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  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 8, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , impersonation scam, macOS, , ,   

    Scam Round Up: Scammers entering seniors’ homes and more 

    By Greg Collier

    This week in the Round Up, we have an old scam that homeowners should still be aware of. We also have two new scams, with one of them having chilling implications.

    ***

    Do you know why we’re always talking about Windows pop-up scams and not Apple ones? It’s not because macOS is any more secure than Windows. It’s mainly because Apple only has 17.2% of the market share when it comes to computers. Essentially, it’s not worth it for scammers and hackers to target Mac users. That doesn’t mean that macOS is completely free of scams.

    Recently, at least one Mac user has reported getting a scam pop-up on their Mac. It was disguised as one of macOS’ notification pop-ups. It was even complete with the system settings icon. The pop-up says that your iCloud account has been hacked and asks the user to click here to remove the virus. Your iCloud account being hacked and having a virus are two separate things. Never click on anything that says click here now when it comes to potential security risks on your Mac.

    If history is any indicator, if you click the notification, you’ll either have malware injected into your device, or you’ll be taken to a scam site that will ask for your personal information.

    ***

    Minnesota’s homeowners are being warned about letters that tell them their home warranty is about to expire. These are scam letters which are trying to get you to divulge your credit or debit card information to the scammers. According to the Minnesota Department of Commerce, these scammers will try to tell you that they have some kind of arrangement with the mortgage company, HOA, or county deeds office.

    If you receive a letter like this, just dispose of it. If you’re looking to purchase a home warranty, always check for reviews and complaints to make sure the company is legitimate.

    ***

    Lastly, the residents of Pulaski County in Virginia are being warned of a disturbing scam that’s targeting seniors. Authorities there have reported that a number of seniors have had scammers showing up to their homes posing as agents of the state’s Department of Health. Once inside the home, the scammers are asking victim’s for personal information and taking pictures of the homes’ interiors.

    If someone like this approaches your home, always ask to see their identification. Also, don’t be hesitant to call police if they start pressuring you to enter your home.

    ***

    As always, just because these scams aren’t currently happening in your area, doesn’t mean they won’t come there eventually. Now you have the knowledge to protect yourself from them.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 1, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , impersonation scam, , , , ,   

    Scam Round Up: Scammer dresses as cop and more 

    Scam Round Up: Scammer dresses as cop and more

    By Greg Collier

    This week on the round up, we’re bringing you three scams that may not be new, but have a new aspect to them.

    ***

    For our first scam, we have a Nebraska woman who lost $53,000 to a pop-up scam. She got a pop-up on her computer that said someone had used her personal information for online gambling. The pop-up also had a number to call. The woman called the number, and the person she spoke with claimed to be from her bank. She was told she needed to transfer her money to a separate bank account to protect her money. The new aspect of this scam is that she was told when the person who supposedly stole her information tried to take money from her account, they would be arrested. Instead, she transferred her money to scammers.

    Never call any phone number that appears on a computer pop-up. Those numbers only go to scammers, no matter what the pop-up might say.

    ***

    Our next scam shows how well-informed scammers can be. In Los Alamos, New Mexico, retirees of the historic Los Alamos National Lab, were recently told their prescription insurance would no longer be taken at Kroger pharmacies. This story doesn’t get any more local. However, it hasn’t escaped the purview of scammers. Residents have reported that they’ve received phone calls from people impersonating the prescription insurance company. These callers have been asking for personal information like Social Security numbers and dates of birth.

    Health insurance companies typically only call customers when the customer has called them first. Also, the health insurance companies typically don’t ask a customer for their Social Security number, as most insurance companies use their own internal ID numbers for their customers.

    If you get a call out of the blue from someone claiming to be from your insurance company, hang up and call them directly at the customer service number on your health insurance card.

    ***

    Lastly, we have a disturbing version of the arrest warrant scam, as if that weren’t disturbing enough. In the arrest warrant scam, scammers will pose as local police and call their victims. The scammers will tell their victims they’ve missed jury duty and a warrant has been issued for the victim’s arrest. The victim will then be instructed to make payment through gift cards or pre-paid debit cards. But this scam usually only takes place over the phone.

    In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this scam is said to have stepped into the real world. A man dressed as an officer from the local County Sheriff’s office approached a woman and told her she would need to buy $8,000 in gift cards to avoid arrest for missing jury duty.

