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  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 24, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Scams, , ,   

    AI kidnapping scam flourishes 

    AI kidnapping scam flourishes

    It’s almost been two months since we first noticed AI-generated voice cloning, or voice spoofing, scams starting to proliferate. Voice cloning technology is being used in scams where the reproduction of someone’s voice is imperative in making the scam seem more realistic. Typically, they’re being used in grandparent scams and virtual kidnapping scams, where scammers have always tried to imitate a victim’s loved one. Today, we’ll be focusing on the virtual kidnapping scam.

    Before consumer level AI programs became so accessible, kidnapping scammers would try to make it sound like a victim’s loved one had been kidnapped by having someone in the background screaming as if they were being assaulted. Now, a scammer only needs to obtain a few seconds of someone’s voice online to make a program where they can simulate that person saying just about anything. Scammers can obtain someone’s voice either through social media, or by recording a spam call made to that person.

    In Western Pennsylvania, a family received such a call from someone claiming to have kidnapped their teenage daughter. The call appeared to come from the daughter’s phone number, with the daughter’s voice saying she had been kidnapped, and her parents needed to send money. The scammer then got on the phone, threatening to harm the girl.

    In many instances, this would have sent parents into a panic while potentially following the scammers instructions for a ransom payment.

    Thankfully, in this instance, the daughter was standing right next to her parents when they got the call.

    Even though new technology is being used by scammers, the old methods of precaution should still be used.

    If you receive such a call, try to have someone contact the person who’s supposedly been kidnapped. When they put your loved one on the phone, ask them a question that only they would know the answer to. Or, set up a family code word to use only if your loved one is in danger.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 21, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Scams, us marhals   

    Never move your money for law enforcement 

    By Greg Collier

    Police impersonation scams are far from new, but they seem to be picking up steam lately if the reporting is to be believed. Even we made a post recently about three different police impersonation scams. Although, the phrase ‘police impersonation’ can be a misnomer. Scammers also impersonate federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, the DEA, and Borders and Customs. Or, in the case of today’s scam, the U.S. Marshals Service.

    An elderly woman from Massachusetts recently received a phone call from someone claiming to be a U.S. Marshal. The caller told the woman she had been a victim of identity theft and that her money was at risk. The victim was then instructed to empty her bank account, so the money could be ‘protected’ by the U.S. Marshals. She was told she’ll deposit into a Bitcoin ATM, where she would have a digital wallet that would be hers alone.

    The victim was then instructed to go to four different branches of her bank and withdrawal $30,000, all the while being kept on the phone with the phony Marshal. Unfortunately, none of the bank branches ever inquired about the withdrawals.

    She made two deposits into two separate Bitcoin ATMs before driving to her attorney’s office, who immediately informed her it was a scam.

    Seniors can be particularly vulnerable to police impersonation scams, since many of their generation were raised to have a health respect for the police. It also didn’t help that this scammer sounded calm and helpful on the call, while most scammers threaten their victims with arrest.

    Moving your money to protect it from hackers and identity thieves isn’t a thing. If a bank account becomes compromised, the money is gone instantly. There’s no ‘grace period’ where police can intervene. Additionally, law enforcement doesn’t tend to warn consumers if they’be been a victim of identity theft. That would be something the victim would need to report to police. Lastly, anytime someone you don’t know personally brings up Bitcoin as a form of payment, the odds are you’re being scammed since the cryptocurrency is largely unrecoverable.

    If you receive a call like this, ask for the officer’s or agent’s name and badge number before calling the actual police department or agency they claim to be from.

    If you know someone who you think may be vulnerable to this scam, please let them know.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 20, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Scams, water test   

    How scammers exploit headlines for profit 

    By Greg Collier

    It doesn’t matter if a newsworthy occurrence is global, national, or hyper-local. If scammers believe they can make money from it, they will pounce on the opportunity. We saw the global and national repercussions of this during the pandemic, but what’s an example of a hyper-local headline?

    In West Springfield, Massachusetts, a water main broke, causing the town to be under a boil water order. Boil water orders can be a major inconvenience. Some residents might start getting impatient, and this is where the scammers come in.

    According to West Springfield police, scammers are going door to door around town claiming to offer water testing for $150. The scammers also claim that if the home passes the test, it can be removed from the boil water order. So, not only are scammers looking to get inside their victims’ homes, but they’re also putting their victims’ lives in danger if the water is tainted. The order wasn’t even more than a day old before the scammers started coming out of the woodwork.

    It almost seems like no one is more tuned into the news like scammers. There’s not a story small enough that they can’t find some way to try to take advantage of someone.

