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  • Geebo 8:00 am on May 7, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , Scams   

    Arrest warrant scammers now showing up at people’s homes 

    Arrest warrant scammers now showing up at people's homes

    By Greg Collier

    One of the most common scams is the arrest warrant scam. A scammer will call a victim out of the blue claiming to be with the local police. The scammers will then tell the victim that there’s a warrant out for their arrest. Most of the time, the scammers will say it’s because the victim missed jury duty. This makes the thought of an arrest warrant more believable since missing jury duty is a pretty innocuous crime that most people could see happening to them. The victims are then instructed to make some kind of payment over the phone, usually by untraceable means like gift cards or money transfers. We want to stress that these scams were normally done over the phone because in at least one community a scammer has added a dangerous step to the scam.

    In Suffolk, Virginia, a man showed up at a woman’s doorstep asking for the woman’s son. The man said that he was with the Suffolk Sheriff’s Office and that her son had a warrant out for his arrest. The scammer identified himself as Lt. Johnson, however, the Suffolk Sheriff’s Office does not have a Lt. Johnson working for them. Thankfully, the woman did not open the door to the scammer, but the story doesn’t end there. The scammer called the son telling him there was a warrant for his arrest unless he made a $1500 payment in gift cards. In the family’s defense, none of them had ever been arrested before and didn’t know that this was not how arrest warrants work. Once payment was made the scammer even called them back to gloat. We can only imagine what would have happened if the woman had opened her door to the scammer.

    If there is a warrant out for someone’s arrest, police will approach the suspect’s home which makes this new version of the scam incredibly dangerous for the victim. However, typically, police will send at least two officers to execute an arrest warrant. Also, please keep in mind that no law enforcement agency whether local, state, or federal will ever ask for any kind of payment in gift cards.

    We believe scams like this continue to happen because there is not enough education about situations like this. Please consider sharing this post on social media so more people can be protected from this scam.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on May 6, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Scams,   

    How scammers use the post office to steal from you 

    By Greg Collier

    The US Post Office does a lot to try to prevent their system from being used for fraudulent purposes. The United States Postal Inspection Service is the law enforcement arm of the USPS, and they do a lot to investigate and prevent mail fraud. Unfortunately, with the way the mail system in the US has become automated, scammers have taken advantage of the modern conveniences of the postal system. Here is just one of the ways scammers use the post office to separate you from your money.

    In Idaho, a man ordered some gardening supplies from a random website. The man used PayPal to pay for the items that only amounted to around $45. A week went by and the man did not receive the items he ordered. He tried contacting the seller but received no response. He then tried filing a complaint with PayPal. At first, his request was denied because the seller provided PayPal with a USPS tracking number showing that the item was delivered. The supposed delivery was sent close to the man’s address. Typically, in postal scams like this, the victim will be sent an empty box or be sent an item that’s well below the value of the item they ordered. The man was eventually able to get a refund from PayPal, but it took him a month to do so. Again, that’s more the exception than the rule.

    When ordering online from a small or unfamiliar business online, your best bet is to use a credit card instead of a payment app like PayPal. While there are advantages to using services like PayPal, they do not offer the same protections that a credit card does. And again, when making a purchase from an unfamiliar website, do some research first to see if the website has any fraud complaints against it before making any purchases. While this purchase may have been a negligible amount, if enough people fall for the scam the small amounts can add up quickly.

     

  • Geebo 8:11 am on May 5, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Scams,   

    Victim calls unwitting participant in scam 

    Victim calls unwitting participant in scam

    By Greg Collier

    We’ve discussed the reshipping or repackaging scam many times before. These scams start out as online job listings that have been placed by scammers. The ads will offer work at home positions with titles like ‘shipping coordinator’, ‘warehouse distribution coordinator, or ‘local hub inspector’. You’ll be ‘hired’ almost immediately without ever meeting your employers face to face. You’ll be instructed to receive packages at your home. Once you receive a package, you’ll be asked to photograph the contents before shipping the goods to their new destination. While the phony job is supposed to be seen as a form of quality control, what you’re really doing is sending fraudulently purchased items to people who will then sell the stolen items.

