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  • Geebo 9:00 am on January 6, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , jury duty scam,   

    Scammers are too deep into our personal lives 

    By Greg Collier

    As we’ve said before, if we were asked what the most common scam is, we’d have to say the arrest warrant scam. Scammers across the country pose as law enforcement, including spoofing their phone numbers to make it look like police are calling their victims. The scammers tell their victims that they owe some kind of fine and need to pay it immediately or get arrested. The most common form of this scam is where victims are told they’ve missed jury duty.

    Usually, that’s enough for a victim to pay the scammer money. However, there is a variation of this scam that targets professionals. For example, if a victim ever had to testify in court as an expert witness, you could be targeted for this scam.

    In North Carolina, a woman was targeted in just such a scam. She’s a physical therapist who had testified in a lawsuit as an expert witness about a client of hers who had been injured in a car crash. The scammers used publicly available information to convince her she had missed a required court appearance. She was told that her physical therapist license could be in jeopardy if she did not pay a court fine immediately over the phone. She was also told that her phone was being tracked and that she couldn’t talk to anyone else about the fine because of a gag order.

    The scammers then sent her through an ordeal to get the money she needed to pay this fictitious fine. She withdrew the money from her bank, and the bank teller even commented on the large withdrawal. The victim replied she couldn’t comment on it because she was still on the phone with the scammers, thinking they were police.

    She was instructed to drive to five different Walmarts to send the money in smaller payments, more than likely through a money transfer service. She was also told that she needed to set up an appointment for a signature verification test. If her signature did not match the one on the subpoena, she would get her money back. So, she thought she would go to the police department to make the appointment.

    At this point, the scammers tried to get her to stay in her car. They told her she could be arrested if she went inside, since there was an active warrant for her arrest. She didn’t listen to them and went inside, where police told her she had been scammed. The victim had lost over $10,000 in the scam.

    Just because someone has a lot of information about you, that doesn’t make them the police. As shown in this story, even just a little bit of publicly available information can be used to scam victims. In many other scams, the scammers have used private information, such as the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security number or credit card. This information is usually gathered after a data breach and can be bought on the dark web. They can even use information that they’ve gathered from a victim’s social media accounts. While a scammer may know a lot about you, that doesn’t make them an authority on you and should be hung up on.

    Please keep in mind, police would never call someone and threaten them with arrest if they didn’t pay them immediately. If a victim did owe a fine or court cost, they wouldn’t be asked to go to Walmart or any other store to make the payment. And gag orders are only applied to participants in an ongoing court case, not people who haven’t even been arrested yet. Anytime something feels wrong on a phone call, hang up and call the department or business they claim to be calling from.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on December 12, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , jury duty scam, , , , , US Attorney's Office,   

    Scam Round Up: Taylor Swift ticket scam and more 

    By Greg Collier

    This week in the Round Up, we’re going over some familiar scams with a slight twist to each of them.

    ***

    As we keep saying, the most common scam out there is probably the arrest warrant scam. Not a day goes by where we don’t see this scam in the headlines from somewhere in the country. Typically, scammers will pose as your local police department when they call a victim. The scammers will then demand money over an arrest warrant that doesn’t actually exist. More often than not, the scammers will tell the victim they’ve missed jury duty. In many jurisdictions, missing jury duty is no longer an arrestable offense, although you can be fined. However, you would receive a notice in the mail and not an officer calling you on the phone.

    Anyway, some scammers have turned up the pressure on their victims by claiming to be from a much higher law enforcement office than your local police department. Some scammers are claiming to be calling from the US Attorney’s Office, demanding their victims pay ‘legal fees’. The caller ID On these calls is spoofed to make it appear like the calls are coming from the US Attorney’s Office.

    Always keep in mind, no law enforcement office will ever call you demanding money. That goes for the smallest police departments in the most rural towns, up to and including the higher echelons of law enforcement like the FBI.

    ***

    There’s actually some good news on the puppy scam front. According to a recent report from the Better Business Bureau, puppy scams are actually on the decline. We’re specifically talking about the scam where victims pay for a puppy they find online, only to find out the puppy doesn’t exist. In many instances of this scam, once the scammer receives the initial payment, they’ll try to get more money from the victim by asking for more money for things like delivery insurance or special transport crates.

    And that’s where the bad news comes in. The reason puppy scams are on the decline is that scammers are taking more money from victims than before.

    If you’re in the market for a puppy, do not send any money to anyone without seeing the puppy in person first. Try to stick to local breeders or your local shelter.

