A Free Public Service

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

March 13, 2022

MILITARY SCAMS

Courtesy Federal Trade Commission

Scammers will try to rip off anyone, including military personnel. The FTC’s military dashboard compiles five years’ worth of reports from servicemembers, veterans, and military families. From January 2017 through September 2021, military consumers told the FTC about more than 961,000 reports related to fraud, identity theft, or other consumer issues.

Scammers follow the money — and as a servicemember, you get a steady paycheck from Uncle Sam. After you leave the service, scammers try to trick you out of your hard-earned benefits. Some scammers even try to gain your trust and lower your guard by claiming they are from a military affiliation.

For both servicemembers and veterans, the top two categories of fraud reported in the past five years involved imposter scams. While all kinds of impersonators might target the armed forces, recent reports show that impersonators pretended to be from a government agency or a legitimate business.

But no matter what the story is, if someone contacts you out of the blue, remember:

Don’t give personal information or money to anyone who calls, texts, emails, or direct messages you on social media. Keep your Social Security, bank account, debit and credit card numbers to yourself.

Never make a payment to someone you don’t know, especially by gift card, mobile payment apps, money transfer, or cryptocurrency. Only scammers will demand you pay that way.

Scammers are always changing their tactics, so it’s important to be alert for anything that is looks suspicious. Tell the FTC your story at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, or in Spanish at ReporteFraude.ftc.gov.

A Free Public Service

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

March 9, 2022

UKRAINE SCAMS

Courtesy Scambusters—ftc.gov

Experience from past conflicts tells us Ukraine scammers are waiting to snare us, and they won’t necessarily come from Eastern Europe.

When scammers spot a crisis in the world, they are there to take advantage. It’s true millions of generous people want to support the Ukrainian people. If you’re one of them, use extreme caution!

You don’t have to give immediately. Do research first to make sure your donation will go where you want it to go. Your generosity can make a difference any time you give — especially if you take a few minutes to make sure your donation goes where you mean it to. Learn more at ftc.gov/charity.

Phony Charity organizations

Check out the organization. Search online for the name of the group, plus words like “review,” “scam,” or “complaint.” See if others have had good or bad experiences with the charity. And see what charity watchdog groups say about that organization.

How will your money be spent?

Ask, for example, how much of your donation will go to the program you want to help? If someone calls to ask you to donate, they should be able to answer those critical questions.

Ask who’s requesting you to donate.  Don’t assume a request to donate is legitimate because a friend posted it on social media. Your friend might not personally know the charity or how it spends money.

If you’re donating through social media, be sure which organization your donation will go to. Check whether there are fees, and how quickly your money gets to the beneficiary. And if you can’t get answers quickly, consider donating in other ways.

Scammers Target Americans

The conflict in Ukraine may seem a long way from your doorstep but you can be sure, in at least one way, your security is likely to be threatened: by scammers!

Here are schemes that will likely target Americans in the coming weeks — even if there are serious moves toward peace in Ukraine.

Distressed Friends or Relatives

This long-established scam is perfectly tailored toward the situation in Ukraine right now.

Victims receive a message by phone, text or email, seemingly from someone they know, who will say they’re trapped in the war zone and urgently need money to escape.

They will ask for the money to be sent by one of the wiring services because that’s  how you might send cash in such a dire situation.

Usually, the crooks will phone, using a vague introduction like “It’s me” in hopes the victim will guess the name of someone they know. Then they’ll spin a story about being on a business trip or vacation in Ukraine when they got trapped.

If this happens to you, always ask the name of the caller rather than giving them clues and then check on the real location of that person via friends or relatives.

If you can’t confirm their whereabouts, it’s almost certainly a scam. If you wire money it will be lost.

War Victim Charities

Scammers set up fake websites claiming to be involved in helping Ukrainian victims of the battles. This is exactly what happened during the conflict in Syria.

Social media sites like Facebook are their favorite hunting grounds.

Often, scam charities use realistic sounding names and feature dramatic photos from war zones. They may want you to wire cash or use cybercurrency to donate, both of which are untraceable after the money is sent.

Or they may ask you to pay by credit card and then use your card details for identity theft, which they’ll either sell or max out.

The best way to avoid Ukraine charity scams is to contribute only to established, reputable charities like the Red Cross. Even then, you need to be sure you’re dealing with the genuine organization by searching online for their website and starting from there.

Watch out too for street and shopping mall collectors with donation buckets or boxes. Unless you know the collector personally, It’s next to impossible to know if they’re genuine.  

Depending on the direction this conflict takes, Ukrainian versions of other well-known scams will likely emerge in the coming weeks. The best policy is that when you see or hear the word “Ukraine,” beware and think carefully before acting.

Learn more at ftc.gov/charity.