    A woman in Utah recently applied for one of these phony jobs. She needed extra money to help pay off her student loan debt. She found the position on a legitimate job board. Furthermore, she was hired on as a ‘warehouse coordinator’ almost immediately. The woman was promised $2000 a month along with $40 for every package she shipped. All she had to do was print off shipping labels that the job would send to her and take the packages to the post office. The woman then received an angry phone call from someone accusing her of buying items with the caller’s stolen credit card. When the woman spoke with her new employer they told her that calls like this were ‘normal’. That’s when the woman realized she was part of a scam.

    This woman was lucky she got out when she did. More often than not in the reshipping scam, the unwitting reshippers are often paid with fraudulent checks. Some of these reshipping operations are so sophisticated that they have official looking web portals where the reshippers can report their hours and progress.

    There’s also another hazard to this scam besides lost wages and angry phone calls. Reshippers can sometimes be arrested for their roles even if they didn’t know it was a scam. If you knowingly falsify shipping documents under the instruction of the scammers to get around US customs, you could potentially face some jail time.

    Please keep in mind that reshipping jobs aren’t a thing. There are no legitimate reshipping jobs.

     

  • Geebo 8:07 am on May 4, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Scams,   

    Anybody can fall for a scam 

    Anybody can fall for a scam

    By Greg Collier

    Every once in a while after we post a story about the latest scam, we’ll get a comment from someone claiming that they would never fall for that scam. You’re probably right. You may not fall for that scam, but be assured there is a scam out there with your name on it. As we like to remind our readers, scams find victims from every socioeconomic status and every level of education. We’ve posted stories where scam victims held a PhD or were the CEO of a successful company. Now, imagine if it was your job to educate others about scams. Would you still think you’re scam-proof?

    This exactly what happened to an employee of the Metro Atlanta’s Better Business Bureau. The subject of our story is a Community Engagement Executive. She received a spoofed call that appeared to come from her bank. The caller claimed to be from her bank’s fraud department. They asked her about a small charge on her account that could be fraudulent, and there was actually a small charge on her account that she did not make. The caller also had the last four digits of her debit card which added legitimacy to the caller. However, the caller asked the BBB employee to verify her name and email address as well as getting her to answer her security question. With this information, the scammer was able to lock the woman out of her own bank account before taking $4,000 through the Zelle app. Luckily, she was able to work with the bank to get her money back, but that’s more the exception than the rule.

    Scammers are always evolving. If they’re not coming up with a brand-new scam, they’re tweaking old scams to fit new circumstances. No one person can possibly know every scam that’s going on today. The general public only finds about new scams after victims who were taken in the scam come forward. Since many don’t come forward out of embarrassment, it’s safe to assume there are scams out there that we have yet to hear about. To be so confident to think that you could never be taken in a scam is to let your guard down due to hubris. That’s when you leave yourself wide open for a scam.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on May 3, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: CBD, , health supplements, Scams,   

    The CBD subscription scam 

    By Greg Collier

    Cannabidiol, or CBD for short, has dramatically increased in popularity over the past few years. For those of you who may not be aware, CBD is derived from the cannabis plant but does not contain the ingredient THC that causes cannabis users to get high. In many circles, CBD has been described as a panacea of sorts. It’s been touted as a cure for everything from anxiety to epilepsy. However, the FDA disputes many of these claims and CBD products cannot legally claim to treat any disease. We’re not here to discuss CBD’s efficacy when it comes to being a medical treatment. Instead, we’re here to talk about how it’s popularity is being used by online scammers.

    The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers about online ads that offer free CBD samples. You may see an ad on social media for free CBD samples that is even touted by a celebrity. If you respond to the ad, you’ll be more than likely told that you have to give a credit or debit card number to receive your free sample. Shipping is the usual reason given for needing your card number. What you’re not being told, or is being hidden deep in the fine print, is that you’re actually signing up for a subscription service that could charge you hundreds of dollars a month. This is a popular scam that has plagued the health supplement market for years and is now taking advantage of CBD since it’s the new hot item. By the time you realize you’re being ripped off, it’s usually past the cancellation date that the seller also didn’t tell you about.

