Scam of the Day
Scam of the day – May 20, 2023 – Debt Collection Agency Data Breach
If it seems like I was just telling you about another major data breach a few days ago, you are correct. It was only three days ago that I wrote about another data breach. https://scamicide.com/2023/05/16/scam-of-the-day-may-17-2023-another-major-health-care-data-breach/
Today’s data breach involves Credit Control Corporation which is a debt collection agency specializing in debt collection on behalf of a number of hospitals and physicians. They have just announced that they suffered a data breach in March in which sensitive personal information of 286,699 people was stolen. This information included names, addresses and, most importantly, Social Security numbers. This information can be readily used to make the victims of the data breach also victims of identity theft.
As I have reminded you many times, we are only as safe and secure as the security of the companies, government agencies and websites that have our personal information. Even if you are extremely diligent in protecting your personal information, you can be in danger of identity theft and scams if your personal information falls into the hands of hackers.
So what can you do to protect yourself from these data breaches that will be occurring?
TIPS
One important lesson is to limit the amount of personal information that you provide to companies and websites whenever possible. For example, your doctor or hospital doesn’t need your Social Security number for its records. This is particularly significant because health care providers are the biggest targets for data breaches.
You should make sure that you have a unique password for each of your online accounts so that if one of your passwords is compromised in a data breach, all of your accounts will not be in danger. If your information is compromised in a data breach, you should immediately change the password for that account.
If you have not already done so, set up dual factor authentication for each of you accounts where it is available. This will protect you from having those accounts stolen by someone who may have access to your password.
https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
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Scam of the day – May 19, 2023 – Ghanian Influencer Arrested for Romance Scam
Federal law enforcement recently arrested Mona Faiz Montrage on charges related to operating multiple romance scams in which she is accused of stealing more than two million dollars from her elderly victims. Montrage is a popular Instagram influencer who uses the name Haija4Reall and has had as many as 3.4 million Instagram followers. As with all romance scams, Montrage is accused of convincing her victims into believing they were in a serious romantic relationship and then luring them into sending money to her under a variety of pretenses including payments to assist a fake army officer in Afghanistan. In one particularly unusual instance, Montrage is accused of using her real name in establishing the romance scam and then sending the victim in the United States a tribal marriage certificate that indicated that she and the victim were married in Ghana. The victim later sent Montrage $89,000 to help with what Montrage told him were costs associated with her father’s farm in Ghana.
Romance scams continue to be a major problem. As bad as they were prior to the pandemic, these scams increased dramatically during the Coronavirus pandemic. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Americans lost more money to romance scams last year than to any other scam and the situation is getting more serious. In 2022, nearly 70,000 people reported a romance scam to the FTC, and reported losses hit a staggering $1.3 billion and as large as this figure is, it is probably understated as many victims out of embarrassment don’t report being scammed.
Romance scams generally follow a familiar pattern with the scammers establishing relationships with people, generally women, online through various legitimate dating websites and social media using fake names, locations and images. The scammers often pose as Americans working abroad or in the military serving abroad.
While anyone can be the victim of a romance scam, according to the FBI, the elderly, women and people who have been widowed are particular vulnerable. Most romance scams are online and involve some variation of the person you meet through an online dating site or social media quickly falling in love with you and then, under a wide variety of pretenses, asking for money.
TIPS
There are various red flags to help you identify romance scams. I describe many of them in detail in my book “The Truth About Avoiding Scams.” The most important thing to remember is to always be skeptical of anyone who falls in love with you quickly online without ever meeting you and early into the relationship who then asks you to send money to assist them with a wide range of phony emergencies.
Here are a few other things to look for to help identify an online romance scam. Often their profile picture is stolen from a modeling website on the Internet. If the picture looks too professional and the person looks too much like a model, you should be wary. You also can check on the legitimacy of photographs by seeing if they have been used elsewhere by doing a reverse image search using Google or websites such as tineye.com.
Particular phrases, such as “Remember the distance or color does not matter, but love matters a lot in life” is a phrase that turns up in many romance scam emails. Also be on the lookout for bad spelling and grammar as many of the romance scammers claim to be Americans, but are actually foreigners lying about where they are and who they are.
Of course you should be particularly concerned if someone falls in love with you almost immediately. Often they will ask you to use a webcam, but will not use one themselves. This is another red flag. One thing you may want to do is ask them to take a picture of themselves holding up a sign with their name on it. In addition, ask for a number of pictures because generally when the scammers are stealing pictures of models from websites, they do not have many photographs. Ask for the picture to be at a particular place that you designate to further test them. If you meet someone through a dating website, be particularly wary if they ask you to leave the dating service and go “offline.”
