Scam of the Day
Scam of the day – August 17, 2020 – FTC Sues Sellers of PPE for Failure to Deliver
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread both in the United States and worldwide, many people are turning to online merchandisers to buy Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks, face shields and sanitizers. Unfortunately, some online merchandisers are promising customers quick delivery and then either not delivering the products in a timely fashion, or, even worse, failing to send anything at all. Recently the FTC filed lawsuits against three companies, QYK Brands which did business as Glowyy, Zaapaaz, Inc, and American Screening, LLC alleging these companies failed to deliver their products as advertised and in some instances did not deliver the products at all. According to the FTC, these companies also failed to notify customers of delayed shipments, failed to offer refunds, failed to honor refund requests and in some instances sent defective items.
Federal law requires a seller to ship orders within the time indicated in their ads or within 30 days if no time is indicated in the advertisement. In addition, if a seller doesn’t ship within the promised time, the seller is required by law to offer customers the opportunity to cancel their orders and receive a full refund.
TIPS
It is always a good idea when ordering something online from a company with which you are unfamiliar to do a search engine search in which you type in the company name with the words “scam” or “complaint” and see what comes up. Also whenever you buy anything online, you should not use your debit card, but instead use your credit card. Federal law provides you with the right to dispute charges for late shipments and have the charges removed from your credit card while debit cards do not provide the same protections.
Scam of the day – August 16, 2020 – New Report Highlights Coronavirus Related Fraud
Here at Scamicide.com we have been concerned about Coronavirus related scams since the earliest days of the pandemic with the first Scam of the day dealing with these scams published on February 7th. Scammers are always exploiting whatever has captured the public’s attention and the Coronavirus pandemic is no exception to that rule. I am happy to say that the New York Times has even cited Scamicide.com as one of the three best sources for information about Coronavirus related scams, of which there are many.
Recently Atlas VPN, a research company, published a study based on information obtained from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in regard to the extent of Coronavirus related scams since the beginning of the year. To date, 152,129 reports of Coronavirus related scams have been reported to the FTC and that number is probably lower than the actual number as many victims of scams don’t report being scammed. The age group with the most reported scams were people between the ages of 30 and 39 while people between the ages of 40 and 49 lost the most money to Coronavirus scams. Not surprisingly, the state with the most reported scams was our most highly populated state, California.
TIPS
The most highly reported Coronavirus related scams related to online shopping. In many instances, cybercriminals set up phony websites to sell a wide variety of products including totally bogus Coronavirus cures and treatments. Other phony websites offer a wide variety of merchandise at low prices, but never deliver the goods ordered. For information about safely shopping online check out the Scam of the day for December 12, 2019. Also, when shopping either online or in a brick and mortar store, you should never use your debit card. Instead use your credit card. The legal protections for fraudulent credit card use are much stronger than those for fraudulent use of your debit card.
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.” Presently there are more than 65 scams listed there and the list is growing. Scamicide was recently 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 click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 15, 2020 – A New Amazon Phishing Email
Shopping on Amazon is extremely popular both with consumers and scammers seeking to exploit Amazon’s popularity. I have warned you many times over the years about scammers who send various types of phishing emails which purport to be from Amazon attempting to lure you into either clicking on links which can download malware, such as ransomware or providing personal information that can be used to make you a victim of identity theft. Particularly during the Coronavirus pandemic, as the number of people shopping on Amazon has increased, so have the scammers directed more attention toward Amazon shoppers through scams such as the phishing email reproduced below which was sent to me by a Scamicide reader.
The latest Amazon phishing scam starts with an email that appears to come from Amazon informing you that your accounts has been locked due to suspicious activity. you are prompted to click on a link to verify your account within 24 hours or risk having your account permanently shut down. Phishing emails commonly lure you into clicking on links or providing information by false representations of an emergency that requires your immediate attention. This phishing email is not particularly well constructed. While it carries an official looking Amazon logo, it is easy to counterfeit a logo. The email is directed to you by your email address rather than your name, which is also slightly suspicious. I have changed the email salutation to protect the privacy of the person forwarding the email to me. The second paragraph is obviously flawed and not properly edited as is the third paragraph. Finally, the email address from which the email was sent has nothing to do with Amazon and is most likely part of a botnet. As for the “Verification Now” link at the bottom which the email lures you into clicking on, I have deactivated it. However, if you had hovered your mouse over the activated link you would see you would be directed to a site that had nothing to do with Amazon. Here is the phishing email presently being circulated.
