Scam of the Day
Scam of the day – November 17, 2021 – Student Loan Scams Resuming
I have written many times over the last ten years about student loan scams because scammers have successfully targeted college students and their parents for a variety of scams related to these extensive loans. In October of 2017 the Federal Trade Commission, working with the Attorneys General of eleven states, launched what it cleverly calls, Operation Game of Loans to jointly target these various student loan scams. Some scammers promise dramatic reductions of debt of 50% or more in return for upfront fees of between $500 and $2,500. Often these scam companies have names that make it appear that they are endorsed by the federal government in order to trick people into trusting them. Another student loan scam involves promises related to consolidating student loans. Sometimes the scammers represent that they are associated with the U.S. Department of Education although the Department of Education does not associate with private lenders in regard to student loan consolidation. These scammers also charge significant fees for their student loan consolidation services when the truth is that there is no fee for legitimate student loan consolidation. It is also important to remember that consolidating your student loans does not lower your interest or monthly payment. Instead, after loan consolidation the student’s monthly payment is equal to a weighted average of the interest rates on the student’s current loans.
The present pause on student loan payments and interest put into effect during the pandemic has been extended numerous times, but is scheduled to end on January 31, 2022 with payments required to resume in February. The sudden resumption of payments by 40 million student loan borrowers is prompting scammers to contact students and their families with a wide variety of scams related to repayment or forgiveness of student loans. Some scammers will be contacting students posing as the student’s loan servicer. In order to verify that you are being contacted by your real loan servicer, you can go to the Department of Education’s federal student aid website where you can get detailed information on your current student loan servicer including contact information. Here is that link. https://studentaid.gov/
TIPS
The old adage still is true. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true. Many of these student loan debt relief scammers promise quick loan forgiveness, which is unrealistic. In addition, you should never pay any upfront fees for student loan debt relief assistance. Those fees are illegal and are a sure indication that you are being scammed. Also, remember my motto, “trust me, you can’t trust anyone.” Don’t trust scammers merely because they use names that sound like they are affiliated with the government.
For information you can trust about federal student loan repayment option, go to https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans . There you can learn about loan deferments, forbearance, repayment and loan forgiveness programs and there is never an application fee. If you owe private student loans, contact your loan servicer directly. You can also look into student loan refinancing rather than consolidating the loans. Refinancing student loans can result in a lower interest rate. For more information about student loans go to https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/1028-student-loans Here is a link to a calculator that can help you determine whether you will save more by consolidating or refinancing student loans.https://www.makelemonade.co/calculators/student-loan-consolidation-refinancing-calculator/
Here also is a link to an FTC video that explains student loan scams and what you can do to protect yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TjSI4Q6ztQ
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide has been cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
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/
Scam of the day – November 16, 2021 – Car Warranty Scams Increasing.
Earlier this year the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a warning about a dramatic increase in extended car warranty scams being perpetrated through robocalls. Many of these robocalls appear to come from “Susie” of the “Vehicle Service Department.” Often the caller even knows the make, model and year of your car. They will tell you that your car’s warranty is about to expire, but that you can purchase an extended warranty that will provide tremendous benefits. Unfortunately, the only one getting tremendous benefits is the scammer that sells you a worthless contract.
More recently, the call-blocking service RoboKiller issued a report indicating that car warranties represent the largest number of bogus robocalls and the problem is getting worse. Based on data to date, it is projected that the number of bogus robocalls selling worthless car warranties will reach 13 billion by the end of the year which would be more than three times the number of illegal car warranty robocalls made in 2020.
