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  • Geebo 8:00 am on May 21, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , payment app, , , traffic accident   

    Police impersonators target new victims 

    Police impersonators target new victims

    By Greg Collier

    As we’ve mentioned before, scams can be likened to living organisms, constantly evolving into more sophisticated schemes. One prime example is the police impersonation scam. The most common variant of this is the jury duty scam, where scammers pose as local police officers and inform victims of a supposed arrest warrant for missing jury duty. The victims are then coerced into making payments to avoid arrest. Recently, a new iteration of the police impersonation scam has emerged, targeting a very specific group of individuals.

    In the aftermath of car accidents, the last thing one expects is to become a target for scammers. Yet, this is a stark reality for many unsuspecting individuals. A recent scam has surfaced in Wake Forest, North Carolina, preying on those involved in car crashes, exploiting their desire to settle matters quickly and lawfully.

    The scam is simple yet effective. One victim received a call claiming to be from the Wake Forest Police Department. Scammers obtain personal details, possibly from public records, about recent car accidents.
    They then contact victims, referencing the accident and using stolen information to appear genuine.
    The scammer invents a story, like a missed court date, and pressures the victim to send money immediately to resolve the issue.

    The most alarming aspect of this scam is the request for payment through cash apps to settle supposed missed court dates or fines. This should raise immediate red flags, as no legitimate law enforcement agency would ever solicit fines or warrant payments via such methods. In this instance, the victim lost $400 to the scammers.

    If you receive a call about a supposed legal issue related to a car accident, be cautious. If unsure, ask for the caller’s name, badge number, and department. Verify the information by calling the police department directly, not using any numbers provided by the caller.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 9, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , payment app, ,   

    Venmo issues its own warning about scam 

    Venmo issues its own warning about scam

    By Greg Collier

    As you may know, Venmo is a personal payment app, with the emphasis on personal. It’s intended to be used between friends and family to send money quickly and effortlessly. It’s not supposed to be used between strangers, but this hasn’t prevented scammers from using it as an avenue of taking money from their victims. Scammers often use Venmo because once a victim pays a scammer, the scammer can quickly block the victim, preventing any kind of refund.

    Venmo itself recently issued a warning to not only its customers, but the general public about a scam that’s been plaguing its users. In this scam, a Venmo user receives a payment from someone they don’t know. The stranger then messages the user and claims the payment was sent by mistake. Then the user is asked to make a payment back to the stranger.

    These ‘accidental’ payments are often made by scammers using stolen credit or debit cards. If a user pays back the stranger, once the initial payment is found to be fraudulent, that payment is revoked. However, the user’s payment to the scammer is not. This gives the scammer free money and leaves the victim with much less money in their account.

    Venmo stated, if you receive a payment from a stranger, do not pay them back. Instead, a customer should contact Venmo through the app to have the payment reverse the payment. Users should also block anyone who sends them unsolicited payments.

    Another way to protect your Venmo account is by changing your payment feed to private. It is set to public by default, which means anyone can see your Venmo history.

    For more information about Venmo scams, you can use their online help center.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 7, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , payment app, , ,   

    Hacked phone call leads to business scam 

    Hacked phone call leads to business scam

    By Greg Collier

    It almost seems like anything can be turned into a scam these days. Granted, this is a blog that mainly focuses on scams. As the saying goes, when you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail. However, there used to be a time when you could call a local business, leave them a voicemail, and expect a call back from that business. Now, it seems, that even that is at risk from scammers.

    According to the Better Business Bureau, a woman from Pennsylvania left a voicemail with a local concrete company. She needed some repair work done. Instead of getting a phone call, she received a text that claimed to be from the concrete company. The text asked for a picture of the repairs that needed to be done and a $50 deposit paid through Venmo. If you’re unfamiliar with Venmo, it’s a personal payment app on your phone that is supposed to only be used between family and friends.

    The victim then received another text asking for another $50 before she was asked to pay for 50% of the price of the job. All these payments were supposed to be paid through Venmo. It was at this point the woman called the actual concrete company, who told her that they weren’t the pones behind the text messages.

    It turned out that the concrete company’s voicemail service had been hijacked by the scammers. Who knows how many customers the scammers took advantage of in this way?

