Scam of the Day
Scam of the day – November 5, 2019 – Mavis Wanczyk Twitter Scam
Many people may not remember the name of Mavis L. 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 an email with the message line referring to the Mavis L. Wanczyk Cash Grant. The email indicated that you were chosen to receive a large cash grant from Mavis L. 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.
Now the scam appears to be resurfacing in large numbers as evidenced by the many emails I am receiving from Scamicide readers complaining of this scam. The scam has now migrated from emails to Twitter as shown by the tween reproduced below. Of course, the new tweet and all of the previous emails and social media messages purportedly from Mavis Wanczyk are scams. No one is offering you money for nothing (nor for you Dire Straits fans, “chicks for free”). Providing personal information such as your Social Security number or bank account information in order to direct the wiring of funds merely results in your becoming a victim of identity theft and/or your bank account being looted.
Here is a copy of the tweet presently being circulated.
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.
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Scam of the day – November 4, 2019 – California Wildfire Charity Scams
Natural disasters, such as the dozens of wildfires that have forced hundreds of thousands of people in California to flee their homes bring out the best in people who want to donate to charities to help the victims. Unfortunately natural disasters also bring out the worst in scammers who are quick to take advantage of the generosity of people by contacting them posing as charities, but instead of collecting funds to help the victims of the storms, these scam artists steal the money for themselves under false pretenses. Charities are not subject to the federal Do Not Call List so even if you are enrolled in the Do Not Call List, legitimate charities are able to contact you. The problem is that whenever you are contacted on the phone, you can never be sure as to who is really calling you so you may be contacted either by a phony charity or a scammer posing as a legitimate charity. Similarly, when you are solicited for a charitable contribution by email or text message you cannot be sure as to whether the person contacting you is legitimate or not.
Other scams that will occur involve identity thieves posing as Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) employees and insurance company representatives in order to take personal information from storm victims to turn them into victims of identity theft. There will also be phony contractors looking to steal the money of victims for repair work that never gets done or is done in a shoddy fashion.
TIPS
Never provide credit card information over the phone to anyone whom you have not called or in response to an email or text message. Before you give to any charity, you may wish to check out the charity with http://www.charitynavigator.org where you can learn whether or not the charity itself is a scam. You can also see how much of the money that the charity collects actually goes toward its charitable purposes and how much it uses for fund raising and administrative costs. Charity Navigator has a listing of specific charities that it has vetted that are good choices for anyone wishing to help the victims of the California wildfires. Among those charities is the 2019 California Wildfires Recovery Fund established by the highly rated Center for Disaster Philanthropy. Here is a link to California Wildfire charities approved by Charity Navigator. https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=7574
Never give out personal information to anyone of whom you are not absolutely positive as to their identity. Federal and state agencies working in disaster relief will not ask for fees in order to be eligible for assistance and neither will insurance companies. Also beware of people who pass themselves off as insurance adjusters promising to get you more money. Insurance adjusters are licensed in each state and you should check out any person claiming to be an adjuster before hiring them. Make sure they are who they say they are and that there are not numerous complaints against them. Never give personal information to anyone passing themselves off as a FEMA or other emergency aid agency employee regardless of how good their identification card looks. ID cards can be forged. Rather, call FEMA or any other agency that they purport to represent and confirm whether or not they are legitimate. The same goes for a representative of your insurance agency. Call your insurance company to confirm the identity of the person purporting to represent the insurance company.
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Scam of the day – November 3, 2019 – FBI Warns About E-Skimming
Regular readers of Scamicide are certainly familiar with skimmers which are devices installed on ATMs and credit and debit card processors that steal information from credit and debit cards thereby enabling criminals to use that information to make charges on those cards. The increased use in recent years of cards with chip technology has dramatically decreased the amount of fraudulent purchases made through stolen credit and debit card information because the chip card creates a new authorization number each time the card is used. Skimmers continue to be a significant problem, however, on gas pumps where the regulation requiring a switch to chip card reading technology will not become effective until October 1, 2020.
Chip card technology, however, offers no protection when credit and debit cards are used for online purchases. Recently the FBI issued a warning about what it calls E-Skimming which occurs when criminals infect the websites of businesses and government agencies with malware that allows the criminal to steal this information and then use it to make charges using the victim’s credit card or debit card.
TIPS
There are many steps that businesses and government agencies should take to protect their sites from this type of crime. They should update their security software with the most recent security updates; change default login credentials on their systems; segment their network systems to limit access by criminals and educate their employees to the dangers of phishing and spear phishing emails because it is through these phishing and spear phishing emails that most malware is delivered. A good rule for us all to follow is to never click on links in emails unless you have absolutely confirmed that the email is legitimate.
What, can we as consumers do, however, to protect ourselves from becoming a victim of E-Skimming?
