. You can then call the police department directly to verify their identity. Try to avoid volunteering any personal information, as that can be used against you while the scam is taking place. Lastly, never give the scammers any money. No legitimate law enforcement officer or agency will ever ask for money over the phone.

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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 4, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: FEMA ( 9 ), impersonation scam, natural disasters ( 17 ), Scams ( 1,239 ), tornadoes ( 5 )   

  Scams warned in wake of devastating storms 

  

  By Greg Collier

  A series of devastating storms recently ravaged parts of the South and the Midwest. At least 50 tornadoes touched down, leaving much destruction in their wakes. To make matters worse, another series of dangerous storms is expected later today. Sadly, the havoc left by the storms is only part of what residents of these areas will have to deal with. Whenever there is a natural disaster, scammers always follow to prey on the victims.

  The one state that appears to have been devastated most by the recent storms is Arkansas. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued a warning to the residents of Arkansas that can apply to any area that’s experienced a disaster. One of the most common scams FEMA agents see is scammers impersonating FEMA itself.

  Scammers pose as representatives of FEMA and contact individuals to offer assistance with disaster relief or financial aid.

  The scammers may use various methods to reach out to potential victims, including phone calls, emails, text messages, or social media messages. They may claim that the individual has been approved for financial assistance, or that they need to provide personal information in order to receive aid.

  Once the scammers have gained the trust of the victim, they may ask for personal and financial information, such as Social Security numbers, bank account information, or credit card numbers. They may also ask the victim to send money or purchase gift cards as a way to receive aid.

  In reality, FEMA representatives will never ask for personal or financial information over the phone or email, and they will never ask for money or gift cards in exchange for disaster relief. If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from FEMA, you should contact the agency directly to verify the authenticity of the communication.