    Now, we’re not saying that this type of scam is a national crisis. This is the first we’ve heard of this type of scam. However, it is something to keep in mind if it does become a bigger problem.

    Another thing to keep in mind is when a supposed business asks for payment through an app. Whether it’s Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle, these apps are only intended for personal use and not for business. Even most local handymen and women have ways of accepting payment through credit or debit cards. Any business that asks for payment through one of these apps may not be on the up and up.

    If you feel like things aren’t on the level when dealing with a business, don’t be afraid to end communication.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 25, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ComEd, payment app, , , , ,   

    Utility scammers move to payment apps 

    Utility scammers move to payment apps

    By Greg Collier

    Winter in the Midwest is an opportune time for utility scammers to find new victims. Power company ComEd, which serves the greater Chicago area, has reported that shut-off scams have increased by 150% and have claimed $27,000 from customers in just one month. No one who lives in the Midwest wants to face the possibility of losing their power during a cold Winter. These factors can create a perfect storm of fear that scammers are ready to take advantage of.

    The shut-off scam is exactly what it sounds like. Scammers will call up their victims while posing as the local electricity provider. The victims will be told they’re behind on their electricity bill and their service is about to be shut off in a matter of minutes. The scammers then demand an immediate payment to prevent the victim’s service from being terminated. Previously, scammers would get their victims to pay in gift cards, pre-paid debit cards, and, in some instances, cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. But now, scammers are moving to a different method for extracting money from their victims.

    According to the Better Business Bureau, shut-off scammers are using payment apps such as Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle, which makes sense in a strange way. With gift cards and cryptocurrency, scammers have to direct their victims to physical locations to complete the transaction. With payment apps, scammers can get the money almost immediately with minimal effort. It also helps the scammers that they can block the victim on these apps once they receive the payment. These apps also do not have a lot of customer protection once a user has been scammed.

    As always, no utility company will threaten you with termination over the phone. If you were to get behind in your bill, you would receive a written warning in the mail before any termination of service would happen. Also, please keep in mind that payment apps like Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle are only supposed to be used with people you know personally. Anyone else who asks for payment through these apps just may be trying to scam you.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 15, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , credit union, payment app,   

    Payment app fraud may not be covered by your bank 

    Payment app fraud may not be covered by your bank

    By Greg Collier

    As we have seen with the recent incidents of the Zelle scam, banks aren’t exactly rushing forward to reimburse customers who have lost money due to payment app fraud. Many mobile payment apps require their users to connect either a bank account or a debit or credit card to their accounts. This has allowed scammers to drain bank accounts from many of their targets using multiple apps. These apps offer little to no fraud protection, with many of them just pointing to a page on their website that says how to look out for fraud. In a multitude of cases, many banks have refused to reimburse their customers since the fraud was committed on a third-party platform.

    For example, a couple in San Antonio, Texas, got a call from their credit union asking them about suspicious activity on their account. According to the credit union, there were 11 transactions that took place in the United Kingdom which amounted to $4000. Somehow, scammers got a hold of their Cash App information and were stealing money from the couple’s bank account through Cash App. The couple was angry since the credit union is said to normally call them for transactions over $500 but didn’t warn them about these transactions until it was too late. As with many of these stories, the credit union denied the couple a refund until the couple got the local media involved. All of a sudden, the fraudulent transaction was covered under the couple’s fraud protection on their account.

    If you’re a frequent user of payment apps like Cash App, you may want to link a credit card to your account instead of a debit card or bank account. Credit cards offer many more protections than the payment apps do on their own, and you’ll have a much better chance of getting your money back. If you don’t have a credit card, on some payment apps, you can limit the amount of payment that can be made. Payment app users should also do a daily check on their balance, as the sooner you can catch the fraud, the sooner you can do something about it.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on October 22, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , payment app, , , ,   

    Zelle scam keeps making victims out of bank customers 

    By Greg Collier

    Reports are still coming in about the scam that uses the Zelle payment app to drain victims’ bank accounts. In case you’ve missed our previous posts about the scam, scammers are posing as nationwide banks while sending text messages to victims asking them if they’ve made a large purchase. When the victim replies back, they’re then called by the scammers posing as the bank’s fraud department. The scammers tell the victim that someone is fraudulently using their account. The victim is then instructed to make a transfer through Zelle to ‘protect’ their account. Instead, the scammers are directing the money to their own accounts.