A Free Public Service

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

February 17, 2022

LATE THREATENING SCAMS

Courtesy Scambusters

Late Scams That Threaten YOU Right Now

Every day, scores, sometimes hundreds, of scam reports pass across our research desk. Some of them are ingenious and many of them follow a pattern that relates to current issues.

Here’s a look at top scams happening right now.

TAX SCAMS

With tax reporting season in full swing, crooks have lined up a full collection of scams to catch out the unwary.

The IRS reports that crooks are using text, emails, and phones to trick people with messages and bogus links relating to returns and refunds.

There’s a particular risk of unemployment fraud in which scammers file claims for benefits in the names of people whose identity has been stolen.

CYBERCURRENCY SCAMS

There has been a jump in the fast-moving and poorly-regulated virtual currency marketplace scam this year. 

One of the biggest scams active right now is an SMS text phishing trick targeting the world’s biggest cybercurrency exchange, Binance. Victims are taken to a phony sign-on page where their personal details are stolen and then used to drain the account.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Scams are perpetrated on social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A favorite haunt for the crooks is Facebook’s Marketplace, which members use to sell stuff locally.

One of the biggest Marketplace tricks currently in operation is the shipping insurance scam. Crooks pretend to be buyers but demand that their target pays for insurance upfront, after offering a mouthwatering price for the item being sold. They pay but, of course, there’s no sale.

Another big, new social media scam is a pyramid scheme in disguise. It’s a “book exchange” scheme in which participants supposedly send out one book and get 36 back in return.

Big offenders right now are fake technical support and call center reps, mostly based on the Indian sub-continent.

IMPERSONATORS

Scammers impersonate utility company reps or law enforcement with threats of supply cuts or arrest if they don’t pay immediately. Or they may pretend to be government officials offering phony loans and grants.

COVID SCAMS

Two years on from the outbreak of COVID, scammers have been stepping up their campaigns of false remedies, fake face masks, and more.

So far this year, phony testing programs have taken the spotlight. These are often run from vans that set up business near genuine testing stations. Visitors are asked to provide confidential information by filling in a form that may then be used for marketing or even identity theft. The perpetrators may go through a routine similar to testing but victims rarely, if ever, get the results.

Fake testing kits that simply don’t work are also being sold online.

ROBOCALLS

Have you noticed a big rise in the number of automated calls to both your cell phone and landline in recent weeks? Or, more importantly, an increased number of voicemails that you didn’t even hear going through?

According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), these “ringless voicemails” are being used to try to get around existing bans on robocalls

Furthermore, they’re not only a nuisance in themselves but they can also result in overflowing voicemail inboxes, so important legitimate callers may not be able to leave messages.

The FCC wants to ban these ringless messages or impose the same requirement for consumer consent that currently applies to other robocalls.

MONEY TRANSFERS

The popularity of mobile payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, and many others has attracted thousands of scammers and some clever ways to trick people into allowing access to their accounts or to simply fool them into transferring their money to the crooks.

Current scams include fake pet breeders demanding successive payments via Zelle for non-existent puppies and kittens; get-rich-quick schemes promoted in online videos (“send $500 and get $5,000 back by the end of the day”); and sales of supposed tech equipment at knock-down prices.

Money transfer scammers also impersonate victims’ banks and persuade them to transfer money to themselves for security reasons.

Reversing scam transactions can be difficult or, in some cases, impossible.

A Free Public Service

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

February 7, 2022

IDENTITY THEFT

Courtesy US Federal Trade Commission

When identity theft happens, it’s hard to know where to begin. That’s why the FTC created IdentityTheft.gov, a one-stop resource for people to report identity theft to law enforcement and to get step-by-step instructions on how to recover from any type of identity theft.

The first step in avoiding identity theft, or stopping the damage, is placing a fraud alert on your credit report. This makes it harder for a thief to open new credit in your name, and lets you get free copies of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus. Next, read through your reports and note any accounts or transactions that don’t belong. Then, go to IdentityTheft.gov.

When you report at IdentityTheft.gov, you’ll answer questions and give details about what happened. Include information about any problems you spotted on your credit reports. IdentityTheft.gov will use that information to create your personalized Identity Theft Report, which shows that someone stole your identity, and recovery plan with step-by-step advice to help you fix problems.

Your Identity Theft Report, recovery plan, and sample letters from IdentityTheft.gov will help you repair problems caused by identity theft. Your recovery plan may tell you to:

close new accounts opened in your name

remove charges made on your existing accounts

contact the three credit bureaus to correct your credit report

consider an extended fraud alert or credit freeze

check your credit reports regularly. Through April 2022, you can check your reports every week for free at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Learn more about protecting your identity and recovering from identity theft at ftc.gov/idtheft.

