Scam of the Day
Scam of the day – August 17, 2026 – Hawaii Hurricane and Indiana Flood Charity Scams
Natural disasters such as wildfires, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes are common occurrences. The devastating floods recently in Indiana and the intense hurricane in Hawaii have caused serious damage, loss of property and life in those states. It has also displaced many people whose homes were ruined. Natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes and earthquakes 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 these natural disasters, 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 signed up for the federal Do Not Call List, legitimate charities are able to contact you by phone. The problem is that whenever you get a phone call, you can never be sure as to who is really calling you so you may be contacted either by a fake charity or a scammer posing as a legitimate charity. Using a technique called spoofing, the scammers can manipulate your Caller ID to make it appear that the call is coming from a legitimate charity when it is not. Similarly, when you are solicited for a charitable contribution by email, social media or text message you cannot be sure as to whether the person contacting you is legitimate or not.
Through the use of AI, scammers are contacting people through social media with pleas for charitable donations. Often these social media posts will contain AI enhanced photos and videos and you can never be sure if the posts are legitimate.
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.
Here is a link to charitynavigator’s picks for the best charities for donations to help the victims of these national disasters https://www.charitynavigator.org/
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Scam of the day – August 16, 2026 – Zoll Medical Data Breach Class Action Settlement
Zoll Medical Corp. is a medical technology company that provides emergency care solutions including critical care devices. In January of 2023 it suffered a data breach that compromised sensitive information of its customers. following which, as is now often the case a class action was filed by victims of the data breach in which they alleged that Zoll had failed to implement reasonable security measures to protect their data. A settlement has been reached in the Zoll agrees to pay $3.5 million to class members. Eligible members of the class can receive up to $5,000 for out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of the data breach. Class members can also receive payments of $100 if their Social Security number was compromised while class members whose Social Security numbers were not compromised are eligible to receive a payment of $50.
Claims must be filed no later than September 2, 2026. Here is a link to use to apply for compensation if you were affected by the data breach. https://heartdevicedatasettlement.pnclassaction.com/
The settlement is scheduled for a court hearing on September 10, 2026 for a judge to give final approval to the settlement.
Regardless of whether you were affected by this particular data breach, we are all likely to be victims of future data breaches. So what can you do to protect yourself from data breaches that will be occurring?
TIPS
One important lesson is to limit the amount of personal information that you provide to companies and websites whenever possible. For example, your doctor doesn’t need your Social Security number for his or her records.
This data breach and the resulting class action is a good example of companies having to do a better job at protecting their customers data. In particular, companies should be encrypting all sensitive data and limiting access to only employees who require access to particular data. Not enough companies are taking these common sense steps. In addition, companies should be training their employees, particularly those in IT to better defend against socially engineered attacks which rely on the cybercriminals use of psychology to convince employees of targeted companies to provide access to their company computer networks.
You should make sure that you have a unique password for each of your online accounts so that if one of your passwords is compromised in a data breach, all of your accounts will not be in danger. If your information is compromised in a data breach, you should immediately change the password for that account.
If you have not already done so, set up dual factor authentication for each of you accounts where it is available. This will protect you from having those accounts stolen by someone who may have access to your password. However it should be noted that the malware responsible for this particular data breach is able to bypass password requirements and dual factor authentication.
https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
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Scam of the day – August 15, 2026 – Amazon Recall Scam
Whatever is popular with the public is popular with scammers which is why it is not surprising that scammers are sending out text messages that appear to come from Amazon informing their targeted victims that there is a recall of a product that the targeted victim purchased through Amazon Prime. The text message looks legitimate and may even appear to come from a legitimate Amazon telephone number, but it is a simple matter for a scammer to “spoof” a legitimate number to make it appear that the call is originating from Amazon while actually coming from the scammer. The bogus text message informing you of the product recall provides a link that will take you to what appears to be the Amazon website and prompts you to provide your account information and your password. Using AI it is simple for a scammer to create a very legitimate appearing counterfeit Amazon website.
Anyone providing their account information and password would end up having their account taken over by the scammers who would quickly run up purchases and charges to the account.
Last year Amazon took down more than 55,000 phony Amazon websites, but it is a never ending battle because as soon as one is taken down, scammers create a new counterfeit site.
TIPS
Rather than only use a password for your Amazon account, you should either use dual factor authentication or an Amazon Passkey for your account. This will provide added security to your account to prevent your becoming a victim of this type of scam. To set up dual factor authentication on your account, use this link.https://www.amazon.ca/gp/help/customer/display.html%3FnodeId%3DGE6SLZ5J9GCNRW44
Passkeys enable you to use Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello or a device PIN rather than a password. In order to set this go to your Amazon account and then click on Login & security, then go to Passkeys and then click Set up.
