Scam of the Day
Scam of the day – August 15, 2025 – Thirteen Men Charged With Transnational Grandparent Scam
This week Oscar Manuel Castanos Garcia of the Dominican Republic was charged with masterminding a sophisticated call center operation in the Dominican Republic that would target elderly people in the United States through the grandparent scam. Twelve other participants in the scam were also charged. Working through a call center in the Dominican Republic, the scammers would call elderly people in the United States posing as their grandchild who had gotten arrested and needed bail money. The scammers would first call posing as the grandchild and then a follow up call would be made by another scammer posing as the grandchild’s lawyer demanding money to pay for bail and legal expenses. The scammers then sent Uber drivers to the homes of the elderly victims to pick up the cash. None of the Uber driver were aware that they were being used for the scam, however, a suspicious Uber driver recognized it was a scam and reported it to the FBI which led to the arrests. According to prosecutors, the scammer stole more than $5 million from 400 victims.
Here is a copy of the scripts used by the scammers.
I am sure by now all of you are familiar with the grandparent scam where a grandparent receives a telephone call from someone purporting to be their grandchild who has gotten into some trouble, most commonly a traffic accident, legal trouble or medical problems in a far away place. The caller pleads for the grandparent to send money immediately to help resolve the problem. However the caller also begs the grandparent not to tell mom and dad. One would think that no one would be gullible enough to fall for this scam, but don’t be so hard on the victims of this scam. Scam artists have a knowledge of psychology of which Freud would have been envious and are able to use that knowledge to persuade their victims to send money right away. While this scam has been going on for approximately fifteen years, it continues to victimize people.
TIPS
Scammers often use the nicknames of the grandchildren when speaking to their intended victims. Sometimes they get this information from social media while in other instances they get this information from reading obituaries which may contain the names of grandchildren so merely because the correct name is used in the call is no reason to believe the call. Don’t respond immediately to such a call without calling the real grandchild on his or her cell phone or call the parents and confirm the whereabouts of the grandchild. If a medical problem is the ruse used, you can call the real hospital. If legal problems are the hook you can call the real police. You can also test the caller with a question that could be answered only by the real grandchild, but make sure that it really is a question that only the real grandchild could answer and not just anyone who might read the real grandchild’ s social media postings. Prudent families can also come up with a code word to use in an emergency which a scammer will never know.
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Scam of the day – August 14, 2025 – Vikings Linebacker Loses $240,000 to Bank Scam
Imposter scams where the scammers pose as a government employee, such as with the IRS or a company with which you do business such as your bank are unfortunately often very successful in stealing your money. They generally convince you that there is an emergency that requires you to pay them money directly or, as is often the case, send money to designated accounts that you are told would be held for you to protect your funds. Last month, Minnesota Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner fell prey to an imposter scam where he received a phone call from a scammer posing as an employee of Chase, his bank informing him that someone had tried to access his bank account and that in order to protect his money he needed to wire it to two different accounts at two different Chase banks, which Turner did before he realized after speaking with a family member that he had been scammed.
Scammer are able to use a technique called spoofing to manipulate your Caller ID so that their call can be made to appear to come from whatever number and source they wish. In this case, the call appeared to come from Chase although if did not.
Minnesota police have identified several suspects, but charges have not been filed as of yet.
TIPS
The biggest red flag in this type of scam is to remember that no bank or governmental agency will ever under any circumstances direct you to withdraw your funds and put them into another account provided by the scammer.
If you do receive a call, text message or phone call about a threat to your account, you can never be sure that the person contacting you as legitimate, so you should never provide personal information, make a payment or click on a link in any such communication. Rather, if you think the communication may be legitimate, merely call your bank or other company involved at a phone number you know is accurate to find out the truth.
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Scam of the day – August 13, 2025 – Massive Data Breach at Kidney Dialysis Company DaVita
The healthcare industry has long been a prime target for hackers and ransomware gangs due to a combination of factors including the vast amounts of valuable personal information healthcare companies hold and their increased vulnerability to attack due to so many companies including doctors, insurance companies and labs sharing data and access with each other making major health care providers as vulnerable as the third parties with the weakest security with which they share access and data. The latest data breach was of DaVita, one of the country’s largest providers of kidney dialysis. names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers and more of 900,000 patients of DaVita was stolen leaving these people in serious danger of identity theft.