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Scam of the day – May 18, 2023 – Massachusetts Diploma Mill Resurfaces
For-profit colleges and universities have been a target of state and federal investigations for years. I have written about this topic since 2012. It should be noted that not all for-profit colleges are scams, but there are a large number of for-profit colleges, sometimes referred to as “diploma mills” that at times offer credit for your “life experience” and lure students in with promises of a helpful degree, but the students end up with a worthless degree and an empty wallet. Sometimes the names of these scamming colleges and universities are confusingly similar to legitimate colleges. For instance, Columbia State University is a diploma mill while Columbia University is an eminent Ivy League school.
Recently, a website for the non-existent Massachusetts Central University has resurfaced. The phony college claims on its website to have 10,000 students and 1,200 faculty members. The truth is that the college doesn’t exist in any form. The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education first became aware of the Massachusetts Central University in 2021 and ordered the taking down of its website, however, now that website, complete with fake photos of students, faculty and a non-existent campus has reappeared.
Members of the armed forces and student veterans are often targeted by deceptive marketing by some for-profit schools who falsely claim they are affiliated with the U.S. Military.
TIP
If you are considering attending a for-profit school, first check it out with the United States Department of Education’s website at www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation to make sure it is an accredited institution.
You also should investigate whether a local college, university or community college would be more cost effective for you. For-profit colleges and universities are often more expensive than these other alternatives without offering any distinct advantages. Also, check out the graduation rates of any for profit college you are considering and finally, investigate the job prospects in your field of study. Don’t just take the word of the college.
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Scam of the day – May 17, 2023 – Another Major Health Care Data Breach
It was just less than a week ago that I told you about a data breach at NextGen healthcare, an electronic health record software company which recently notified a million patients that their personal data had been stolen in a major data breach that apparently occurred between March 29th and April 14th of this year. That particular data breach is extremely serious because the information stolen included names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and home addresses. Now, I must inform you of an even larger data breach again in the healthcare industry. This time the victim of the data breach is the national pharmacy network PharMerica. which is now sending out notification letters to more than 5.8 million people informing them that their data was compromised in a data breach that occurred in March, but is only now being disclosed.
The PharMerica data breach is serious because among the personal information stolen was names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers, health insurance information and medical information. This sensitive data puts PharMerica’s customers in serious danger of identity theft. In an unusual twist, some of the information stolen relates to deceased people who were customers of PharMerica. Identity theft of dead people can still create problems. Here is a link to a Scam of the day in which I discussed this form of identity theft and what you need to do to correct the problem. https://scamicide.com/2023/02/27/scam-of-the-day-february-28-2023-dead-people-are-becoming-victims-of-identity-theft/
As I have reminded you many times, we are only as safe and secure as the security of the companies, government agencies and websites that have our personal information. Even if you are extremely diligent in protecting your personal information, you can be in danger of identity theft and scams if your personal information falls into the hands of hackers.
So what can you do to protect yourself from these data breaches that will be occurring?
TIPS
One important lesson is to limit the amount of personal information that you provide to companies and websites whenever possible. For example, your pharmacy doesn’t need your Social Security number for its records. This is particularly significant because health care providers are the biggest targets for data breaches.
You should make sure that you have a unique password for each of your online accounts so that if one of your passwords is compromised in a data breach, all of your accounts will not be in danger. If your information is compromised in a data breach, you should immediately change the password for that account.
If you have not already done so, set up dual factor authentication for each of you accounts where it is available. This will protect you from having those accounts stolen by someone who may have access to your password.
https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is sign up for free using this link. https://scamicide.com/scam-of-the-day/
Invitation to Attend a Free Webinar on the Wild Wild World of Scams
I will be a speaker at a webinar entitled “the Wild Wild World of Scams: Crazy Scam Stories & How to Mitigate Your Risk on May 24th at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time and I encourage Scamicide readers to attend this free webinar. Below is a link to click on for more information and to sign up.
Scam of the day – May 16, 2023 – Mavis Wanczyk Lottery Scams Continue
She’s back! I have been writing about scams related to Mavis Wanczyk for six years but recently I have received many emails from Scamicide readers telling me about various new incarnations of a variety of scams that share the same hook which is that Mavis Wanczyk is giving money away to lucky people. Many of you may not remember the name of Mavis Wanczyk, but she was the lucky winner of a 758 million dollar Powerball drawing in 2017. Not long after she claimed her prize, a scam started appearing in which many people received emails with the message line referring to the Mavis Wanczyk Cash Grant. The email indicated that you were chosen to receive a large cash grant from Mavis Wanczyk. All the lucky strangers receiving the emails had to do was provide personal information in order to qualify for the grant. In addition, phony social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were also set up in Ms. Wanczyk’s name through which people were contacted with the same phony offer of free money informing them that in order to qualify for the grant they merely needed to provide personal information.