Dear xxxxxx
Your amazon account has been locked due to suspicious activity.
To unlock your account, you must log in to your account to v{numrandom,6,1}e{numrandom,6,1}r{numrandom,6,1}i{numrandom,6,1}f{numrandom,6,1}y{numrandom,6,1} your account immediately.
You only have 24 hours to secure your account, if you do nothing your account will be permanently l{numrandom,6,1}o{numrandom,6,1}c{numrandom,6,1}k{numrandom,6,1}e{numrandom,6,1}d{numrandom,6,1} and deleted.
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Copyright © 2020 Amazon Inc. All rights reserved.
TIPS
Legitimate emails from Amazon would be directed to you by name rather than being addressed to your email address as this phishing email was. Most tellingly, this phishing email is sent from an address that has no relation to Amazon. If you receive an email like this and think it may possibly be actually from Amazon, merely call the customer service number for Amazon where you can confirm that it is a scam. The real number to call if you suspect Amazon related fraud is 866-216-1075.
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 recently 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 click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 14, 2020 – Pastor Email Scam
I first warned you about this particular scam in June of 2017, but it has recently resurfaced in many places around the country including in Minnesota where it was reported to me by a Scamicide reader. Local church members are receiving what appear to be emails from their pastors asking them to make contributions through gift cards and credit cards. In 2017 the scams primarily asked targeted victims to wire money to accounts and people named in the emails. The emails come from email addresses that appear at first glance to be that of the pastors, but a closer inspection will disclose that it is coming from a different email provider than the pastor uses. In the Minnesota version the email address from which it was sent at first glance appeared to be that of the new pastor, but upon closer examination a letter was missing from her name in the email address.
TIPS
The key to protecting yourself from this scam is to first be skeptical whenever you get a request to wire money or make a payment through gift cards because once money has been wired, it is gone forever which is why it is a favorite method of payment for scammers. As for gift cards, once you provide the numbers from the gift cards, the scammers utilize the gift cards to make purchases that they quickly sell in order to get cash. No church solicits gift card payments nor does the IRS which is why when someone posing as a religious institution or the IRS asks for a payment through gift cards you can be sure it is a scam. The second thing that we all should do is to always confirm the legitimacy of any request for a donation of any kind before making a payment.
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 recently 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 click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 13, 2020 – Impostor Scams Evolving
Impostor scams have long been among the most lucrative for scammers. While there are many variations of this scam, the most common variations have involved scammers calling their intended victims on the telephone posing as some governmental agency such as the IRS or the Social Security Administration. The scammer then, under a wide variety of pretenses, demands an immediate payment by gift cards, credit card or wired funds. Being asked to pay by gift cards is a definite indication that the call is a scam since no governmental agency requests or accepts payments by gift cards. Alternatively, the scammer demands the victim supply the phony governmental agent with personal information such as your Social Security number which will then be used for identity theft purposes.
Now, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) this scam is evolving, particularly during the Coronavirus pandemic to the scammers calling and posing as a company, such as Amazon from whom you may have ordered merchandise online. In the common variation of this scam now occurring, the scammer informs you that your credit card has been charged a large amount for a purchase that apparently you did not make. They then provide a telephone number for customer service if you wish to dispute the phony order. When you call the customer service number you are asked to confirm your username, password and credit card information. Anyone providing this information to a scammer will soon find themselves a victim of identity theft as their credit card will be used by the scammer in short order.
TIPS
As I have often reminded you, through the simple technique of “spoofing” it is very easy for a scammer to manipulate your Caller ID to make a call coming to you appear legitimate when it is not. Therefore you can never truly trust your Caller ID. Trust me, you can’t trust anyone. Never provide personal information to anyone who calls you unless you have absolutely confirmed that it is legitimate. In the case of this kind of impostor scam, you can’t trust the customer service number that they give you. Instead, if you think that the call might possibly be legitimate, you should hang up on the caller and contact the real company, such as Amazon either by phone or by email. You can get the proper contact information from the website of the company or a copy of any bill you may have from the company. You also can check your credit card records and if you find fraudulent charges, you can dispute them immediately.
