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  Geebo 8:00 am on October 2, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: refund scam ( 7 ), Scams, 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.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 29, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: grandparent scam ( 69 ), Scams   

  Grandparent scammer gets victim to pay twice 

  

  By Greg Collier

  One of the more cruel things about scams is that once a scammer finds a victim who gives them money, the scammers will try to get more money out of that victim. Take the puppy scam, for example. Once the victim pays for a puppy that doesn’t exist, the scammers will send the victim repeated requests for money under the guise of special travel crates, insurance, and emergency vet fees. Unfortunately, we’ve seen multiple victims of the puppy scam pay multiple payments to their scammers. While the puppy scam is the more common scam where multiple payments happen, it can occur in almost any scam. An elderly Florida woman sadly found that out the hard way when she fell victim to the grandparent scam.

  For those who may be unfamiliar, the grandparent scam is when scammers pose as one of the victim’s grandchildren. They’ll call the victim claiming to be in some kind of trouble and need money to bail them out.

  In this instance, the scammer called the Florida woman, claiming to be her grandson. He said he got into a car accident with a pregnant woman who lost her baby. This is a common claim used in grandparent scams, as it tries to make the phony charges seem serious while also trying to garner sympathy from the victim. Scammers are masters of emotional manipulation.

  The ‘grandchild’ then handed the call over to someone he said was his friend’s father, who just happened to be an attorney. In actuality, the attorney was the scammer’s partner, who put on a good enough show.

  The phony attorney told the woman her grandson needed $36,000 for bail. When the woman told the scammer she didn’t have that kind of money, the scammer settled for $18,000. After she withdrew that money from the bank, she was instructed a courier would come by her home and pick up the money.

  That’s not how bail works in the real world. Once bail is set, it typically stays at that amount. It can go up, but it seldomly goes down. Also, bail is never picked up by a courier. It’s typically paid at the courthouse or through a bail bondsman.

  You would think that $18,000 would be enough for this scammer, but they kept making more ridiculous claims in order to get more money. The fake attorney told the woman that her grandson was caught taking selfies in the courtroom, which incurred an increase in bail of $16,000. This time, the woman was told to send cash through FedEx to another state, and that the judge placed a gag order on the case, meaning she couldn’t talk to anyone about the matter, including family.

  If someone were to be arrested, they would not be allowed to have their phone on them in the courtroom, so courtroom selfies are highly unlikely. Scammers will also use the gag order card to prevent victims from talking to other family members. That’s not how a gag order works, however. Gag orders are typically only issued to participants of a trial. If someone tries to tell you over the phone, there’s a gag order in place, they’re more than likely trying to scam you. No one can stop you from talking to your family.

  Then the scammer tried to get a third payment from the grandmother, The scammer claimed that the grandson violated the gag order and the bail had been raised another $12,000. When the woman tried to get the $12,000 from her bank, she was told by a bank employee, she was told she was being scammed.

  To avoid falling victim to the grandparent scam, it’s important to be skeptical of unexpected phone calls or emails from people claiming to be a grandchild in distress. Don’t give out personal information or money without verifying the identity of the caller. If you are unsure if the person is truly a grandchild, ask them questions that only your real grandchild would know the answer to. Additionally, consider setting up a code word with your grandchildren to confirm their identity before providing any information or assistance. Lastly, if you do receive a suspicious call or email, please report it to the appropriate authorities.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 28, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: bank collapse ( 2 ), banks ( 6 ), cryptocurrency ( 51 ), pig butchering scam ( 15 ), Scams   

  Bank closes after falling to crypto scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  A small but successful bank in Southwestern Kansas recently closed its doors after losing $12 million to a cryptocurrency scam. It was one of only two banks in its rural Kansas town, and its loss could be devastating to the local community’s economy. The bank was known for working with farmers in the community who may no longer have that resource available to them. Thankfully, the bank’s customers are protected mostly by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), bank shareholders are left holding the bag. So, what scam caused the bank to collapse? It’s believed to have been the pig butchering scam.

  The pig butchering scam is when a scammer convinces their victim to invest in cryptocurrency through a phony exchange. The victim will be led to believe their initial investment has exponentially grown. However, when the victim tries to withdraw their money from the exchange, they’ll be told they need to pay an additional fee, which can be as much as the initial investment.

