Greg's Corner

Tagged: social media Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on September 20, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: advance fee scam ( 42 ), cash flipping ( 8 ), cryptocurrency ( 43 ), identity theft ( 96 ), inmate scam ( 3 ), lawsuit ( 47 ), money-flipping ( 4 ), prison ( 4 ), Scams ( 1,225 ), social media, TikTok ( 9 ), veterans ( 8 )   

  Scam Round Up: New scam targets veterans and more 

  

  By Greg Collier

  This week in the Round Up, we’re bringing you three scams that might not be affecting you now, but you should be aware of.

  ***

  Our first scam has to be more than distressing to its victims. Scammers are targeting the families of inmates who are incarcerated in a county jail in Alabama. The scammers are posing as jail employees, telling the families that their family member has died in custody, when it isn’t true.

  From what we’ve researched, this is not a common scam, but has happened before. However, we couldn’t find any information on what the scam is hoping to achieve, since the scammers have not asked for any kind of payment. If we had to hazard a guess, we’d say this might be some kind of identity theft ploy.

  According to the local sheriff’s department, if an inmate were to die in custody, the family would be informed by the coroner’s office. If you have a family member who is incarcerated, you may want to find out what the procedure is for that jurisdiction.

  Sadly, this is not the only scam the family’s of inmates have to worry about. They are often targeted by scammers who promise their family member better privileges or an early release. These scams often ask for money. Someone receiving these offers should always check with the institution first to see if these programs are actually available, and should never give anyone their personal information over the phone.

  ***

  It always seems like social media has a never-ending stream of scams to deal with. It also seems that the short-form video platform TikTok is no exception. Lately, they’ve been dealing with a string of videos where scammers claim they can help you make a profit investing in cryptocurrency.

  The videos usually have someone flaunting stacks of cash or other signs of wealth while promising to make the viewer money. However, this is just a variation of the money flipping scam that has plagued Instagram. The scammers will promise they can get viewers thousands of dollars if they just send the scammer a few hundred.

  The scammers end up keeping the money sent to them and often ask victims for more money using promises of returning even more profit to the victim.

  Cryptocurrency on its own is already flush with scammers. Unless you know the cryptocurrency market intimately and can afford to lose an investment, you shouldn’t let other people invest in it for you, especially people you don’t know personally.

  ***

  Recently, an act was passed into law that allows U.S. veterans and their family to sue the government if they were exposed to toxic burn pits at military bases. The Better Business Bureau is reporting that scammers are using this new law to their advantage by promising veterans and their families they can sue the government for them. Once they get the veteran’s money and information, the scammers disappear.

  Another scam targeting veterans is one where the scammers are posing as Veterans Affairs. Again, the scammers are after the veteran’s personal information for identity theft purposes.

  The VA recommends that if you received unsolicited communication from someone claiming to be from the VA, you should contact the VA through their website. You can also find if you’re eligible under the new law here.

   

  Leave a ReplyCancel reply
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on August 23, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Instagram ( 17 ), recovery service ( 7 ), Reddit ( 4 ), Scams ( 1,225 ), social media, stolen cars ( 10 )   

  Scam takes advantage of stolen car victims 

  

  By Greg Collier

  It wasn’t too long ago when we made a blog post about scammers who try to extort money from people who have a missing pet. In that scam, scammers will contact someone who has posted about their missing pet on social media. The scammers will claim they have the pet, and will either ask for a reward or try to extort some sort of fee from the victim. In reality, they do not even have possession of the missing pet. Now, it seems, there is a similar scam involving missing vehicles.

  A man from Albuquerque recently had his car stolen. Instead of just waiting for police to recover his car, the man decided to take matters into his own hands. He took to several social media platforms to ask how he can go about finding his car on his own. It was on Reddit, where the man received a private message suggesting he go to a certain Instagram account that supposedly helps people find their stolen vehicles.

