Scam of the Day
Scam of the day – August 19, 2026 – NY Attorney General Warns About Gold Bar Scams
Recently New York Attorney General Letitia James warned consumers about gold bar scams which primarily have targeted older Americans in which under a variety of excuses scammers posing as law enforcement convince their targeted victims that their savings are in jeopardy and that in order to protect their funds, they must withdraw them from their bank accounts, purchase gold bars and then turn them over to other scammers posing as legitimate law enforcement personnel for temporary safekeeping.
Last year I told you that the Boston office of the FBI had issued a warning about scams involving people lured under false pretenses to cash in their savings, buy gold bars and deliver the gold to scammers. According to recent FBI figures this scam is getting worse with more than $312 million lost to this scam in 2025. I have been warning people about this scam since I described it in the Scam of the day for May 7 2024 when I told you about Ravinkle Mathon who was convicted in Maryland of attempting to scam an elderly man out of $200,000 in an elaborate scam that has increased dramatically in the last year. The scam began with a phone call from Mathon to an elderly man in which Mathon posed as a federal agent telling the targeted victim that his identity had been stolen and that he needed to protect his savings by withdrawing all of his funds, purchasing gold with the funds and then turn the gold over to the alleged scammer for safe keeping. Fortunately, a family member of the targeted victim became aware of the scam and notified police who set up a sting and arrested Mathon when he came to collect the gold..
With the value of gold increasing, scammers have increasingly turned to this type of scam. According to the FBI, many of the perpetrators of this crime are foreigners who have little difficulty leaving the country with gold bars. In other instances the scam may originate by phone overseas with money mules in the United States picking up the gold.
TIPS
The primary thing to keep in mind in order to avoid this scam is to remember that no government agency or legitimate business will ever request that you purchase gold or other precious metals for any purpose and certainly not to protect them from criminals nor will they tell you that you need to provide the gold to government agents for safekeeping.
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Scam of the day – August 18, 2026 – Odyssey and Spiderman Streaming Scams
The recent blockbuster movie “The Odyssey” is attracting record crowds back to movie theaters as is the new Spiderman movie, “Spiderman – Brand New Day.” Both of these movies are only available in theaters and not at any legitimate streaming service. However, this never stops scammers from taking advantage of the demand for the movie and offering phony pirate streaming websites promising access to the movies. There are two versions of scams related to viewing these movies on pirate websites. In one version of the scam, a fake browser warning appears claiming your browser is missing a required component. If you click on the “Fit It Now” tab, you end up downloading harmful malware. The other version of the occurs when you try to download the movie, but instead only manage to download malware directly.
Back in 2019 scammers set up websites promising a free pirated version of the “Avengers: Endgame” movie, an online search for websites promising to provide the movie for free took you to one site in particular that appeared to provide the movie, but a few moments after the movie started, it stopped and a pop up appeared requiring you to set up an account. The pop up said that the account was free and that all you needed to do was provide your email address and a password. Once you did this, you were then instructed to provide a credit card number and the CVC security code on the back of the card merely to verify that you were located in a country where the website was licensed to distribute the movie. Unfortunately, the website did not provide the “Avengers:Endgame.” The few minutes of what you initially saw of the movie were just scenes taken from the readily available trailers for the movie. So not only did people falling for this scam not get to see the movie, they ended up providing their credit card information to the scammers in addition to providing a password, which, in too many instances, was the same password the scam victim used for other online services such as online banking. The moral of this story is that trying to view a pirated version of a popular movie or show for free will only put you into a predicament that even the Avengers couldn’t get you out of.
TIPS
The first and foremost tip is not to use illegal streaming services. They are illegal and what they are doing is also unethical. Don’t trust search engine searches to provide you with legitimate websites for streaming services. A prominent position in a Google or other search engine search only means that the websites appearing high were adept at understanding the algorithms used to position websites. Never provide a credit card as a means of verification. It is only a means of payment and as for the justification in the “Avengers: Endgame” scam that the credit card was needed to verify that you are located in a country where the website is licensed to distribute the movie, pirated versions are not licensed anywhere.
Another red flag that indicates that the website offering to provide a movie for free is a scam is the extension used for the video file. Common extensions for video files are avi, mkv and mp4. However, malware loaded files often end in .exe so that if you see that extension on the attached file, you know it is a scam. Finally, as always, you should have unique passwords for all of your online accounts so that in the event that a password on one of your accounts is hacked or otherwise compromised, all of your accounts will not be in jeopardy.
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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
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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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