  Typically, we discuss the pig butchering scam as a version of the romance scam, but it doesn’t have to always be so salacious. It can be as simple as someone you’ve recently met suggesting you should invest in cryptocurrency.

  It’s unclear if that’s what happened in the Kansas town, since the bank’s collapse is still under investigation. However, what is known is that the bank’s CEO allegedly asked a client for a $12 million loan, so he could get his money out of a cryptocurrency investment. The client was said to be assured that the investment wasn’t made with the bank’s money. The CEO is said to have told his client he ‘knew someone’ who was helping him invest in crypto, but there was an issue with the payment, and he needed to put more money back in. Again, we can’t say for sure, but this sounds like the typical script for the pig butchering scam.

  The bank CEO was no shady dealer either. He was a known pillar of the community who was trusted by clients and customers alike. If we had to hazard a guess, it sounds like someone got into his ear and tricked him into the scam. Unfortunately, it was to the tune of $12 million.

  The point to this blog post is twofold. The first is, no matter who you are and how experienced you are in your respective field, anyone can fall for a scam. The second is that scams can not only have a devastating personal effect, but can devastate a community if someone isn’t careful.

  The crypto world is crazy enough without scammers trying to take your money. Only dive into crypto if you’ve done your homework. If someone you’ve never met face-to-face starts pushing you to invest with their so-called “expert” advice, chances are they’re not legit.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 27, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: cryptocurrency ( 51 ), pig butchering scam ( 15 ), romance scam ( 70 ), Scams   

  Widow strung along for years in ‘pig butchering’ romance scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  You might think it was Valentine’s Day with all the recent news about romance scams lately. However, the recent spate of romance victims coming forward not only shows that romance scams can happen at any time, but also how nefarious they really are. Yet, there is a romance scam that stands above all the others, as it has claimed tens of thousands to upwards of a million dollars from its individual victims.

  It’s called the pig butchering scam because the scammer ‘fattens up’ their victims using emotional manipulation before leading their victim to the financial slaughterhouse. While it may sound violent, it’s not, but can be just as devastating and traumatic.

  After gaining the victim’s trust, scammers convince them to invest in cryptocurrency. They guide the victim to a fake cryptocurrency exchange they control, making it seem like the investment is growing quickly. But when the victim tries to take out their supposed profits, they’re told they need to pay more money before they can get their earnings. No matter how much they pay, the victim never gets any returns.

  A widow from Baltimore recently came forward with her story about falling for this scam. She was just playing the online game Words with Friends when she was approached by her scammer. This is a good example of the innocuous places where scammers can lie in wait for their victims. Who expects to run into a scammer in such an innocent game?

  The scammer claimed to be a man named Micheal who was working overseas in Turkey. He claimed to be a widower with children around the same age as the victim’s children. Romance scammers will often assume the identity of someone who closely resembles their victims.

  After striking up a relationship with the victim, the scammer moved the conversation away from the game and on to the WhatsApp messaging app. This is another red flag, as scammers will try to get their victims away from the platform where they first met so no one will see their messages to their victim.

  While some scammers can wait months before asking their victims for money, this scammer waited an entire year before asking his victim for money. In that year, he was showering the victim with affection, talking about how they were going to get married and buy a home together. This is known as ‘love bombing’.

  Then the scammer convinced the woman to invest $35,000 into cryptocurrency. He directed her to a phony cryptocurrency exchange that was supposedly based in the UK. After sending in her $35,000, the phony exchange made it appears as if she made close to a million dollars. Except, she couldn’t take the money out of the exchange without paying a $17,000 ‘processing fee’. All the while, the scammer kept convincing her the money was real. The victim even paid money to ‘Michael’ to help pay the bills for a car accident Michael’s son was in. Once scammers know they have hooked their victim, they’ll keep asking for money until there’s no money left, and will still keep asking. Other victims of romance scams have taken out loans and even embezzled to send money to who they think is their romantic partner. The victim in today’s story kept giving money to the victim even after a friend warned her this could be a scam.

