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  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on May 5, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , Scams,   

    Scammers are using stimulus check confusion against you 

    Scammers are using stimulus check confusion against you

    The scammers are still at it during this crisis. Here are a few more scams that are using the coronavirus pandemic to their advantage.

    There is still a lot of consumer confusion around the delivery of the economic impact payments, or as they’re better known stimulus checks. The scammers are taking advantage of this confusion to try to steal your identity. Some reports say that scammers are sending out emails that look like they’ve officially come from your bank. The emails offer to give you the status of your stimulus check but instead, they take you to a link that asks for your personal information. As of right now, the only place where you can find out the status of your stimulus payment is from the IRS’s Get My Payment website. If the IRS needs to contact you, they will send you a letter through the regular mail.

    Another scam we just recently heard of is the deed transferring scam. It seems that scammers are telling people struggling with their mortgage payments to transfer their deed to a third-party. The scammers say that this will allow the homeowner to no longer be responsible for their mortgage payments. This is false. In reality, the new deed holder could potentially evict you from your own home. In turn, this could cost the homeowner untold costs in legal fees for just trying to stay in their own home.

    Lastly for today, there are reports coming out of the state of Washington about a new porch pirate scheme. Investigators there say that a group of porch pirates are dressing up as nurses to try to take your deliveries without being questioned by authorities. We assume that the trick here is that in many states there are still stay at home orders and medical staff are considered essential workers and no one would question a nurse being out during the quarantine. Most delivery services have options where you can be notified when your delivery arrives. If you enact these options you’ll have a better idea when to bring your deliveries inside and foil the porch pirates’ plans.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on May 4, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Scams   

    Scam threatens to infect your family with COVID 

    We’ve posted before about various scams that threaten either the victim or their family with violence. The first one that immediately jumps to mind is the virtual kidnapping scam where someone calls you and tells you a loved one has been kidnapped and demands a ransom. In reality, the supposed kidnap victim is fine. Another scam in a similar vein is the cartel scam where the scammer claims to be part of a criminal cartel that has targeted your family if you don’t pay them. The scammer will then send a violent picture claiming it to be their last victim. However, the scammer is targeting random people hoping that someone will pay to stop their fictitious demands. With this currently being the quarantine era, of course, there is a version of this scam that involves COVID-19.

    In this updated version of the scam, the scammer will send you a phishing email that may contain the actual username and password to one of your online accounts. These can usually be obtained on the dark web or hacker forums after major data breaches occur. The scammer will threaten to expose all your ‘secrets’ if you don’t pay them. They’ll then say if you don’t pay they’ll infect every member of your family with coronavirus but not in such a polite manner.

    “I know every dirty little secret about your life,” the email reads. “To start with, I know all of your passwords. I am aware of your whereabouts, what you eat, with whom you talk, every little thing you do in a day.”

    “You need to pay me $4,000,” it goes on. “If I do not get the payment: I will infect every member of your family with the coronavirus. No matter how smart you are, believe me, if I want to infect, I can. I will also go ahead and reveal your secrets. I will completely ruin your life.”

    These threats are mostly hollow as these scammers are usually overseas and have no way of really knowing your day to day interactions. again, the scammers are hoping for that one person that believes their claims. If you receive one of these emails your best bet is to simply delete the email. Don’t respond to it even to tell off the scammer as they will then know that your email address is a working one. Just to be on the side of caution you may also want to change your password on whatever account they claim to have compromised.

     

  • Greg Collier 7:31 am on April 30, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , Scams   

    Virtual rental scam keeps claiming victims 

    Virtual rental scam keeps claiming victims

    Last week, we posted an entry about victims who were taken in by a new type of rental scam. In this scam, phony landlords are saying they can’t meet with prospective renters because of the quarantine. The scammers would then send their victims a link so they could take a virtual tour of the home. As with all rental scams, the scammers would collect rent or deposits for properties they don’t own. Many of the victims move into the property thinking they’re now renting the property only to find out that they’ve been had. Now it seems that this virtual rental scam is becoming more commonplace.