    Bank of America has taken the brunt of the criticism in this story, since it seems mostly B of A customers who have been affected. The bank has been seemingly resistant to either issue refunds or recover their customers’ money. Many times they’ve only done so after scam victims have contacted their local media. The scam has become so prevalent across the country that even the New York media is warning consumers about the scam.

    However, it’s not just Bank of America that is seeing their customers get taken for a ride. A number of Chase Bank customers have also reported falling victim to the scam. Recently, an Ohio woman lost $13,000 to the scam, and she was a Chase customer. As of the time of this writing, Chase has not commented on whether or not the woman will be getting her money back.

    The company that runs Zelle is jointly owned by is owned by Bank of America, BB&T, Capital One, Navy Federal Credit Union, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, Ally, US Bank, and Wells Fargo. There are other banks that also use Zelle even though they don’t hold ownership in it.

    If your bank uses Zelle and you receive one of these scam texts, do not reply to it. Instead, call your bank’s customer service number from the back of your debit or credit card. That way, you know you’re talking to a legitimate customer service representative. They’ll be able to tell you if there is any real fraudulent activity on your account.

     

  • Geebo 8:01 am on October 18, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , payment app, , ,   

    Zelle scam victims may be entitled to get their money back 

    Zelle scam victims may be entitled to get their money back

    By Greg Collier

    The Zelle scam has been finding a lot of victims around the country. We originally posted about it here. The scam is largely affecting Bank of America customers, although we’ve also seen it affect Chase customers. In theory, it could affect any bank’s customers whether that bank uses The payment app or not.

    The scam works with the scammers posing as a bank. In this case, Bank of America, mostly. The scammers will text countless people at random. They only need to have a handful of people to fall victim to the scam to make it profitable. The text message will appear to have come from B of A asking if you’ve made a substantially large purchase lately. Within the text, you’ll be asked to reply ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if you made such a purchase. If someone replies to the text, the text is followed up by a phone call from someone posing as a customer service rep from the bank telling you that someone has accessed your account. The victim will be then instructed to move the money in their account to a ‘safe place’ through Zelle, with the claim that this will keep their money safe. What’s really going on is that you’re transferring your money to a scammer’s account, and they make off with your money.

    For the most part, victims can’t get their money back. Zelle offers no protections for this, and the banks usually tell scam victims that there’s nothing they can do. Sometimes victims do get their money back after speaking with their local media. However, it seems more like the banks are doing this for PR reasons rather than any kind of responsibility to the customer.

    That may be changing, as a little-known federal law known as Regulation E states that banks are supposed to refund customers if the customer is the victim of a fraudulent transaction on their account. That includes when a third party tricks a victim into sharing account information. However, it does not protect the customer if the customer uses Zelle knowingly to buy something online and never receives that purchase. But for this scam, victims should be able to get refunds, theoretically. Whether the banks will try to prevent these refunds remains to be seen.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on October 8, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , payment app, , , , ,   

    Scam Round Up: Don’t let strangers use your phone and more 

    Scam Round Up: Don't let strangers use your phone and more

    By Greg Collier

    We’re closing out the week again with another trio of scams that have popped up around the country.

    ***

    Our first scam comes to us from Charlotte, North Carolina. Residents there have been complaining about a bold scam that takes advantage of your kindness. The scam involves people coming up to you asking to use your phone. The scammers will have some kind of story like hey’re car broke down and can they use your phone to call someone. Once they have your phone, they’ll open up whatever payment app you have on your phone and send all your money to the scammers account. In Charlotte, residents there have said that Venmo was specifically targeted, but this scam could be used on any payment app. The best way to prevent this from happening, outside of letting no one use your phone, is to enable the security features on your accounts. Usually, you can secure your accounts with a PIN or have them require your fingerprint or facial recognition.

    ***

    Speaking of North Carolina, the Better Business Bureau of Eastern North Carolina is warning consumers about phony lenders who are really looking to pull off an old scam. In this scam, the lender promise an easy loan, and will deposit a check in your bank account. The scammers will then demand you to buy loan insurance before the check even clears. However, the check never clears as it’s a fake, leaving the victim responsible for the check’s amount to their bank. These phony lenders usually promise you won’t have to undergo a credit check. This should be your red flag, as all legitimate lenders will have you undergo a credit check. Also, no one seeking a loan should respond to unsolicited offers they may receive through text or email.