    It’s unclear how the victim in this news story was approached, however, if you’re approached by someone you think may be impersonating an officer, there are steps you can take. If you’re approached at your vehicle or home, call 911 and ask them if you’re being contacted by an actual officer. Police dispatch will have a record of it if they are an actual officer.

    No police officer would ever stop someone and threaten them with arrest if they didn’t pay a fine then and there. Police would also never ask for payment in gift cards.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on January 11, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , impersonation scam, , ,   

    New Social Security scam uses old form of contact 

    New Social Security scam uses old form of contact

    By Greg Collier

    For a few years now, there have been scams that threaten to suspend a victim’s Social Security number. In one of the more common instances of these scams, scammers will call their victims, posing as either law enforcement or the Social Security Administration. Typically, the scammers will their victims that their Social Security number was used in the commission of a crime. The scammers will often tell their victims that a car was rented near the Southern Border using their Social Security number and that drugs were found in the car. If the victims don’t pay an immediate fine, their Social Security number will be suspended and they could face possible prosecution.

    Before we get to the new version of this scam, we’d like to reassure our readers that none of these things can happen. A Social Security number cannot be suspended, and neither the police nor the SSA will ever call you to threaten you with arrest.

    As we said, typically this scam is done over the phone. However, a new version of this scam is using an older method of communication that makes the scam appear more legitimate. People have recently reported receiving letters in the mail that threaten them with the suspension of their Social Security number. The letters claim to be from the SSA and threaten the recipient with suspension in 24 hours. The letters go on to say that due to criminal activity in Texas, the victim’s Social Security number is involved in a multimillion dollar fraud. The letter then directs the recipient to call a toll-free number to settle matters.

    According to news reports, the letters contain clues that it’s a scam. For example, the letters aren’t addressed to anyone by name. The letters also use the European date format, which uses the date first and then the month. That’s not even taking into account that how can a number be suspended in 24 hours if the sender has no idea when the letter will get there?

    While the SSA does its legitimate communications through the mail, any letter that claims to be from them that comes off as threatening should be questioned. No recipient should ever call the phone number in the letter, as it will go to a scammer looking to steal the victim’s money and identity. Instead, call the SSA directly at 1-800-772-1213.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on December 21, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , impersonation scam, ,   

    Romance scammers steal life savings of elderly victim 

    By Greg Collier

    The holiday season is the time of the year when romance scammers strike the hardest. After all, most people to be alone for the holidays. That loneliness can make anyone vulnerable to the promises of a romance scammer. Romance scammers often pose as well-off individuals, such as doctors or international businessmen. The stability of some of these positions make them more attractive to their victims. It also doesn’t help that when someone is lonely, the heart can often overrule the mind, and red flags are often ignored.

    That happened to an elderly Pennsylvania woman who lost almost $40,000 to scammers. Her scammer claimed to be a doctor who was working in Iraq for the United Nations. It was because the scammer was said to be in Iraq that it made it easy for them to avoid meeting the victim. It also made it easy for the scammer to make excuses as to why they couldn’t talk on FaceTime or why the ‘doctor’ was unable to carry any money on him.

    For months, the scammer cultivated an online relationship with their victim. At first, they would talk every day through online chats. Then the chats became phone calls where they would talk every day. The scammer was said to have talked like someone who was in love, even saying things to the victim like ‘How was your day?’. Things that many of us might take for granted when we’re in relationships.

    Then it finally became time for the scammer to pull the trigger on the scam. At first, the money requests started small. The first one was for a $100 pre-paid debit card that the victim took a photo of and sent to the scammer. Then came larger amounts for things like cell phone service, food, and a plane ticket for the ‘doctor’ to meet the victim. However, instead of the meeting taking place, the victim received a phone call from someone claiming to be the doctor’s lawyer.

    That person said that the doctor had been arrested because of the drugs in his bag, and he needed $20,000 bail. By this time, the victim had already gone through her savings, but the supposed lawyer pressured her into finding more money. She was told to sell her car, cash out life insurance policies, and beg from her family if need be. It was then the victim realized she had been scammed.

    The photos the scammer used turned out to be of an actual doctor from Spain, whose picture was being used in all manner of romance scams.

    The victim had lost everything to the scam, but was fortunate enough to have family her took her in. She believes she was taken advantage of because she had listed herself as a widow on her Facebook page.