    ***

    There’s no bigger star in today’s music industry than Taylor Swift. Tickets for her latest concert tour went on sale back in November, and quickly sold out. If you’re still looking to snag some tickets to this premium event, be careful where you try to get them from.

    A New Jersey woman thought she was buying tickets from another member of a Facebook group she belonged to. The woman sent $1500 through Zelle, for the tickets. She never received the tickets, and the scammer kept asking her for more money. If scammers can fool someone once, they’ll often try to get more money out of their victims.

    If you’re trying to buy tickets to any event that is in high demand, stick to reputable retailers. Also, never send money through Zelle to someone you don’t know personally.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 22, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , jury duty scam, , ,   

    Scam Round Up: Black Friday warning and more 

    Scam Round Up: Black Friday warning and more

    By Greg Collier

    This week in the Scam Round Up, we’re bringing you a reminder of an old scam, a new twist on a persistent scam, and a warning about this year’s holiday shopping season.

    ***

    The grandparent scam is still out there and shows no signs of slowing down. It’s becoming almost as common as the arrest warrant scam, which we’ll get to shortly.

    An elderly Florida woman recently lost $16,000 to the grandparent scam. A scammer called her, posing as one of her grandsons, and claimed he needed $50,000 for bail because of a car accident he was in. This scammer hit all the beats, saying he hit a pregnant woman with his car and not to tell anyone else in the family. The victim sent the scammers $16,000, which was all she had in savings. Her family found out when the victim started asking her friends how she could get more money.

    If you have an elderly relative, please let them know about this scam. If you receive a call like this, don’t say the grandchild’s name. This lets scammers know they have a potential victim on the phone. Ask the caller a question that only that person would know, to see if they are who they say they are.

    ***

    As we have said on multiple occasions, the arrest warrant scam is probably the most common scam in America. It’s at least the most reported one. Not a day goes by where we don’t see a report from some police department or sheriff’s office warning their residents of this scam.

    Typically, scammers call their victim posing as police while telling their victims they have an arrest warrant out for them. In most cases, the scammers will say the arrest warrant is for missing jury duty.

    More recently, residents of a Chicago suburb started receiving voice mails stating they had arrest warrants. They were then instructed to call a number that did not belong to their local police department.

    It’s unknown what happens when the fake police phone number is called, but all arrest warrant scams are designed to scare the victim into making some kind of payment that will make the warrant magically go away.

    No law enforcement office or agency will ever call you to demand a payment over the phone. If you receive one of these calls, hang up and call your local police at their non-emergency number.

    ***

    With Black Friday being this week, scammers will be out in droves trying to separate you from your money. This year, the Better Business Bureau is saying that the scammers will be more inclined to pose as a delivery company like UPS or FedEx than posing as a retailer like Amazon or Apple.

    This means scammers will be sending out texts and emails claiming you missed a delivery, or they need additional information to make the delivery. These messages will contain a link for you to click on. If you click on the link, you could be taken to a phony site that looks like the legitimate one from that delivery service. You’ll then be asked to input your personal information. Sometimes, you’ll be asked for your financial information for a redelivery fee, which isn’t a real thing. The phony website could also inject malware into your device, stealing even more information.

    As always, do not click on links in text messages and emails from people you don’t know personally. If you think there’s a problem with your delivery, go to the retailer’s website, and they’ll have the tracking information.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 16, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: jury duty scam, MoneyPak, , , ,   

    Jury duty scammers continue to harass victims 

    Jury duty scammers continue to harass victims

    By Greg Collier

    As we’ve said previously, not a day goes by where we don’t see a news headline warning readers about jury duty scams. This is where scammers try to take advantage of a victim’s inexperience in dealing with the court system. Most of us have heard that you can be potentially arrested if you miss reporting for jury duty after receiving a summons. However, not everyone knows the court’s process if someone is to be fined or arrested, and the scammers are counting on that.

    Recently, scammers tried to take advantage of a young woman from North Carolina. They had called her, posing as the local sheriff’s office. They told her that not only did she miss jury duty, but now had to pay a $950 fine or be arrested. The scammers even tried to make every part of their scam seem official. They informed her that she needed to pay the supposed fine in MoneyPak vouchers. MoneyPaks are not vouchers, but a brand of prepaid debit card like Green Dot. Then the scammers tried to have the woman meet them in front of the county courthouse to make the payment.

    While this was a harrowing experience for the young woman, she thankfully had someone on her side helping her. The conversation the woman had with the scammer was on speaker, and the woman’s mother had a feeling this was a scam. Her mother called the local sheriff’s office, who assured her this was a scam.

