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  • Greg Collier 8:06 am on May 26, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , Scams,   

    There is no 2nd stimulus payment 

    There is no 2nd stimulus payment

    With life in the United States currently adapting to the everyday changes brought on by the global pandemic, scammers and con artists have been adapting as well. With every change, they continue to tweak and transform their scams into whatever can best serve them now while disregarding the untold victims they leave in their wake.

    By most reports, the majority of those who were eligible to receive the economic impact payments have received them. That doesn’t mean that there still aren’t those who could use additional stimulus benefits. There has been talk among lawmakers to issue additional payments, but as of the time of this posting (5/26/2020) no additional stimulus payments have been approved by the government.

    That hasn’t stopped scammers from trying to fool their victims into believing that a second stimulus payment is on its way. The reason the scammers are doing this is so they can pull the same scams they tried when the initial stimulus payment was being issued.

    A report from the Georgia Attorney General’s Office is warning residents about one such scam where the scammers are posing as IRS employees. They’re saying they can provide additional funds as long as the consumer installs a certain software on their device. The victims are then asked for a $1,000 gift card to pay for the software.

    So in this particular scam, the scammers are double-dipping their victims. Not only are the scammers trying to steal consumers’ money by asking for payment by gift card but they’re also installing software on consumers’ devices. This software can be anything from malware designed to steal your security credentials or ransomware that can lock you out of your device.

    If the IRS needed to contact you for any reason, they will contact you by postal mail. They will not contact you unwarranted by phone, text, or email.

     

    • Robert Jamison 2:31 pm on May 27, 2020 Permalink

      I’m on SSI and I haven’t received my stimulus check or has been direct deposited into my account and the IRS has all my info on my direct deposit but I got the nice letter from the POS Trump be nice to get the stimulus first before you get the letter

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on May 22, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , Scams   

    Contact tracing scam is still being used 

    Contact tracing scam is still being used

    Contact tracing is basically medical detective work when it comes to contagious diseases. While it’s currently being used to try to disrupt COVID-19 infections, in the past, it’s been used to try to prevent infectious diseases like tuberculosis and measles from spreading. It works when treating an infected person and finding who they have been in close contact with and trying to get those individuals tested for the infection.

    If someone was found to have been in contact with an infected individual, they should receive a text message from their local health department saying that they will soon receive a phone call from their health department. The process behind modern contact racing still has a lot of hurdles to overcome as shown by the following video.

    Now, that hasn’t stopped scammers from trying to imitate the legitimate text messages that would be sent out in case of a potential infection. The phony texts are sent out en masse hoping to trick as many victims as possible. It will appear like the legitimate text messages but instead of telling you’ll receive a call from the health department, it will instruct you to click on a link.

    Once you click the link, you’ll be asked for personal information like your social security number, bank account information, and credit card number. None of this information would be needed by your local health department. At least not your financial information.

    Being told that you’ve been in contact with someone who has contracted the coronavirus can be scary. Scammers prey on that fear to try to get you to make rash decisions that you normally wouldn’t make otherwise.

    If you receive one of these texts that asks you to click on a link, take a breath and think about it for a moment. If there is any concern that you may have actually been in contact with someone who has been infected, your best bet is to contact your local health department.

    The CDC has a website where you can find information for each state’s health department.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on May 19, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , Scams,   

    Scams targeting those trying to return to work 

    Scams targeting those trying to return to work

    With many states trying to return to normal, many people are looking to gain employment after record numbers of workers have been unemployed. Never ones to miss out on an opportunity to seize ill-gotten gains from tragedy, scammers and con artists have been increasing their scams that target job seekers.

    One particularly disturbing scam is targeting the unemployed in at least one state. In Washington, scammers are using stolen identities to try to collect unemployment benefits. This takes much needed financial relief out of the hands of the people that need them and put them potentially into the hands of overseas scammers. It is recommended to check with your state’s unemployment office to make sure your payments are being sent to the correct destination. In some states, you can even sign up for an account through the state without even needing unemployment benefits.