  The man sent a message to the Instagram account and received a message back within hours saying that they located his car. He was also sent a grainy image of what was supposedly his car. However, to get his car back, he would need to pay $400 to the people running this Instagram account. Thankfully, the man did not pay the $400. He felt that even if this wasn’t a scam, it was at least a predatory practice, since he wasn’t told of any fee upfront. The police were able to find his car, although it did sustain damage.

  Truth be told, this was, in fact, a scam. In this scam, the scammers claim to be ethical hackers who can track down your stolen vehicle faster than police using some form of technology that doesn’t even exist. After a short while, the scammers will say they found your vehicle, but will ask for a fee before giving the owner its location. As with most scams of this type, the scammers have no idea where any stolen car is, and are only looking to get the victim’s money.

  If your vehicle is stolen, the first thing you should do is call the police. You can post pictures of your car on social media in neighborhood groups asking for residents to keep an eye out for it. Some people have had their cars recovered using this method, but do not try to recover the vehicle yourself. Let the police know where the car was reported.

  We’ve even seen instances of a similar scam on this very blog. Occasionally, we’ll receive a comment from someone who used some amazing company who helped them recover their money after being scammed. These supposed recovery companies can be scams as well.

  So, if you’re going through a situation like this and someone recommends some random social media account that can help you, be very skeptical.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on August 16, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: buy sell and trade, hoax ( 3 ), missing child ( 2 ), missing person ( 6 ), Scams ( 1,225 ), social media   

  Scammers target ‘Buy, Sell, Trade’ groups with missing child posts 

  

  By Greg Collier

  We’ve all done it. We’ve all shared a post on social media that appealed to our emotions that turned out not to be true. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We all thought we were helping someone by sharing the post. Whether or not the information in the post was outdated or a hoax to begin with, misleading posts get shared with the best intents in mind. Scammers, who are modern amateur masters of psychology, are using posts with emotional appeal to further their scams, and they’re using local community pages to do so.

  According to several police departments around the country, scammers are targeting local swap pages on social media. Specifically, scammers are targeting pages that are what’s known as ‘buy, sell, and trade’ groups. Scammers have been joining these groups and have made posts that are designed to grab your immediate attention. Most of these posts have been about a missing child or baby. Well-meaning members of these groups have ended up sharing these posts, which can lead to the posts being shared thousands of times.

  When these posts reach critical mass, the scammers change the posts to peddle their latest scam. Instead of a missing child post, the post can then become about any number of scams designed to steal people’s money.

  If you’re going to share a post on social media that demands community attention, please make sure it comes from legitimate sources like police departments or legitimate news sources. If you share an unverified post on social media, you’re potentially opening up your entire friends’ list to potential scammers. And even if you’re sharing a post from a legitimate source, try to verify that the information is current, as years old posts often find new life when someone mistakenly shares one.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on August 4, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: advance fee scam ( 42 ), check scam ( 76 ), impersonation scam ( 113 ), job scam ( 71 ), military ( 11 ), Playstation 5 ( 2 ), Scams ( 1,225 ), secret shopper ( 15 ), social media   

  Scam Round Up: Scam targeting service members and more 

  

  By Greg Collier

  This week, in the Scam Round Up, we’re bringing you a warning about a scam you’ve probably heard of and two scams you might not have.

  ***

  Our first scam is one of the more common scams. It’s so common, it even predates the internet. The Pennsylvania State Troopers have issued an alert about the secret shopper scam. Some of the larger retail chains employ secret shoppers to evaluate the customer service in their stores. However, it’s not as common a job as scammers would have you think.

  A woman from the Keystone State lost close to $3000 to the scam. She thought she had been hired by Walmart as a secret shopper. She was sent a check and told to deposit it in her bank account before going out and buying gift cards from Walmart. Once she did, she gave the card numbers to the scammers, who she thought were her employer. The check she deposited was a fake, and the scammers made off with the value of the gift cards.