  While you may recognize a romance scam, someone you know may not. If you think someone you know is being scammed, don’t be judgmental, but show them this blog post or other news articles about the scam. Recognize that it may take time for your friend to come to terms with the possibility that they’re dealing with a scam. Be patient and continue to provide support. Ultimately, your role is to provide guidance and support while respecting your friend’s autonomy. It’s essential to strike a balance between offering assistance and allowing them to make their own decisions.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 26, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: grandparent scam ( 69 ), Scams, voice spoofing ( 21 )   

  New version of grandparent scam changes the target 

  

  By Greg Collier

  If you haven’t heard of the grandparent scam, it’s called that because it mostly targets the elderly. The way it works is, scammers will call their elderly target and pose as one of the target’s grandchildren. The call usually starts with the scammer saying something like “Grampa?”. They’re hoping the target will respond with a grandchild’s name by replying with something along the lines of, “Is this Brandon?”. The scammer will reply with yes to no matter what name they’re supplied with. Then the real grift begins.

  While posing as the grandchild, the scammer will tell their target they’ve gotten into legal trouble and need money to fix the situation. Typically, the phony grandchild will claim they’ve been in a car accident that was their fault and need money for bail or some other legal fee. Sometimes, the call is passed off to the scammer’s partner, who will pose as the police, a bail bondsman, or attorney to add an element of urgency to the target.

  Payment is usually asked for through means that are hard to recover, such as cryptocurrency, gift cards, or through payment apps like Zelle, Cash App and Venmo. The target is also instructed not to tell anyone else in the family, sometimes under the threat of a gag order.

  That’s how the grandparent scam traditionally worked until the development of AI voice-spoofing technology. Now, the grandparent scam has become more focused, with scammers targeting specific victims instead of random elderly people.

  With that development, the Better Business Bureau has issued a warning that scammers have also flipped the script on the grandparent scam. According to the BBB, scammers are now posing as grandparents in distress on these scam phone calls. Thanks to AI voice-spoofing, scammers are now targeting children and grandchildren instead of just the elderly with this scam. You can imagine how panicked this would make the victim of this new version of the scam.

  However, the ways to protect yourself remain the same. Educating your family about the scam is the best defense. Your family should also set up a code word you can use to verify the identity of the person who is calling. Or, you could ask the caller a question only they would know the answer to. Lastly, don’t believe your ears when you get a call like this, it may sound like your loved one, but now, scammers can mimic any voice down to a T.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 25, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: cybersecurity ( 37 ), Facebook ( 179 ), Facebook Marketplace ( 62 ), hacking ( 31 ), Scams   

  Facebook Account Hijacking: How Scammers Exploit Lost Control 

  

  By Greg Collier

  For some, losing control of your Facebook account may not seem like a big deal. You may only use Facebook sparingly to keep in touch with a handful of friends and relatives. If you lose access to your account, you can just open a new one and send new friend requests while telling your friends list you got hacked. However, letting your Facebook account remain in the hands of hackers can not only leave your friends and family vulnerable to scams, it could also lead to frustrated strangers showing up at your door.

  For example, a woman from Alabama lost control of her Facebook account. Before she knew it, hackers took over her account and changed the password, locking her out of her own account. Then, the hackers posed as the woman and listed several items for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Once other Facebook users started responding to the listings, the hacker told the other users they were out of town, but would hold the item for them if they paid a deposit.

  As you can probably guess, the Facebook users who paid deposits never received the items they thought they were purchasing. Victims of this scam started showing up at the home of the woman who had her account hacked. Thankfully, those who did show up at her home were reasonable when they found out they were scammed. However, it’s no stretch of the imagination to think things may have taken a wrong turn if the wrong person got scammed.

  The woman stated that she’s trying to get Facebook to suspend her original account, but the hacked account is still active.

  Scammers like this love to get their hands on existing Facebook accounts because it makes their Marketplace scams appear legitimate since an active and older account is attached to the listings.

  In conclusion, safeguarding your Facebook account from potential hackers is not only crucial for your personal data but also for your online security. By following these tips and staying vigilant, you can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to malicious activities. Remember to regularly update your password, enable two-factor authentication, review your privacy settings, and be cautious about the information you share online. Your Facebook account holds a treasure trove of personal information, and taking these proactive steps will help ensure that it remains secure.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 22, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: romance scam ( 70 ), Scams   

  Widow homeless after romance scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  As we featured in our last post about romance scams, romance scammers will lead their victims on for months before asking for any money. Meanwhile, these scammers are manipulating the emotions of people who are just looking to stave off loneliness. People whose partners have passed away are often targets for romance scammers.