One of the key lessons for victims of this data breach is to limit the amount of personal information you provide to any company as much as possible. While many companies ask for your Social Security number, few actually have a need for it. Your Social Security number in the hands of a criminal can readily lead to identity thief so you should keep it private as much as possible. Your doctor or healthcare provider doesn’t need it. Don’t give it to them.
TIPS
DaVita is offering identity theft insurance to victims of the data breach who enroll by November 28, 2025. You can get more information about this by calling 833-931-7849.
Victims of this data breach should freeze their credit if they have not already done so. Actually, freezing your credit is actually something everyone should do. It is free and easy to do. In addition, it protects you from someone using your identity to obtain loans or make large purchases even if they have your Social Security number. If you have not already done so, put a credit freeze on your credit reports at all of the major credit reporting agencies. Here are links to each of them with instructions about how to get a credit freeze:
https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
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Scam of the day – August 12, 2025 – Columbia University Data Breach Exposes Security Flaws
Columbia University recently disclosed that it had suffered a data breach in May that was discovered in June, but not disclosed until last week. According to public filings 868,969 people had their personal information compromised. The compromised information included names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and much more information that can readily lead to identity theft. If the number of people affected seems high considering the fact that Columbia only employs approximately 20,000 people and has an enrollment of approximately 35,000 students, this discrepancy is due to the fact that Columbia kept such personal information on both current and former students as well as applicants including people who never got accepted or attended Columbia.
Data breaches at colleges and universities are common. The reason for targeting universities and colleges is simple. Generally they maintain tremendous amounts of personal information and many schools have not done a good job of securing the sensitive information they hold. Colleges and universities have much personal information that is often easily accessible within the school’s computer systems. Too often schools have permitted the information to be on unencrypted laptops and flash drives. In addition many schools do not have sufficient security programs in place to limit access to personal information, which the universities keep in their computers long after it is necessary to be kept, such as Social Security numbers for students who have long since graduated or any information about applicants who were never admitted.
TIPS
Colleges and universities must make a greater commitment to data security. Data breach prevention systems should be implemented that include, but not be limited to updated firewalls, limited access to personal information, purging of unnecessary information, dual factor authentication and encryption. Personal information should not be as open and available as they presently are at this time at many universities.
Victims of this data breach should freeze their credit if they have not already done so. Actually, freezing your credit is actually something everyone should do. It is free and easy to do. In addition, it protects you from someone using your identity to obtain loans or make large purchases even if they have your Social Security number. If you have not already done so, put a credit freeze on your credit reports at all of the major credit reporting agencies. Here are links to each of them with instructions about how to get a credit freeze:
https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
You also should put a credit freeze on your credit report because credit monitoring only tells you that you have become a victim of identity theft after the fact. A credit freeze can protect you from becoming a victim in many instances.
Scam of the day – August 11, 2025 – Amazon Refund Scam
Amazon’s popularity has not escaped scammers who tie many scams to Amazon including the phishing email copied below that can lead to identity theft and the hacking of your Amazon account. 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.
The most recent Amazon phishing scam involves an email or a text message that appears to come from Amazon telling you that a product you recently bought has failed a routine quality inspection and therefore it is being recalled. You are further told that you do not have to even return the item and that you are eligible for a full refund. In order to claim your refund, you are instructed to click on a link in the email or text message which takes you to a phony Amazon login or refund page that asks for you Amazon credentials, payment information and personal details. Of course, there is no refund and if you supply the information you will enable the scammer to take over your Amazon account as well as make you a victim of identity theft.
TIPS
This is a very legitimate appearing email and text message that uses the Amazon logo, but it is a simple matter for a scammer to counterfeit the logo.. Never click on a link in an email or text message or provide personal information unless you have confirmed that the email or text message is legitimate. The telephone number to call if you suspect Amazon related fraud is 866-216-1075 or you can call their customer service number 888-280-4331 Never call telephone numbers that appear in phishing emails.