  If any job asks you to deposit a check into your own account that is supposed to be used for business purposes, the odds are the check is a fake.

  ***

  Do you follow any celebrities on social media? If you do, you may want to watch out for any offers they might make. Recently, a number of celebrities have had their social media accounts hijacked or impersonated. The fraudulent accounts claimed that the celebrities were selling PlayStations at retail price, with the proceeds going to charity. By the time some of the celebrities were able to regain access to their accounts, some victims had already sent money to the scammers.

  Sometimes, celebrities, especially online personalities, will have giveaways, but rarely will they sell anything through social media. If you see one of these posts, be very skeptical, and remember that if something is too good to be true, it probably is.

  ***

  Our last scam is one that is specifically targeting members of our nation’s military. Members of the Illinois National Guard have been receiving phone calls by someone claiming to be a first sergeant. The caller tells the service member that they’re owed back pay. The caller then asks for the amounts of the service member’s last three paychecks. Then the service member is asked to pay a fee of almost $300 in order to receive the back pay.

  According to reports, if a service member is owed back pay, they’ll be notified by their chain of command and not a random phone call.

  ***

  While these scams may not be happening right now in your area, you’re now hopefully prepared if they do.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on June 23, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: cybersecurity ( 34 ), Facebook ( 173 ), Facebook Marketplace ( 58 ), phishing ( 73 ), Scams ( 1,225 ), social media, two factor authentication ( 17 )   

  Marketplace scam could send angry strangers to your home 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Typically, when we discuss scams carried out through Facebook Marketplace, they’re the ones that plague a lot of online marketplace platforms. Of course, there’s the fake check/overpayment scam. Lately, the Google Voice verification scam has been popular on Marketplace. There have also been a number of rental scams, just to name a few. Now, a new scam has been reported that could have unintended consequences for all victims involved.

  According to a report out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, scammers are hijacking the Facebook accounts of their victims through phishing attacks. The report states specifically that the scammers are posing as old friends that you may not have heard from in a while. However, the scammers use the hijacked accounts to place items for sale on Marketplace that didn’t actually exist. While some of the items have been mundane, like furniture, other listings have been advertising purebred puppies.

  As we have seen with previous puppy scams, scammers will often list a fake address to make their scam seem more legitimate. This has led to victims showing up to homes where they think they’re about to get a puppy, only to be turned away in disappointment. While some victims understood the situation, others have become angry at the people living at the address listed, thinking that the residents are part of the scam.

  If scammers are collecting money through apps like Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle, they could be sending their victims to the address of a person with a hijacked Facebook account. This scam could potentially lead to a violent encounter.

  The best way to protect yourself is to keep your Facebook account secure. Consider making your account private to your friends and family only. Use a password that can’t be guessed easily. For that, you can use a password generator service. Even most modern web browsers have a password manager built in. Lastly, you should enable two-factor authentication on your Facebook account. This means there would be a two-step process into signing in to your Facebook account.

  While none of these methods are foolproof, they do go a long way in keeping your digital life secure.

  Video: Stolen Facebook account posts fake ads, sends strangers to woman’s doorstep

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on June 20, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Cash App ( 41 ), cash flipping ( 8 ), Scams ( 1,225 ), social media, two factor authentication ( 17 )   

  FBI warns of social media cash scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  The advent of personal payment apps like Cash App, Venmo, and Zelle has given rise to a new generation of scams. One of the most egregious scams is the cash flipping scam. This is mostly associated with Cash App, although it has appeared on other platforms. Cash flipping is when scammers try to convince their victims that they’ll give the victims a lot of money in exchange for a little money.

  For example, a scammer may promise victims $500 if the victims send the scammers $50 through Cash App. Once the victim sends the money through Cash App, the scammer blocks the victim and keeps their money. The scam is given legitimacy since Cash App itself holds giveaways called #CashAppFridays. Cash App policies give little recourse to victims in scams like this. Payments can often only be refunded if the person who receives the payment cancels the transaction.

