Greg's Corner

Tagged: refund scam Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on October 2, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: refund scam, Scams ( 1,386 ), shut off scam ( 17 ), utility scam ( 31 )   

  New utility scam promises refund 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Normally, when someone hears about a utility company scam, they may think about the shut-off scam. This is when scammers call their victims posing as the local power, water, or heating company. The victim is told they’re behind payments on their account, and their service will be terminated in 15–30 minutes if they don’t make a payment over the phone. Scammers will typically demand payment in nontraditional methods that are difficult to trace, like gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. Now, there’s a utility scam that’s trying to fool victims with honey instead of vinegar, so to speak.

  Reports out of Upstate New York say scammers are now calling their victims, but instead of threatening them with a blackout, they’re promising them a payday. The victims are being told they overpaid their last bill and are now due a refund. But, as always, whatever payment amount the scammers are offering pales in comparison to the financial damage that could happen to victims. The scammers will tell their victims in order to receive the refund, the victim will need to provide their credit/debut card number or their checking account information. If a victim were to provide this information to a scammer, they could find their bank account depleted and their identity stolen.

  Most companies wouldn’t go out of their way to call a customer to let them know they have a refund due. In most cases, especially where utilities are concerned, if someone has overpaid their balance, the company won’t notify the customer until the next month’s statement goes out. Sometimes the credit will be applied to the next month’s balance, or will show up as a negative balance on the monthly bill.

  The same goes for the shut-off scam. If someone were to be behind on their account where they’re in danger of having their service terminated, they’ll be warned by mail first. That mailing will also contain the date when services are scheduled to be turned off.

  If you receive calls from someone claiming to be from your local utility, and they’re either threatening to shut-off service, or promising you a refund, hang up, and call your utility company at the number listed on the monthly statement.

  You may also want to routinely check your utility company’s website, as many of them will have warnings about local utility scams.

   

  Leave a ReplyCancel reply
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on July 5, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: IRS ( 24 ), refund scam, Scams ( 1,386 ), tax scam ( 11 )   

  New tax scam arriving in the mail 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Whenever there is a scam that involves a government agency like the IRS, Medicare, or Social Security, we tell our readers that if those agencies need to get in touch with you, they will do it by postal mail. However, even then, you have to be careful about what you can accept as fact, and what is a scam. Just this week, the IRS sent out a warning to taxpayers about a scam, which is being sent through the mail.

  According to the IRS, official looking letters are being sent in cardboard envelopes to unsuspecting victims. The letters appear to come with official IRS letterhead. But the more someone looks into the letter, the more it looks like a scam.

  The letter tells the recipient they have an unclaimed refund. The promise of ‘free money’ can cause some to ignore the red flags contained in the rest of the letter. For example, the letter asks for a copy of your driver’s license, but the instructions ask for “A Clear Phone of Your Driver’s License.” Then the letter recommends you “Try to Be Checking Your Email for Response”. While many aren’t particularly fond of the IRS, they would never allow a letter to be issued with this many grammatical errors. Not to mention, they wouldn’t capitalize every word.

  The letter also asks for personal information such as the recipient’s Social Security number, cellphone number, and bank account information. Along with a copy of someone’s driver’s license, scammers could easily steal someone’s identity and start taking out loans or opening lines of credit in that person’s name.

  There is also a phony customer service number contained in the letter.

  If you receive mail like this, and you have questions, do not call the number in the letter and don’t reply to any email addresses or websites listed. Instead, contact that federal office directly through their .gov website, or call them at their official customer service number, which can also be found on their website.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on April 5, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: bank fraud ( 26 ), bank scam ( 72 ), refund scam, Scams ( 1,386 ), Zelle ( 67 )   

  Zelle refunding scam victims, but won’t say which ones 

  

  By Greg Collier

  The Zelle payment app has been popular with scammers for the past year and a half now. If you’re unfamiliar with the app, it’s a personal payment app. It’s supposed to allow you to make payments to friends and family instantly. However, scammers have used it to have their victims direct money to scammers’ bank accounts. Zelle is owned by a group of some of the nation’s leading banks, and in the past, these banks have been hesitant to refund scam victims. Now, Zelle is seemingly saying they’re going to be refusing scam victims, but are being vague about the details.