                                                       #

A Free Public Service

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

February 3, 2022

FAKE USB SCAM

Courtesy Scambusters

Say ‘No’ to USBs:

Don’t be tempted to insert that mysterious USB drive that arrived in the mail. It’s a late trick being used by scammers to get you to install malware and ransomware on your PC. USBs are as cheap as dirt these days, so crooks send out malware-laden ones in the thousands, hoping that curiosity will prompt recipients to try to see what’s on them—then reveal personal information.  Don’t open it.

Crooks are netting an estimated $80 million per month globally from fake surveys and giveaways by impersonating well-known brands through fake USBs.. Using ads, text messages, social media, and on-screen pop-ups, they lure victims to cloned and malicious sites, then take their victims through a series of pages during which they gather personal information for identity theft or data harvesting—while pretending a big prize is just one more click away. It never is.

You can notify the US Federal Trade Commission @www.ftc.gov.

                                                    #

A Public Service

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

January 27, 2022

CRYPTOCURRENCY SCAM

Courtesy Federal Trade Commission

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralized system using cryptography, rather than by a centralized authority.

“Decentralized cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin now provide an outlet for personal wealth that is beyond restriction and confiscation”

There’s a new spin. Scammers asking people to pay with cryptocurrency. It involves an impersonator, a QR code, and a trip to a store (directed by a scammer on the phone) to send your money to them through a cryptocurrency ATM machine.

Here is how It works: Someone calls pretending to be from the government, law enforcement, or a local utility company. Maybe a romantic interest you met online calls to say you’ve won the lottery or a prize. They wind up asking you for money. If you believe the story they tell and you seem willing to engage, they will stay on the phone to direct you to withdraw money from your bank, investment, or retirement accounts. Then they will tell you to go to a store with a cryptocurrency ATM machine (they will stay on the phone the whole time). Once you are there, they’ll direct you to insert your money into the ATM machine and buy cryptocurrency. Here’s where the QR code comes in: They send you a QR code with their address embedded in it. Once you buy the cryptocurrency, they have you scan the code so the money gets transferred to them.  If you do it your money is gone.

Here’s the main thing to know. Nobody from the government, law enforcement, utility company, or prize promoter will ever tell you to pay them with cryptocurrency. If someone does, it’s a scam. Any unexpected tweet, text, email, call, or social media message — particularly from someone you don’t know — asking you to pay them in advance for something with cryptocurrency—it is a scam.

If you spot something like this, tell the FTC right away at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. To learn more about avoiding cryptocurrency scams, visit ftc.gov/cryptocurrency.

                                                      #

Courtesy Federal Trade Commission

A Free Public Service

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

January 21, 2022

If you have been looking for a COVID-19 test, you probably know that they are in short supply. Unfortunately, scammers love to “help” with shortages. They have created fake and unauthorized at-home testing kits, and they’re still at it with fake COVID-19 testing sites.

These fake sites can be hard to spot. They look real, with legitimate-looking signs, tents, hazmat suits, and realistic-looking tests. The damage these fake testing sites can cause is very real.

Worst of all, they’re not giving people the help they need to stay healthy.

Free Tests:

Certain sites claim to give you ‘free tests’ — but then you’re later billed — and sometimes never receive the test that was promised. Fake sites are taking people’s personal information, including Social Security numbers, credit card information, and other health information — which can be used for identity theft or to run up your credit card bill.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking into testing sites:

Get a referral. Go somewhere you have been referred—by your doctor or state or local health department’s website. Do not trust a random testing site you see around town.

Check the source. Did you hear about a new testing site on a neighborhood social media group or email listserv? That “neighbor” could be a scammer. See if the site is also listed on your state or local health department’s website.

Not sure if a site is legit? Check with your local police or sheriff’s office. If a legitimate testing site has been set up, they should know about it. And, if a fake testing site is operating, they want to know about it.

Think you already went to a fake site? If you shared your credit card information, plan to dispute the charge.

Then tell us at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

                                                         #

A free Public Service

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

January 17, 2022

LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY SCAMMED

Courtesy US FTC.gov

The LGBTQ+ community is among the latest to be targeted by online dating scammers.

But as the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently reported, this is not a traditional “I love you; please send money” romance scam. It’s even meaner.

People who belong to these diverse gender groups are being tricked into sending photos and other details about themselves to the fakers who then blackmail them.

In some cases, the victims have not come “out” to others about their gender preferences; in others, the photos may be explicit or even altered by photo editing software. Either way, they’re ripe for an extortion scam.

The best way to avoid this type of scam — whether you’re LGBTQ+ or not — is to make sure you truly know who you’re talking to on dating sites. If they send you a photo, do a reverse image search to check their identity. (See Is It Genuine? Check That Photo with Reverse Image Search for how to do this.) Likewise, until you’ve confirmed their identity, don’t provide photos or personal details about yourself.