Extended warranty scams have been with us for years. Actually, they are not “extended” warranties at all because if you read the fine print you will notice that although the notice that often comes through a postcard looks official, it is not from either the car manufacturer who issued your original warranty or the car dealer who sold you the car. The warranties themselves vary from scammer to scammer with some of the “extended” warranties being relatively worthless, but with all of them based on misrepresentations. In 2016 the FTC sent out more than four million dollars in refunds to thousands of victims of an extended warranty scam perpetrated by Fereidoun “Fred” Khalilian and his company The Dolce Group Worldwide, LLC. Using the name My Car Solutions, victims received robocalls luring them into paying for extended automobile warranties that, in truth, provided no coverage. In the case of Khalilian , his extended warranty scams were sold through illegal robocalls. Whenever someone tries to sell you something through a robocall, you can be sure it is a scam because commercial calls initiated through robocalls are illegal.
If you are registered for the Do Not Call list and you do receive a call from a telemarketer attempting to sell you an extended warranty, you can be confident that the call is a scam because no legitimate telemarketer would call you if you are enrolled in the Do Not Call list. It is also important to note that while telemarketing is not, in and of itself, illegal, commercial telemarketing, such as the sale of these “extended warranties” through robocalls is always illegal.
TIPS
In regard to car warranties, it is always a good idea to check with your local auto dealer as to what warranties cover your car. Never trust anything that comes to you by way of an illegal robocall or telemarketing call if you have enrolled in the federal Do Not Call List. Never feel pressured to act immediately when someone calls you on the phone with an unsolicited offer and never give any personal information including your credit card over the phone to someone who calls you because you can never be sure who is actually calling.
Registering for the Do Not Call List is easy and free. Merely go to http://www.donotcall.gov to register your phone number.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide has been cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
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/
Scam of the day – November 15, 2021 – The Danger of Squid Game Phishing Emails
In February of this year I told you that Google released a new study that it did in conjunction with researchers at Stanford University in which it studied more than a billion malicious emails targeting gmail users. The study has a number of interesting points that can help us all protect ourselves from phishing and spear phishing emails. Phishing and the more specifically tailored and targeted spear phishing emails are the primary way that malware is delivered, data breaches are accomplished and many scams originate. These legitimate appearing phishing and spear phishing emails most commonly lure victims into either providing personal information that is used to make you a victim of identity theft or to click on links infected with malware such as ransomware or keystroke logging malware that can enable the hacker to go through your computer or phone for information that can be used to make you a victim of identity theft.
The study found how massive the threat of phishing and spear phishing emails are with the number of phishing emails totaling more than a hundred million each day. During the pandemic, at its peak, the number of phishing and spear phishing emails related to the Coronavirus pandemic reached as high as 18 million in a single day.
Recently scammers have been using Netflix’s popular series “Squid Game” as a hook in a recent onslaught of spear phishing emails promoting a sneak peek at a second season of “Squid Games” although the truth is that the show has not at this time been renewed. In addition, as a further lure to induce people receiving the email to click on an infected link, some of the emails indicate that the person receiving the email could be cast as a character in the upcoming season. All of this is done to entice people into clicking on links in the emails that are infected with serious malware.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
TIPS
First and foremost you should remember my motto, “trust me, you can’t trust anyone.” Whenever you get an email requesting personal information or asking you to click on a link, you should be skeptical. You can never be sure who is actually contacting you. The first thing you should do is check the email address of the sender. Often phishing and spear phishing emails are sent in large number by criminals using botnets which are networks of hacked and infected computers used by cybercriminals to send out phishing emails in a manner that cannot readily be traced back to them. However, if you get a phishing email that appears to come from Netflix for example and the email address of the sender is that of a individual person, you can be confident that the email is a phishing email and you should ignore it and delete it.
Even if the email address of the sender appears to be legitimate, sophisticated cybercriminals can make the email address appear to be that of a legitimate source. Still you shouldn’t trust it, but rather should absolutely confirm any email that asks for personal information or for you to click on a link that it is legitimate.