    Now, it is true you can be fined or arrested for missing jury duty, however, the scam is not even close to how the courts really work. If someone were to somehow miss jury duty, they would receive an additional summons in the mail. At this point, they can contact the court to try to settle the matter. Neither the courts nor the police will ever call someone to harass them into making a payment. Even if someone did need to pay a fine to the courts, it wouldn’t be through nontraditional means like prepaid debit cards, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. These forms of payment are tools for scammers to avoid having the payment traced by the actual police.

    If you are ever unsure about whether a call from police is official or not, you have the right to hang up and verify the call with law enforcement.

     

  • Geebo 8:01 am on August 10, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , jury duty scam, ,   

    Jury duty scammers go to great lengths to fleece victim 

    Jury duty scammers go to great lengths to fleece victim

    By Greg Collier

    Many scammers will use extreme measures to try to convince their victims that what they’re saying is true. There is so much effort put into some of these scams that we think the scammers could probably make a mint if they decided to make an honest living. They employ such devious tactics with the skill of an award-winning actor, it’s no wonder they continue to find victims.

    For example, a woman from Texas recently lost $1,000 to a jury duty scam. In the grand scheme of things, $1,000 may not seem like a lot of money to some, but it was enough for the scammer to use the following tactics.

    The woman was called by a man identifying himself as a US Marshall. The caller ID even read as being from a Federal Government phone number. She was told that there was a warrant out for her arrest since she failed to appear for a grand jury. However, she was told she could resolve the matter with a payment of $1500. The victim was even told that the US Government can’t accept payment in debit cards, credit cards, or checks, and they only take payment in gift cards.

    She was then given additional instructions she had to comply with. Not only did she have to stay on the phone with the caller the entire time, she also had to provide photos of two forms of identification, one with her picture and one without. The victim then drove around to several different stores, buying gift cards. When she gave the caller the card numbers, the caller said there was a problem with one of the cards, and she needed to buy another $1000 worth of cards. Thankfully, at the next store she went to, a store employee who worked in the fraud department recognized the scam and prevented the victim from losing any more money.

    Now, you may think that you wouldn’t fall for this scam because you’re aware of this scam. Unfortunately, not everyone is. The victim in this case is a licensed professional with a master’s degree. It goes without saying that you have to be pretty smart to obtain that level. However, it’s not intelligence that scammers prey on, but emotion. They want to get you into that state of fear where reason becomes secondary, and they’re quite good at it. As we like to say, there’s a scam out there with your name on it. It only takes the right set of circumstances for anyone to fall for a scam.

    As far as the jury duty scam goes, police or other law enforcement will never call you demanding money in gift cards or any other form. In most cases, if you were to actually miss jury duty, you’d be sent a fine in the mail. If there was an actual warrant out for your arrest, police would not call and warn you. If you receive a call like this, hang up and call your local police.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on July 27, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: jury duty scam, , , ,   

    New elaborate addition to the jury duty scam 

    By Greg Collier

    There’s hardly a day that goes by where we don’t see some police department warning local residents about the jury duty scam. This scam is simple in its design, as it uses a basic human fear to take money from its victims. Typically, scammers will pose as local law enforcement, even going as far as to spoof the police department’s phone number. The scammers will call a potential victim and identify themselves as a police officer. The victim will be told that they missed jury duty and now have to pay a fine to prevent being arrested. Most times, this is enough to get the victim to pay. The scammers will almost always demand payment in some form of untraceable means, like gift cards or a prepaid debit card.

    Now, it seems, jury duty scammers are stepping up their game as authorities in North Carolina are warning residents of a new elaborate twist to the typical jury duty scam. Law enforcement in the Tarheel State have received complaints about jury duty scammers who have set up business-level voicemail systems that mimic those of police departments.

    Instead of just trying to find a victim on a live call, some scammers are now leaving voicemails telling the victims they’ve missed jury duty. The scammers then leave a local return phone number for the victim to call. If the victim does return the call, they’ll be placed into a phone tree that claims to be from a police department. When scammers pick up the call, they’ll identify themselves with the names of real police officers from the department they’re posing as.

    Not only does a scheme like this add the appearance of legitimacy to the scam, it also shows the lengths scammers will go to.

    No legitimate law enforcement agency will ever call you on the phone and threaten you with arrest if you don’t make an immediate payment. Also, no court system ever accepts payment in gift cards, money transfers, cryptocurrency, or any other type of untraceable and nontraditional payment.