    In order to avoid this scam, it’s best to avoid any free trial offers online. But if you’re intent on giving a free trial a try, use a credit card if at all possible since it’s easier to dispute fraudulent charges with a credit card than a debit card. You should also ask if you’re being signed up for a subscription and about any return policies the company has. Lastly, research the company before entering into any kind of trial program. A quick web search of the company’s name along with the phrases ‘scam’ or ‘complaints’ can tell you a lot.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 30, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Scams   

    It’s door-to-door scam season 

    It's door-to-door scam season

    By Greg Collier

    With the weather being warmer, scammers are starting to move from online scams to scams that come to your door. Many of these scams target older people who are home during the day especially if they live alone. One of the more popular scams is the home repair scam. In these instances, scammers will knock on your door and tell you that they have left over supplies from a job they just completed and will do repairs to your home for cheap. Typically, these jobs are shoddily done if anything is done at all after you pay. However, in at least one community, the scam starts out this way, but has a much more nefarious purpose.

    In the Southwest corner of Michigan, several communities have reported home repair scammers in their area. These scammers are said to travel in nondescript trucks with no company markings. Some vehicles are even said to have tinted windows. The men in the trucks will go up to the homes of elderly residents offering home repair services. They’ll then try to get the resident to come out of the house by showing parts of the outside of the house that could potentially need repairs. Meanwhile, the scammer has a partner who goes in through the unlocked door to steal items from inside the home. One victim had thousands of dollars in cash taken from inside their home.

    If someone approaches your door offering you services unsolicited, there’s a good chance they may be a scammer. Legitimate salesmen, as annoying as they might be, will leave product information and their business card if you’re interested. Scammers will try to pressure you into making a decision right there and then. One of the best ways to avoid these scammers is to not answer the door if you’re not expecting anyone. A better way is to have a camera doorbell installed. This way, you’ll be able to see and communicate with the person at your door without opening your home to them.

    If you have family that is older and possibly living alone, please let them know about this scam.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 29, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , parvo, , , Scams,   

    Family loses thousands after buying ill puppy 

    Family loses thousands after buying ill puppy

    By Greg Collier

    Typically, when we talk about puppy scams, we’re talking about the kind where the puppy doesn’t actually exist. In this scam, con artists put up fake websites and ads advertising popular puppy breeds at cut rate prices. Once a victim makes a payment for the puppy, the scammers will then start asking for more money for things like insurance and specialized travel crates. Finding out that you’re not getting a puppy after paying thousands of dollars is heartbreaking in itself, but there’s an even more heartbreaking scam that involves puppies.

    Unfortunately, this other scam involves actual puppies. There are backyard breeders and puppy mills that will happily take your money by selling you a terminally ill puppy. This happened recently to a family in Arizona who bought a Heeler-Lab puppy for $250. From we understand, this breed of puppy can go for upwards of $1,000. The family picked up the dog from the seller at a local McDonald’s. After they got the puppy home they discovered that the puppy had ticks and fleas. After taking the puppy to a vet, it was discovered that the puppy had the deadly parvovirus, better known as just parvo. The family took out a loan so they could pay for the $3,000 treatment. Sadly, the puppy’s condition worsened in the coming days. Further treatment would have cost $25,000. The family had to make the difficult decision to have the puppy put down.

    As with a number of online scams, anyone can put up a website or Craigslist ad and call themselves a breeder. However, if the puppy is being sold for well below market value, that could be a red flag that something’s not on the up and up. If you can’t go physically see the puppy before purchasing that may also be an indicator that something could be wrong with the puppy. If the seller asks you to meet at a location like a fast food parking lot, that could be another indication of a bad breeder.

    As always, we recommend going to your local animal shelter to adopt a pet. You’d be surprised what breeds you might find at the shelter. Also, not every shelter dog has been abused or has trust issues. A great deal of them have just been surrendered by their owners for various reasons. Many shelters have waiting lists for certain breeds in addition to being able to adopt the puppy for no or low cost. Maybe even consider adopting an adult dog instead as they need homes too.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 28, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Scams   

    Phony movers could hold your property hostage 

    Phony movers could hold your property hostage

    By Greg Collier

    Recently, in the Kansas City area, many people have come forward claiming that they’ve been ripped off by a moving company that they found online. The company is not only accused of allegedly damaging a lot of customer’s possessions, but they’re also accused of holding on to a lot of the items while asking the customers for more money. One man claimed that the company is holding on to half of his belongings while the other half were mostly damaged. The man claims it’s been six months since his move to Kansas City and still hasn’t gotten the rest of his possessions.