You should also use strong security software on all of your electronic devices including your phone and computer, however, you should not rely on these to be foolproof. Never underestimate the power of a fool or a cybercriminal. Even if you keep your security software updated with the latest security patches as soon as they are made available (which is very important to do), the latest versions of malware are always at least a month ahead of the security software companies.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide has been cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
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/
Scam of the day – November 14, 2021 – Holiday Toy Scams Start Early
It seems like the holiday shopping season starts earlier and earlier each year with many stores decked out in holiday decorations even before Halloween so it is certainly not too early to warn you about scams involving online shopping for the season’s most popular toys. Every year there are a few toys that are in especially high demand. Often it is difficult to find these toys and the prices when you do manage to find them, they can be pretty expensive which is why so many people are susceptible to being scammed by criminals offering to sell these desirable toys on line at bargain prices. People falling for this scam end up both not getting the toy that they thought they ordered and losing their money in the process. This year’s most sought after toys include a Baby Yoda animatronic toy, Nintendo Switch and L.O.L Surprise dolls. Scammers are sending emails and setting up phony retail websites to lure people into this scam.
TIPS
As always, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is, so you should be particularly skeptical when you find an online seller of a highly in demand toy for a dramatically discounted price. Always use a credit card when you buy anything online or in a brick and mortar store because of the strong consumer protection laws that protect you from liability in the event of a scam. When you use your debit card, you do not get the same strong protections from fraud. You are better off dealing with reputable retailers with which you are familiar, but even then you should make sure when you buy anything online that you are dealing with the real retailer and not a counterfeit website set up by a scammer. You can confirm whether or not the website is legitimate by going to the website whois.com where you can find out who owns the particular website. If you find that the website which appears to be WalMart is owned by someone in Nigeria, for example, you can be sure that it is a scam. It is important to remember that even if you get the URL for a popular retailer’s website through a Google or other search engine search, it does not mean that the website they are sending you to is a legitimate site. Sophisticated scammers can manipulate the algorithms used by search engines to enable their phony websites to be ranked high in a search.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide was cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
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 to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and type in your email on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – November 13, 2021 – Ponzi Schemer Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison
Earlier this week, Jeff Carpoff was sentenced to the maximum sentence of thirty years in prison for operating a Ponzi scheme in which he scammed investors in his phony mobile solar generator business. Carpoff lured investors with falsified financial statements and lies about his business. Numerous investors including Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway fund lost a billion dollars in the scam. As is typical with Ponzi schemes, Carpoff paid early investors with money that was not derived from profits of his business, but with the investments of later investors. Over the years Ponzi schemes have been used by many scammers to steal billions of dollars from unwitting victims who made the mistake of investing their money with such criminals. Although Charles Ponzi was not the first to use the technique of paying off early investors with the investments of later investors in an effort to make a total sham look as if it is a profitable business, that dishonor should go to Sarah Howe who first used this scheme in the 1870s, it was Ponzi in 1920 who perfected the scam to steal millions of dollars from unwary investors in his scheme through which he told them that he was able to take advantage of fluctuating currency values to purchase international postal reply coupons at a discount and then sell them at face value in the United States. Ponzi promised, and delivered to early investors, a 50% profit on investments within 45 days and a 100% profit within 90 days. Of course, the entire scheme was a total fake, but eager investors blinded by their greed flocked to him to invest. Eventually, as ultimately always happens in a Ponzi scheme, the scam was exposed and Ponzi went to prison. However, the list of criminals still using this prototype of a scam continues to this day including such famous Ponzi scheme criminals as Allen Stanford, Tom Petters, Norman Hsu, Lou Pearlman and, of course, the biggest of them all, Bernie Madoff who swindled people out of more than 50 billion dollars using this time honored scheme.
TIPS
Before investing with anyone, you should investigate the person offering to sell you the investment with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Central Registration Depository. This will tell you if the broker is licensed and if there have been disciplinary procedures against him or her. You can also check with your own state’s securities regulation office for similar information. Many investment advisers will not be required to register with the SEC, but are required to register with your individual state’s securities regulators. You can find your state’s agency by going to the website of the North American Securities Administrators Association. In the case of Gallagher, he has not been a Registered Investment Adviser since 2009. Many investment advisers will not be required to register with the SEC, but are required to register with your individual state securities regulators. You can find your state’s agency by going to the website of the North American Securities Administrators Association. You should also check with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for information about the particular investment adviser.