  It’s not just a few bucks we’re talking about, either. We’ve seen reports where romance scam victims have lost anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars to over a million dollars. Romance scammers are in it for the long haul and are willing to wait a long time to get money like that. And it’s not just money that the victims lose.

  A widow from the state of Georgia struck up a relationship with a man she met online. The man claimed to have lost his wife as well. He also claimed to be a doctor working for the Red Cross in Yemen. If someone isn’t aware of how the romance scam works, they may just think they’ve met an incredible partner. Not only is the man supposedly a doctor, but he’s working for a charity overseas in a war-torn country.

  Those who are familiar with the scam will recognize the red flags. Romance scammers almost always claim to either have some high-paying position or are in the military. The Middle-East is a popular location for scammers to claim where they’re working at. Due to the political instabilities in many Middle-Eastern countries, scammers use these to concoct many excuses for either their money requests or why they can’t meet in person. We’ll get to more of that shortly.

  Getting back to the story at hand, the scammer in this story told the Georgia widow he wanted to buy a house with her in Cary, North Carolina. The scammer claimed he would pay $600,000 for the home, while all she would need to pay would be $78,000 that she needed to wire to him, which she did.

  She was provided with an address and pictures of the house in Cary. When she arrived there with all her belongings, she discovered someone was already living there. That’s when she realized she had been scammed. She tried confronting the scammer, but the scammer stuck with his story, even sending her a picture supposedly showing that he had been beaten up in Yemen.

  Now, the widow has very little to her name except for a camper which someone from a local church donated to her. She should be commended for having the bravery to share her story publicly, as many victims don’t. According to the Federal Trade Commission, victims lost more than a billion dollars to romance scams, and that’s only from the ones who came forward.

  Romance scams raise significant warning signals. These scams exclusively rely on online communication and often involve the perpetrator sharing a heart-wrenching narrative. Moreover, if at any point you are solicited for money, whether through wire transfers, Bitcoin purchases, or gift card requests, consider it a definitive indicator of a scam.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 21, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: identity theft ( 107 ), mystery box, online shopping ( 34 ), Scams, social media ( 79 ), TEMU ( 3 )   

  A TEMU scam that’s not TEMU’s fault 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Last week, we gave our opinion on the online shopping platform TEMU. We advised our readers that TEMU is full of third-party vendors who are getting a reputation for selling knockoffs if an item is delivered at all. TEMU itself has been accused of stockpiling customers’ personal information for less than legitimate purposes. This is all made even more suspicious since TEMU is based in China, where laws concerning personal information are looser than those in the US. However, there’s a scam now going around using TEMU’s name where TEMU isn’t responsible.

  Across social media, ads are being placed where a $1 ‘mystery box’ appears to be offered by TEMU. The ad shows boxes full of high-end items like phones, laptops, and other pricey computer equipment. While TEMU does offer mystery boxes for sale, they’re not being sold for $1, and it’s almost a guarantee an iPhone won’t be included.

  If someone clicks on the ad, they’re taken to a third-party website that has no connection to TEMU. Once at the site, users are asked to enter personal and financial information to receive their supposed mystery box. This is an obvious ploy to use the name of the latest shopping sensation in order to steal someone’s identity and money.

  If you see ads like this that sound too good to be true on social media, they probably are. If you do click on an ad that appears to come from a well-known service, make sure the URL of the website is the correct one. If the URL doesn’t reflect the service you were looking to use, close out of that site immediately, even if it looks identical to the real thing. To best protect yourself when shopping online, use a credit card whenever possible, since credit cards offer more protection when it comes to fraudulent products.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 20, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: advance fee scam ( 45 ), Facebook Marketplace ( 62 ), gas pumps ( 3 ), jury duty scam ( 30 ), laptops ( 4 ), pump switching, Scams, subpoena   

  Scam Round Up: The gas pump switching scam and more 

  

  By Greg Collier

  There’s a new version of the advance fee scam circulating on Facebook Marketplace. An advance fee scam is when a scammer promises something valuable for free then asks for some type of payment for things like taxes or shipping.

  In this case, scammers are offering a free laptop, but it comes with a sob story. The ad claims the seller bought their spouse a new ‘laptop pro’, but they caught their spouse cheating and want to give the laptop away as a form of punishment.