    More recently in Texas, a woman and her son had moved into a new home before finding out from the property manager that she was there illegally. She had found the listing for the home on craigslist. When she had inquired about the home, the scammer sent her a link to a website called Rently so she could see the home virtually. Rently is a legitimate website but anyone can go on it and view rental properties. The scammer then collected the first month’s rent of $1500 through a payment app. After the woman realized she had been scammed she was able to get her money back from her bank’s app but it most cases, that money is lost forever.

    One of the red flags, in this case, was that the photos of the property were watermarked by the rental company. The scammer said that the rental company wasn’t moving the property fast enough so they listed the property on craigslist. Scammers often copy legitimate listings from rental companies or real estate agencies to pass off as their own. Another red flag was the scammer asking for payment through a payment app. You should never use Cash App or Venmo for payments to someone you don’t know as these apps are favored by scammers due to their anonymity.

    Even in the time of social distancing, you should still always ask for a face to face meeting. You can still practice safe social distancing during one of these meetings. Always do a reverse image search of the property to make sure the listing hasn’t been copied. Lastly, you should also check with the county’s tax assessor’s office or website to find out who the true property owner is. This research may take some time but in the end, it’s worth it to avoid finding yourself in a situation like this.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:22 am on April 29, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , Scams   

    Some sites slow to pull bad COVID products 

    Some sites slow to pull bad COVID products

    As we have mentioned before, the current pandemic has been a boom period for all sorts of con artists and scammers. The scams started even before coronavirus even started claiming all the headlines. Even before stay at home orders were issued, scammers were already online selling masks that didn’t exist or harmful snake oil cures. Even with all that we currently know about COVID-19 these scams are continuing unabated. Now, these scams even have an air of legitimacy as many of them are appearing on legitimate commerce sites. The problem is that these commerce sites are slow to pull any dangerous or false products if they even pull them at all.

    A tech company by the name of Proxyway performed an investigation into several e-commerce sites that were selling harmful products that either claimed to test for or cure COVID-19. These dangerous products were reviewed by medical professionals to determine how harmful they were. The sites that Proxyway investigated were Alibaba, AliExpress, Amazon, Craigslist, and eBay. Alibaba and Craigslist would take up to a week before the hazardous products were removed. eBay would take an average of three days while Amazon would take an average of two. While two and three days may seem like a short time, any number of people could have ordered these risky products from what they might assume are legitimate retailers.

    While sites like Amazon and eBay employ reviewers to look out for unsafe products they’re still not infallible. Craigslist is worse since it relies on community policing which has bitten craigslist in the past. Just because something is on a website, no matter how legitimate the website might be, you can’t assume the product is safe, especially when it comes to COVD-19.

    As of the time of this posting, there are no cures for COVID-19 and there are no commercially available home testing kits.

    For all valid information about COVID-19 please visit Coronavirus.gov.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on April 28, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Scams,   

    Census scam takes advantage of stimulus confusion 

    Census scam takes advantage of stimulus confusion

    There’s already enough confusion when it comes to the economic impact payment that most taxpayers are set to receive. Many people who still haven’t received their stimulus checks are trying to figure out if maybe they did something wrong to delay their payment. Leave it to the con artists and scammers of the world to take advantage of that confusion. This latest scam takes advantage of not only the confusion regarding the stimulus payments but also the 2020 Census. The scam would have you believe that you need to fill out a census in order to receive your stimulus payment, but that isn’t true.

    The scam works like so many others. You’ll receive an unsolicited text, email, or social media message that claims you won’t receive your stimulus package without filling out the Census. These messages will contain a link that will supposedly provide additional information. If you click on the link, several things could potentially happen. You could be directed to a site that will infect your device with malware, or you could be directed to a site that looks like the US Census site that is designed to steal your personal information. Either way, the goal is to steal your identity and not necessarily your stimulus payment. Although if your identity is stolen it wouldn’t be hard for the thief to claim your stimulus payment.

    As always, you should never click on links from anyone you don’t know personally. Even then, you should be wary of links from friends in case their accounts have been compromised. Neither the IRS nor the Census Bureau will send you unsolicited messages about your stimulus payment. Also, keep in mind that all US government websites end with the .gov domains.