It is also important to remember that you should never invest in something that you do not completely understand. This was a mistake that many of Bernie Madoff’s victims made. You also may want to check out the SEC’s investor education website at www.investor.gov. Scammers can be very convincing and it may sound like there is a great opportunity for someone to make some money, but you must be careful that the person making money is not the scam artist taking yours. Additionally, investing with someone merely because you trust them because you have heard them on the radio or television is dangerous. Having the same person advise the investment and control the investment is a common thread among Ponzi schemers because it enables them to falsify documents to make the investment look profitable. Generally, for additional security it is desirable to have a separate broker-dealer act as custodian for investments chosen by an investment adviser.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide was cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
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 to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and type in your email address on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – November 12, 2021 – FTC Refunding Money to Victims of 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle Scam
In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission sued 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle LLC and nine co-defendants for using illegal robocalls, live telephone calls, text messages, internet ads, emails, social media and live events to sell bogus money making opportunities. The defendants falsely claimed that people using their programs could earn $10,000 or more within 60 days. The truth is that these representations were false. The truth is that most people lost their entire investment.
Now, after settling their lawsuit, the FTC is sending refunds to victims of this scam by PayPal as well as checks. For more information about this particular refund program check out the “FTC Scam Refunds” tab in the middle of the first page of http://www.scamicide.com. You can find information there about the mailing of the refund checks. There is no cost or fee to file a claim or get a refund. Anyone who tells you differently is trying to scam you.
TIPS
The sale of business opportunities is regulated by the FTC’s Business Opportunity Rule which requires the sellers of business opportunities to provide a one-page disclosure document outlining important facts about the offering including informing you about any legal actions in which the sellers have been involved. In this particular case some of the defendants had previously been sued by the FTC for operating a similar scam. The disclosure also has to provide you with details as to any refund policy and provide a list of references. Additionally, as is always the case with these types of scams, if they make claims about how much money you can earn through their scheme, they must provide you with an Earnings Claim Statement that indicates in detail the specifics of those claims and the opportunity to see written proof of the claims.
Before considering any kind of business opportunity, you should have a lawyer review these required disclosures and if the person offering you the business opportunity does not provide these documents, you should consider that a red flag that this is a scam. You also should investigate the people behind the offering as well as the particular type of business opportunity.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide was cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
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 to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and type in your email address on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – November 11, 2021 – Sextortion Scams Increasing
I have been warning you about sextortion scams for six years, but it is important to remind you again because according to the FBI, there has been a dramatic increase in this scam. The sextortion scam begins with an email in which you are told that your computer and web cam have been hacked and that the scammers have video of you watching porn online. In the email, the scammer threatens to send the videos to people on his contact list unless you pay a ransom in Bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency. Recent figures from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) indicate that the instances of this scam dramatically increased 242% over the previous year. The truth is that while it is possible to hack into someone’s webcam, these sextortion emails are being sent out as mass mailings without the videos they claim to have. The scammers’ hope is that some people will be fearful enough to send the ransom. In the Scam of the day for January 27, 2019 I wrote about how the scam had evolved whereby, in order to appear as a more legitimate threat, the scammers sometimes include in the email a password the targeted victim had used. Again, however, this email extortion threat is baseless. The passwords that have been included in some versions of this email scam are indeed ones that the targeted extortion victims have used, however, they were obtained by the scammer from one of the many data breaches in which passwords were stolen.
This scam also illustrates the vulnerabilities of webcams to being hacked. There have been a number of scams about which I have reported in which people’s webcams have been hacked and compromising videos taken. Often when people install webcams, they use default logins and passwords. These default passwords are easy to find online. Generally, when you hook up anything wireless to your router, it comes with a password and login so it is critical that whenever you install any of these Internet of Things devices, you change the password and login to protect yourself, which leads us to my second concern – routers. A study by security company Avast found that about 80% of Americans do not properly secure their routers, leaving themselves vulnerable to being hacked. Many people still use either default passwords or easily guessed passwords, such as “password” for their routers.