Phony Mavis Wanczyk Instagram accounts continue to pop up as quick as Instagram learns about them and takes them down.
Another version of the Mavis Wanczyk lottery scam that victimized a Scamicide reader started with a text message purportedly from Mavis Wanczyk informing the targeted victim that she would give $15,000 to the targeted victim. All the victim had to do was pay some fees. After paying $3,786.68 through untraceable Bitcoin cryptocurrency, the victim still had not received anything who was then prompted to send an additional $300 for expedited delivery of his check. After paying that amount, the scammers still had not sent anything, but did demand access to the victim’s Facebook account. Finally, the greedy scammers even threatened to turn in the victim to the FBI unless they were paid $500. It does take quite a bit of gall for criminals to threaten victims with reporting them to law enforcement, but gall does not appear to be in short supply when it comes to scammers.
TIPS
It is difficult to win a lottery you have entered. It is impossible to win one that you have never entered and neither lottery winners, nor anyone else is sending out messages through the Internet offering free money to anyone who responds with personal information. Never give out personal information that can make you vulnerable to identity theft unless you have absolutely verified that the party requesting the personal information is legitimate and has a legitimate need for the information. Also never pay anything to a lottery claiming you owe fees in order to claim your prize. This is a telltale sign of a scam. No legitimate lottery requires the payment of a fee to collect your winnings or requires you to pay the lottery income taxes on the prize. While income taxes are due on lottery winnings, those taxes are either deducted by the lottery sponsor before giving you your prize or the prize is given to you in full and you are responsible for the payment of any taxes. No lottery collects taxes on behalf of the IRS.
You should never give anyone access to your social media accounts because scammers use your account to scam others who trust you and fall for scams that appear to come from you.
Finally and most importantly, remember neither Mavis Wanczyk nor any other lottery winner is giving away money to strangers.
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Scam of the day – May 15, 2023 – FTC Shuts Down Debt Relief Scammers
Credit card debt which often carries an interest rate that is so high it could cause a nose bleed is a concern for many people and, as always, anything that concerns many people is something that scammers are interested in. Last November the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint and obtained a preliminary injunction shutting down ACRO Services and its related companies that the FTC claimed was operating a deceptive credit card debt relief scam in which ACRO claimed it could clean up your credit card debt in return for an enrollment fee of thousand of dollars plus additional monthly fees. Now the case has been settled and ACRO as well as other affiliated companies of their four principals have been permanently shut down.
ACRO and its affiliated companies offered nothing of value. Making matters worse, they advised their customers to stop making monthly payments to their credit card companies and to stop all communications with their credit card companies which merely led to higher credit card balances, additional credit card interest, lower credit scores and even lawsuits by the credit card companies for failure to pay in some instances.
TIPS
It is important to remember that the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rules specifically prohibit charging advance fees before providing any debt relief services. Any company that requires an advance fee before they have completed their successful debt reduction services is breaking the law. Never pay an upfront fee for a company providing debt relief. You also may want to consider avoiding scams like this by enrolling in the federal Do Not Call List so that if you are contacted by a telemarketer, you already know it would be someone who is knowingly breaking the law and cannot be trusted. Registering for the Do Not Call List is easy and free. Merely go to http://www.donotcall.gov to register your phone number.
If you need real credit counseling you can go to this section of the Department of Justice’s website where it lists agencies approved to assist consumers with debt problems. https://www.justice.gov/ust/list-credit-counseling-agencies-approved-pursuant-11-usc-111 You also may consider contacting companies that are affiliated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at this link https://www.nfcc.org/
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Scam of the day – May 14, 2023 – Sophisticated Airbnb Scam
Airbnb is a deservedly popular service that connects homeowners wishing to rent a room or their entire house with vacationers and other travelers in 190 countries around the world. I have used Airbnb many times. Unfortunately, anything popular with the public is also popular with scammers and reports are increasing about scams involving people paying scammers for renting a non-existent room or a place that the scammer does not own. Many of the victims of these scams do not find out that they have been scammed until they show up at the rental which may be far away only to learn that it is not for rent and their money is gone.
Generally, a telltale sign that the Airbnb listing is a scam occurs when the “homeowner” or “host” as they are referred to in Airbnb asks to communicate with the victim off of the Airbnb website. They also ask for the money to be wired to the scammer’s account . As I have told you many times before, once you have wired funds, they are gone forever.
