Scam of the Day
Scam of the day – May 10, 2025 – FTC Sending Refunds to Victims of Publishers Clearing House Scam
Over the years, I have written many times about scammers posing as Publishers Clearing House to scam people they convince that they have won one of their lotteries, but have to pay administrative fees or income taxes in order to claim their prize. As I have often told you, no legitimate lottery charges administrative fees and income taxes are never collected by a legitimate lottery. Either the lottery deducts the taxes before paying the prize or they pay the full prize with the winner responsible for paying his or her own income taxes due on the lottery winnings.
In the Scam of the day for November 28, 2023 I informed you that the real Publisher Clearing House had settled fraud charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging multiple fraud claims. Specifically, Publishers Clearing House misled people into thinking that if they made a purchase it would increase their chances of winning, added surprise shipping and handling fees that increased the cost of their customers’ orders by an outrageous average of 40% and charged customers fees to return products despite representing that the ordering process was “risk free.”
According to the terms of the settlement, 18.5 million dollars was paid by Publishers Clearing House to the FTC for refunds to eligible customers. Checks will be sent to people who ordered a product from Publishers Clearing House after receiving and clicking on one of the emails that the FTC alleged were deceptive.
TIPS
In regard to this and any other FTC refund to scam victims, there is never a fee involved to the scam victim. Scammers will often take notice of refunds being provided to scam victims by the FTC and contact the scam victims by email, phone or text message posing as an FTC representative asking for a fee in order to process the refund. This is always just another scam. Even if you get a phone call and your Caller ID indicates the call is from the FTC, scammers are able to use a technique called “spoofing” to manipulate your Caller ID to make it appear as if the call is coming from the FTC when it is actually coming from the scammer. The FTC is not contacting anyone at this time in regard to the refund program.
For more information about this refund go to the first page of Scamicide.com and click on the icon for “FTC Scam Refunds.”
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and type in your email address on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
Scam of the day – May 9, 2025 – Major Data Breach Affects 4 Million People
Last month I told you that Verizon had issued its annual data breach report which appears to exemplify my motto that “things aren’t as bad as you think, they are far worse.” Regardless of how diligent you are in protecting your personal information such as your Social Security number, you are only as safe as the myriad of companies, institutions and government agencies with the worse and most vulnerable security practices that have your personal information. The report confirmed 12,195 data breaches last year, an increase of 34% over the previous year.
Data breaches continue to be a major problem for all of us with more than 1.35 billion people affected in 2024. Recently, Verisource Services a major provider of HR outsourcing and employee benefits adminstration announced that the total people affected by a data breach at the company is approximately 4 million people. This data breach was first discovered in February of 2024 and it took the company until April 17, 2025 to complete its digital forensic investigation which indicated that the amount of people who were affected by the data breach was much more than had been originally thought. In May of 2024 Verisource notified 55,00 people that they had been affected and then 112,000 additional victims were notified in September of 2024, but now Verisource is quite belatedly notifying up to 4 million people that their information including their Social Security numbers was compromised putting them in serious danger of identity theft.
TIPS
One of the best things you can do to protect yourself from data breaches is to not provide your Social Security number to every company that asks for it as an identifier. Your doctor has no need for your Social Security number so whenever possible refuse to provide it.
Freezing your credit is actually something everyone should do. It is free and easy to do. 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 – May 8, 2025 – Check Fraud Increasing Dramatically
Recently, Allegheny County District Attorney issued a warning about increased check fraud. According to District Attorney Stephen Zappala, citing U.S. Treasury Department statistics, check fraud increased 365% since the pandemic with the amount of money lost each year reaching more than a billion dollars
Many people continue to pay their household bills by paper checks rather than electronic banking and even when shopping, some people prefer paying by check instead of using a credit card or cash. While there has been much discussion in the news about data breaches involving credit cards, the problems encountered through check washing are still substantial costing consumers and banks more than a billion dollars each year and the problem is getting worse.
Typically, the scam starts when someone pays a bill with a check, mails the envelope containing the check and then somewhere in transit the check is stolen and washed. Check washing is a process by which someone steals a check you have already written and “washes” or removes the name of the payee, often using simple bleach, and also changes the amount as well as the name of the payee. The criminal then cashes your altered check and steals your money.
It is a very simple thing for identity thieves to steal your check from your mailbox if you put it in an envelope to pay a bill and leave it in your mailbox outside your home for your mail carrier to pick up. Identity thieves also break into USPS mail collection boxes and steal mail with checks as well. Finally, rogue clerks at stores may steal your checks. It is then a simple thing to take ordinary bleach, acetone or other similar liquids to wash clean the name of the person to whom the check is made out as well as the amount of the check and insert the identity thief’s name and a new amount.