  But first, let’s look into how Zelle scams work. The most prolific of these scams is the bank impersonation scam. In this fraudulent scheme, the target receives a text message inquiring whether they have recently made a substantial purchase or transfer. The recipient is instructed to reply with a simple yes or no. After the response, scammers follow up with a phone call, pretending to represent the victim’s bank’s fraud department. The fraudsters then urge the victim to safeguard their bank account by either transferring their funds or using Zelle to “pay themselves.” However, what actually happens is that the scammers are guiding the victim through the process of transferring funds to them via Zelle.

  Zelle can also be used in almost any scam where money is involved, such as phony landlords, and scammers who pose as police threatening victims with arrest. A good rule to follow to protect yourself from these scam is to only use it to send money to someone you know personally. Even then, you should make sure that person requested money from you.

  Getting back to the refunds, Zelle’s parent company recently released a statement saying they were going to, “mandate consumer reimbursement for certain types of scams.” But that’s basically all the information they’ve released. Now, it’s understandable that Zelle would want to keep the details quiet to keep scammers from finding out, but once refunds start happening, people are going to know. We believe that Zelle should be more transparent to keep its users and scam victims better informed. To keep the process secret, it seems like Zelle has something to hide.

   
• 

  Geebo 9:00 am on November 29, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: check washing ( 17 ), Facebook ( 180 ), Facebook Messenger ( 4 ), IRS ( 24 ), job scam ( 81 ), refund scam, Scams ( 1,386 ), text scam ( 23 )   

  Scam Round Up: Job scam wants your Facebook login and more 

  

  By Greg Collier

  If you’re thinking of sending money to relatives as a gift this holiday season, you may want to reconsider writing a check. Once again, scammers are stealing mail from mailboxes in hopes of finding a handwritten check. In a process called check washing, scammers can soak the check in chemicals that will remove the ink from a handwritten check. The scammers will then write the check for any amount they please before cashing it.

  To better protect yourself from this scam, mail any checks you may be sending inside the post office itself. This goes a long way in preventing the mail from being stolen. There are also special pens you can purchase that are resistant to the check washing chemicals.

  ***

  The Federal Trade Commission has issued an alert warning taxpayers about a refund scam. According to the FTC, scammers have been sending out text messages claiming you’re eligible for a ‘tax rebate’or some other kind of payment from the IRS. As with most text messaging scams, the messages contain a link for the recipient to click on to get their supposed refund. Clicking on the link could have devastating consequences as it could either ask you for personal or financial information, leading to identity theft, or it could inject malware into your phone.

  Just keep in mind that the IRS is never going to initiate contact with a taxpayer through text messages. If there is any kind of issue concerning your federal taxes, you will receive a notice in the mail before anything else.

  ***

  A woman from Missouri was almost scammed out of her Facebook account while applying for a job online. A friend of a friend had posted a job ad on his Facebook page. While interviewing for the job, she was told that she was being interviewed by the company’s founder and CEO. All the interviews took place through messaging apps like Messenger and Google Chat. The phony CEO asked the woman for a copy of her driver’s license and Social Security card, which may not seem unusual. However, she was also asked for her Facebook login information. Thankfully, she realized this was a scam and cut off contact with the scammer.

  While there have been stories in the past about employers asking for employees’ Facebook logins, those are rare exceptions and not the norm. This seems like the scammers wanted her personal information to hijack her Facebook account and use it for additional scams. Having her personal information might allow them to claim that they are the actual owners of the Facebook account. The acquaintance’s account was more than likely hijacked by the scammers.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on October 19, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: identity theft ( 108 ), medical scams ( 21 ), refund scam, Scams ( 1,386 ), spoofed calls ( 8 )   

  Beware of hospitals bearing refunds 

  

  By Greg Collier

  A hospital just outside of Detroit has found itself being used as a tool in a scam. Scammers are spoofing the hospital’s phone number while calling local residents, telling them that they are owed a refund. The hospital itself is stating that they’ve received hundreds of phone calls from people who were approached by the scammers. People who have received these phone calls also said that the scammers asked them for their financial information, so they could issue the phony refund. While no one has reported falling victim to the scam so far, we imagine the scammers would use the information to drain a victim’s bank account.