As I always say, trust me, you can’t trust anyone so if you get a text message about a recall from Amazon, your best course of action is to either contact Amazon Customer Service at 1‑888‑280‑4331 or login to your account online or on the app and you will be able to see if there was a recall.
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Scam of the day – August 14, 2026 – New Variation on Sextortion Scam
I have been warning you about sextortion scams for ten years. One way that sextortion scams begin is with an email in which you are told that your computer and web cam have been hacked and that the scammers have video of you watching porn online. In the email, the scammer threatens to send the videos to people on his contact list unless you pay a ransom in Bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency.
In a recent version of this scam, people around the country are receiving such sextortion emails with some new twists. First, the email contains a photograph of your home with a threat to contact you at your home, referring to your home’s address if you don’t pay the demanded Bitcoin ransom. Second, the email refers to a type of Spyware called Pegasus that can steal information from you computer without being discovered. In fact, Pegasus spyware does exist, but it is used only by government agencies.
TIPS
Scammers use services such as Google Maps to obtain the photos used in the emails and use AI to gather other personal information used in the email to make it appear more believable, but the truth is that they do not have the videos that they claim to have because if they did, they would show it to you in the email.
In regard to your web cam being hacked, while often this is merely a threat and the scammer has not hacked your web cam, web cams can be hacked. One thing you can do to protect your webcam from being hacked is to make sure that you change the default password on your webcam when you first install it. Another simple thing I do and you can, as well, is to merely put a post it note over your webcam when it is not in use.
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Scam of the day – August 13, 2026 – 15 Million Patients Affected by Biggest Healthcare Data Breach of 2026
DentaQuest, the second largest dental insurance company in the country suffered a data breach in May that was only confirmed in July when the company sent notices to the 15 million of its customers affected by the data breach which appears to have been done by the ransomware gang ShinyHunters. Among the stolen information was names, addresses and other personal information, most notably Social Security numbers which can be used for criminals for purposes of identity theft. In its notice to affected patients the company offered free identity theft protection services and credit monitoring. For more information, you can call DentaQuest at 844-959-7163
TIPS
One important lesson we have learned from the epidemic of data breaches is to limit the amount of personal information that you provide to companies and websites whenever possible. For example, your dentist doesn’t need your Social Security number for his or her records.
You should make sure that you have a unique password for each of your online accounts so that if one of your passwords is compromised in a data breach, all of your accounts will not be in danger. If your information is compromised in a data breach, you should immediately change the password for that account.
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 12, 2026 – Google Forms Scams
Google Forms is a terrific free tool that lets you create surveys, quizzes and forms for gathering data. It is widely used in education, business and in people’s personal affairs. It is easy to use, accessible through a shareable link and secure. Unfortunately, however, scammers take advantage of its acceptance as a legitimate tool to use it to perpetrate a variety of scams including scams by which it is used to create fake login pages that appear to be those of banks or colleges as well as to create phony surveys with promises of prizes in exchange for providing personal data. Scams using Google Forms increased by 63% last year and appear to be happening with even more frequency in 2025. Scams using Google Forms are sent through Google’s own mail servers so they can avoid email security filters making them appear more legitimate. Unfortunately, if you provide the asked for personal information, you set yourself up to become a victim of identity theft.
TIPS
Trust me, you can’t trust anyone. If you get a Google Forms email that appears to come from your bank, college or any other institution, confirm with the real bank or other sender by phone or email before providing any personal information. As for Google Forms communications offering a payment in return for personal information or contests asking you to provide personal information, the risk of being scammed is too great to respond by providing the requested information.
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Scam of the day – August 11, 2026 – Elderly Navy Veteran Loses $100,000 to Lottery Scam
Lottery scams are one of the most prevalent types of scams and scammers cheat people out of millions of dollars each year by tricking people into sending money to the scammers after being told that they have won a lottery, but are required to pay some fees or taxes in order to collect their prize. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Americans lost $351 million to lottery scams last year. It is hard to win any lottery. It is impossible to win one that you have not even entered and yet scam artists, the only criminals we refer to as artists have found that it is extremely lucrative to scam people by convincing them that they have won various lotteries.
Most lottery scams involve the victims 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. Again, no legitimate lottery requires you to pay administrative fees in order to claim your prize.
Eighty-one year old Navy veteran Riley Williams who has both Parkinson’s disease and dementia received a call from a scammer seven months ago telling him that he had won a lottery he had not entered, but he needed to pay taxes and fees before he could collect his winnings. For seven months the scammers convinced him time and time again to pay these phony fees and taxes by way of gift cards before he became aware that he had been scammed. Ultimately he lost $100,000.