First and foremost, while it may be more convenient to leave your credit card on file with an online retailer you regularly use, this is not a good thing to do because it leaves you more vulnerable to having your credit card data stolen in the event of a data breach and as we all know, data breaches are and will continue to be very common.
Consumers should refrain from using their debit cards for anything other than an ATM card. Use a credit card for all of your card purchases to achieve greater consumer protection. The holder of a credit card used for fraudulent purposes cannot be assessed more than $50 for such use and most credit card companies charge nothing. However, the potential liability of a person whose debit card has been compromised can reach his or her entire bank account tied to the card if the card owner does not report the crime promptly and even if the card owner does report the theft promptly, the debit card owner’s access to his or her own bank account is frozen while the bank investigates the crime.
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Scam of the day – November 2, 2019 – CFPB Brings Legal Action Against Student Loan Dept Relief Companies
More than forty-two million Americans have student loans with an outstanding balance of more than 1.4 trillion dollars so it is no surprise that scammers are focusing their attention on these students and former students through scams that falsely promise to provide debt relief. I have written numerous times in the past about various student loan debt relief scams. Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed for an injunction to shut down alleged student loan debt relief scammers, Consumer Advocacy Center, Inc, which did business as Premier Student Loan Center and other related companies alleging they cheated their victims out of more than 71 million dollars in worthless fees. The CFPB alleges that Premier charged and collected improper advance fees before performing any debt relief services and made numerous fraudulent misrepresentations as to their services.
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. Often 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.
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. You also should never share your FSA ID with anyone.
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/
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Scam of the day – November 1, 2019 – FTC Releases Consumer Fraud Survey
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has just released the results of a comprehensive survey conducted two years ago regarding consumer fraud. According to the survey approximately 40 million people were fraud victims in 2017 with the most common types of fraud being phony weight loss products, tech repair scams and government impostor scams such as those in which you are told that you owe money to the IRS. The survey also indicated that people between the ages of 35 and 54 were the age group most likely to be scammed and that women were more likely to be scammed than men. Scammers often prey upon people who are the most vulnerable so it was not surprising that the survey also indicated that people who had experienced a negative life event such as a serious illness or the death of a loved one were more likely to be scammed and that people who are risk takers are also prime targets for scammers as were people experiencing financial difficulties.
TIPS
The truth is that 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.
Tech support scams in which consumers are tricked by scammers into believing there is a problem with their computers that require the expensive services of the scammers are a major problem. Often these scams start with a pop-up window appearing on your computer screen indicating your computer has been infected. You are then prompted to call a phone number indicated in the pop-up where you may be told that you must to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to remedy the non-existent problems which would be done through giving the scammers remote access to your computer. Often the pop-ups carry the easily counterfeited logos of legitimate tech companies. Providing remote access to anyone to your computer can lead to a myriad of problems including identity theft and the downloading of ransomware. None of the tech companies ever ask for remote access to your computer to fix problems.
As for government impostor scams, it is important to note that neither the IRS nor the Social Security Administration will ever phone, email or text you demanding the payment of money. They will always initiate contact through regular mail. It is also important to remember that clever scammers can manipulate your Caller ID through a technique called spoofing to make it appear that the call from the scammer is coming from the IRS or some other legitimate entity.
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Scam of the day – October 31, 2019 – Publishers Clearing House Scam
Publishers Clearing House, the sponsor of some of the most popular legitimate lotteries in the country no longer limits its contests to one or two a year, but has numerous lotteries each month. Recently there has been an increase in reports of scammers calling people on the telephone and telling them that they have won one of the Publishers Clearing House lotteries, but that they have to pay fees or taxes before being able to claim their prize. In addition there are reports of targeted victims receiving phony notifications by regular mail that they have won a Publishers Clearing House lottery, but that again they must pay fees or taxes before being able to receive their prize. One of the more recent victims is 79 year old Gloria Rodriguez of Las Vegas who lost $135,000 to scammers posing as Publishers Clearing House on the phone.
It is hard to win any lottery. It is impossible to win one that you have not even entered and yet scam artists have found that it is extremely lucrative to scam people by convincing them that they have won various lotteries. With so many people entered into the Publishers Clearing House lotteries, it is easier for scammers to convince people that they have won.
Most lottery scams involve the victim being told that they need to pay taxes or administrative fees directly to the lottery sponsor; however no legitimate lottery requires you to do so. As with many effective scams, the pitch of the scammer seems legitimate. Income taxes are due on lottery winnings, but with legitimate lotteries they are either deducted from the lottery winnings before you receive your prize or you are responsible for paying the taxes directly to the IRS. No legitimate lottery collects taxes on behalf of the IRS from lottery winners. Other times, the scammer tell the “winners” that in order to collect their prizes, they need to pay administrative fees. Often, the victims are told to send the fees back to the scammer by prepaid gift cards or Green Dot MoneyPak cards. Prepaid cards are a favorite of scammers because they are the equivalent of sending cash. They are impossible to stop or trace. Again, no legitimate lottery requires you to pay administrative fees in order to claim your prize.