TIPS
As we connect to the Internet through more and more devices that are a part of the Internet of Things, it becomes increasingly important to be cognizant of maintaining proper security in all devices including, of course, routers and webcams. Laziness can have dire consequences. Never use default logins and passwords. As soon as you install any device that accesses the Internet, make sure that you protect yourself with secure logins and passwords. It is not difficult to hack into the webcam of a computer from afar. The same types of tricks used to get people to unwittingly download keystroke logging malware that enables the hacker to gather all of the personal information from your computer to be used to make you a victim of identity theft can be used to get you to download the malware that enables the hacker to take control of your webcam. Never click on links in emails or download attachments unless you are absolutely positive they are legitimate. They may be riddled with malware. Also, install and maintain anti-malware and anti-virus software on your computer and other electronic devices. For external webcams that are not a built-in component of your computer, a red light will signal that the camera is operating. Be aware of this. It is a good idea to merely disconnect the external webcam when you are not using it or merely take a post-it and cover the webcam’s lens whenever you are not using it, which is what I do. A photograph taken in 2015 shows Pope Francis using his iPad with a sticker over the built in web camera. This simple technique is also used by Mark Zuckerberg, former FBI Director James Comey and me. It is a simple and easy solution. For built in webcams, they too will generally have a blue light to indicate that it is operating, however, again, it is a good idea to merely cover the lens when you are not using it.
Finally, this scam provides a good example as to why you should have a unique password for all of your accounts.
As for the sextortion emails, it could have been expected that if a hacker actually did have the videos he claimed, he would include a screenshot in the sextortion email or at least an indication of the pornographic website that they accuse you of viewing. The scammers do not include such a screenshot or website name because they do not have the incriminating videos that they claim.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide was cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
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 to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and type in your email address on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – November 10, 2021 – Data Breach at Robinhood Poses Spear Phishing Threat
Earlier this week, the popular stock trading app Robinhood disclosed that it had suffered a data breach the previous week in which personal information of approximately seven million of its customers was compromised. Fortunately for the large majority of people whose information was stolen, the information was limited to email addresses and names. An unusual aspect to this particular data breach was that rather than being accomplished through hacking the computers of the targeted company, the data breach started with a phone call in which the criminal called Robinhood’s customer support and using social engineering techniques convinced the Robinhood employee to provide access to customer support systems. Obviously, Robinhood has some work to do in its employee security training. The criminals have demanded a ransom payment for the return of the information stolen, but at this point, customers of Robinhood should be very concerned.
Personal information, such as the information contained in the data breach is used by cybercriminals not just to directly steal the identities of the affected people, but also to create specifically targeted spear phishing emails and text messages (called smishing) to lure people into clicking on malware infected links or providing personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft. While many common phishing emails and text messages are easily recognized as phony, sophisticated spear phishing emails and text messages can be tailored by the criminals to our own interests using the information obtained through the data breach in order to appear to be trustworthy which makes them quite dangerous. This particular data breach brings back memories of a massive data breach at JP Morgan where similar information was stolen and used to target people who became victims of a stock pump and dump scam.
TIPS
One important lesson is to limit the amount of personal information that you provide to companies and websites whenever possible. It is also critical that we all remember that whenever we get an email, text message or phone call, we can never be sure who is really contacting us so you should never click on links or provide personal information in response to such communications unless you have absolutely confirmed that the communication was legitimate. Trust me, you can’t trust anyone.