    The romance scam probably comes with the most victim blaming, as many people say they can’t believe someone would fall for such a scam. That’s when we like to remind people that anybody can fall victim to a scam, no matter their education level or socioeconomic status. Recently, a Texas man pleaded guilty to being part of a romance scam that took $1.2 million from just one victim. You don’t accrue that kind of money without being a little smart.

    The best way to protect yourself from romance scammers is to do a reverse image search of any picture they send you of themselves. If the results come back to someone who isn’t who they say they are, then your best bet is to cut off any communication with them. It goes doubly so if they start asking you for money if you haven’t even met yet.

    If you know someone, especially an elderly person, who might be caught in a romance scam, please show them this blog post or the Romance Scam page from the FTC’s website.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on December 16, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , impersonation scam, , , , ,   

    A good change in Social Security brings out the scammers 

    A good change in Social Security brings out the scammers

    By Greg Collier

    The most impersonated government agencies are the IRS, Social Security, and Medicare. Scammers often use these three offices to intimidate their victims into doing what they want. I mean, who wants to be contacted by the IRS? They typically use the other two offices to intimidate older Americans or the disabled into thinking they’re either going to lose their benefits, or they make benefit promises that are better than what the government is offering. Whenever the law or policy changes happen within one of these offices, the scammers are right on top of it, looking to use it to take advantage of their victims.

    At the end of this year, millions of Social Security beneficiaries will be receiving an almost 9% cost of living increase in their benefits. If a beneficiary is eligible for this increase, there is nothing they have to do. They will receive it automatically. Scammers will contact their victims posing as the SSA. They’ll tell their victims they need their personal information, a payment, or both to receive the increase. This could lead to the victim’s identity being stolen, or the loss of hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

    To better protect yourself or someone you know from this scam, the best thing to do is keep in mind that government agencies like this will not reach out to citizens first. Unless you already have an ongoing matter with Social Security, they will not just call someone out of the blue. Most government agencies will contact someone by postal mail if they need to be notified. Also, no one should have to give their personal information to the SSA, as they should already have it if you’re a beneficiary. If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from the SSA, hang up and contact the SSA at 1-800-772-1213, or their contact page at SSA.gov.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on December 9, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , impersonation scam, , , , wrestling,   

    Wrestling with the romance scam 

    By Greg Collier

    When we discuss the romance scam, we generally tell our readers that there are certain occupations the scammers claim to be a part of. Typically, the scammers claim to be in the military, overseas business moguls, or oil rig workers. This gives them built-in excuses for why they can never meet their supposed romantic partners face to face. It also gives the scammers built-in reasons to keep asking their victims for money. But recently, we’ve heard of a romance scam using an occupation we haven’t heard about being used in the scam before.

    In a suburb of Detroit, a 75-year-old man lost $80,000 to a romance scammer. The man met the scammer on Instagram, who was posing as a woman. The scammer sent a direct message to the man saying that she was having problems with her bank account. She asked the man for money to help her get to her job, which required traveling.

    This relationship lasted for 6 months. The victim had sent the scammer cash and pre-paid gift cards. In return, the scammer said she was eventually going to move to Michigan to be with the man and marry him.

    When the man’s own money ran out, he had borrowed $5000 from friends.

    It wasn’t detailed how the man discovered he was being scammed.

    The hook in this story is that the scammer was posing as a women’s professional wrestler who worked for the WWE. Again, if it wasn’t for the fact that a man lost $80,000, we’d almost give credit to the scammer for picking such a unique profession to use in a scam. Pro wrestlers are constantly on the road, with some working 300 dates a year. This gives the scammer another excuse as to why they can’t meet in person.

    Unfortunately, pro wrestlers are no strangers to being used as part of a scam. Scammers often imitate some of the top names in the industry to try to scam wrestling fans. And sometimes these scams can have dangerous results for the wrestlers involved.

    Last year, a fan jumped the barricade at a WWE show in New York, and attacked WWE Superstar Seth Rollins. The fan had been scammed by a social media account that was imitating Rollins online. Thankfully, neither Rollins nor the fan were injured.

    This story also speaks to another problem of the romance scam, and that’s the celebrity impersonator. No matter how minor the celebrity may be, they’re never going to reach out to individual fans for romantic reasons or otherwise.

    And as far as romance scams go, if the person you’re having an online relationship keeps putting off a face-to-face meeting, there’s a great possibility they’re a scammer. No matter how charming they might be, never send money to someone you don’t know personally that you’ve never met in real life. Lastly, always do a reverse image search on their picture to make sure they haven’t stolen the picture from someone else.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 28, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Early Warning Systems, impersonation scam, , ,   

    Why do Zelle scam victims only get repaid after talking to the media? 