  The ad almost tips itself off as being a scam, since the gender of the spouse switches back and forth in the description.

  “I am giving out this laptop Pro that I bought to surprise my husband for her birthday but then caught her cheating on me,” the scammer wrote. “I know I could sell it and get my money back, but I want to show her I gave it away for nothing like her is to me.”

  The catch is, once someone responds to the ad, the seller asks for a $70 shipping fee, and the laptop is never delivered. Scammers are also using hijacked Facebook accounts. So if you see a friend listing this for sale, you may want to let them know.

  ***

  A new version of the jury duty scam has popped up in Florida, and its targets are more vulnerable than the typical jury duty scam victim. Instead of just calling people at random and threatening them with arrest for supposedly missing jury duty, scammers are now targeting people who have actually been subpoenaed.

  Subpoenas are a matter of public record, and scammers are using these records to target their victims. Like the jury duty scam, the scammers are posing as the local police or court system and demanding cash from victims to avoid arrest. The scammers are asking their victims to meet them in person.

  However, also like the jury duty scam, no law enforcement agency or court will ever call you and threaten you with arrest if you don’t make an immediate payment. If any kind of legal fine ever needs to paid, a person would be notified by mail.

  ***

  Police in the Philadelphia area are warning consumers about a gas pump scam. They call it the pump switching scam, and it starts when someone approaches a victim at the gas pumps and insists on pumping their gas for them. According to the police, the scammers are quite insistent about it.

  If a victim agrees to this, the scammer won’t return the nozzle to the pump and will continue to fill the tanks of people who drive up for $20 cash. This will continue until the victim’s card hits its limit or the police arrive.

  To protect yourself from this scam, always return the nozzle to the pump and end the transaction. You can also prepay inside the gas station. If you do pay at the pump, also make sure you print out a receipt.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 19, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: AI voice ( 10 ), Scams, virtual kidnapping ( 45 ), voice cloning ( 24 ), voice spoofing ( 21 )   

  The sheer terror of the kidnapping scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Even if someone has complete knowledge of how a certain scam works, that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t fall victim to it, due to how some scams are completely menacing. Take, for example, the virtual kidnapping scam. This is when a scammer calls someone and claims to have kidnapped their loved one before making a ransom demand. Meanwhile, the supposed kidnap victim is unharmed and has no idea they’re being used in a scam. With the advancement of AI voice-spoofing technology, scammers can easily mimic the voice of the victim’s loved one to make the scam seem even more threatening.

  With that knowledge in mind, we may think we wouldn’t fall for such a scam as we sit at our keyboards and screens. But can you say that with 100% confidence? Before you answer, you should know the story of an Atlanta father who fell victim to the scam.

  He received a call from someone who claimed they kidnapped his adult daughter. At the time of the call, the man’s daughter was traveling. This could be why the man was targeted, as scammers often take information they find on social media and use it to their advantage. The caller claimed he got into a car accident with the man’s daughter and that they were carrying a substantial amount of cocaine at the time.

  The caller threatened the life of the man’s daughter, saying that they couldn’t have anyone recognize them. This was accompanied by screams and cries in the background that replicated his daughter’s voice. This was followed up with threats of torture and other bodily harm to the daughter if the man didn’t comply. For the sake of decorum, we won’t reprint specifically what the threats entailed, but imagine the worst thing that could happen to a loved one of your own, and then you have an idea of the terror that was unfolding.

  The father complied with the scammer’s request and sent them $2500 to the scammer’s bank account, probably through an app like Zelle.

  Even if armed with the knowledge of how the virtual kidnapping scam works, in the heat of the moment, no one could be blamed for falling victim to the scam. However, there are still ways to try to protect yourself from the scam. The best way is to set up a code word between you and your loved ones. This way, in cases of calls like this, you can know if you’re actually talking to your loved one or not. Or, you could also ask them a question that only the supposed kidnap victim would know.

  While it’s easier said than done, try to remain calm in the situation, even while your ears may be deceiving you. Make attempts to contact your loved one through other means. If you can, attempt to have someone else reach them on a different phone.

  Please keep in mind, virtual kidnapping scams rely on manipulation and intimidation. By staying calm, and taking the necessary precautions, you can protect yourself and your loved ones from falling victim to these schemes.