TIPS
While businesses can protect themselves from check washing quite readily by using higher technology checks such as those containing three dimensional reflective metallic holograms or checks treated with chemicals that will make the world “void” appear if the check is attempted to be altered, these are costly alternatives for individuals. Fortunately however, you are not powerless and the solution, in fact is quite simple. Instead of writing your checks using a common ball point pen, switch to a gel pen which is a commonly available type of pen whose ink will not vanish under chemical washes. Fountain pens also do not use the type of ink that can be readily washed, but the gel pen is simpler and easier to use (and also less messy).
Unfortunately, more sophisticated criminals will scan your check into their computer and use special software to keep the signature from the original check, but delete the amount and the name of the payee on the check thereby allowing them to make perfect counterfeit checks which they can make payable to themselves for any amount they choose thereby defeating the gel pen as a defense to check washing.
Another important thing to remember is to cross shred your personal documents including checks that you no longer need and are discarding. Identity thieves go through your trash for their treasure including checks that they can use to make counterfeit checks using your account.
Finally, check your banks statements promptly after receiving them for signs of theft. If you do report checking account fraud more than thirty days after receiving your bank statement, the bank does not have to reimburse you for fraudulent, counterfeit checks. Finally, if you already aren’t doing so, you should consider paying your bills electronically which can be done in an extremely safe manner.
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Scam of the day – May 7, 2025 – Exotic Pet Scams
The week of May 4th through 10th has been designated as national pet week. More than 60% of Americans have a pet and any group that large will be a target for scammers. I have written many times in the past about scams involving sales of non-existent puppies. People buy dogs or other pets online and, although they think they are taking proper precautions, they often end up getting nothing in return for the money that they wire to the scammer who may have a website or some other way of marketing their non-existent pets with photographs and false information. The Federal Trade Commission has issued a warning about scammers posing on social media including TikTok, Instagram and Facebook as sellers of exotic pets such as rare birds. Following up on the social media posts will take you to a legitimate appearing website, but it is simple for a scammer using AI to create a phony website.
One telltale sign of exotic pet scammers is that they all require prepayment through Zelle, bank wire transfers, cryptocurrencies or gift cards. These are the preferred payment methods for scammers because once the payment is made it is impossible to get your money back.
TIPS
It is simple for a scammer to construct a website that appears to be legitimate and scammers can readily steal the name of a legitimate pet retailers. Always check into the reputation of the seller with the Better Business Bureau, your state’s attorney general and even Google the name of the seller with the word “scam” to see if a legitimate seller’s name that is being used has been stolen for scams previously.
There also are a number of ways such as using the website http://www.tineye.com to do a reverse image search of the photos sent to you of the pet to see if they appear elsewhere other than the website attempting to sell you a pet. If so, this is a good indication that you are being scammed. Finally, you are always going to be better off buying a pet that you can see in person prior to buying the pet.
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Scam of the day – May 6, 2025 – Watch Out For Mother’s Day Scams
This upcoming Sunday is Mother’s Day and once again we must be vigilant about not falling prey to scams related to this holiday. Anything popular with the public will always be popular with scammers. Although for many of us Mother’s Day is an opportunity to show our mothers how much we love and appreciate them, for scammers it is yet another opportunity to scam people.
One common Mother’s Day scam involves a social media post or an email that you get offering Mother’s Day gifts such as flowers, jewelry, shoes or clothing at tremendously discounted prices. All you need to do is to click on a link to order online. The problem is that many of these offers are indeed scams. If you click on the link, one of two things can happen and both are bad. Sometimes the link will take you to an order form where you provide your credit card information, but never get anything in return. Instead, your credit card information is used to make you a victim of identity theft. Even worse is the other possibility which is by clicking on the link, you will unwittingly download a keystroke logging malware program that will steal all of the personal information stored on your computer and use that information to make you a victim of identity theft.
Be careful when making online purchases. Merely because a website offering great prices may be highly listed on Google or other search engines does not mean that it is legitimate. All it means is that the scammers know how to manipulate the positioning of their website in a Google search. Other times the scammers will merely pay for an advertisement for their website to appear at the top of a search engine search.
Even if you are dealing with a legitimate online company, make sure that your communications are encrypted when you send personal information or credit card information. The easy way to do this is to look to see if the the web address of the company changes when you go to the page to input credit card information from “http” to “https” indicating that your data is being encrypted. And of course, don’t use your debit card for retail purchases either online or in a brick and mortar store because you have less protection from fraud with a debit card than a credit card.