    If you receive one of these calls, hang up and call the police department at their non-emergency phone number. Do not use any phone number that may be left by the caller.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on May 27, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Green Dot, jury duty scam, , ,   

    Scam Round Up: Zelle in online marketplaces and more 

    Scam Round Up: Zelle in online marketplaces and more

    By Greg Collier

    As most of us get ready for a three-day weekend, let’s take a look at three scams that we all probably should review.

    ***

    In Pennsylvania Dutch Country around Lancaster, authorities are warning residents that the car wrap scam has resurfaced in their area. This is when scammers promise their victims they can make money by wrapping their car in advertisements. In this particular instance, the scammers are posing as Hershey Chocolate, which is headquartered in the area. However, this scam is a variation of the fake check scam. The scammers will send you a fraudulent check they want you to deposit in your bank account before using that money to pay an ad agency who provides the wrap. Except, there is no ad agency. They’re just another part of the scam. So by the time your bank realizes the check you deposited is fake, the scammers will be long gone, and you’ll be on the hook to your bank for the amount of the check and any subsequent fees. No legitimate employer will ever ask you to deposit money into your bank account and then have you use it for business expenses.

    ***

    In the Cincinnati area, the jury duty scam is being reported on again. Although, this could literally be from anywhere in the United States since it’s such a common scam. Once again, this is the scam where scammers pose as law enforcement or the court system and try to convince their victims over the phone that they missed jury duty. To make themselves seem legitimate, the scammers know the victim’s address and the last four digits of their Social Security number. This information was more than likely obtained in a data breach. The scammers then tell their victim that in order to avoid arrest, they can pay a fine over the phone. In the Cincinnati story, the scammers are asking for their payment specifically in prepaid debit cards known as the Green Dot card. We’re surprised that the jury duty scammers are still using Green Dot cards when most other scammers have moved on to Zelle.

    ***

    And speaking of Zelle, the money transfer app is being used in yet another scam. This time, the scammers are targeting sellers on online marketplaces. A man in Denver was trying to sell a mattress online when he got an immediate response from a supposed buyer. The buyer said that someone else would be picking up the mattress. The buyer also requested to be able to pay through Zelle, and the seller was sent an email from ‘ZelleOfficialPay@gmail.com’. The seller realized that Zelle wouldn’t be using a Gmail address. So, it sounds like that the scammers were posing as Zelle to send some kind of fraudulent payment to the seller. Remember, Zelle should only be used between friends and family. Any online transaction that requests Zelle for any reason is a good indication it could be a scam.

    ***

    Thank you for reading, and we hope you have a safe Memorial Day weekend.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on May 12, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , jury duty scam, , , ,   

    Scam Round Up: Homeless victim loses savings in scam and more 

    By Greg Collier

    In this week’s round up, we have an update on a recent scam, a reminder of a grim scam, and a heartbreaking story on how heartless scammers are.

    ***

    You may remember a story from our last Scam Round Up where teachers in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area were being targeted in a jury duty scam. More recently, this scam moved westward and is now targeting teachers from the Cleveland, Ohio area, with at least one teacher falling victim to the scam.

    This is where scammers pose as local police and tell their victims they missed jury duty and a warrant is about to be issued for their arrest. However, a payment over the phone will supposedly resolve the matter.

    Much like in the Pittsburgh scam, scammers are calling schools in the Cleveland area asking for specific teachers and threatening them with arrest. One teacher is said to have lost $2000 to these scammers.

    Again, when it comes to jury duty, all communication is done through postal mail and not over the phone.

    ***

    In Upstate New York, police there are warning residents about a scam affecting the families of the recently deceased. Scammers are calling these families posing as an actuarial company claiming there’s been a data breach of the deceased’s information. The families are then asked for personal identifying information of the deceased.

    In this instance, scammers are likely trying to commit identity theft. They want to do things like open credit cards or take out loans in the deceased’s name before the credit companies update their record.

    If you were ever to receive a phone call like this, the best thing to do is to ask for them to send a request in writing. While not a guarantee, this does go a long way on discouraging these kinds of scammers.

    ***

    If that story wasn’t disturbing enough, a homeless woman from Florida was recently taken for over $1000 in a rental scam. After saving up enough money for her and her newborn baby to rent a home, she responded to an online real estate ad. She was texted by the supposed landlord, who asked her to pay a $75 application fee over Zelle. She was told she couldn’t see the property for a few days since it was currently occupied. Then she was asked by the supposed landlord to send $1049 for the first month’s rent. Fearing she might not get the home, she sent the money.

    Anytime a prospective landlord can’t show the property for whatever reason, there’s a good chance they’re not really the landlord.

