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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 20, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: arrest warrant ( 26 ), bitcoin ( 32 ), jury duty scam ( 30 ), Police ( 8 ), police impersonation scam, police scam ( 37 ), Scams ( 1,368 )   

  The latest twist on the police impersonation scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Law enforcement officers and agents are arguably the people most imitated by scammers. Most people either have a certain respect for or a fear of the police. So, it seems almost an obvious choice for scammers to impersonate police to get their victims to do what they want.

  We’ve discussed many of these police impersonation scams before. The two most common police impersonation scams are the jury duty scam and the arrest warrant scam. Actually, they’re both the same scam. In the jury duty scam, the scammers will call their victims to tell them they’ve missed jury duty. The victims are then instructed to make a payment over the phone or a warrant will be issued for their arrest. In the arrest warrant scam, the scammers just say that there is a warrant out for the victim’s arrest, although a payment could make the warrant go away.

  When these scammers ask, or in some cases, demand payment, they usually ask the victim to pay through untraceable means. These usually include payment apps like Venmo and Zelle, prepaid debit cards like Green Dot, cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, and of course, gift cards.

  King City, on the Central Coast of California, has reported that scammers are posing as one of their detectives in a police impersonation scam. However, the scammer isn’t threatening their victims with arrest. In this case, the scammer says that they’re investigating a case where the victim’s identity has been stolen. The victim is then instructed by the phony detective to move all their money from the bank to a Bitcoin account to clear their identity. In reality, the money goes into the scammer’s Bitcoin wallet, and they make off with the victim’s money.

  This scam isn’t just limited to your local police department, either. In the past, we have seen scammers pose as the FBI, the DEA, Homeland Security, and Border Patrol just to name a few. However, you can protect yourself from this scam with just one important piece of knowledge. No law enforcement office or agency will ever demand payment for anything over the phone.

  If you ever receive one of these phone calls, try to give the caller as little information as possible and tell them you’ll call them back. Don’t let them keep you on the phone. Then call your local police department and inform them of the call.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on March 23, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: free piano scam ( 2 ), gift cards ( 101 ), mail fraud ( 21 ), movers ( 8 ), police impersonation scam, police scam ( 37 ), Scams ( 1,368 )   

  Scam Round Up: The free piano scam and more 

  

  By Greg Collier

  This week in the Scam Round Up, we have the reemergence of an old scam, a new twist on an old scam, and scam we’ve not heard of until now.

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  As our readers know, gift cards are being used in all manner of scams. Often, the advice about gift cards is to only use them for gifts. But even then, you can still be scammed. In Centennial, Colorado, a woman purchased a gift card in the amount of $500. However, no funds appeared on the card. A scammer had replaced the barcode on the back of the gift card with sticker. The sticker had a barcode that redirected the $500 to a card the scammer had bought. When buying gift cards, check the card for tampering before taking it to the register. You should also take the cards from the middle of the stack as they are less likely to be tampered with.

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  Another scam our readers should be aware of is the arrest warrant scam. This is where scammers will pose as your local police department or sheriff’s office. Typically, the scammers call their victims and threaten the victims with arrest. In the majority of cases, the scammers will say that the victim missed jury duty, but other fake infractions have also been used. The scammers tell the victim that they can avoid arrest by paying a fine over the phone. Again, scammers usually ask for these payments in gift cards.

  One county in Northeastern Pennsylvania is receiving these threats in the mail instead of over the phone. The letters appear to be an arrest warrant from a federal court. The letter also says the arrest is on hold for 24 hours and can be avoided by purchasing gift cards.

  As always, no law enforcement agency in the United States accepts gift cards as payment.

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  Lastly, we have the scam we’ve not heard of before which is saying something. It’s called the free piano scam. Have you ever seen an online ad for a free piano? They’re out there. It seems really plausible when someone says they have a piano that no one uses, and they just want to get rid of it. As with most things that are too good to be true, there’s a catch. If the seller says that the piano is on a moving truck and the buyer needs to contact the moving company, there is a scam afoot. The scam is when the moving company asks the buyer for money to have the piano shipped to them. Once the buyer sends the money, the movers disappear with the money.

  If you’re in the market for a piano and find an ad for a free one, unless you pick it up yourself, or hire your own movers, it’s best left alone.

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  While these scams may not be currently appearing in your area, it could be a matter of time before they are. But now, you’ll be ready.

   
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  Geebo 9:00 am on March 11, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: bank scam ( 70 ), identity protection PIN, IRS ( 24 ), money mules ( 4 ), police impersonation scam, police scam ( 37 ), Scams ( 1,368 ), tax scam ( 11 ), U.S. Customs and Border Protection ( 7 )   

  Scam Round Up: Protect yourself from tax scammers and more 

  

  By Greg Collier

  This week on the Scam Round Up, we’re bringing our readers a great tip, a new scam, and a reminder of an old scam.