    As we’ve been saying, the pandemic has been a boon for all types of scammers and cybercriminals. Now more than ever as consumers we need to keep our wits about us.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on April 24, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , Scams   

    Of course there’s a coronavirus puppy scam 

    Of course there's a coronavirus puppy scam

    With the current stay at home orders, many people are turning to pet adoption to combat the inherent loneliness associated with the quarantine. Pets have been shown as a way to help combat the depression and anxiety that many people are experiencing for the first time. However, before we get to the heart of the matter, we’d be remiss if we didn’t advise our readers that pets are a commitment. You should only get a pet if your current financial situation allows it and you plan on keeping your new friend once the quarantine is over. It doesn’t help anyone if you have to give up your pet.

    Online puppy scams are nothing new. The way they normally work is a scammer posts an ad online for a popular breed of puppy at a heavily discounted price. Once you pay the scammer they’ll either just take off with your money or try to bleed more money out of you with fake charges like insurance or shipping costs. Many scammers will say that something went wrong during the shipping process and more money is needed to correct the issue. In the end, you’ll end up out of a lot of money and have no puppy to show for it. Now, scammers are saying that you have to pay extra to have the non-existent puppy shipped because of coronavirus safeguards. Most scammers will also try to have you pay through untraceable means like wire transfer and gift cards.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8ep7knWsKI%5D

    If you’re thinking of adding a new furry friend to your life, try to shop for your pet locally. We always advise adopting from your local animal shelter as they have many healthy and friendly pets available for adoption. Some shelters even have notification lists where you can be informed if you’re looking for a certain breed. If you’re going to deal with a breeder, please make sure they’re a licensed breeder as there are too many backyard breeders selling sick pets just for the money.

    Just like any other transaction, you’ll make the best choice once you’ve done your research before making a big life decision like getting a puppy.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on April 23, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , Scams,   

    “Oops! Can you send that back?” 

    "Oops! Can you send that back?"

    Payment apps are a great convenience. They mean that we don’t necessarily have to carry cash on us and can be used to pay for various goods and services while maintaining social distances. These apps like Venmo, Cash App, Paypal, and the like have been around for a long time and have been the targets of scammers almost since the beginning. Now, scammers have come up with a new way to try to steal money from your payment app account and it relies on the politeness of others.

    If you use one of these apps and you receive a payment from someone you don’t know, don’t spend it and don’t send it back. Scammers are sending payments to random app users along with a message that says something along the lines of “Oops! Can you send that back?” These are payments sent using stolen credit cards or other stolen financial information. If you send the payment back to them it becomes real money in their account. However, once the credit card is reported stolen that money will come out of your account and you will be out the amount of the ‘Oops’ payment. This is very reminiscent of the phony check scam only in digital form.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSVtXuhnUnk%5D

    If you receive one of these payments, instead of sending the money back ask them to cancel the payment. If they refuse or try to pressure you into sending it back it’s more than likely a scam. Report the payment to whichever app you’re using and whatever you do, don’t touch that money. It should just be removed from your account but as we said, if you spend the money you’ll ultimately be responsible for that amount.

    This is an unprecedented time for scammers so please keep your wits about you when dealing with digital payments.

     

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

    Covid-19 used as part of rental scam 

    Covid-19 used as part of rental scam

    Scammers keep using the current covid-19 pandemic to their advantage in new and creative ways by applying it to scams that have been in practice for years. One of the most common scams that we’ve discussed is the rental scam. This is where a scammer posts an ad online for a rental property they claim to own. The rent is almost always advertised as below market value. Also, the rent is almost always asked for without being to see the dwelling itself or meeting the landlord. In previous instances of the scam, scammers would give various reasons as to why they couldn’t meet the prospective tenants or show the property. Now, it seems that covid-19 precaution is being used as an excuse.

    In Thornton, Colorado three different families fell for the same rental scam thinking they all had just rented a home for their families. Instead, they were taken by a con artist. The scammer had posted the home for rent on Facebook Marketplace. When potential renters would inquire about the home the scammer allegedly told them that due to covid-19 concerns he would give a virtual tour of the home. One victim of the scam paid $2500 to the scammer as a deposit. While the news report doesn’t say how payment was made, it’s safe to assume it may have been done through a wire service like Western Union or Moneygram. As you can expect, the scammer did not own the house and the property was actually being rented by a real estate agency and already promised to a tenant. This isn’t the only case of a covid-19 rental scam.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2MY1JELLkg%5D