https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze/place-credit-freeze
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide has been cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
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/
Scam of the day – November 9, 2021 – Phony Government Grants
The Federal Trade Commission is warning people about a recent increase in scams involving scammers convincing their victims that they are eligible for large government grants if they merely pay a processing fee. This is a scam. The federal government does not charge fees for applying for grants. Additionally, the scammers perpetrating this scam also often ask for personal information such as your birth date and Social Security number which they use to make you a victim of identity theft. Many times Facebook is used as the medium through which people are contacted regarding this scam. It is not surprising that scammers use Facebook for these purposes. The very popularity of Facebook and the fact that on Facebook you are communicating with your friends is reason enough for scammers to use Facebook as a platform for scams. There has been a resurgence of a Facebook related scam that starts with a private message that appears to come from one of your friends telling you that he or she just received a large government grant and that it was easy to do. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, some of the key phrases used by scammers that you should be on the lookout for are “We do all the work. You just pay a processing fee;” and “You can’t get this information anywhere else.” The Coronavirus pandemic has resulted in an increase in the number of these phony grant scams.
TIPS
Facebook accounts and email accounts are relatively easy for a skilled cybercriminal to hack so whenever you receive an email or message urging you to click on a link, provide personal information or, as in this scam, send money, you should always be skeptical and confirm that the communication is legitimate before responding. The message which appears to come from a Facebook friend of yours is most likely coming from a scammer who hacked into your real friend’s Facebook account and is hoping that your trust of your friend will outweigh your common sense. You should be particularly skeptical of any request to wire money or provide a cash card or gift card number because once funds have been transferred in this fashion, they are impossible to retrieve.
The federal government does not charge any fee to apply for a grant. Additionally, it is important to remember that government grants are not given for personal purposes, but only for public projects. People looking for legitimate information about grants, loans and other financial aid information for higher education can go to the federal government’s website http://www.StudentAid.ed.gov. Information about federal loans for housing, disaster relief, education and veterans benefits can be found at the federal government’s website http://www.GovLoans.gov. Finally For information about a range of other federal benefits for which you may be eligible, you can go the federal government’s website http://www.Benefits.gov.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide has been cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
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/
Scam of the day – November 8, 2021 – FTC Sending Money to Victims of Deceptive Book Seller
In October of 2019 I first told you that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had sued Agora Financial, LLC alleging it scammed seniors into buying books, newsletters and other publications that falsely claimed a cure for type 2 diabetes and also perpetrating a scam related to a non-existent government affiliated check program. According to Andrew Smith, the FTC’s Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Agora, “stole money from older adults with lies about having a cure for diabetes and a way to get thousands of dollars in government checks. One of their publications, “The Doctor’s Guide to Reversing Diabetes in 28 days” claimed to provide a cure for type 2 diabetes totally unsupported by scientific evidence. The Doctor’s Guide sold for $249. In addition, Agora also promoted a newsletter entitled “Lifetime Income Report” and a book entitled “Congress’ Secret $1.17 Trillion Giveaway” that promoted a phony, non-existent government program which Agora promised would enable consumers to receive thousands of dollars. Consumers obtaining the worthless book automatically became subscribers to the “Lifetime Income Report” for $99 per year.
Now the FTC is sending checks and PayPal refunds totaling more than two million dollars to victims of the scam. The funds to pay for the refunds came from money recovered from Agora Financial and related defendants. For more information about this refund program go to the tab in the middle of the Scamicide home page entitled “FTC Scam Refunds.” It is important to note that there is never a charge for obtaining a refund through the FTC or any of its refund administrators. Anyone who asks for such a payment is just another scammer.
TIPS
As for all health related products whether they offer a cure for diabetes or even weight loss, the truth is that you should always be wary of programs or products that promise miraculous health benefits. Check with your physician before considering any of these programs or products. As for weight loss products which are the source of many scams, there are no quick fixes when it comes to weight loss and you should be wary of any product that promises you can lose tremendous amounts of weight quickly without dieting or exercise. You should also be wary of any weight loss product that is sold exclusively either over the Internet or through mail-order advertisements. The best course of action is to ask your physician about the effectiveness of a particular weight loss product or program before you reduce your wallet in an effort to reduce your waistline.
As for “get rich quick” books and programs promising money from government programs, you should always research these books and programs thoroughly and with a skeptical eye since many of these are scams.
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.” Scamicide has been cited by the New York Times as one of three top sources for information about Coronavirus related scams.
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