    Of course, scammers have also been trying to fool job seekers with legitimate-looking positions. One man looking for employment posted his resume to a number of job boards like Indeed and Monster hoping to find a position that would take advantage of the years of his experience. Instead, he received a job offer that just tried to take advantage of him. He received a job offer from a company that he had not even applied to. Everything about the position looked legitimate so he accepted the position. However, the ‘company’ sent the man his payment by a check that was over the amount he was supposed to be paid. They told him to deposit the check and return the difference to them. Thankfully, the man was familiar with the phony check scheme and did not deposit the check. But he was devastated that this was not a legitimate job.

    Lastly, old employment scams are finding new victims after so many have been unemployed for the past few months. One of those scams is the car wrap scam. In it, the scammer will promise you so much money a week to display advertising on your car. More often than not, these offers are scams. One woman in California accepted one of these positions and once again, she was sent a check that was more than she was supposed to receive. She was also aware of the phony check scam and did not deposit the check.

    While these may be lean times, always do your due diligence when looking for a job. If you are offered a position, always research the company that’s offering you the job. Sometimes, something as simple as checking their address on Google Maps can reveal their true intentions.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on May 15, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Scams,   

    Used car scams have this one thing in common 

    Used car scams have this one thing in common

    With so many states reopening and taxpayers are flush with cash from their stimulus checks many consumers are looking to purchase a new vehicle.

    eBay has been selling vehicles on its platform for over a decade now. eBay Motors can be a good place to search if you’re looking for a specific make and model of vehicle. eBay even has a Vehicle Protection Plan that will cover certain losses associated with fraud. However, con artists are using eBay’s name and branding to rip off people looking to purchase a new vehicle.

    Within the past week there have been a number of reports of used car scams that have had an eBay element to them. Please keep in mind that eBay is not actually involved in any of these scams.

    In Louisiana, the Better Business Bureau there is warning consumers about purchasing cars where an online ad promises the eBay Vehicle Protection Plan. They’re saying that if you see the promise of the Vehicle Protection Plan on any other platform besides eBay, like craigslist, there’s a good likelihood that the ad could be a scam.

    In another scam that seems to be occurring in multiple locations across the country, scammers are asking for payment in eBay gift cards for vehicles that don’t exist. In Virginia, scammers are said to be using emails with official-looking eBay branding to lure unsuspecting victims into paying for vehicles with eBay gift cards. A similar scam is also taking place in Omaha, Nebraska where a couple lost $4500 after trying to pay for a motorcycle with eBay gift cards.

    Anybody with a half-decent knowledge of computers can claim that their vehicle is protected by eBay’s Vehicle Protection Plan or make their email look like it’s from eBay. So unless you’re actually shopping on eBay, those promises and branding are more than likely nothing more than stolen assets. Also, gift cards are the currency of scammers since they’re virtually untraceable once the serial numbers are given out. If someone online ever asks you to make any payment using any kind of gift card, there’s a high probability you’re being scammed.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on May 14, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Scams,   

    Increase in scam that could land victims in jail 

    Increase in scam that could land victims in jail

    Just like every other scam, the reshipping or repackaging scam has seen an increase since the start of the current pandemic. In the reshipping scam, scammers post online ads for a work at home job. The phony job entails receiving packages in the mail that the scammer will say you need to inspect for damages before shipping them to a third party. The items usually have been purchased with a stolen credit card. This way it becomes harder to track the stolen item. Police in Boise, Idaho recently recovered $7,000 worth of stolen goods from the home of someone who had been scammed into reshipping them.

    The biggest hazard with the reshipping scam is the fact that even if you’ve been conned into reshipping, you can still be held criminally liable depending on what you were asked to do by the scammers. For example, if you were instructed to lie on US Customs Service forms for packages leaving the country, you could be charged with fraud.

    Another drawback of this scam outside of receiving stolen merchandise is that you could be paid with fraudulent checks or money orders. Once again, if you deposit these into your bank account and then spend the money for whatever reason, you’ll be responsible to the bank for the check’s amount once they discover it’s fraudulent.

    And since the reshipping scam usually stems from phony job ads, your identity could be compromised as well if you provided personal information to the scammers. Could you imagine if all three of these things happened to you at once? That could cost you untold amounts of money just for being an unwitting participant in the scam.