    ***

    We hope that our readers never have to deal with scammers like this. But if you do, we hope we’ve prepared you enough to detect them.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on May 4, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , jury duty scam, , , , , ,   

    Scam Round Up: Teachers targeted in scam and more 

    Scam Round Up: Teachers targeted in scam and more

    By Greg Collier

    Today, we’re presenting our readers with three scams that, while not new, deserve to be reviewed.

    ***

    Reports from Pennsylvania are saying that the Mystery Shopper or Secret Shopper scam is making the rounds again. Many retail chains do employ secret shoppers who go around to the various stores and rate their experience. However, scammers would have you believe these positions are plentiful, which they are not.

    In Pennsylvania, reports there state that victims of the scam are being given fake checks to deposit in their bank accounts. They’re then asked to purchase hundreds of dollars in gift cards using the money from the fake checks. The victims are then asked to give the gift card numbers to their fake employer. By the time the victim’s bank notices the check is fake, the scammers have made off with the amount of the gift cards, while the victim is responsible for the amount of the fake check to their bank.

    Remember, no legitimate employer will ever ask you to deposit money into your bank account that is supposed to be used for business purposes.

    ***

    Our next scam comes to us from the Jacksonville, Florida-area. Reports there state that a police impersonation scam is ongoing there. In this particular police impersonation scam, the scammers are posing as U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. The scammers tell their victims that a box of drugs intended for the victim was intercepted. In order to avoid arrest, the victims are asked to make some kind of payment.

    If you receive a phone call like this, it’s recommended not to give the caller any personal information before hanging up.

    Again, no law enforcement department or agency is going to call you and threaten you with arrest if you don’t make a payment to them.

    ***

    Lastly, we have another police impersonation scam, and it’s the most common one. What’s different about this scam is who the scammers are targeting.

    Reports out of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-area are reporting an increase in the jury duty scam. This is where the scammers pose as local police and tell their victims they missed jury duty and a warrant is about to be issued for their arrest. Of course, a payment over the phone will make the warrant magically disappear.

    Like we said, this is hardly a new scam, but the scammers are specifically targeting school teachers in the Pittsburgh-area. The scammers have even been calling schools and are asking to be patched in to teachers while they’re teaching class.

    The report doesn’t say why scammers are targeting teachers, but if we had to hazard a guess, they’re targeting a profession where teachers usually have their hands full with what’s going on in the classroom and could be distracted easily by the scammers.

    When it comes to matters concerning jury duty, all communication is usually done through postal mail and not over the phone.

    ***

    These three scams can happen at anytime, anywhere in the country. Hopefully, we’ve armed you with enough knowledge to protect yourself.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 26, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , jury duty scam, , ,   

    The most common scams are the worst 

    The most common scams are the worst

    By Greg Collier

    The most common scams are also the most profitable scams. The reason scammers keep committing these scams is that victims keep falling for them. As we research the news for the latest information about scams, there’s one scam we continually see on an almost daily basis. If we were asked, we’d probably say that the most common scam in this country is the jury duty scam.

    The scam is almost elegant in its simplicity. Many of us grew up being told that if we miss jury duty, you can be arrested. Scammers take that one kernel of truth and twist the reality around it to make their scam seem so plausible.

    For example, a woman from the Houston-area of Texas almost fell victim to one of these scams. She received a phone call that appeared to come from a local phone number. The man on the other line spoke with a Texas accent and claimed to be from the Sheriff’s Office. He informed the woman that she had missed jury duty. The caller gave the woman three options to rectify the matter. She could either go to the Sheriff’s Office and be held in custody for 8-10 hours, have a warrant issued for her arrest, or drive to a nearby address with $900 in cash.

    This scammer is good at what he does. His threats for not paying the cash are more of an inconvenience than life and death stakes, making the scam seem more believable. As well as only asking for $900, as that can appear to seem like a reasonable court cost to many. However, I think he overplayed his hand by asking the woman to go to an address with cash that I’m guessing wasn’t the Sheriff’s Office.

    While the woman admitted that the scam seemed very real, she did not fall victim to it. Her husband contacted a lawyer friend of his, who told them it was a scam.

    Our point is that just because a scam is common doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone has heard of it. We deal with this subject every day, so we know. You read our posts, so you know. But there are so many more people out there who don’t.

    The only thing the others are missing is just a small amount of knowledge to protect them from that scam. And that knowledge is police departments don’t call citizens to threaten them with arrest over jury duty. Everything concerning jury duty is typically done by the postal mail. That includes missing jury duty. So if you haven’t received anything in the mail about jury duty, you’re not on the verge of bring arrested.

     

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