Also, because any of us can be scammed, it is a good idea to use dual factor authentication whenever possible to protect your various accounts so that even if someone actually had your password they would not be able to access your account. In order to set up dual factor authentication for your Amazon account use this link. https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=G3PWZPU52FKN7PW4
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Scam of the day – August 10, 2025 – Pandora Data Breach Part of Bigger Problem
Danish jewelry chain Pandora which has 2,700 locations worldwide announced recently that it had suffered a data breach in which personal information of approximately 30,000 people was compromised. The compromised information included names, email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses and birth dates which although troubling is not as bad as data breaches in which financial information or passwords are compromised. The data was stolen not from Pandora’s computer networks, but rather from Salesforce, a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) company used by Pandora and many other companies to manage their customer data. The cybercriminals managed to do this not by hacking Salesforce, but rather by using social engineering to trick Pandora employees to enable access to the company’s Salesforce account containing its customer data. The cybercriminals in this case is a ransomware gang known as ShinyHunters who have used similar socially engineered attacks to gain access to the data of Alianz, Qantas, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany and even Google among other companies.
Companies must do a better job of protecting themselves from not just technologically sophisticated cyberattacks, but less sophisticated, but equally effective social engineering attacks where the cybercriminals use psychology to manipulate employees to giving them access to important data.
TIPS
Victims of this data breach should freeze their credit if they have not already done so. Actually, freezing your credit is actually something everyone should do. It is free and easy to do. In addition, it protects you from someone using your identity to obtain loans or make large purchases even if they have your Social Security number. If you have not already done so, put a credit freeze on your credit reports at all of the major credit reporting agencies. Here are links to each of them with instructions about how to get a credit freeze:
https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is sign up for free using this link. https://scamicide.com/scam-of-the-day/
Scam of the day – August 9, 2025 – FBI Warns About Cryptocurrency Recovery Scams
In recent years, I have written many times about the myriad of cryptocurrency scams that have cost people billions of dollars. According to the FBI, Americans lost more than 9.3 billion dollars to cryptocurrency investment scams in 2024. In some instances, law enforcement has been able to recover some of those lost funds, but in many other instances, the money is lost forever. According to the FBI, scammers, posing as representatives of companies that falsely claim to be able to recover funds lost to cryptocurrency scams, are luring in victims through social media, messaging platforms or advertisements. Often the scammers claim affiliation with law enforcement, federal agencies or legitimate legal services providers, but it is all a lie. In return for a substantial up-front payment, the scammers claim they can recover all of the funds lost to a cryptocurrency scam. Of course, this is a lie and anyone who pays the fee loses that money.
TIPS
No private company can issue a seizure order to a cryptocurrency exchange. This is only done by internal processes of the exchanges or in response to court ordered legal process as has been done by the Justice Department. If you are contacted by any of these companies offering assistance in getting back your lost money, do not give personal information to them as this information can be used to make you a victim of identity theft.
Legitimate law enforcement agencies such as the FBI which works extensively in the area of cryptocurrency scams do not charge any fees for investigating cryptocurrency crimes or for efforts to return funds to people who have been scammed. If you are a victim of a cryptocurrency scam, you should contact the local office of the FBI for assistance.
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Scam of the day – August 8, 2025 – How Big a Problem is Property Title Theft?
Deed fraud, which is also referred to as “property title theft” occurs when a criminal files a counterfeit deed to property owned by someone else and then either lives in the property or even sells the property to an unwary buyer. Deed fraud most commonly occurs after a homeowner dies. Enterprising criminals monitor the obituaries looking for homes owned by people recently deceased and then forge a deed to the property and record it in the local Registry of Deeds.
Recently, Tim Lefman of Kansas City became aware that he had become a victim of property title theft regarding a piece of undeveloped land he owned when he learned that someone was trying to sell his land. Ultimately, the story has a happy ending as the scammer was not able to sell the land and Lefman found some interested buyers for his property.
Indications that a home you may own has been subject to deed fraud often comes when you receive notices for unpaid real estate tax, water or mortgage bills. Ironically, another indication of deed fraud is when you own a home and don’t receive your real estate tax bill because the scammer has changed the address to which the real estate tax bill is sent to cover his or her tracks. Receiving a foreclosure notice when you don’t even have a mortgage is another indication that you have become a victim of deed fraud after the criminal has mortgaged your home by forging your signature.
Resolving deed fraud can be a timely process, but it is one that you will eventually be able to do successfully. A counterfeit deed is totally invalid.
TIPS
In order to protect yourself from deed fraud you should regularly monitor your credit reports at each of the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and be on the lookout for bills related to your property. Monitoring your credit report is something we all should do regularly anyway. Experian, TransUnion and Equifax offer all U.S. consumers free weekly credit reports through AnnualCreditReport.com.
It also is helpful to regularly check with your local Registry of Deeds to confirm that no one has filed a forged deed to your property. Most people can access their local Registry of Deeds online for free.