    If you think you may be a victim in a reshipping scam there are steps you can take. If you’ve already received items don’t mail them. Instead, contact the USPS Postal Inspectors at 1-877-876-2455.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on May 13, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Scams   

    The other victims of romance scams 

    The other victims of romance scams

    When we’ve discussed romance scams in the past, we usually focus on the victims who have lost money. However, there are other victims of the scam that we may not have considered.

    If you’re unfamiliar with romance scams, they also go by the name catfishing. A scammer will set up a phony social media or dating profile. They’ll then approach a victim online like they’re seeking a romantic relationship. They might string the victim along for weeks or months. They’ll often give excuses as to why they can’t meet in person, usually business-related but not always. Eventually, they’ll approach their victim for money. A lot of the time the scammers will claim they’re stuck in some remote location and need the money to get home. Other times they’ll say it’s for a business venture that could make the victim rich. Sometime they’ll even flat out ask for gifts.

    This scam is prevalent among the military. Not as financial victims, but as the ones having their pictures stolen to be used on the scammers’ fake accounts. Scammers prefer using the pictures of military members as it gives them a built-in excuse as to why they may be overseas or unable to meet in person. Sadly, these military members are victims too as they often find themselves being sought out by the financial victims of the scam.

    For example, a Naval Petty Officer stationed in Virginia says that he receives several messages a day from victims of a romance scam that used his picture. Too often the victims believe that the person in the picture is the actual scammer. He says that he even had victims go after his girlfriend online. In some cases, he says, victims will even physically track down the military member used in the picture.

    We’re sure we don’t have to instruct military members on how to conduct themselves on social media because they’re probably given guidelines for that all the time. However, if you want to protect yourself or someone you know from one of these scams, one of the best things you can do is a reverse image search. This will allow you to see if the picture being sent is one being used somewhere else online under a different name.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on May 12, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Scams, ,   

    Work at home scams continue to rise 

    Work at home scams continue to rise

    According to the Better Business Bureau, work at home scams were on a sharp rise even before the COVID-19 crisis started. Now, with so many people having been laid off or furloughed these scams have become even more prevalent over the past couple of months. These scams start off with tempting online ads promising decent money for relatively easy work without having to leave your home and risk infection. However, you could be risking something that’s almost as devastating.

    For example, a woman in Minnesota recently responded to an online ad for a data entry position. The ad promised to pay $15 an hour and promised at least a 40-hour workweek while maintaining a flexible schedule. After she responded to the ad she was instructed to download WhatsApp so an interview could be conducted. WhatsApp is a messaging app that’s popular overseas and often used in place of text messaging. Essentially, she was being interviewed for this job over text message. This is usually done so scammers can avoid sounding like they’re calling from another country.

    The scammers had said that they were going to pay for her to buy a new laptop for the job. They claimed they were going to send her a check to buy the equipment from an approved vendor. However, they told her that she only had 24 hours after receiving the check to purchase the equipment. If she had received the check it would have been a counterfeit check that she would have been responsible for if she had deposited it into her bank account. The 24-hour turnaround is a way for the scammers to get the money moved quickly before her bank could realize it was fraudulent.

    It wasn’t too long before the scammers started asking her for personal information like a copy of her driver’s license and who her cell phone carrier was. They then sent her a form that asked for her banking information along with security passwords. Thankfully, she realized this was a scam before her identity could be compromised.

    While there are legitimate work at home positions to be found, they are not as common as online ads may have you believe. If the offer sounds too good or it feels a little off, listen to your gut and avoid giving out any information to the scammers.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on May 8, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , Scams   

    More details about COVID rental scam 

    More details about COVID rental scam

    It seems the rental scammers have gone all-in during the current pandemic. Prior to the current social distancing guidelines, rental scammers would make up any excuse they could to avoid meeting their victims face to face.

    In a typical rental scam, the scammer will copy a legitimate real estate ad. Usually, the property from the real estate ad is for sale. The scammer will then change the ad to appear the property is for rent before posting the phony ad on someplace like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. The fake rental rate will almost always be well below the current market value. When someone applies to the fake ad, the scammer will try to pressure the victim into sending either a deposit or first month’s rent without allowing the victim to inspect the property. The scammers would give excuses like they were out of town on business and couldn’t show the property. In many cases, scammers used to say they were overseas doing mission work for their church. The range of excuses the scammers would give would range from the ridiculous to the sublime. Now, with COVID-19 still looming as a potential health threat, the scammers have a built-in excuse not to meet with their victims.