TIPS
It is always dangerous to buy anything online from any store or company with which you are not familiar. Check out the company with your state’s Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission or just do a Google search to see if the company is legitimate. Even then, you are better off going directly to the company’s website rather than dealing with a company through an email that may just be a forgery of an email from a legitimate company. As always, if the offer you receive sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
You also can use the Google Safe Browsing Tool to see if a particular website you are considering for a Mother’s Day purchase is legitimate. https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search
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Scam of the day – May 5, 2025 – Car Photo Scam
A scam that started in San Diego has spread throughout the country. Scammers take photos of cars and then post them on social media indicating that the car has been stolen and that a thousand dollar reward is being offered for information about the whereabouts of the car. When people respond to the social media post with information about the “stolen” car, they are then instructed to provide their bank account number and bank routing number in order to have the reward sent to their bank account.
Unfortunately, once the scammer has your bank account number and the routing number for your bank which is used for wire transfers, they are able to use that information to make purchases where money is wired from your account and the goods purchased are sent to the scammer who then can sell the goods thereby laundering the proceeds of the scam. Some scammers will even use your banking information to set up recurring payments such as for utilities.
TIPS
Never give your bank account information to anyone or any company that you have not thoroughly researched to make sure that they are legitimate. In fact, if you are a bit paranoid, like me (remembering even paranoids have enemies) you can avoid the problem altogether by not providing your bank account information to anyone and have payments sent to you by a check.
If, however, you do become a victim of this type of scam where a scammer has your bank account information, freeze your accounts immediately and notify the police and the fraud department of your bank. Change your online banking password and make sure you are using dual factor authentication as well.
The good news is that for this type of wiring of funds fraud, you are not liable for the money withdrawn from your account if you notify the bank within 60 days of when you receive your monthly statement. Frankly you should notify your bank within 60 seconds of receiving your monthly statement indicating the crime. Banks are required to investigate the crime promptly and replace the money into your account within one business day of determining that the loss of funds from your account was fraudulent.
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Scam of the day – May 4, 2025 – Wrong Number Text Message Scam
I received an email from a Scamicide subscriber who was concerned about a possible scam. She received a text message that was obviously intended for someone else. Wanting to be a responsible person, she responded to the text message by telling the sender that it had been sent to the wrong number. At this point, the scammer sending the original text message said that he was always looking for more friends and attempted to start a conversation. The Scamicide reader then became suspicious as the scammer started asking for personal information and she did not respond further.
Often these phony text messages aren’t even coming from a real person, but are automated responses sent by a bot programmed to give specific responses. The scams involved with these calls are many, but they all start with establishing a relationship with the targeted victim such that the victim begins to trust the scammer. At this point, the scammer may ask for personal information that can be used to make you a victim of identity theft. In other instances, they will lure you into clicking on a malware infected link under some pretense. In yet another version of the scam, they will use the text message to advance a romance scam and either eventually ask for money or for you to send compromising photos that would be used for blackmail purposes. Finally, these phony text messages have also been used to lure people into cryptocurrency scams. The bottom line is that when you get a text message that appears to be intended for someone else, it often is a scam.
TIPS
This is an easy scam to avoid. The best thing to do is to merely not respond at all to the text message. The risk of getting involved in a scam is too great. You also should block the number from your phone. If your mobile service provider is AT&T, Verizon Wireless or T-Mobile you should forward the message to SPAM (7726) and report it as spam.
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Scam of the day – May 3, 2025 – Work at Home Scams
Laundering money derived from a scam is an essential element of many scams. Scammers can be extremely clever at distancing themselves from their scams in order to avoid detection. The people they enlist either as willing or unknowing participants in the laundering of the proceeds of a scam are called money mules. Scams in which innocent people are lured into being unknowing money mules are numerous. One of the more common of these involves work at home scams where your job is to receive goods, often electronics that have been shipped to you, inspect them and then reship them to an address provided to you by your new employer. The problem is that these goods have been purchased with stolen credit cards and you have just become an accomplice to the crime when you ship them to someone else who will then sell them to turn the merchandise into cash.
Other times the scammers will say that your job is to receive funds sent to you by the scammer, deposit the funds in your own bank account and wire the funds to people who the scammers tell you are either clients or suppliers of the scammers phony company. Finally, money mules are also used is in a variation of the romance scam where you are asked by your romantic partner to wire funds to someone on behalf of the scammer on a variety of pretenses.