And finally, don’t pay a blackmail demand. The crooks will just keep coming back for more. Tell the police. You can also call the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative for help and advice at 844-878-2274.

                                                        #

A free Public Service

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

January 13, 2022

OBITUARY SCAMS

Aarp/ftc

Why would crooks be scanning newspaper obituaries?

There are at least three reasons

Crooks often seem to strike at the worst possible times and that’s certainly the case when they use newspaper obituaries to target victims. They have at least three ways of relieving bereaved families and their friends of their money and possessions.

First, thieves use the announcements to discover details of funeral arrangements and then burglarize victims and grieving relatives while their homes are empty during the ceremony.

Next, those same obituaries may be used by scammers to collect cash from bereaved spouses.

Usually at these times, bereaved relatives haven’t had time to sort through the financial affairs of the deceased and will often agree to pay, usually by credit card, though in one case, they were asked to supply a signed blank check. Credit card details, of course, can also be used for other identity theft.

Action: Don’t make any payments during this distressing time. If anything seems to be urgent, ask for a copy of the supposed bill and then ask a trusted friend to check it out for you.

A similar sort of trick is used in a third party obituary scam, only this time the crooks obtain lists of mourners and contact them, supposedly on behalf of the bereaved person, requesting a financial donation, sometimes to a phony charity.

Action: Don’t make payments in response to an incoming solicitation from an unknown charity. Make any donations directly to the individual or their nominated charitable cause.

Action: Don’t include your full name or address in obituary announcements. You can ask a neighbor to keep watch on your home for thieves while you are away.

                                                       #

A Free Public Service

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

January 6, 2022

HEALTH SCAMS

Courtesy US Food and Drug

 “Bogus product! Danger! Health fraud alert!”

You will never see these warnings on health products. But that’s what you ought to be thinking when you see claims like “miracle cure,” “guaranteed results,” or “vaccine alternative.”

Scammers could cause serious injury, or even death.

Health fraud scams have been around for hundreds of years and play on the desire for a quick or miracle cure. The snake-oil salesmen of old have morphed into the deceptive, high-tech marketers of today, preying on people’s desires for easy solutions to difficult health problems—including Alzheimer’s, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, memory loss, sexual performance, weight loss, and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), influenza and other infectious diseases.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a health product is fraudulent if it is deceptively promoted as being effective against a disease or health condition, but not scientifically proven safe and effective for that purpose.

Health fraud scams can also be found in many locations such as convenience stores, gas stations, flea markets and nontraditional stores.  

Tip-Offs:

Here are tip-offs to help you identify and avoid rip-offs:

*One product does it all. Be suspicious of products that claim to cure a wide range of diseases. The agency continues to send warning letters and take enforcement action as appropriate against companies marketing fake cure-all products. These miracle cures don’t exist – they’re bogus – and the only thing these companies are selling is false hope.

*Personal “success” testimonials. Success stories, such as, “It cured my diabetes” or “It immediately stopped my COVID-19 infection,” are easy to make up and are not a substitute for scientific evidence. Reviews found on popular online marketplaces and social media can be fake.

*Quick fixes. Few diseases or conditions can be treated quickly, even with legitimate products. Beware of language such as, “Lose 30 pounds in 30 days,” “protects from viral infections,” or “eliminates skin cancer in days.”

*“All natural” cure or treatment. Don’t be fooled by descriptions like “all-natural cure.” Such phrases are often used in health fraud as an attention-grabber to suggest that a product is safer than conventional treatments. These terms don’t necessarily equate to safety. Some plants found in nature (such as poisonous mushrooms) can be harmful or even kill when consumed. Moreover, the FDA has found numerous products promoted as “all-natural” cures or treatments that contain hidden and dangerously high doses of prescription drug ingredients or other active pharmaceutical ingredients.

*“Miracle cure.” Alarms should go off when you see this claim or others like it such as, “new discovery,” “guaranteed results,” or “secret ingredient.” If a real cure for a serious disease were FDA-approved, it would be widely reported through the media and prescribed by licensed health professionals—not plastered on advertisements in social media and messaging apps, or buried in websites, print ads, and TV infomercials.

*Conspiracy theories. Claims like “This is the cure our government or Big Pharma doesn’t want you to know about” are used to distract consumers from the obvious, common-sense questions about the so-called miracle cure.

Even with these tips, fraudulent health products are not always easy to spot. If consumers are tempted to buy an unproven product or one with questionable claims, they should check with their doctor or other health care professional first.

Submitting Adverse Event Reports to the FDA.

Consumers experiencing adverse reactions to a product should submit voluntary adverse event reports to the FDA using: www.fda.gov., or calling FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 to report by telephone.

                                      #