    If you find yourself in a similar situation with something like a water boil order, be careful of anyone appearing out of the blue charging for a service you didn’t ask for. Under no circumstance should you let any solicitors into your home. Let your neighbors know if a scammer is going around your neighborhood. Lastly, call your local police at their non-emergency number, so they can be aware of scammers in the area.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 19, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Scams,   

    Funeral home impersonation scam victimizes widow 

    Funeral home impersonation scam victimizes widow

    By Greg Collier

    We’ve posted some absolutely heart-wrenching scams lately. One that stands out is the scam where con artists tried to collect imaginary tax debts from the families of the recently deceased. The one we’re about to discuss is much worse. This scam tries to take advantage of the grieving before a proper funeral has even occurred.

    A woman from the San Diego Metro Area recently lost her husband at a much too young age. The husband also left behind their two-year-old son. Before her husband could even be buried, she received a call from someone saying they were with the funeral home.

    The caller asked the woman for a $50 payment, claiming it was for some type of insurance in case a funeral home worker were to get injured. The phone number was spoofed, so it appeared the call was actually coming from the funeral home.

    The caller the started pressuring the woman to make a payment then and there over the phone. She was told that she couldn’t come down to the funeral home, she couldn’t pay in cash, and had to pay by credit card over the phone.

    After not giving the caller any money, they called back again to tell the grieving widow that they were refusing her service because she was so ‘rude’ to them. The panic she experienced must have been unimaginable while trying to figure out what to do after a funeral home has refused service.

    To her credit, she made some phone calls and determined the whole thing was a scam.

    When someone is grieving, they’re at their most vulnerable time of their life. As we know, scammers prefer to target the vulnerable, hoping that their victims are in such an emotional state they’re not thinking straight.

    Any time you receive a call from someone asking for any kind of surprise payment, verify their story. Don’t believe the call is legitimate just because the caller ID shows the correct number. Call the business or agency directly, and they’ll be able to advise you on the veracity of the caller’s request.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 18, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , Scams   

    Scam Round Up: Police Impersonation Scams 

    Scam Round Up: Police Impersonation Scams

    By Greg Collier

    We often say the jury duty scam is probably the most common scam going if news reports are any indication. As we do research for this blog, we’ll find news stories about the jury duty scam on an almost daily basis. The jury duty scam is a form of another scam called the police impersonation scam, since the jury duty scam always involves the scammer posing as police. However, that is only one version of the police impersonation scam. Today, we’re bringing you three police impersonation scams that are happening around the country.

    You might have guesses that our first story is the arrest warrant scam. This is where scammers will call a victim while posing as police and telling the victim they have a warrant out for their arrest. Recently, the Pittsburgh office of the FBI has issued a warning that scammers are posing as the FBI. The phone calls to victims even show up as the FBI on caller IDs. Along with the threat of arrest, victims are being asked to purchase pre-paid debit cards and give the numbers to the scammers. The scammers claim these are to prove the victim’s identity.

    As with most police impersonation scams, real police do not call people who have warrants out for their arrest. Police would never give a real suspect a chance like that to flee.

    In Lawrence, Kansas, at least one victim has received phone calls that appeared to have come from the Lawrence Police Department. The caller accused the victim of harassment, while the caller ID carried a non-emergency number used by the LPD. The victim hung up on the caller and called the actual LPD. While the victim was on the phone with the LPD, the scammer called three more times.

    The LPD recommends if you receive a call like that, ask the caller for a name and badge number, then call the department the caller claims to be from.

    In Columbus, Ohio, the parents of a college-aged athlete got the scare of their life from a scammer. They received a call from someone claiming to be with the campus police from Ohio State University. The scammer claimed the couple’s daughter was arrested while leaving a nightclub, and if the parents didn’t pay $2000 their daughter would be turned over to the Columbus Police Department. Again, the caller ID had the number of the OSUPD.

    The parents didn’t fall for the scam, as their daughter had a game the next day, and she wouldn’t typically go out the night before a game. It turns out, the scammer targeted the parents of a number of athletes from the same team.

    If you think this sounds a lot like the grandparent scam, you’d be correct, as the grandparent scam is also another version of a police impersonation scam.

    If someone claims to be a police officer, ask for their name, badge number, and the name of the department they work for. You can then call the police department directly to verify their identity. Try to avoid volunteering any personal information, as that can be used against you while the scam is taking place. Lastly, never give the scammers any money. No legitimate law enforcement officer or agency will ever ask for money over the phone.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 17, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , Scams,   

    Cancer patient targeted in scam 

    By Greg Collier

    A Utah woman who is currently undergoing cancer treatment almost fell victim to a scam at probably the most vulnerable time of her life. As you may expect, her treatments are expensive, and she was looking for any kind of financial assistance to help pay her medical bills. She received a message from a Facebook friend who offered to help her apply for a grant that would help pay for her medical expenses. With some of her treatments costing thousands of dollars each, she was open to the idea.