Many times the scammers will use the names of legitimate businesses when attempting to lure people into the reshipping scam. In another variation of the scam, the money mules are told that there job is as a gift wrapper and that they are to receive items, wrap them and ship them to their instructed destination.
TIPS
As always, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Check out work at home scams with your local attorney general and the FTC. And as always, you can Google the name of the particular company offering you the work at home program with the word “scam” next to it and see what turns up.
As for reshipping goods as a work at home job, it is important to remember that there are no such legal jobs for reshippers. They are always a scam and you should steer clear of them. You also should never use your own bank account to transfer funds for an employer. Asking you to purchase gift card numbers and send that information to someone is also always a scam and finally, you should always be skeptical of someone with whom you have recently established an online romantic relationship who either asks you for money (the most common scam) or asks you to pass on money to a third party as directed by the scammer.
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Scam of the day – Mary 2, 2025 – New Google Phishing Scam
Phishing scams are nothing new. They are a staple of scammers by which they send you an email that appears to come from a legitimate source, such as your bank or a company you do with business with such as Amazon or Netflix, either asking you to provide personal information, pay a phony debt or click on a malware infected link. Providing personal information can lead to identity theft and downloading malware infected links can give access to your accounts such as online banking.
Sometimes you can recognize a phishing email because the email address of the sender will have no relation to the company purportedly sending the email. This is because in many cases, scammers use botnets of hacked and infected computers to send the phishing emails from the email addresses of the people whose computers and email accounts have been hacked. In other instances, the email of the sender may look legitimate and closely resemble the email address of the company the scammers are posing as, making it more difficult to recognize the email as a phishing email.
Phishing emails are now being sent from the address of no-reply@google.com that appear to be subpoenas requiring you to provide information about your Google account. Clicking on a link in the phishing email would take you to the sites.google.com page where you would be directed to provide your Google account information which would turn over your account to the hacker. The problem comes from scammers using Google’s Sites web-building app that enables scammers to not only create legitimate appearing emails and websites but also avoid the spam filters of your email provider. Google has indicated that it is working on correcting this problem, but as of now has not succeeded in doing so.
TIPS
The way to avoid becoming a victim of this scam is to follow my advice as to any email that asks you to click on a link or provide personal information, namely never click on a link or provide personal information to any email regardless of how legitimate it may appear until you have confirmed that it is legitimate. In the specific case of this type of email from Google, instead of clicking on a link go directly to your account through the official Google website to verify any such communications.
In addition, you should use dual factor authentication for all of your accounts when available so that even if you are tricked into providing your username and password, the scammer won’t be able to access your account.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive free 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 – May 1, 2025 – FTC Sending Additional Refunds to Victims of LifeWatch Scam
Scams involving medical services have been a staple of scam artists since the earliest days of time and seniors are frequently targets of scams so when you put the two together, you have the perfect storm for scams. Although there are many companies that offer medical alert systems for seniors, there are many scammers that sell these services to unwary seniors. So how do you tell the sales pitch for a scam medical alert company from the sales pitch for a legitimate medical alert company? One way to tell is if the sales pitch comes via an illegal prerecorded robocall. Since commercial robocalls are illegal, obviously a company selling you their services through this type of call has little regard for the law and you should have little regard for that company.
Ten years ago I told you about one such company, Lifewatch which in 2015 was sued by both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Attorney General of Florida who alleged that the company violated the law not only through illegal robocalls, but also by alleging that the medical alert system they offered was free and already been paid for by a friend or family member when that was untrue. They also were accused of misrepresenting that their product has been endorsed by AARP, which it was not. Finally, they were accused of telling prospective customers that they would not be charged anything (in regard to the product that they already had been told had been prepaid) until they activated the device. The truth, according to the FTC, is that Lifewatch charged people immediately.
The lawsuit was subsequently settled and the FTC sent refund checks to victims of the scam in 2021 and 2023. Now, because there is still money paid by LifeWatch to the FTC as part of the settlement that has not been previously distributed, additional checks are now being sent to the scam victims. For more specific information about these refunds go the “FTC Scam Refunds” tab in the middle of the initial page of Scamicide.com.
TIPS
Since commercial robocalls are illegal, if a product is being pitched to you in a robocall, you can’t trust the company so why should you buy the product? As for medical alert services, if you are considering buying one, you should first check with your physician and then check out the company with the FTC, the Better Business Bureau, your state attorney general and even by just putting the name of the company into a Google search with the word “scam” and see what come up.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and type in your email address on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”