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 recently 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 click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 12, 2020 – Increase in Sophisticated Virtual Kidnapping Scams
I have been warning you about phony kidnapping scams, also known as virtual kidnapping, for seven years. The scam starts with a telephone call informing the person answering the phone that a child or other relative has been kidnapped and if the person receiving the call does not respond by wiring money right away, the relative will be killed. As with so many scams, we are often our own worst enemy and this scam is no exception. In many instances, the scammers gather personal information about the intended scam victims from information that the intended victims or members of their families post on social media. Information harvested from social media may indicate that someone is traveling on vacation making it easier to make the phony kidnapping appear legitimate. Armed with personal information gathered from social media, a scammer can describe the supposed kidnapped victim or provide personal information that would make it appear that indeed they actually do have the person in their custody. Sometimes the phony kidnappers manipulate your Caller ID through a technique called “spoofing” to make it appear that the call is coming from the supposedly kidnapped family member’s cell phone.
Many of the fake kidnapping scams, according to the FBI. are originating with calls from Mexican prisons, where in most instances the calls are being made by prisoners who have bribed guards to supply them with cell phones.
Virtual kidnappings are a worldwide problem. Recently in Australia, there has been a significant increase in the number of virtual kidnappings particularly targeting Chinese college students studying in Australia. In one variation of the virtual kidnapping scam as it is being done in Australia, the scam starts with a robocall that purports to inform the person receiving the call that a package needs to be delivered to them. If the victim continues with the call, he or she speaks with someone who talks to them in Mandarin, asks for personal information and promises to call back. However, the follow-up call, which purports to be from the Chinese government informs the person receiving the call that the package contains illegal contraband and threatens the scam victim with deportation or imprisonment. By “spoofing” the call, the scammers can make the call appear on Caller ID as if the call is originating from the Chinese embassy. The targeted scam victim is then told that in order to avoid these problems, they must immediately check into a hotel, turn off their phone and not communicate with anyone. In some instances, the victim is told to send a photo or video of them in the hotel. Meanwhile, the scammers then contact the parents of the student, telling them that their son or daughter has been kidnapped and they provide the photo or video as evidence of the fact that this is a real kidnapping. A ransom demand follows and ransoms have been paid of as much as 2 million Australian dollars to the scammers.
TIPS
Always be skeptical if you receive such a call. Never wire money to anyone for anything unless you are totally convinced that what you are doing is legitimate because unlike paying for something with a credit card, once your wired funds have been sent, they are impossible to get back. Talk to the alleged kidnapper as long as possible, thereby giving someone else with you the time to call or text the alleged kidnap victim on his or her smartphone. If the purported kidnapping victim is a young child, call the school to confirm that he or she is safe. You also could ask the kidnapper to describe your relative as well as provide information, such as his or her birth date, which could be found on a driver’s license, however, it is important to remember that much of this kind of information may be available through social media or elsewhere on the Internet. It also can be helpful for the family to have a code word to use to immediately recognize that this is a scam. If the kidnapper can’t provide the code word, it is clear that it is a scam.
Many of these kidnapping scams are originating in Mexico so be particularly skeptical if you receive the telephone call from Mexico which has many area codes which can be found by clicking on this link. http://dialcode.org/North_America/Mexico/ Other hotspots for this scam have been in Taiwan and Cuba.
In regard to this particular version of the virtual kidnapping scam, it is important to remember that no Chinese authorities will contact students and demand money to be paid.
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 recently 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 click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 11, 2020 – Shimmers Causing Credit Card Problems
Skimmers are small electronic devices that are easily installed by an identity thief on gas pumps, ATMs and other card reading devices. The skimmer steals all of the information from the magnetic strip credit card or debit card used which then permits the identity thief to use that information to access the victim’s bank account when the skimmer is used on a debit card. If a credit card is used, the identity thief can use the stolen information to access the victim’s credit card account. Each skimmer can hold information on as many as 2,400 cards. In order to combat this fraud industry issued credit card rules that required new EMV smart chip credit card equipment be installed by retailers to process these cards by October 1, 2015 in order for the retailer to avoid liability. Wider implementation of the use of EMV chip cards at retail stores has resulted in a dramatic reduction in data breaches and credit card fraud at retailers using this equipment. The deadline for the installation of EMV chip card readers at gas pumps was originally scheduled for October 1, 2017. The deadline was later extended to October 1, 2020 and around the country there has been an increase in the use of skimmers installed by criminals at gas pumps. The EMV chip cards are more secure because the chip issues a new one-time authorization number each time that the card is used so that stealing the number used in a particular transaction is of no value to an identity thief.