  One of our staff members comes from a medical administration background, where they handled patient refunds. From what they’ve told us, this is not how hospitals or doctors’ offices handle refunds. First off, we’re told that refunds are a low-priority for many facilities. In most cases, they’re only issued if the patient notices a credit on their account and requests a refund from the facility. While there are exceptions to every rule, largely these refunds were issued by check and sent through the mail. By and large, most medical facilities put the responsibility on the patient to at least initiate the refund process.

  If you are owed a refund by a medical provider, and you receive a phone call like this, ask for the payment by check if you’re unsure if they’re your doctor’s office or not. If they say they can’t issue the refund in that way, there’s a very good chance you’re being scammed. At the very least, the facility can sometimes offer to return the refund to the method of payment they have on file. You can also hang up from the call and call the facility back at their billing number, which can almost always be found on the facility’s website.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on April 7, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Amazon ( 108 ), phone scam ( 46 ), refund scam, Scams ( 1,386 )   

  Amazon refund call is a scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Lately, it seems that Amazon has been used the most by online scammers. In the past couple of weeks, we’ve posted about a couple of different scams where scammers have posed as Amazon employees to fleece their victims. In both cases the victims were told that someone made a false purchase on their Amazon accounts. One victim was approached by email while the other received a robocall. Now, there’s a scam going around using the Amazon name that’s not using the false order angle. This scam uses the one thing that could motivate someone more than a phony order and that’s a refund.

  Many people from around the country have reported receiving phone calls from someone claiming to be from Amazon. They are then told that due to fraud activity on their account that they’re due a refund. The first catch is that the fake Amazon rep needs remote access to your computer. The second catch is that the victim is asked to log into their Amazon account. If that wasn’t enough, the victim is then asked to log into their bank account, so the refund could be processed. Yet, the scam still isn’t over. The scammer will then try to convince the victim that they were refunded too much money and need to buy gift cards to pay back the overage. This is a scam on top of a scam on top of a scam. Scamception if you will.

  You should never allow anyone to have remote access to your computer. No legitimate company or agency would ever need remote access to your computer. Not only does this allow anyone to peer into your private files, but they could also plant any kind of malware into your system. If you log into your Amazon account while you’re remote sharing, the scammers will now have your Amazon login information. The same goes for your bank login. And of course, gift cards should only be for gifts and not for making any kind of payment. As we are fond of saying, gift cards have become the currency of con artists.

  If you were actually due a refund from Amazon for whatever reason, it would be automatically returned to whatever card you used to make that purchase. Amazon will not call you out of the blue to tell you that you have a refund.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on September 8, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: geek squad ( 2 ), refund scam, Scams ( 1,386 ), tech support scam ( 51 )   

  Widow taken for $30,000 in scam 

  

  If you’ve ever lost an immediate family member you know how difficult the days following can be especially if the family member was a spouse. In the days following, you could start receiving phone calls from all sorts of services who are just looking to see if the service should be maintained after the decedent’s passing. So a woman from Michigan who was recently widowed didn’t find it unusual to receive an email from Geek Squad letting her know that the subscription was about to be renewed for the annual fee of $300.

  The widow called the number included in the email and stated that she wanted the subscription canceled. The man on the other end of the phone said he would be happy to issue a refund. Later in the call, the man said that he accidentally refunded the widow $30,000 instead of $300. He then asked the widow to wire the $30,000 so his boss wouldn’t find out and he wouldn’t lose his job. The widow had recently lost her own job and didn’t want to see anyone else lose there’s so she wired the money. Sadly, this was all a scam and there was no Geek Squad employee. So now this unemployed widow was out of most of her savings. There’s been a GoFundMe set up to help recoup at least some of her losses if you’re so generously inclined.

  Scams like this try to take advantage of their victims not knowing how payment systems work. If this was a legitimate transaction, the company in question would have been able to correct the refund electronically. These mishaps happen in corporate America all the time and safeguards are in place to correct mistakes like this almost instantly.

  Also, another tip off that this was a scam was when the fake Geek Squad employee asked for the money to be wired. This is an old scammer trick as once the money has been collected from where it was wired to, the scammers can virtually disappear into thin air.

  Grief can weigh heavy on anyone’s mind after the loss of a loved one. It can cause anyone to not think straight when dealing with what appear to be mundane transactions.