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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 18, 2024 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: moving money, police impersonation scam ( 49 ), Scams ( 1,227 )   

  How a phone call scam robbed a man of his dreams 

  

  By Greg Collier

  In the pursuit of the American dream, many immigrants come to the United States with aspirations of success and prosperity. However, for a software engineer residing in Ohio, his dreams turned into a nightmare when he fell victim to a sophisticated scam that robbed him of his life savings and shattered his hopes of financial security.

  Having worked tirelessly for years, saving nearly $180,000 with the goal of returning to his family in India as a successful and affluent individual, the victim was blindsided when he received a call on that fateful afternoon.

  The voice on the other end purported to be from his local police department, escalating the charade by transferring him to supposed FBI agents and representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. What followed was a chilling narrative of false accusations, including drug distribution and involvement in terrorist activities, designed to instill fear and coerce compliance.

  In a state of panic and desperation, the victim was led to believe that his only recourse was to cooperate with the scammers’ demands. Faced with threats of imminent arrest and promises of protection, he was instructed to fill out fabricated paperwork and transfer his entire savings, which included stocks, cash, and company shares, into designated bank accounts under the guise of government oversight.

  The aftermath of the ordeal was devastating. Despite his frantic efforts to seek help from local authorities, financial institutions, and even political representatives, the victim was powerless to halt the irreversible transfer of his hard-earned money. The dream he had worked so diligently to achieve was mercilessly shattered, leaving him emotionally shattered and financially destitute.

  Hindsight reveals the telltale signs of a scam—coercive tactics, urgency, and isolation, yet in the moment, the allure of hope or the specter of fear can cloud judgment and lead individuals down a perilous path.

  As the victim grapples with the harsh reality of his situation, his story serves as a stark reminder to us all. In an age where technology enables deception to masquerade as legitimacy, caution must be exercised, and skepticism must be embraced. The promise of a brighter future should never come at the expense of one’s hard-earned security and peace of mind.

  As highlighted in earlier discussions, transferring your funds to another person’s bank account for purported protection is never a valid protocol under any circumstance. Similarly, legitimate law enforcement agencies do not engage in demanding money over the phone under the threat of arrest. In the event of any potential legal involvement, law enforcement typically opts for a personal visit rather than resorting to coercive phone calls.

  If individuals find themselves on the receiving end of such suspicious calls, the best course of action is to immediately terminate the call and independently contact the agency the caller claims to represent or reach out to local law enforcement for verification and guidance.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 17, 2024 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: gold bars ( 4 ), malware ( 25 ), moving money, police impersonation scam ( 49 ), pop-ups ( 21 ), Scams ( 1,227 )   

  Another gold scam claims $115,000 from elderly couple 

  

  By Greg Collier

  An elderly Nebraska couple recently fell victim to a particularly elaborate and harrowing fraud scheme, losing a staggering $115,000 in the process. The couple’s computer abruptly shut down, signaling the beginning of their descent into a web of deceit. Upon rebooting, a distressing message purportedly warning of a malware issue flashed on their screen, accompanied by a phone number. Little did they know, this was the first step in an intricate ploy orchestrated by heartless scammers.

  The voice on the other end of the line spun a tale of theft and false accusations, claiming that the FBI was investigating the couple for heinous crimes they hadn’t committed. Fueled by fear and confusion, the couple was coerced into believing they were facing imminent legal repercussions and that their bank accounts were in jeopardy.

  As the days passed, the manipulative tactics intensified, culminating in the demand to purchase gold bars purportedly for safekeeping. Entrusted with a significant sum of $115,000, the couple obediently complied, only to hand over their life savings to a stranger who promised to safeguard their wealth in a distant bank. Men showed up at their door in official looking vehicles claiming to be government agents.

  Tragically, their trust was misplaced, and the promised security was nothing more than an illusion. Days later, when reality came crashing down, it was too late. The realization that they had been duped dawned upon them, leaving them not only financially devastated but also emotionally shattered.

  This story sheds light on two troubling patterns in the realm of scams. Firstly, scammers are exhibiting a growing audacity by dispatching individuals to the residences of their victims. These individuals may either be complicit in the scam or unwittingly drawn into it. Regardless, such occurrences pose a significant risk to the safety and well-being of many.

  The rationale behind sending scammers to victims’ homes lies in the increasing preference for gold as a form of payment. Unlike gift cards or cryptocurrency, which can be transacted electronically, gold necessitates physical retrieval from the victims. Consequently, scammers exploit this requirement, manipulating victims into surrendering their valuables in person.

  Regrettably, gold, much like other forms of payment demanded by scammers, remains largely untraceable. This exacerbates the difficulty of apprehending and holding perpetrators accountable for their actions.

  Should your computer or any internet-connected device display a virus or malware warning prompting you to call a phone number, refrain from doing so. Most prominent tech companies eschew traditional customer service phone lines, with some even dissuading phone inquiries altogether. Thus, if you encounter such a phone number on your device, avoid calling it, as it’s highly likely to be a scam.

  Transferring your funds from one financial institution to another as a means of safeguarding them from hackers, thieves, or any other threat is not a viable strategy. Legitimate law enforcement agencies never solicit money from individuals over the phone, and reputable banks never advise customers to relocate their funds to a supposedly “protected” account.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 8, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: moving money, pay yourself, pop-ups ( 21 ), Scams ( 1,227 ), tech support scam ( 43 )   

  Victim loses $600K to tech support scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  If the jury duty scam is the most common scam we see, the tech support scam has to be a very close second. This is another scam where hardly a day goes by where we don’t see a news story where someone fell victim to the scam.

  Typically, the tech support scam occurs when someone is surfing the internet on their device when all of a sudden they receive a pop-up message telling them either their device or their bank account has been hacked. These messages also contain a phone number for the device owner to call for further assistance. If someone were to call the number, they’d be connected to scammers posing as any number of positions such as tech support or their bank’s fraud department, just to name a few.

  In numerous tech support scams, the scammers will convince their victims to download software that allows the scammers to have remote access to the victim’s device. This is done under the guise of wanting to help protect the victim, or make things easier for the victim. In reality, the scammers are now watching your every move on the device where the software was installed. From there, the scammers can either access your bank account themselves from the victim’s device, or they direct the victim to move their money in order to protect it. It’s not unheard of for victims to lose thousands of dollars in this scam.

  In that vein, a Pennsylvania man came forward to let the public know that he was taken for a staggering $600,000 in a tech support scam. In his case, the scammers convinced him to download remote access software. The scam went on for a while, with the scammers throwing a bunch of tech mumbo jumbo at the man to make it seem like the scammers were catching hackers. Instead, they were actually draining the man’s bank account until it was empty.

  If you receive any kind of message that claims your bank account has been compromised, do not call the phone number in the message. Instead, call your financial institution at the customer service number that’s on the back of your debit card, or the bank’s website. Also, please keep in mind, no one claiming to be from Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, or any other tech giant has any idea what’s going on with your bank account. The only company that has access to your bank account is your bank. Even then, if someone contacts you claiming to be from your bank telling you that you need to move your money in order to protect it is lying. Never move your money or send it to yourself when a stranger tells you to. Neither of those transactions or something a real bank does.