But beginning in 2018 and continuing now with increased frequency we have a new problem that is affecting EMV chip cards. Shimmers are thin devices that can be inserted into the slot where an EMV chip card is inserted and can take the credit card number from the chip and use that information to make a duplicate non-chip credit card that can be used at magnetic swipe credit card processing readers. This flaw in the chip only occurs if the particular credit card issuer fails to use an integrated circuit card verification value (iCVV), not be confused with the CVV number that appears on all credit cards. The iCVV prevents the information on the chip from being stolen and used to create counterfeit magnetic stripe credit cards. Unfortunately, some banks issuing credit cards are failing to properly implement the iCVV chip card technology.
TIPS
We as consumers are always better off using our chip credit cards rather than magnetic stripe credit cards whenever possible. As for places that do not use chip card technology, always look for signs of tampering on any machine you use to swipe your credit card or debit card. If the card inserting mechanism appears loose or in any other way tampered, don’t use it. Debit cards, when compromised through a skimmer put the customers at risk of having the bank accounts tied to their cards entirely emptied if the theft is not promptly reported and even if the victim reports the theft immediately, the victims lose access to their bank accounts while the matter is investigated by the bank. Debit cards should not be used for purchases at gas pumps or for other retail purchases because the legal liability laws related to stolen debit card information are not as protective to consumers as the laws relating to fraudulent credit card use. In any event, you should regularly monitor your credit card statements and bank statements in order to detect and report identity theft as soon as possible.
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 recently 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 click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 10, 2020 – New Sophisticated Netflix Phishing Scam
For a long time I have warned you that the popularity of Netflix makes it a preferred subject for phishing emails and phishing text messages, which are referred to as smishing. Smishing is the name given to text messages that lure you into clicking on links or providing personal information in response to a text message from what appears to be a trusted source, such as a company with which you do business. Smishing scams are increasing in frequency. Earlier this year I told you about a smishing text message that appeared to come from Netflix that lured people into clicking on a link that took them to a phony, but legitimate appearing Netflix page that asked for your Netflix username, password and credit card number. If you supplied this information, you became a victim of identity theft.
With the social isolation that has become the hallmark of the Coronavirus pandemic, many of us, myself included, have been watching a lot of Netflix programming and this has increased the motivation of scammers to set up many phony Netflix websites to which they lure people through emails and text messages to go to under the guise of a variety of phony reasons, such as needing to update your information or confirm information. Of course, the real purpose of these phony Netflix websites and the phishing emails and text messages sent to you is to lure you into going to these phony Netflix websites to trick you into providing your credit card information.
Just recently, however, some sophisticated scammers have started sending out phishing emails purportedly from Netflix Support that have been able to bypass many email spam filters and has proven to be quite convincing in luring unsuspecting victims into providing their credit card numbers. “Notice of Verification Failure” appears in the subject line of the email and you are informed in the email that there is a problem with your billing and that you need to confirm your information within 24 hours in order to prevent your account from being terminated. One particular element of the scam that makes it appear legitimate is the use of a fully functioning CAPTCHA page used by many legitimate websites to screen out robots. In this case once the victim has correctly filled in the CAPTCHA information, he or she is taken to a legitimate appearing, but phony Netflix website that will attempt to get you to provide your login credentials, billing address information and, most importantly, your credit card information.
TIPS
As I always say, “trust me, you can’t trust anyone.” You can never be truly sure when you receive an email seeking personal information such as your credit card number whether or not the email is a scam. The risk of clicking on a link or providing the requested information is just too high. Instead, if you think that the email might be legitimate, you should contact the company at a telephone number that you know is legitimate and find out whether or not the email or text message was a scam. In this particular scam, a strong indication that this is a scam is that the URL of the page you are taken to is not Netflix.com, but rather axxisgeo.com which has nothing to do with Netflix.