    ***

    Lastly, the Better Business Bureau of Tulsa is warning their residents about a text messaging scam that threatens to lock their phone. Consumers there have been getting texts that appear to come from their cell phone providers telling them that their phone will be locked if they don’t make a payment. The text also contains a link that should never be clicked on. The link will either inject malware into your phone or it will ask you for your financial information. If you receive one of these texts or one like it, call the customer service number that appears on your bill or on the provider’s website.

    ***

    Please keep in mind that scams like this aren’t confined to the area where they are being reported on in the news. They could just as easily be happening in your area.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 30, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , payment app,   

    Victim scammed by fake Cash App website 

    Victim scammed by fake Cash App website

    By Greg Collier

    Cash App has an advantage over its competitors like PayPal and Zelle. A Cash App user doesn’t need to have a bank account linked to their Cash App account. This is a great benefit to many Cash App users who are underserved by banks in their communities. However, that advantage comes at a cost. Cash App doesn’t offer the same protections that a bank might when it comes to scams, and unfortunately, Cash App is probably the most popular mobile payment app used by scammers. One of the more common Cash App scams is the fake customer service number scam. This is where scammers take out ads on popular search engines claiming to be Cash App’s official customer service number, but instead you’re directed to a scammer.

    Something similar recently happened to a woman from Arizona. She used Cash App exclusively and did not have a bank account. She recently purchased a new phone and wasn’t sure how to transfer her Cash App account to her new phone. Just because smartphones are commonplace now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone knows all the ins and outs of them, and purchasing a new phone can be a daunting task for some. The woman and her son looked on the internet for instructions on how to do this and came across a website that looked like an official Cash App site.

    The phony website even listed the correct customer service number for Cash App. However, when they clicked on the phone number, it redirected them to a scam call center. The phony rep asked for her account information and transferred all of her entire paycheck to a bank account controlled by the scammers. Another drawback to Cash App is that once a transfer is made, the account who received the money can block the account that sent the money. Or, in this case, the account that had money stolen from it.

    With payment apps like Cash App, your account isn’t permanently tied to the phone you first started using it on. As long as you haven’t changed your phone number, you should be able to redownload the app to your new phone and enter your login information and everything should be on the new phone.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 28, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: payment app, , ,   

    PayPal scam targets the elderly 

    PayPal scam targets the elderly

    By Greg Collier

    Yesterday, we talked about Venmo has been used in various scams, but today is all about Venmo’s big brother, PayPal. For those who may not know, Venmo is owned by PayPal. Anyway, PayPal is also no stranger to scams. Scammers have been fleecing PayPal users before Venmo was even a thing. Historically, PayPal was used as a scamming tool by shady eBay sellers. This was around the time when eBay owned PayPal, but has since spun off the payment app. We’re not saying that PayPal is responsible for the scams, but since PayPal has become so common in internet commerce, it has become a major avenue of scammers.

    A report out of Southern California says that there is a PayPal scam going around targeting elderly users of the platform. Most PayPal users get an email every time they make a purchase using PayPal. PayPal users will be most familiar with the email that comes with the PayPal logo that tells you where you made the purchase and how much the purchase was. A 67-year-old woman from San Diego received one of these emails, but it was for a purchase she didn’t make that was for an exorbitant amount. Legitimate PayPal emails also contain PayPal’s customer service number. This scam email also contained a phone number, but it went to a scam call center instead of PayPal.

    The phony customer service representative asked to log into the woman’s account in order to reverse the charge. The woman was also asked for banking information, since PayPal accounts are required to be linked to a bank account. Thankfully, the woman caught on that this was a scam and did not give up any of her information.

    If you are a PayPal user, and you receive an email that claims you were billed for a purchase you didn’t make, the first thing you should do is log into your account. Then check the transactions to see if the fraudulent purchase is there or not. If it’s not there, you can delete the email and forget about it. If a fraudulent transaction is there, call the customer service number listed on PayPal’s website or the back of your PayPal debit card. Whatever you do, don’t Google for the phone number, as that could lead you to a fraudulent call center. Also, avoid using any phone numbers contained in emails, as they could also direct you to a group of scammers as well.

     

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