Finally, when you purchase your home, you are offered the option of buying an owner’s title insurance policy which will cover the cost of remedying deed fraud. An owner’s title insurance policy is a good choice for any homeowner for a variety of reasons. Lately I have seen and heard advertisements for special insurance that only covers deed fraud although generally all these policies offer is monitoring the Registry of Deeds for filings that relate to your home, which is something that you can do on your own quite simply for free and is not worth the cost.
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Scam of the day – August 7, 2025 – Prudential Settles Class Action Over Data Breach
Prudential Financial which is a major financial services company has settled a class action brought against it by its customers whose personal information was compromised in a data breach that occurred on February 4, 2024. The data breach affected 2.5 million of Prudential Financial’s customers. The compromised sensitive personal information included names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, email addresses, phone numbers and physical addresses which put the victims of the data breach in serious danger of identity theft. The class action claimed that Prudntial Financial could have prevented the data breach by using reasonable cybersecurity measures and this claim seems understandable when you consider that Prudential Financial had suffered a similar major data breach less than a year earlier.
Under the terms of the settlement, which still must be approved by the judge overseeing the case in October, provides for various cash payments to the victims of the data breach. Victims can receive payments of up to $5,000 for documented expenses related to the data breach such as replacement of IDs, credit monitoring and other related expenses. In addition, victims can receive payments of between $200 and $599 for having their Social Security numbers compromised.
October 3rd is the deadline for making a claim under the class action settlement which can be done here using this link. https://www.prudentialfinancialdatabreach.com/faq/
TIPS
Victims of this data breach should freeze their credit if they have not already done so. Freezing your credit is actually something everyone should do. It is free and easy to do. In addition, it protects you from someone using your identity to obtain loans or make large purchases even if they have your Social Security number. If you have not already done so, put a credit freeze on your credit reports at all of the major credit reporting agencies. Here are links to each of them with instructions about how to get a credit freeze:
https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is sign up for free using this link. https://scamicide.com/scam-of-the-day/
Scam of the Day – August 6, 2025 – Romance Scammer Accused of Stealing Millions
I have been warning you about romance scams for many years. Romance scams generally follow a familiar pattern with the scammers establishing relationships with people, generally women, online through various legitimate dating websites and social media using fake names, locations and images. Most romance scams are online and originally involved some variation of the person you meet through an online dating site or social media quickly falling in love with you and then, under a wide variety of pretenses, asking for money. However in recent years the scam has evolved to where the scammer tells his victim that he or she has inside knowledge about investing through the scammer in non-existent investments which often have involved cryptocurrencies.
Recently Christopher Earl Lloyd of Whittier, California was arrested and charged with crimes related to using the dating apps Tinder, Hinge and Bumble as well as other websites for romance scam purposes through which federal prosecutors say he stole 2 million dollars from his victims after falsely telling his victims that he was a successful financial manager and that he could provide substantial returns on money they would invest with him. All of it, prosecutors say, was a lie and that he merely used the money for his own personal expenses.
While anyone can be the victim of a romance scam, according to the FBI, the elderly, women and people who have been widowed are particular vulnerable. Most romance scams are online and involve some variation of the person you meet through an online dating site or social media quickly falling in love with you and then, under a wide variety of pretenses, asking for money. Since 2019 approximately half of the reported instances of the romance scam have started on social media, particularly Facebook and Instagram rather than on dating sites or dating apps according to the FTC.
TIPS
There are various red flags to help you identify romance scams. I describe many of them in detail in my book “The Truth About Avoiding Scams.” The most important thing to remember is to always be skeptical of anyone who falls in love with you quickly online without ever meeting you and early into the relationship who then asks you to send money to assist them with a wide range of phony emergencies.
Here are a few other things to look for to help identify an online romance scam. Often their profile picture is stolen from a modeling website on the Internet. If the picture looks too professional and the person looks too much like a model, you should be wary. You also can check on the legitimacy of photographs or video images by seeing if they have been used elsewhere by doing a reverse image search using google.images.com or websites such as tineye.com.
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/investor-education/how-to-check-your-broker-or-investment-adviser/ Many investment advisers will not be required to register with the SEC, but are required to register with your individual state securities regulators. You should also check with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for information about the particular investment adviser. https://www.finra.org/investors/protect-your-money/ask-and-check
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.
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