TIPS
Fortunately, there is an easy way to know, when you are contacted by Publishers Clearing House by phone, email or text message informing you that you have won one of its major multi-million dollar prizes, whether you have been contacted by the real Publishers Clearing House. Publishers Clearing House only contacts major prize winners in person or by regular mail. They do not contact winners by phone, email or text message so if you do receive a notification of your winning one of their major multi-million dollar prizes by those means of communication you know it is a scam. In addition, no winners of the Publishers Clearinghouse sweepstakes are ever required to make a payment of any kind to claim their prize so if you are notified by regular mail that you have won, but are required to make any kind of payment before you can claim your prize, you can be sure that it is a scam. As for other lotteries, remember, you can’t win a lottery you haven’t entered and no legitimate lottery asks you to pay them administrative fees or taxes.
Even if the Caller ID on your phone indicates the call is actually from Publishers Clearing House, it is very easy for a scammer to use a technique called “spoofing” to make it appear that the call is coming from Publishers Clearing House rather than the scammer who is really making the call. Trust me, you can’t trust anyone.
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Scam of the day – October 30, 2019 – FTC Sues Publisher Targeting Seniors with Scams
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued Agora Financial, LLC alleging it scammed seniors into buying books, newsletters and other publications that falsely claimed a cure for type 2 diabetes. They also are accused of 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.
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.
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Scam of the day – October 29, 2019 – The Internet’s Most Dangerous Celebrities
Each year, computer security company, McAfee releases a list of the most dangerous celebrities on the Internet. These are people whose popularity is exploited by identity thieves and hackers who lure unsuspecting people through links in emails, social media and text messages relating to these celebrities to malware filled websites where their victims unknowingly download ransomware or keystroke logging malware that enables the identity thieves to steal all of the personal information from the victim’s computer, laptop, smartphone or other electronic device and use that information to make the person a victim of identity theft. Topping the list this year is actress Alexis Bidel, followed by James Corden, Sophie Turner, Anna Kendrick, Lupia Nyong’o, Jimmy Fallon, Jackie Chan, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Tessa Thompson..
TIPS
It is important to remember that merely because a website turns up high on a Google search does not mean that it is legitimate. Google doesn’t check out websites for legitimacy in ranking sites. The ranking is done by secret algorithms that some identity thieves are adept at manipulating. Also, as I constantly warn you, never click on links or download attachments unless you are absolutely sure that they are legitimate. Merely because it appears that a friend is passing them on to you does not make them legitimate. As for celebrity videos and photos, you should have a healthy mistrust of websites with which you are not entirely familiar. For gossip, http://www.tmz.com is a good place to go.. They always have the latest gossip and they are legitimate. Finally make sure that you keep all of your electronic devices secure with anti-malware and anti-virus software and keep your security software current with the latest security patches.
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Scam of the day – October 28, 2019 – Phony Kidnapping Scam
The Palm Springs California Police Department warned the public this week about a phony kidnapping scam that has been occurring throughout the country. 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 they do 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, which is what was done in the Palm Springs incident that prompted the warning.
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.
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/
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Scam of the day – October 27, 2019 – Alleged Ponzi Schemer Charged
Recently the Department of Justice obtained a grand jury indictment against Hal H. Brown Jr. on charges related to his alleged operation of a Ponzi scheme. 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, it was Ponzi in 1920 who perfected the scam to steal millions of dollars from unwary investors in his scheme by 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 scam, but eager investors, blinded by their greed. flocked to him to invest.
Brown’s alleged version of a Ponzi scheme involved investments he sold through his company, Oodles, Inc between 2012 and September of 2019. Brown is accused of falsely representing that Oodles owned hundreds of millions of dollars of family entertainment movies and shows that Brown said he would be selling to well known media companies. The truth is that Brown did not own any movies or shows. As often is the case with Ponzi schemes, Brown promised huge profits to investors. Again, as typical in a Ponzi scheme, Brown would make payments to earlier investors with money obtained from later investors to make his scam appear legitimate. He also is accused of falsifying documents and records he showed his victims to lure them into giving him their money.
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. https://www.nasaa.org/
You should also check with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for information about the particular investment adviser. https://brokercheck.finra.org/ 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. Investing in the entertainment business is particularly risky unless you are familiar with the business. Additionally, having the same person provide investment advise and control the investment such as was the case with Brown 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. The role of an investment adviser or manager should be solely that of advising and making trades. The custodian of the actual investments should be a separate broker-dealer regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and backed by the Securities Investor Protection Corp. (SIPC).
Of course, you always should be skeptical of investment advisers that promise large investment returns. In this case, Brown’s promised return on investments was unreasonably high. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
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