TIPS
As I have often told you, it is difficult to win a lottery you have entered. It is impossible to win one that you have not even entered. You should always be skeptical about being told that you have won a lottery you never entered. It is also important to remember that it is illegal to play foreign lotteries except when you are actually present in the other country so if you are told that you have won the infamous Jamaica Lottery, it is absolutely a scam.
While it is true that income taxes are owed on lottery winnings, legitimate lotteries never collect tax money from winners. They either deduct the taxes from the winnings or leave it up to the winners to pay their taxes directly to the IRS. You also should never pay a fee to collect a legal lottery prize.
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Scam of the day – August 10, 2026 – USAA Customer Loses $15,000 to Imposter 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. Recently Arsiln Chaudhry, a 21 years customer of USAA took a phone call that his Caller ID indicated was from USAA’s customer service department, however, the truth is that the call was from a scammer using a simple technique called “spoofing” to manipulate Chaudhry’s Caller ID to make the call appear to come from USAA. The scammer, posing as a bank employee told Chaudhry that someone was attempting to take $8,500 from his account and told him that he needed to transfer the money from his account to another account provided by the bank in order to protect his funds. Unfortunately, Chaudhry moved $15,000 before recognizing that he had been scammed.
If this sounds familiar, you may remember in 2025 when I told you about Minnesota Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner falling prey to a similar 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.
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 9, 2026 – OPM Data Breach Update
I initially reported to you in 2014 that the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was hacked by Chinese hackers who stole personal information of what was initially thought to be the personal information of about four million present and former federal employees as well as non-employees whose information was gathered by the OPM during the course of background investigations of federal employees. At that time, the OPM offered free credit restoration services and credit monitoring to the victims. Then in 2015, the OPM discovered a much larger data breach affecting approximately twenty-two million people and again offered free credit restoration services and credit monitoring services for a period of ten years.
Now people who enrolled in the free coverage when first offered are receiving notices that their free credit monitoring services will be terminating in September and Senators Mark Warner and Eleanor Holmes Norton have introduced legislation which, if passed will extend the identity protection services for the lifetimes of those affected by the data breach. According to Warner, “We have a responsibility to stand by the federal workers who were put at risk through no fault of their own. This legislation will ensure those affected continue to receive the identity protection they need, while helping better safeguard personal information from future exploitation.”
TIPS
I will keep you informed as to the progress of this proposed legislation.
It is important to remember, however, that no identity theft protection company can prevent you from becoming a victim of identity theft. The best they can do is notify you earlier that you have become a victim. None of the identity theft protection companies help you with the one best step you can take to protect yourself from identity theft which is to put a credit freeze on your credit report. With a credit freeze on your credit report, even if someone has your personal information including your Social Security number, they cannot access your credit report for purposes of gaining credit or loans in your name. You can find information about how to put a credit freeze on your credit reports at each of the three major credit reporting agencies by going to the “Search for Scams” section of Scamicide and putting in the words “credit freeze.”
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Scam of the day – August 8, 2026 – Student Loan Scams Increasing
I have written often about phony student loan debt relief companies and with good reason. More than thirty-eight 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. Now, after a five year pause during the pandemic on penalizing student loan borrowers for not making payments, in January of 2025, the Department of Education instructed loan servicers to start reporting late payers to credit bureaus which is resulting in millions of student loan borrowers having their important credit scores drop dramatically. Then in May of 2025, the Department of Education restarted collections on defaulted student loans after a pause commenced in 2020. This has resulted in scammers increasing their efforts regarding phony student loan scams. Government figures indicate that two thirds of student loan borrowers are late or behind in their payments and this presents a dire situation to which scammers can be expected to respond by offering phony debt relief to desperate borrowers.
Scammers like Arete Financial Group who charged illegal upfront fees for their services can be expected to flourish in this new environment. Arete would change their clients’ Federal Student Aid (FSA) login ID, password and contact information with their clients’ loan servicer which effectively eliminated contact between the borrowers and their loan servicers. This enabled Arete, according to the FTC, to place the borrower’s loans into temporary forbearance or deferment status without the borrower even being aware of this. Thus when the borrowers sent their payments to Arete that they were told would be credited toward their loans, the money actually was kept by Arete. Some of Arete’s clients saw their loans become delinquent and their income tax refunds garnished to pay for overdue loan payments. The victims of the scam also lost the money they paid to Arete that was intended to be applied toward their loans. Ultimately, Arete settled a lawsuit brought against it by the FTC and funds obtained from Arete through the settlement of the lawsuit was returned to victims of the scam.
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.gov/articles/student-loan-forgiveness/ . 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. Also, this site is helpful https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-opens-revised-income-driven-repayment-plan-and-loan-consolidation-applications-borrowers
Here is a link to an FTC video that explains student loan scams and what you can do to protect yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TjSI4Q6ztQ
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