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  One of the more prevalent tax related scams over the past few years has been scammers filing a tax return in your name, so they can claim your refund check. Previously, we’ve recommended filing your tax return as early as possible to beat the scammers, but that isn’t always possible. However, there is another way to prevent fraudulent returns being filed in your name. The IRS has an option where you can get an identity protection PIN. This is a six-digit number that only you and the IRS know. If this number is not included on your tax return, it will not be processed by the IRS. If you’d like to know more about the identity protection PIN or apply for one, you can find more information at the IRS website.

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  A Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina has recently uncovered a scam that could be affecting people nationwide. According to the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, scammers are stealing money from bank accounts where the account holder may not notice the missing money. They give estate accounts as an example. The scammers will then send a check to an unsuspecting victim asking them to deposit the check, keep a portion of it, and wire the rest overseas. The Sheriff’s Office found a man who was just getting ready to wire close to $200,000 overseas. If you have an account like an estate account, you may want to check on it periodically to make sure there are no fraudulent transactions. Also, no matter how good the promise of money may be, never deposit a check from a stranger then wire the money somewhere else. Not only could this be a fraudulent check, but you could also potentially get in legal trouble for helping to facilitate the scam.

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  Lastly for today, the Border Patrol scam is making headlines again. This is where scammers will pose as agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Victims will receive a phone call that says Border Agents intercepted a box full of drugs and money that was supposedly being shipped to the victim. Other times, the scammers will say that a car rented in the victim’s name was found with drugs in it near the Southern Border. In either case, the scammers will threaten the victim with arrest if they don’t pay a fine. As with most modern scams, the scammers will ask for payment in non-traditional means like cryptocurrency or gift cards. Always keep in mind, no law enforcement agency will ever ask for money over the phone or threaten someone with arrest over the phone.

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  We hope you found this post informative, as nobody should ever have to endure the damaging schemes of scammers.

   
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  Geebo 9:00 am on March 4, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: good samaritan scam ( 2 ), police impersonation scam, police scam ( 37 ), qr codes ( 8 ), Scams ( 1,368 ), venmo ( 28 )   

  Scam Round Up: QR Codes, Good Samaritan scam, and more 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Once again, we’re bringing you a trio of scams we’ve discussed before, but now have a slight new angle to them.

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  The last time we mentioned QR codes, they were being used in a parking scam in Texas. Now, the Attorney General of North Carolina is warning about QR code scams in the Tarheel State. Many businesses are using QR codes for customers to scan to see things like menus on the customer’s phone. This helps cut down on potentially coming in contact with COVID-19. The NC Attorney general is saying scammers are replacing QR codes used by businesses with stickers of the scammer’s QR code. These scam codes can take you to malicious websites that will either ask you for personal information or inject spyware on to your device which could compromise any of your online accounts. Before scanning a QR code in public, make sure the code has not been tampered with and do not download any software the QR code may instruct you to do.

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  Speaking of North Carolina, for our next story we go to Charlotte where a man was scammed out of $4000 for just trying to be a good person. The man lent his phone to another man who said he needed to use the phone for an emergency. The other man made a call then said he needed to text his sister since the connection was bad. What the other man was really doing was accessing the man’s Venmo app and sending $4000 to himself. The victim didn’t realize his money was gone until two days later. If you use any payment app like Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal, among others, there are security measures you can enable to prevent this from happen. You can enable a PIN to keep strangers out of these apps if they happen to access your phone. You can also use a fingerprint lock for devices that are equipped with a fingerprint scanner. It might be a slight inconvenience, but it will help keep thieves out of your financial accounts. And as an additional precaution, you really shouldn’t keep thousands of dollars in apps like Venmo.

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  If you’re in college or even went to college, you may have imbibed in illicit indulgences. Even though it’s legal in many places now, if you engaged in that activity, running into campus police was always one of your biggest fears. In New Mexico, the substance in question is legal, if you’re older than 21. In college, age restrictions usually don’t stop those who are under the legal age limit from partaking. Now, scammers are looking to take advantage of that fear. They’re posing as the New Mexico State University Campus Police and threatening their victims by telling them that the victim is being investigated for a narcotic crime. The scammers are threatening students with arrest if they don’t comply with giving the scammer their personal information. Like any other police impersonation scam, real police will not threaten someone with arrest over the phone. If you receive one of these calls, it is recommended you hang up and call the actual police at the non-emergency number.

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  As we like to tell our readers, even though these scams are not currently happening in your area, now you’re prepared if they do.