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SCAMS BULLETIN Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California.

April 12, 2023

RECOVER YOUR MONEY SCAM

Attribution: scambusters.com

Every scam victim wants to get their money back. it’s tempting to respond to a recovery offer that arrives in a message or social media post. Most so-called recovery agents are actually scammers.

Here is how it works:

After you have been scammed out of money or property someone — maybe even the original scammer in disguise — says they can recoup your losses for a fee. Or the crooks say they need more money to cover expenses or taxes. You send money and never hear from them again.

Scammers know the roots of the troubles lie in the fact that the victim has already demonstrated they can be fooled again. Furthermore, the bigger the losses – sometimes entire life savings – the more likely the victim is to clutch at straws to get their money or property back.

Crooks may try to contact you by email, text or even try to connect through social media posts, offering their services. Genuine recovery specialists don’t hawk their business like this. So, if you’re contacted this way, it’s almost certainly a scam.

Red flags:

*A requirement that you pay upfront. Genuine recovery people usually work for a percentage of what they get back or a fixed fee – payable after they’ve succeeded.

*A “guarantee” that they’ll recover your losses, sometimes saying they’ll get the full 100 percent. No one can honestly make such a promise.

*Likewise, they may offer a money-back guarantee – you’ll get your fee back if they don’t succeed. Remember, you shouldn’t have paid them upfront in the first place.

*They claim to be working with government departments, consumer organizations, or law enforcement. They’re not.

*They try to pressure you into acting quickly, claiming that the sooner they get going the better your chances of a recovery. That may be partly true, but it’s not a reason for acting without thinking this through.

*They may ask you not to report the original crime and to keep their service “confidential,” supposedly to avoid alerting the original scammers. Not true. They just want to increase their odds of pulling off the scam.

*They request your bank details, supposedly so they can pay recovered funds straight into your account. But they really want this information to get their hands on more of your cash.

Safeguard yourself:

When you discover you’ve been scammed, perhaps the first thing you should do is try to find someone who can help you recover your losses.

*Notify your bank or any other organization connected with your finances.

 *Always report the original crime to law enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov), and the Internet Crime Complaint Center and follow their advice.

*But don’t tell the world via social media. That’s where crooks look for leads.

*Never pay upfront. And you should never send payments by untraceable methods, such as wiring cash or using Bitcoin.  *Instead, if you believe you’re working with a genuine recovery specialist, arrange for money or property to be transferred to a third-party escrow agent, who will deduct the agent’s and their own fees and then return the balance to you. But only use an escrow company you have selected yourself, not one the scammer suggests because that could be another scam!

*Don’t rush. Take the time to research any recovery specialist you’re thinking of working with.

*Read the small print in any contract or other documentation they provide.

*Ask for references from past customers and check them out yourself. And check if they’re registered with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Your best chances of getting your money or property back are probably from organizations like US Federal Trade Commission (FTC.gov) and the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB.gov) who sometimes recover widespread scam losses and return them to victims.

As an alternative, your best route is to consult an attorney or even a private investigator. But, again, do your research and make sure you know their fees ahead of time. If it’s too expensive, you may just have to accept your losse as a learning experience (beyond reporting them as above).

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