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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 10, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: gifting club, Oregon, pyramid scheme ( 11 ), Scams ( 1,368 )   

  Gifting club is just another name for pyramid scheme 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Some of the oldest scams are the most effective ones. For example, the pyramid scheme is one that predates the internet and has been taking money from victims for decades. The only difference between then and today is the internet and social media have made it easy to find victims from all over.

  The way a pyramid scheme works is the person on the top of the pyramid recruits people to invest in the scheme. Those recruits fill the next level of the pyramid than they have to recruit more people to fill the next level of the pyramid and so on. Once the pyramid is full, the person at the top gets all the investments from everyone beneath them on the pyramid. Then people gradually move upwards on the pyramid where they’ll eventually make it to the top and supposedly claim their windfall.

  The problem with pyramid schemes is that only the people that get in first are the only ones who usually make money. The more the pyramid expands the more difficult it becomes to recruit new members leaving most participants at a loss.

  Unfortunately, this has happened to a number of residents of Oregon. Calling itself a ‘gifting club’ a pyramid scheme in Oregon promised its victims a $9,000 payout for a $1,400 investment. Investors are then asked to recruit more people into the club. At least 20 Oregon residents have reported losing money to this alleged pyramid scheme. With everything being online, victims gave their money to the club through various payment apps like PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App.

  If any kind of investment scheme requires you to recruit more people that is not a true investment plan but a pyramid scheme. Pyramid schemes are illegal in the US. If someone says that their plan isn’t a pyramid scheme because pyramid schemes are illegal, it’s almost definitely a pyramid scheme.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 23, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Almeda Fire, Oregon, rental scam ( 87 ), Scams ( 1,368 )   

  Rental scammers take advantage of fire victims 

  

  The recent Almeda Fire in Southern Oregon is said to have destroyed over 2,300 homes. It’s being called one of the most destructive American fires in the past 50 years. This has left many of the fire’s victims scrambling to find temporary or permanent housing. Of course, where there are people who have a desperate need there will be those looking to take advantage of them.

  According to local real estate brokers, rental scams have been flooding the area. They say that they’ve always been a problem but with the recent fire, the scam has been increasing immensely in the area. This is also one of the oldest online scams. Scammers will take a legitimate listing from a realtor’s website, copy it, then place an ad on Craigslist claiming they’re renting the property. The scammers will advertise the property at below market value before trying to squeeze a phony deposit or rent payment out of their victims. With so many people looking for shelter, the local Craigslist listings are said to be flooded with scammers and unfortunately, desperate people looking for a roof over their heads have fallen victim to the scam.

  We know that it’s easier said than done when facing a crisis like this, however, even in drastic situations like this, you should take the time to do your research. We always recommend checking with the county’s tax assessor’s office or website to find out who the true property owner is. Along with that we also recommend doing a reverse image search to make sure the property ad isn’t being copied from a legitimate realtor or landlord. You should also be wary of any landlord who can’t tell you anything about the property but is anxious to collect a deposit. Also, be wary if the landlord tries to collect payment through apps like Venmo or Cash App. If a landlord says they can’t show you the property even for COVID-19 reasons it’s probably a scam.

  No one who has endured a disaster like this should have to endure the petty greed of scammers.

   
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  Geebo 9:06 am on May 30, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: OfferUp ( 23 ), Oregon, prepaid VISA card ( 2 ), robbery ( 11 ), stun gun   

  Bizarre OfferUp robbery in Oregon 

  

  A man and a girl were violently robbed in Tualatin, Oregon, after responding to an OfferUp ad for two cell phones. The buyers were instructed to bring the money in the form of a $1200 prepaid VISA card. When the card wouldn’t work the buyers and sellers went to a grocery store to try and withdraw money from the card which also didn’t work for some reason. Usually, when it comes to transactions like this through marketplace apps, prepaid VISA cards are used more for over the phone type scams.

  Possibly out of frustration, the sellers allegedly used a stun gun on the man and held the girl at knifepoint robbing them of whatever possessions the buyers had on them. At the time of this post, the suspects have yet to be apprehended. There was obviously some malice of forethought here since the sellers ended up robbing the buyers, but there were some red flags that something was not right with this proposed transaction.

  First off, anytime someone gives some kind of prerequisite on how they want to receive payment in a face to face transaction, there’s probably a scam in play especially when it comes to any type of prepaid VISA or gift card. Secondly, you should never travel to a secondary location on anyone’s insistence. Thieves usually use this tactic to get their victims away from the public eye and have resulted in tragic consequences. Lastly, meeting in a public place just isn’t the safeguard it once was as scammers and thieves have become increasingly bolder in recent years when it comes to their crimes. You should always insist on meeting at a police station as more police departments are encouraging people to use their monitored parking lots and lobbies as meeting places for these kinds of transactions. If the person you’re dealing with doesn’t want to meet their then more than likely they’re up to some kind of scheme where you could lose your money, be hurt, or worse.

   
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  Geebo 10:29 am on December 28, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Ashley Benson, Backpage ( 69 ), Human trafficking ( 97 ), lawsuit ( 47 ), Oregon   

  Backpage being sued in the death of trafficked woman 

  

  Recently, it was announced that controversial classifieds site Backpage was being sued again over its alleged role in the sex trafficking trade. Backpage is being sued by the estate of Ashley Benson who was said to have been trafficked on Backpage by an abusive pimp. In 2014, she was strangled to death in a Portland, Oregon, hotel by a john who had been stalking her through Backpage. The lawsuit accuses Backpage of failing to prevent sex trafficking and prostitution on its site and changes user-generated ads in an attempt to downplay the trafficking aspect.

  Historically, Backpage has been successful in court against such lawsuits y hiding behind the antiquated Communications Decency Act of 1996. However, that protection is starting to diminish for Backpage after a Congressional investigative committee found evidence that Backpage was editing the user submitted ads to their legal advantage. After that discovery was made public Backpage settled a major lawsuit in the State of Washington where they were being sued by woman who said they were trafficked on Backpage while being underage.

  With Congress pressing to have the Communications Decency act to be amended to remove protections for websites that traffic women and children, if that legislation is made into law, we could see the floodgates open with lawsuit after lawsuit against Backpage. In the end, that may be the better way to finally put a stop to their hand in sex trafficking as it could potentially take away what Backpage cares about most, the money they make off of the victims of human trafficking.