A Free Public Service

August 26, 2024

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

TITLE LOCK INSURANCE SCAM

Attribution: US FTC.gov

If you’ve seen ads for home title lock insurance, they might have you worried. After all, the ads say thieves can steal the title to your home. But then the ads tell you to buy title lock insurance to supposedly prevent home title theft. Stop. Take a breath. It’s just a ploy to scare you.

First, know that “title lock insurance” is not title insurance. If you’re a homeowner, you might remember buying title insurance when you first bought your house. It protects you against challenges to the title, like a lien you didn’t know about. But “title lock insurance” is different — and it’s not insurance at all. Instead, it’s a service that claims to monitor your deed to protect you against title fraud. You’d only find out AFTER your title got transferred to someone else without your authorization. So much for the lock.

Title fraud is identity theft: someone pretends to be you and transfers your deed to someone else. Title lock insurance (again: not a lock, not insurance) wouldn’t stop that. And you can check your title for free with your state’s land records office, and some areas even have a free notification program that allows you to sign up for alerts about any legal changes, like ownership of a property.

Here are some other steps you can take to protect yourself from identity thieves:

Check your credit report. Check your credit report for free through AnnualCreditReport.com. Each of the nationwide credit bureaus lets you get free weekly credit reports online.

Monitor your bills. If you suddenly stop receiving utility bills, that may be a sign of identity theft. If you’re worried, contact your utility company directly.

Get help. If you suspect identity theft, go to IdentityTheft.gov for a free, personalized recovery plan.

And if you spot a scam, tell the FTC.   www.ftc.gov/scam.

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A Free Public Service

August 20, 2024

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

STUDENT LOAN INFORMATION AVAILABLE

Attribution: ftc.gov

How to get legit information about your federal student loans:

If you have federal student loans, you probably got an email last month from Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. If so, (The email address it showed was noreply@studentaid.gov.) It has important information about your options for loan forgiveness. While that email is legit, scammers spread fake information about your student loans to try to get money or information from you.

Here’s one way to tell the difference: legitimate emails from the Department of Education will only come from one of these three email addresses:

noreply@studentaid.gov

noreply@debtrelief.studentaid.gov

ed.gov@public.govdelivery.com

Some scammers try to camouflage themselves by making their email addresses look like the real thing (say, by using the number “0” instead of the letter “O”) so look closely. If you’re not sure if an email is real or fake, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 to confirm it really came from them.

Fake emails aren’t the only way student loan scammers try to get your money or personal information. Here are some other things to know:

*Scammers use official-looking names, seals, and logos to seem more legit. If you need help with your federal loans, make sure you’re working with a contracted federal student loan servicer listed on the U.S. Department of Education’s website.

*Scammers will want to get your Federal Student Aid account credentials.

*Don’t share your account username and password with anyone. If a scammer gets your account credentials, they can cut you off from your loan servicer — or even steal your identity.

*You don’t have to pay for help managing your student loans. Get free help managing your federal loans at StudentAid.gov/repay. If your loans are private, go straight to your loan servicer for help.

*Spot a student loan scammer? Report them at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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A Free Public Service

August 14, 2024

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

LOOKING FOR A JOB SCAM  

Attribution: US FTC.gov 

You might be a spouse who’s PCS’d to a new location or a servicemember getting ready to retire — and you’re probably eyeing new career possibilities. You know where to look for a job, but do you know how to recognize the signs of a job scam?

Know that scammers advertise jobs and business opportunities online in ads, on job sites, and on social media.

Are they asking you to pay for a job? Honest employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job. Anyone who does is a scammer. Honest employers also will never send you a check and then tell you to send them part of the money. That’s a fake check scam.

What do you know about them? Search online for the name of the company or the person who’s hiring you, plus the words “scam,” “review,” or “complaint.” You might find out they’ve scammed other people.

Are those reviews real? Success stories and testimonials might not be true or typical. Glowing stories of success could be fake or misleading, and positive online reviews may have come from made-up profiles.

What does a trusted friend or loved one think about the offer? Take some time to talk to someone you trust about ads for jobs or business opportunity offers. And learn more at ftc.gov/jobscams.

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A Free Public Service

August 13, 2024

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

UTILITY BARCODE SCAM

Attribution:  US FTC.gov

Receiving an urgent call from what sounds like your utility company might make you think: Did I forget to pay my bill? The caller says there’s a way to avoid shutoff and fees: they’ll send you a barcode by text or email so you can pay at a local retailer like Walgreens, CVS, or Walmart.

Don’t respond. It’s all a lie. Wondering how to know it’s not a real utility company calling?

Scammers call unexpectedly and create a sense of urgency. But real utility companies don’t do that. Even if you owe money, they’ll work with you on a payment plan and won’t try to scare you into paying immediately — and they won’t send you a barcode and insist you take it to a store to pay.