    To make matters worse, scammers are now using a new trick when questioned if an is fake. In the San Francisco Bay Area, one man questioned whether or not a rental listing on Craigslist was a scam since the property was below local market value. The scammer responded by saying that the federal government has asked property owners to lower rents during the current crisis. Of course, the federal government has done no such thing. The confusion is understandable as both local and federal governments have made many conflicting statements about the pandemic.

    Usually, the scammer will ask for payment through some untraceable means like wire transfer, gift card, Cash App, or cryptocurrency. If a landlord asks for payment in any of these ways, it’s almost guaranteed to be a scam.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on May 7, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Scams,   

    Scammer tries to claim missing man was kidnapped 

    Scammer tries to claim missing man was kidnapped

    In Cincinnati, a woman has been dealing with tragedy on two fronts. Two years ago, her brother went missing and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. Last year, her great-niece accidentally drowned and is fighting for her life in the hospital. You might think that a person undergoing such hardships might be considered off-limits to scammers but you’d be mistaken. This is exactly the type of person that scammers are looking for. They prey upon the emotionally vulnerable hoping that their mental state will cause them to leave their guard down and fall for their scam.

    Because this woman’s grand-niece is still in the hospital, she’s been trying to raise money for medical expenses through GoFundMe which many people with rising medical costs do in our country. The woman was able to raise several thousand dollars through the fundraising platform. This attracted the attention of a scammer who obviously didn’t care what depths they had to stoop to. The scammer sent her text messages saying that they had kidnapped her missing brother. They asked for the GoFundMe money for his release. They even sent her a photoshopped picture of her brother’s face with duct tape over his mouth.

    Thankfully, the woman had the resolve to take the messages to the police who indicated to her that the picture had been obviously edited. She texted the scammer back and said she couldn’t access the money and the messages stopped.

    As we have discussed in our previous posts about virtual kidnappings, kidnappings for ransom are quite rare in the United States. In most cases, the supposed victims of these scams are just fine and are in no danger. However, since her brother was missing it added a layer to the scam. She absolutely did the right thing in taking the text messages to police.

    Even if you’re currently under great emotional stress when approached by one of these scams, always take a step back and try to think rationally about what you can do. With virtual kidnapping scams, your best bet is to always try to get someone else to contact the supposed kidnap victim to make sure they’re ok. If you’re ever unsure what to do, you can always go to the police.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:54 am on May 6, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Scams,   

    Secret shopper scam gets a COVID revamp 

    Secret shopper scam gets a COVID revamp

    With the way the economy has reacted to the current pandemic many people now find themselves unemployed. Some of these people will turn to non-traditional jobs to try to make ends meet. This could cause people to apply for jobs that really aren’t jobs at all but well-organized scams. One job scam that seems to continually claim victims id the secret shopper scam.

    Now, there are legitimate secret shopper positions offered by many retailers. There just aren’t as many as you might think after seeing all the ads online for secret shopper job offers. In the secret shopper scam, you’re almost guaranteed to be ‘hired’. You’ll then be sent a phony check to cover your expenses and payment. You’ll be asked to deposit the check at your bank, use some of the money for the ‘job’ before being asked to send the excess amount back to the scammer. As with any scam involving phony checks, once your bank discovers the check is a fake, you’ll be responsible for the entire amount of the check to your bank while the scammers are long gone with your money.

    Now, with scammers ramping up their activities during the pandemic, the secret shopper scam has gotten a coronavirus twist. At least one report has stated that jobs are being offered online to become a social distancing compliance auditor. The phony job offer not only asks you to go to a retailer to rate customer service as a secret shopper but also rate their adherence to social distancing guidelines. However, just like the secret shopper scam, the check you’ll receive for payment is a fake.

    As we said, there are real positions for secret shoppers across America. If you’d like to inquire about one of these positions you can do so through the website of the Mystery Shopper Providers of America.

     

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