    The problem with some online moving companies is that anybody can put up a website and claim to be a moving company. A quick web search of the moving company mentioned in the Kansas City news story brought us to a Better Business Bureau page which stated that the company had not obtained required licenses for the city and state they’re supposedly headquartered in.

    Scam movers may not even have warehouses or trucks. Some of these companies may not even have employees as some just hire day laborers to load their trucks.

    There are many ways to tell if you’re dealing with a shady moving company. If they give you an estimate over the phone without coming to your home to inventory your belongings, they’re probably not on the up and up. If you call their office, and they answer with a generic sounding name like ‘moving company’ the odds are they’re a fly-by-night operation. Lastly, if their moving vans are just rental trucks they’re obviously not legitimate.

    That’s not to say that all moving companies are bad. You should just do some research before business with them. Even if the movers were referred to you by a realtor or broker you should still do your research.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 27, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , physical therapist, Scams   

    Healthcare professional loses life savings in licensing scam 

    Healthcare professional loses life savings in licensing scam

    By Greg Collier

    The scam we’re talking about today doesn’t affect every day consumers all that much. It’s geared more toward medical professionals. By medical professionals we mean any healthcare worker who requires a license to do their job. This not only includes doctors but also nurses and many other healthcare workers. However, this particular scam is a great example of how far con artists are willing to go to steal money from their victims.

    The licensing scam is not new. It’s been targeting medical professionals for a while now. Typically, a scammer will contact a licensed healthcare worker while posing as someone from their state government. The scammers will tell the healthcare worker that their license has been suspended due to a drug trafficking investigation. Sometimes the scammers will even go as far as to confuse the victim with official looking paperwork. The scammers will then try to pressure the victim into making some kind of payment so the healthcare worker can preserve their license.

    This recently happened to a physical therapist in Michigan. Scammers told her that her license was in jeopardy because it had been used in a drug trafficking scheme that had also laundered $2.4 million. They told her to go to the nearest UPS Store to receive notification in writing. The letter she received appeared to be on official letterhead from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. The scammers even posed as agents from the LARA and the FBI. They convinced the physical therapist that she could spend six months in jail if she did not sign a federal bond agreement with the Department of Justice. This bond agreement was then paid by money transfer. The amount she paid to the scammers was not disclosed but was said to be her family’s life savings.

    The lengths these scammers went to has to be marveled at. The thing is with scams like this is they don’t have to fool many people. They only need to fool a few who are willing to pay large sums of money.

    And again, if anyone was under investigation for drug trafficking, you would be visited by law enforcement personally and wouldn’t just receive a phone call. Also, law enforcement agencies whether local, statewide, or federal will never ask for any kind of payment over the phone while simultaneously threatening arrest. If you receive a phone call like this, hang up and call whatever agency the caller is claiming to be from.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 26, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Scams   

    Cheap plane tickets could end up costing you a lot 

    By Greg Collier

    With many of the pandemic restrictions starting to be loosened, many people are looking to start traveling again. When people travel for whatever reason, they try to find the best bargain for their airfare. While this could lead you to getting a great deal, it could also lead to you being ripped off for airline tickets that may not even exist.

    If you’re looking to book a flight you might find various third-party websites and services that promise you a steep discount for airline tickets. However, the Better Business Bureau is warning consumers that they could be nothing more than scams. One version of the scam happens when you do a web search for an airline customer service number. Scammers often take out ads on the more popular search engines to try to get you to call them instead of the actual airline. They’ll take your money and send you a confirmation email but what they never send you are your tickets.

    In another variation of this scam, you’ll pay for tickets through a scam website or phony customer service number. The scammers will then contact you telling you that there’s been a price increase or an additional service charge is required. And you still never get any tickets. Legitimate airlines would never do this.

    If you’re planning to travel by air anytime soon, your best bet to protect yourself from these scams is to stick with the airline websites or well-known travel sites. You can still find some really good deals that also include lodging and car rentals. If you come across a deal that you think is just too good to pass up, research the service or website offering the deal before you give them any money. One of the best ways to do this is to put the name of the service or website in a search engine along with some additional search terms like ‘scam’ or ‘complaints’.

    As with most online purchases, a few minutes of research could save you from a lot of financial headaches.

     

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