    If you’re a regular reader, you already know this is a common scam that takes place on Facebook. These grants that ‘friends’ keep promising don’t actually exist. In a typical grant scam, the victim will be directed to a phony website where they’ll be asked for all their personal and financial information. Then the victim will be asked for a payment under the guise of a processing fee.

    This is precisely what happened to the Utah woman. She was directed to a website to fill out an application, but in the middle of the process she got a bad feeling and cancelled the application.

    She messaged her Facebook friend saying she was going to think about it. The friend started pressuring her to complete the application. When the woman insisted she wasn’t going to, the Facebook friend disappeared.

    As you can probably surmise, her Facebook friend had their account hacked and taken over by scammers. Who knows for how long, but it was long enough to find someone who was battling an expensive illness.

    Any financial grant giver, whether it’s from the government or a nonprofit, will not approach you. You need to search them out first. Unless your Facebook friend works for the government or non-profit, it’s very unlikely they are going to put in the legwork for you.

    That’s not to say there aren’t any assistance grants out there to help you. We recommend going to the USA.gov website to help you find any legitimate grants you may be eligible for.

     

  • Geebo 8:01 am on April 14, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Scams, tax letter, tax processing center   

    Scam targets the recently deceased 

    Scam targets the recently deceased

    By Greg Collier

    Losing a loved one is an emotional and difficult time for any family. Along with the grieving process, there are practical matters that need to be addressed, including the deceased person’s financial affairs. One common concern is how to handle any debts that the deceased may have had. If you’re a family member or executor of the estate, it’s important to understand your obligations and options when it comes to paying off these debts. And if that wasn’t difficult enough, now it seems you might have to be on the lookout for scammers as well.

    A Sheriff’s Office in Kansas recently sent a warning to residents about a scam that is targeting families of the recently deceased. Family members of those who have passed have been receiving letters in the mail which claim to be from a ‘Tax Processing Center’. The letter also claims to be from the state of Kansas and contains a header that reads, “Final Demand for Payment for Nonpayment of Taxes to the State of Kansas” along with the deceased’s name. The family is also threatened with the seizure of property if the debt isn’t paid. The closing of the letter contains a phone number where the debt can be supposedly paid off, but the phone number goes to a call center run by scammers.

    So, if someone were to fall for the letter, we have no doubt that the scammers would happily steal the money from a grieving family. This is yet another example of how low scammers are willing to stoop. We can just imagine scammers perusing local obituaries before sending the scam letters.

    If you find yourself in a situation where you receive a letter like this, first off, you have our condolences. But before calling the phone number in the letter, research the letter first. Google the phone number to see if it comes up with scam complaints. If you’re still unsure, call your state’s Department of Revenue or whatever your state’s equivalent is to make sure the letter is a fake.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 13, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Scams, , suckers list   

    BBB warns scam victims may be on a “sucker’s list” 

    BBB warns scam victims may be on a "sucker's list"

    By Greg Collier

    It’s tough being a scam victim. Not only have you lost money that you needed for something important, but you lost it to a con artist. Maybe you thought you could see a scam coming from a mile away, yet you fell for it anyway. To make matters worse, it’s embarrassing to admit that you’ve been scammed. You might even be too embarrassed to go to the police to try to get your money back. This keeps people in your community from knowing about the scam, which means they could fall victim to the scam as well. But you came forward, which you should be commended for. However, coming forward may also have an unwelcome side effect.

    The Better Business Bureau is warning scam victims about potentially being scammed a second time. This scam, known as the recovery scam, specifically targets people who have previously fallen prey to other scams. Typically, recovery scammers would search for someone on social media who may have mentioned they fell for a scam. The scammers would then offer their services to recover the victim’s money for an upfront fee, of course. If a victim were to pay the recovery scammer, the scammer would disappear with the victim’s money. We’ve seen this previously a lot on Instagram. We’ve even seen it on our own social media accounts when we post about scams.

    The BBB is now warning that it’s not just social media scam victims have to worry about. According to the BBB, scammers now have what’s called a ‘sucker’s list’. This is a list of scam victims that’s being traded around by scammers. This list makes any scam victim a potential target for future scams.

    Scammers are also setting up fake websites promoting themselves as a scam recovery service.