    Why do Zelle scam victims only get repaid after talking to the media?

    By Greg Collier

    It’s been more than a year now since the Zelle scam started garnering headlines. In that time, it doesn’t seem like Zelle’s parent company has done much in the way of protecting its users. If you’ll recall, Zelle is owned by a company ironically called Early Warning Systems. In turn, EWS is owned by Bank of America, Truist, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. You’d think between these banking heavy hitters, they’d be able to come up with a way to discourage scammers, yet here we are.

    While there are many scams that have plagued Zelle in the past year or so, we’re referring to the one where scammers pose as your bank. In this scam, victims receive a text message that asks them if they’ve made a large purchase or transfer recently. The victim is asked to respond with either a yes or no. Once the victim responds, the text message is followed up with a phone call. Posing as the victim’s bank’s fraud department, the scammers will direct the victim to either move their money or ‘pay themselves’ through Zelle to protect their bank account. What’s really happening is the scammers are walking the victim through the process of sending money to the scammers through Zelle.

    The banks, such as the ones listed above, have not been consumer-friendly when it comes to helping customers who have been scammed. Typically, these banks throw up their hands and say there’s nothing they can do. Instead, they claim since the victim authorized the transfer, even under false pretenses, the bank is under no obligation to refund the victim’s money.

    However, as we have shown, some victims have gotten their money back, but only after going to their local media. That’s exactly what happened to a family from Northern California when they fell victim to the Zelle scam. They were saving money for their daughter, who is disabled and training to be a para-equestrian. Initially, US Bank said there was no fraud, and there was nothing they could do. Then, after sharing their story with a local news station, US Bank mysteriously issued a refund. This begs the question of why do banks seem to only offer refunds when bad PR is involved? Also, what is it going to take for them to put in more safeguards to help prevent these scams?

    Please keep in mind, Zelle is only supposed to be used between friends and family, people you know personally. Any business or stranger that asks you to pay through Zelle could be trying to scam you. Your bank is also never going to ask you to move your money using Zelle.

    If you find yourself becoming a victim to this scam, the first thing you should do is file a police report immediately. While it’s not a guarantee of a refund, it does go a long way in helping. And if you’re not receiving the fair treatment you think you deserve from your bank, don’t be afraid to contact the consumer advocate reporter in your local area.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on October 10, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , impersonation scam, ,   

    Scam victim gets hit with multiple scams at once 

    Scam victim gets hit with multiple scams at once

    By Greg Collier

    We’ve said in the past that if you’ve been scammed once, the odds are pretty good that you’ll be targeted by scammers again. Except, it doesn’t typically happen in one day. That’s what happened to one Texas senior who not only lost $75,000 to scammers, but they continued to plague her afterwards.

    It all started when she received a call from someone offering to install an antivirus program on her computer. The victim says she needed this for her computer, but in order to do so, the caller needed remote access to her computer. Right off the bat, the scammers are starting with the tech support scam. If the scammers aren’t saying they’re installing software, they’re telling you that you have a virus on your computer. Once scammers have access to a victim’s device, there’s an untold amount of havoc that can be wreaked using the victim’s personal information.

    But getting back to the story, the woman then received a message on her computer that said her Amazon account had been hacked, and she needed to call the listed phone number. Now, the scammers are following up with the Amazon scam. This is where scammers claim to be from Amazon and that there is something wrong with your account. This is done to either get your payment information, or the scammers will try to convince you that you need to ‘move your money’ to avoid being hacked.

    While on the phone with the fake Amazon representative, the victim was then told she was being transferred to the Federal Trade Commission. Not only did the scammers pretend to be with the FTC, but they pretended to be the current FTC chairwoman. This is what’s known as the government impersonation scam. Scammers will pose as anyone from local police to the chairs of federal commissions if they think they can intimidate their victims. Unfortunately, this is not the first instance we’ve seen of scammers posing as high-ranking government officials.

    The phony FTC chairwoman threatened the victim with arrest if she didn’t comply with her demands. The victim was told that someone was selling drugs and laundering money through her bank account. To ‘clean’ her money, the victim would need to wire it to the scammers posing as FBI agents.