  Recently, the Las Vegas office of the FBI has issued a warning about cash flipping scams. They say that scammers are using hijacked social media accounts to approach victims through private messages. Often these hijacked accounts show pictures of people with large amounts of cash to try and make the scam seem on the up and up.

  If the scammers don’t break off contact immediately, they’ll claim Cash app is holding up the transaction. The victim will then be instructed to use a certain email address on their Cash app account to make the transaction go through. This then allows the scammers to hijack the Cash App account itself.

  To avoid this scam, the FBI recommends using two-factor authentication on your payment and social media apps. While this can be an inconvenience to some, it goes a long way in keeping online accounts secure. If the scammers ever request any kind of verification code number, they’re trying to circumvent your two-factor authentication, and that code should never be given out to anyone.

  Lastly, people don’t get rich by giving away money for free. As with most scams, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on April 7, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: employment ( 33 ), job scam ( 71 ), LinkedIn ( 3 ), Scams ( 1,225 ), social media   

  Even LinkedIn has job scams 

  

  By Greg Collier

  When we think of social media scams, we normally think of platforms like Facebook and Instagram. When we think of online job scams, we might typically think of platforms like Craigslist. When it comes to job scams on social media, we don’t usually think of LinkedIn. While it may not be LinkedIn’s intention, the social network gives off an impression that it’s for professionals to network with other professionals. LinkedIn may also give its users a false sense of security when it comes to being recruited by an employer. What many LinkedIn users seem to forget is anybody can open a LinkedIn account under any name they want. Anybody can claim to hold a position that they don’t currently hold, such as job recruiter.

  The Better Business Bureau is warning LinkedIn users that phony job recruiters are scamming victims out of money and personal information. In one instance, an Indiana woman was hired rather quickly for a work at home position she applied for on LinkedIn. The woman was asked by her supposed employer to open a bank account in her name to book a conference for the phony company. Thankfully, she realized it was a scam before she opened the account. Unfortunately, others have not been so lucky.

  In other instances, the phony recruiters have asked for money upfront for training or business supplies. After the victims have paid the recruiter, the job never materializes. This is after the victim has supplied the recruiter with their personal information during the application process. This often leads to the applicants becoming victims of identity theft.

  The best way a LinkedIn user can protect themselves against this scam is to thoroughly research the company and the recruiter offering the position. If their profiles are filled with grammatical errors, the odds are pretty good they’re scammers. You can also ask to speak to the recruiter on the phone. While it’s not a guarantee of dissuading a scammer, it will go a long way in weeding many of them out.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on April 4, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: advance fee scam ( 42 ), identity theft ( 96 ), Instagram ( 17 ), iPhone ( 14 ), Scams ( 1,225 ), social media, sweepstakes ( 25 )   

  Instagram scam promises free iPhone 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Not too long ago, we brought you a post about how an Instagram scam could hijack your account. As we mentioned then, there are no shortages of scams on the popular photo sharing platform. Recently, one of those scams rose above the others to garner some headlines.

  CNET is reporting an iPhone giveaway scam is currently plaguing Instagram users. If you use Instagram on a consistent basis, you may have seen one of these scam posts. Users are being tagged by what are essentially spam accounts. These posts promise you a free iPhone 13 and all you need to do is click the link in the tagger’s profile. According to CNET, if you click the link, you’ll be taken to a website where you’ll be asked for your personal information and a credit or debit card number.

  While the CNET article does not go into specifics, we believe this could be one of two scams. The first one is straight up identity theft. With your personal and financial information, scammers could easily take over your life. Not only could identity thieves use your card for fraudulent purchase, but they could also use your information to take out loans or open other lines of credit.

  The other scam could be the advance fee scam. This is where a user is told they’ve won something, but have to pay a fee to collect their prize. This is a common scam when it comes to online giveaways. The scammers will disguise the payments as shipping fees, insurance for the item, or some form of tax. While this practice is illegal in the United States for legitimate sweepstakes, scammers aren’t concerned with the law.