    Even in this time of social distancing, if you’re looking to rent a home never pay a prospective landlord without meeting them in person. However, before meeting them, make sure they’re the actual landlord by doing a web search on the address of the rental home. This kind of web search should turn up who is actually renting the property. For a more accurate report of who owns the property, you can check with the county’s assessor’s office or website. It’s better to put in the extra research time so you don’t end up losing money and a roof over your head.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:00 am on April 16, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , Scams   

    Federal agencies are warning about covid related scams 

    Federal agencies are warning about covid related scams

    With the current coronavirus pandemic showing no signs of subsiding any time soon, many experts in the field are saying that they’ve never seen so many scammers trying to take advantage of a calamity. In that vein, many federal agencies have issued warnings about scams that are related to the coronavirus/covid-19 pandemic. You can click the following link to see our previous posts about coronavirus scams.

    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is warning investors about companies that appear to be making false claims about coronavirus treatment and prevention. The SEC has already suspended 16 companies from trading stock over claims of coronavirus testing kits. The SEC is also warning about currently investing in penny stocks related to coronavirus treatment as these stocks can easily be overinflated in value by the company before being sold off in what’s known as a pump and dump scheme.

    The Secret Service is warning citizens about scams related to the economic impact payments. We’ve previously discussed many of these scams here. In addition to the scams we’ve previously discussed, the Secret Service is warning about any messages you may receive about the economic impact payment that contain phrases like ‘immediately’, ‘urgent’, or ‘do not tell anyone about this offer’. According to the Secret Service, these are red flags for scams. They also recommend possibly freezing your credit during the pandemic so no one can open any lines of credit in your name.

    Along these same financial lines, the FBI is expecting a sharp rise in cryptocurrency scams during the pandemic. These scams will essentially entail current scams such as work at home and charity scams but will be looking to cryptocurrency as the scammer’s method of laundering the money they take from their victims. The FBI also says to be wary of new cryptocurrency offerings and investments as scammers will just steal the money and hide it in other cryptocurrencies.

    During these times financial stability is a major concern among many of us. By keeping a cool head on your shoulders you can prevent these con artists from threatening the security that you’ve worked hard for.

     

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

    Text scam says you have covid-19 

    Text scam says you have covid-19

    So far, we’ve seen some insidious scams that have preyed on the fear of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but this one may just take the proverbial cake. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is warning residents about a new coronavirus scam that is targeting its victims through text messages. The text messages say something to the effect of “Someone who came in contact with you tested positive or has shown symptoms for COVID-19 & recommends you self-isolate/get tested.” The text also contains a link that is supposed to contain more information. In all likelihood, the link goes to a website that either tries to steal your personal information or injects malware on to your device. We recommend that you shouldn’t click any links provided by anyone you don’t know personally whether they’re sent through text, email, or social media.

    The State of New Jersey has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic due to its proximity to New York. The New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal has been warning the Garden State about several scams taking advantage of the current crisis. Most of these scams we have gone over previously. However, one particular scam that Mr. Grewal is warning about caught our attention. That would be the impersonation scam or grandparent scam. Normally, this scam is when a scammer calls an elderly victim and poses as a grandchild and that they’re in some kind of trouble. They’ll then ask for money for things like bail or emergency medical expenses that have to be paid right now. Now, scammers are using the cover of covid-19 to perpetrate these scams. The scammers will say they’re infected with covid-19 and need money. As with most scams, they’ll ask for the money through gift cards or wire transfer. Instead of immediately reacting, call the person the scammers are claiming to be directly to verify that they’re actually ok.

    Previously, we’ve detailed scams where the scammers are disguising themselves as workers for the CDC, the Red Cross, and local hospitals selling various coronavirus tests or cures for a fee door to door. Of course, neither the tests or cures they sell are legitimate and they are just looking to make a few hundred dollars a pop. If that wasn’t low enough reports in Las Vegas have surfaced stating that some of these scammers have taken to posing as employees from Veterans Affairs Hospitals. For many of our veterans, the VA is the only place where they can receive medical treatment so some older veterans may be trusting of anyone who claims to be from the VA. In response to this, the VA has stated that they won’t come to your home without scheduling an appointment first.

    If you know someone who could be susceptible to these scams, please check in on them even if it’s just a phone call. They’ll probably appreciate that you’re looking out for them.

     

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