    Again, when someone who is not familiar with how online activity works, it can be quite easy to fall for such a scam. However, there are tips to keep you or a relative safe. The first is not to allow anyone you don’t know personally to install software on your device, or give them remote access. Anyone calling to offer software is more than likely a scammer. Also, if your computer runs Windows 10 or 11, they have built-in security software already.

    If Amazon is calling or your device says you need to call them, it’s a scam. Amazon, or any other company, does not know the status of your device, nor do they know your banking activity. If any company besides your bank says there’s a problem with your bank account, they’re probably trying to scam you.

    Lastly, no legitimate government agency or law enforcement branch is going to threaten you with arrest over the phone. Neither will they ever ask you to move your money to ‘clean’ it, whatever that means.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 19, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , impersonation scam,   

    New twist to Amazon phone scam 

    New twist to Amazon phone scam

    By Greg Collier

    Due to the popularity and reach of Amazon, it’s no surprise that the online retailer has been used in many scams. Whether it’s because of third-party sellers committing brushing scams, or scammers asking for payment in Amazon gift cards, the Amazon brand is no stranger to being used as a weapon in the scammer’s arsenal.

    However, the most common Amazon scam is the Amazon impersonation scam. This is where scammers will pose as an Amazon employee, typically over the phone. Sometimes the scam will start with an email that looks like an official email from Amazon, complete with the Amazon logo. Other times, the victims will be called directly. In both instances, the victim will be told there has been a large purchase on their account.

    Once the victim states that they didn’t make the purchase, the fake Amazon rep will direct the victim through some convoluted way of reversing the phony charge. Instead, what typically happens is the victim ends up losing money after giving their payment information to the scammers.

    More recently, law enforcement in the Kansas City Metro area have been receiving complaints about a new twist in this scam. According to reports, the scammers are now using a robocall that tells potential victims that if they hang up on the call, they’ll be charged $200 by Amazon and another $900 by their credit or debit card company.

    Scammers will almost always use some type of threat to get their victims into a panicked state. An $1100 penalty payment would just about get anyone to panic. And when someone panics, they’re not thinking clearly. This can allow scammers to get a victim’s financial information almost effortlessly.

    The best way to prevent a scam is to be prepared for one. If you receive a call or email from Amazon saying there’s a fraudulent charge on your account, check your Amazon account first and your payment method second to make sure there have been no fraudulent charges. But you should also keep in mind that Amazon seldom calls one of their customers. Even if they did, there’s no scenario where they can charge you $900 for hanging up on them.

    If you’re feeling pressured by anyone who calls you out of the blue talking about money, there are good odds that they are a scammer.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 9, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , impersonation scam, , , ,   

    Uber driver loses week’s wages in scam 

    By Greg Collier

    The scam we’re about to talk about today exclusively targets rideshare drivers. Even though the majority of our readers probably aren’t rideshare drivers, we think this story can be useful to our other readers as well. Not only does it show how gig economy workers can be vulnerable to scams, we also think it’s a commentary on how some gig economy companies treat their workers.

    The victim in today’s story is an Uber driver from Salt Lake City. He loves his work and seems to be very successful at it. Rather than driving as a means to make extra money, the driver dos it full-time and is able to make a comfortable living. As an aside, that’s the exception rather than the rule, but that’s neither here nor there for right now.

    Last week, the man received a call from someone claiming to be from Uber. The caller said that the driver had received a complaint and needed to issue a refund. He was instructed to log into the Uber app and given directions on how to issue the supposed refund. What actually happened is that scammers were directing him to issue $1200 directly to the scammers. This wiped out a week’s worth of wages for the driver. Our story doesn’t end there, however.

    The driver reached out to Uber for assistance, who said they investigated the matter, but the man wasn’t due for a refund. It wasn’t until the driver reached out to his local media before Uber issued him a refund.

    Our earning to not only rideshare drivers but other gig economy workers, if you receive a phone call from the company you’re working for about your earnings, contact them through official channels before issuing any supposed refunds. You may also want to research how refunds are actually handled beforehand, so you know what’s a scam and what isn’t.

    However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out how similarly Uber acted like the banks that have had customers scammed through Zelle. Just like in the Zelle scams, Uber didn’t act in the worker’s interest until it became a potential PR issue.

    Learn your rights before joining a gig economy company. In the majority of these companies, you’re not an employee, but rather an outside contractor. These independent contractors do not receive nearly the same protections as an actual employee.

     

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