Here’s how to deal with calls or messages that appear to come from your utility company:

Contact the utility company yourself. If you’re worried you might be behind on your bills, call the company using the number on your bill or the utility company’s website ― never call the number the caller gave you. It could lead you back to the scammer.

Scammers demand you pay a certain way. Scammers ask you to pay in a way that makes it hard for you to get your money back — wiring money, putting money on a gift card, using payment apps, paying with a scannable barcode or QR code, or cryptocurrency. Your utility company won’t demand you pay that way.

If you suspect you paid a scammer, act quickly. Contact the company you normally send the moneyto and tell them it was fraud. Ask for their help to reverse the payment. You might be able to recover some of your money.

Report utility company impersonators to your utility company and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.                                #

A Free Public Service

August 11, 2024

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

More than 25,000 people are getting refund checks from the Federal Trade Commission as a result of its settlement with the house flipping scheme Zurixx, LLC. If you’re one of them, please cash the check as soon as possible.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The check will come from the refund administrator, JND Legal Administration — you don’t need to file a claim.
• Got questions? Call the refund administrator directly at 888-906-0593.
• Nobody from the FTC will call, email, or text you to demand money or personal information from you. That’s a scam.
• You never have to pay anyone to get a payment from the FTC. That’s a scam.
• To search for active FTC refund programs, verify details of the case, and get the phone number for help, visit www.ftc.gov/refunds.

To learn more about how the FTC returns money to consumers, check out detailed information on the FTC’s refund process and related FAQs.

Remember, anyone claiming you need to pay a fee or share personal information to get a refund from the FTC is a scammer. Report them to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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A Free Public Service

August 8, 2024

SCAMS BULLETIN HOST Jay White is an inactive attorney in San mateo County, California.

STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS SCAM

Attribution:  US FTC.gov

Scammers will say just about anything — in any language — to separate you from your hard-earned money. And when it comes to student loan forgiveness, they’ll target Spanish speakers with false promises of debt relief help.

The FTC just sued USA Student Debt Relief (USASDR) for advertising and signing up people for fake student loan forgiveness plans with super-low monthly payments. The FTC says USASDR targeted borrowers living in Puerto Rico by pretending to be affiliated with the Department of Education and posting fake testimonials and reviews online.

Instead of helping, USASDR pressured people to quickly sign a super-long, difficult-to-read contract (completely in English, even though the sales pitch was often in Spanish). Once you signed up, the company (illegally) billed you an upfront fee, and then started charging you monthly — payments you thought were going towards your loans (but weren’t). Instead, all the fees went into USASDR’s pockets.  To keep their scheme going, the FTC says USASDR sometimes changed the contact information in your FSA account so your (real) lender couldn’t reach you.

Want to avoid student loan forgiveness scams? Here are some things to know:

Scammers often lie and say they’re affiliated with the Department of Education. Make sure you’re working with a federal student loan servicer that’s listed on the Department of Education’s website. (And use the contact information listed there, too — scammers can spoof the numbers and names of legit servicers.)

Scammers say they need your FSA ID login information. Never give out this information. If a scammer gets your FSA ID, they could cut you off from your loan servicer — or even steal your identity.

Scammers will tell you to sign contracts in a language you don’t understand. You have a right to know what you’re paying for before a company charges you. Don’t sign a contract you don’t understand, whether or not it’s written in another language.

Get free help managing your federal loans at StudentAid.gov/repay. Got private loans? Go straight to your loan servicer for help.                          #

A Frree Public Service

August 6, 2024

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

You may get a text message from a number you don’t know, asking when you’re free to catch up over a cup of coffee. Don’t perk up just yet. That invitation for a coffee date might sound like it’s from a friend you’ve lost touch with, but it’s probably just a scammer looking to start a conversation with you. Not sure how to respond? The short answer is: Don’t.

Scammers will say just about anything to get your attention. In this case, they might text you and ask if you want to meet up for a cup of joe. If you respond — maybe by telling them they’ve got the wrong number — you’re letting them know that your phone number works, which could lead to more calls and texts from the scammer. Or worse, they might say something else to keep the conversation going. They might apologize, then pitch you a scam — maybe by asking if you’re interested in learning about a secret way to make big money using cryptocurrency. That’s always a scam! The best way to handle this situation is to slow down and:

• Don’t respond to unexpected text messages like this from unknown phone numbers. Some messages from unknown numbers might be legit. For example, if it purports to be from your doctor’s office confirming an upcoming appointment. A call to the doctor’s office would confirm it.
• Copy the message and forward it to FTC.gov /fraud. This helps your wireless provider spot and block similar messages in the future.
• Don’t click on links in unexpected text messages. They might steal your information or install malware on your device. Scammers want you to react quickly to unexpected text messages, but it’s best to stop and check it out. Or just delete it.

Learn more about out how to get fewer spam texts and emails. And if you spot a scam, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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