    Please keep in mind, there is no such thing as a scam recovery service. The best way to recover your losses is to go to the police. But be aware, that in the vast majority of cases, once a victim has lost money to a scammer, it’s gone for good.

    If you’ve been the victim of a scam, you may want to refrain from posting about it on social media, as this could attract recovery scammers. Instead, report it to your local police and allow them to warn your community.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 12, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Scams   

    Doctors taken for $300K in scam 

    By Greg Collier

    Many of us consider doctors to be some of the best and brightest among us. They never stop learning, as their profession requires them to be on the cutting edge of medical science. But for all their medical knowledge, even doctors are susceptible to scams. We’re not talking about a medically specific scams, either. We’re talking about one of the most common scams there is.

    Recently, In Houston, Texas, 60 people were targeted in the jury duty scam. Many of the victims were doctors, and each victim lost $5000 each for a combined loss of $300,000.

    For new readers, the jury duty scam works like this. The scammer will call the victim, posing as a representative of the local court system, and claim that the victim has failed to appear for jury duty. They will then tell the victim that there is a warrant out for their arrest and that they must pay a fine to avoid being arrested. Typically, scammers will ask for payment in something largely untraceable like a prepaid debit card, git cards, or cryptocurrency.

    If you think about it critically, this is a pretty ingenious twist on the jury duty scam. Doctors tend to make more money than the average consumer. It only takes a handful of doctors to fall for the scam in order for the scammer to make a substantial profit.

    The reason we bring up the fact that doctors are falling victim to one of the most common scams is because it shows that no matter how intelligent a person might be, there’s a scam out there that they could fall for. It may not be the jury duty scam, but there is a scam out there that could be the one that finally fools you. We’ve seen everyone from teachers to CEOs who have lost vast amounts of money to various scams.

    As far as the jury duty scam is concerned, please keep in mind that no law enforcement agency will ever threaten someone with arrest over the phone. In most cases, the court will send a summons via mail, and any communication related to jury duty will be conducted in person or via official court correspondence. If you receive a call or email claiming to be related to jury duty, it’s important to verify the authenticity of the communication before providing any personal or financial information.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 11, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Scams, ,   

    AI voice cloning used again in alarming scam 

    AI voice cloning used again in alarming scam

    By Greg Collier

    Few things are more unnerving than the new tool scammers have added to their arsenal, AI-generated voice cloning. Potentially, scammers can make their voice sound like anyone. That includes your friends and family. Voice cloning can be very convincing when used in two scam in particular. The first one is the grandparent scam, and the other is the virtual kidnapping scam.

    In a virtual kidnapping scam, the scammers call their victims claiming they are holding one of the victim’s loved one hostage for ransom. Typically, the supposed kidnap victim is safe and unaware they’re being used in a scam.

    Previously, the scammers would do almost all of the talking, but they would have someone else in the background crying and screaming, who they claimed was the kidnap victim. Now, with voice cloning technology, scammers can make it seem like the victim’s loved one is on the phone with them. To make the scam more disturbing than it already is, the scammers only need three seconds of audio to clone the voice of someone, according to some reports.

    An Arizona woman found out all too well how the scam works when she received a call from someone who claimed to have kidnapped her 15-year-old daughter. She received a phone call from an unknown number, but when she picked up the call, she heard the voice of her daughter. The mother said her daughter sounded like she was crying, while her daughter’s voice said, “Mom, I messed up.”

    The next voice she heard was from the supposed kidnapper. The caller threatened the woman by saying if she calls the police or anyone, he’s going to pump her daughter full of drugs, physically assault her, then leave her in Mexico if the woman doesn’t pay a ransom. Then in the background, the woman heard her daughter’s voice saying, “Help me, Mom. Please help me. Help me.” The scammer demanded $1 million in ransom before settling for $50,000.

    Thankfully, the woman was in a room with friends. The friends were able to not only call police, but also got a hold of the woman’s husband. The daughter in question was at home, totally unaware of what was going on.

    When it comes to the virtual kidnapping scam, we like to remind our readers that kidnapping for ransom is actually rare in the United States. However, child abductions are unfortunately a very real occurrence. This makes the scam even more terrifying for its victims.

    The girl’s mother should be commended though for doing the right thing even though her ears were being deceived. Even if it sounds like a loved one is in danger, always verify the scammer’s story.

    If you receive a call like this, try to have someone contact the person who’s supposedly been kidnapped. When they put your loved one on the phone, ask them a question that only they would know the answer to. Or have a family code word set up in advance that’s only to be used if the loved one is in danger.

    This may also be an opportunity for you to have a talk with your children about what they share on social media, since that’s where these scammers tend to find the voice samples they need.

     

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