  The best way to avoid this scam is to not expect anything for free on social media. Never click the links that these scam Instagram accounts provide. Furthermore, never give your personal information to random Instagram accounts, no matter how good the prize their offering is. Lastly, you can set your Instagram account to only be tagged by people you know or people you follow. You can also set it to where users can manually approve each tag they receive. The CNET article has the instructions for that.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:12 am on March 30, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Facebook ( 173 ), Facebook Messenger ( 4 ), Messenger ( 4 ), Scams ( 1,225 ), social media   

  New twist on old scam comes to private messaging 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Most of us have a friend or loved one who we constantly communicate with online. Many of us like to share jokes and memes with that person that we think they’ll find humorous. Now, what if that person sent you a private message that said ‘Look what I found’ along with a laughing emoji and a link? Many of us could be forgiven for clicking on that link since it supposedly came from a trusted friend. However, if the link is clicked, you could end up losing one of your most valuable online accounts.

  For many, the majority of their online presence is on Facebook. It’s where their friends are, it’s where they get their news, and it’s how they communicate with others. In internet terms, this is known as a walled garden. AOL was famous for being a walled garden back in the internet’s early days. In essence, the more a platform can keep their users engaged, the more profitable it becomes. One of the problems with walled gardens is users can be too trusting of other users on the platform, which inevitably leads to scammers.

  Currently, tech experts are warning about a scam that’s taking place on Facebook Messenger. Users are receiving messages from close friends that say ‘Look what I found’ along with a laughing emoji and a link. The person who appears to have sent the message have had their Facebook account compromised. If the message’s recipient clicks on the link, it takes them to a website that looks like Facebook and asks for your Facebook login. If a user enters their information, their account will become compromised as well. Our Facebook accounts hold a lot of personal information about us. Some accounts even have financial information saved within them. In numerous instances, it’s enough to have your identity stolen.

  This is not a new scam. In the past, the message would read ‘Is this you?’ and also include a link that would attempt to hijack your account.

  If you get a message like this, even from someone close to you, message them on a different platform to ask them if they meant to send that message. If a friend tells you that you sent a message like that, immediately change your password.

   
• 

  Geebo 9:00 am on February 24, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: catfishing ( 4 ), identity theft ( 96 ), impersonation scam ( 113 ), romance scam ( 67 ), Scams ( 1,225 ), social media   

  The other victims of romance scams 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Typically, when we discuss romance scams, or catfishing as it’s sometimes known, we talk about the victim who ended up losing money to these scammers. However, there’s sometimes another victim in these scams. In romance scams, the scammers often use the photos of actual people and in some cases even impersonate that person. This could lead not only to unnecessary grief for the person being impersonated, but it also has serious safety implications as well.

  A woman from the Scottsdale area of Arizona found herself in the middle of one of these scams. She suddenly started receiving emails at her business, before receiving phone calls at home about a man who was allegedly threatening to show up at her home or business. The man claimed that they had been dating online for months and that he flew from New York to see her. A romance scammer had tricked the man using the woman’s identity into thinking he was in a relationship. It’s believed that the man had given the scammer a substantial amount of money. According to reports, the scammers cut off communication with the man once he landed in Arizona.

  According to the Scottsdale woman, the New York man had trouble accepting that he had been scammed and directed his anger toward her. She claims the man has been leaving voice messages on her phone from multiple phone numbers. She has no idea what the man even looks like.

  Since the woman is a business owner who deals in social media, she has a large social media presence. This allowed the scammers to essentially copy her life and use her online identity in their scam.

  To better protect yourself from not only being in this side of a romance scam, but from other scams as well, it’s best to change your social media profiles to private or friends only. While it’s not a guarantee your online photos won’t be used in a scam, It does help in discouraging scammers from doing so.