However, in the last four years a more sophisticated Airbnb scam has arisen. Computer savvy criminals created a subscription service called Land Lordz which they lease to less sophisticated criminals to assist them in victimizing Airbnb customers. Land Lordz helps criminals create and manage phony listings on phony websites that look like Airbnb. The phony listings are generally copied from legitimate Airbnb listings and will include fake reviews as well. The phony Airbnb site emphasizes that all payments will go through Airbnb and will therefore be safe and secure. If someone asks for further details, which is common, the scammers email a response with a link that appears to take you to the real Airbnb website, but instead takes you to a phony website that merely appears legitimate. When the targeted victim of the scam logs into the phony Airbnb website, the scammers are notified and respond by demanding a deposit be wired to them. Once the money is wired, the funds are lost forever.
TIPS
Only communicate with hosts through the Airbnb website and use the Airbnb payment system with a credit card. Airbnb does not forward payment to the host sooner than 24 hours after the guest checks in. Never use wired funds, certified checks or any other method of payment other than a credit card through the Airbnb payment system to pay for accommodations. Always check your browser’s address bar to make sure that you are indeed on the real Airbnb website and don’t click on links to go to a website, but rather always type in the website address independently. Airbnb also provides for dual factor authentication which I urge you to use if you have an Airbnb account for greater for protection.
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Scam of the day – May 13, 2023 – Thwarting the Wrong Type of Shredder is Child’s Play
Identity theft can be high tech, low tech or no tech. As we all know, it can result from sophisticated computer hacking, but it also can come from as old fashioned a manner as pickpocketing your wallet or stealing your purse in which you may be carrying credit cards, your Social Security card or other identifying information that can be transformed into you becoming a victim of identity theft. In addition, identity thieves will also go through your trash to find material with information that can make you a victim of identity theft such as old checks, tax records, bank statements or old credit card bills. Many people do not give enough thought to their vulnerability to identity theft through these no tech methods of stealing your identity although the results can be every bit as devastating as becoming a victim of identity theft through computer malware.
Many people think that the common strip shredder which shreds your documents in long strips will protect you from identity theft. The truth is it does not. This fact was reinforced recently when North Carolina television station WFMY did an experiment with a group of fifth graders at the Northern Guilford Elementary School who were given shredded documents which they were able to piece together sufficiently to recognize account numbers and other information which in the wrong hands could lead to identity theft.
TIPS
When disposing of old or no longer needed documentation that has identifying information about you such as old bank statements, medical insurance bills, credit card bills or anything with your Social Security number on it, you should make sure that you shred these documents before disposing of them and make sure that you use a cross shredder because shredders that only shred in one direction do not provide sufficient security. One directional shredded material can be pieced together to provide an identity thief with information that can result in your becoming a victim of identity theft. For years methamphetamines addicts have done this kind of identity theft. The lesson is that everyone should use a shredder when disposing of sensitive documents and the only type of shredder to use is a cross shredder.
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Scam of the day – May 12, 2023 – Mother’s Day Scams
This upcoming Sunday is Mother’s Day and once again we must be vigilant about not falling prey to scams related to this holiday. Anything popular with the public will always be popular with scammers. Although for many of us Mother’s Day is an opportunity to show our mothers how much we love and appreciate them, for scammers it is yet another opportunity to scam people.
One common Mother’s Day scam involves an email that you get offering Mother’s Day gifts such as flowers, jewelry, shoes or clothing at tremendously discounted prices. All you need to do is to click on a link to order online. The problem is that many of these offers are indeed scams. If you click on the link, one of two things can happen and both are bad. Sometimes the link will take you to an order form where you provide your credit card information, but never get anything in return. Instead your credit card information is used to make you a victim of identity theft. Even worse is the other possibility which is by clicking on the link, you will unwittingly download a keystroke logging malware program that will steal all of the personal information stored on your computer and use that information to make you a victim of identity theft.
Be careful when making online purchases. Merely because a website offering great prices may be highly listed on Google or other search engines does not mean that it is legitimate. All it means is that the scammers know how to manipulate the positioning of their website in a Google search. Other times the scammers will merely pay for an advertisement for their website to appear at the top of a search engine search.
Even if you are dealing with a legitimate online company, make sure that your communications are encrypted when you send personal information or credit card information. The easy way to do this is to look to see if the the web address of the company changes when you go to the page to input credit card information from “http” to “https” indicating that your data is being encrypted. And of course, don’t use your debit card for retail purchases either online or in a brick and mortar store because you have less protection from fraud with a debit card than a credit card.
TIPS
It is always dangerous to buy anything online from any store or company with which you are not familiar. Check out the company with your state’s Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission or just do a Google search to see if the company is legitimate. Even then, you are better off going directly to the company’s website rather than dealing with a company through an email that may just be a forgery of an email from a legitimate company. As always, if the offer you receive sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
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