Netflix will never ask in an email or text message for any of your personal information so anytime you get an email or text message purportedly from Netflix asking for your credit card number, Social Security number or any other personal information, it is a scam. Here is a link to Netflix’s security page for information about staying secure in regard to your Netflix account. https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13243
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 recently 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 click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 9, 2020 – Coronavirus Cryptocurrency Scam
Although cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, may seem to be new. I have been writing in Scamicide.com about cryptocurrency scams for more than five years. Cryptocurrencies are legitimate, but scammers are increasingly taking advantage of the public’s fascination with cryptocurrencies to take old forms of scams and update them with a cryptocurrency twist. In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, scammers are sending immense numbers of emails to people that appear to come from one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges. Cryptocurrency exchanges are websites where you can buy, sell or exchange cryptocurrencies for other digital currency or traditional currency like US dollars or Euros. In these emails the targeted victim of the scam is told that due to some issue related to the Coronavirus, there is a problem with their account at the particular cryptocurrency exchange. The scammer then attempts to lure the targeted victim into clicking on a link in the email that supposedly will take them to their account with the exchange, however, the website it takes the victim to is a fake version of the real cryptocurrency exchange’s website and lures the targeted victim into providing their user name and password which then enables the scammer to empty the victim’s account.
TIPS
Obviously if you do not have an account with the particular cryptocurrency exchange that appears to be sending you the phishing email, you can safely ignore the email. If you do have an account with the particular cryptocurrency exchange, there are still a number of red flags to alert you to the particular email being a scam. Often, the email address of the sender will not have any relation to the email address of the real cryptocurrency exchange and will, in fact, be the email address of a victim of a bot net whose computer was hacked and is used to send out phishing emails and other scams. Another red flag is if the email does not refer to you by name or provide your account number. However, even if the email looks entirely legitimate, you can never be sure whenever you get an email if it is legitimate or not and so it is always prudent to refrain from clicking on any links or providing any personal information in response to an email unless you have absolutely confirmed that it is legitimate. In this case, the best course of action would be to not respond directly to the email, but rather contact the cryptocurrency exchange independently to confirm whether or not the email was a scam.
Finally, and most importantly, it is critical to use dual factor authentication for cryptocurrency exchange accounts so that even if someone were to manage to obtain your user name and password, he or she would not be able to access your account. Dual factor authentication is important to use whenever you can, but it is particularly important to use to secure cryptocurrency accounts to prevent an identity thief from stealing your account.
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 recently 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 click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – August 8, 2020 – Jury Duty Scam Revisited
I have been warning you about the jury duty scam for eight years, but it continues to snare many unwary victims. Generally, the scam starts with a telephone call that you receive purportedly from a law enforcement officer informing you that you have failed to appear for jury duty and that a warrant has been issued for your arrest. You are told, however, that you can avoid arrest and greater fines by purchasing gift cards and then sending photographs of the gift cards to the phony law enforcement officer to prove that they have been purchased. You are then told that you should then mail the gift cards to the local Clerk of Court’s office. Of course the call is a scam even though your caller ID may indicate that the call is from local law enforcement. An FBI warning two years ago about this type of scam noted that often the scammers will use a technique called “spoofing” to make the call appear on your Caller ID as if it is coming from a legitimate law enforcement agency or court. The scammer is able to get all of the information he or she needs to tap into the gift cards through the photos sent by your phone. Telling you to mail the now worthless gift cards to the local Clerk of Court’s office is done merely to make the request seem legitimate. It is also important to remember that even if you have missed jury duty, you will never be called by legitimate court officers and shaken down for a payment. It is also important to remember that no government agency accepts gift cards as payments so any time you are asked by a purported law enforcement officer, IRS agent or any other government agency employee to pay through a gift card, you can be sure it is a scam.
In another variation of the jury duty scam, when you respond that you have not missed jury duty, you are asked to provide your Social Security number for verification of your identity. In this case, the scammer is seeking your Social Security number to make you a victim of identity theft.
A new variation of the scam involves the scammers calling your parents or other relatives posing as law enforcement officials seeking to find you in regard to your missed jury duty. Often the scammers use the name of real local police officers whose names they easily are able to obtain online. Some people are more apt to trust the initial call to their relative when they are told that law enforcement is looking for them. In other instances, using a search engine to look up the name of the police officer who purportedly called you or your relative may make the call seem legitimate when you find that the name is that of an actual local officer although it is merely a scammer using the real officer’s name.
TIPS
Initial contacts from courts regarding jury duty are always in writing through the mail although some systems will permit you to receive future notices through email. Under no circumstances will you receive telephone calls or text messages indicating that you have failed to report for jury duty. No court will demand payment over the phone for failing to appear for jury duty and they will not ask for your Social Security number. If you do receive such a call and you think that there is even the possibility that you might have forgotten to report for jury duty, merely call the local clerk of courts in order to get accurate information. Of course anyone calling you and telling you that you can pay your fine to them over the phone is a scammer.
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 recently 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 click on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”