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Scam of the day – April 3, 2020 – Scammers Posing as CDC Workers Going Door to Door
With more and more people becoming infected with the Coronavirus, people are very concerned and scammers are taking advantage of that concern through a myriad of scams. Here at Scamicide.com I will be posting warnings about these scams to help protect you from being...
read moreScam of the day -April 2, 2020 – FTC Scam Bingo
With so many people sheltering in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the FTC has cleverly taken this as an opportunity to provide homebound people with a game to play that helps raise awareness of the scams that we are all facing in increasing numbers. ...
read moreScam of the day – April 1, 2020 – New Mystery Shopper Scam
I have written many times over the last eight years about the mystery shopper scam because it continues to ensnare unwary victims. Last month I told you that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a new warning about this scam. Mystery shoppers are people hired...
read moreScam of the day – March 31, 2020 – FTC Sending Refunds to Student Loan Scam Victims
More than forty-two million Americans have student loans with an outstanding balance of more than 1.4 trillion dollars so it is no surprise that scammers are focusing their attention on these students and former students through scams that falsely promise to provide...
read moreScam of the day – March 30, 3030 – Tupperware Website Hacked
The Tupperware company was hacked on March 25th by unknown hackers using a technique called formjacking. Formjacking may be one of the most effective cybercriminal tactics that you have, most likely, never heard of. According to the security company Symantec,...
read moreScam of the day – March 29, 2020 – Credit Repair Company Shut Down by FTC
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently settled a lawsuit it had brought against the credit repair company BoostMyScore.net for fraudulent representations and violations of federal regulations. Credit repair scams are very common as scammers take advantage of...
read moreScam of the day – March 28, 2020 – Another Amazon Phishing Email
Shopping on Amazon is extremely popular both with consumers and scammers seeking to exploit Amazon's popularity. 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...
read moreScam of the day – March 27, 2020 – Coronavirus Stimulus Package Check Scams
Today, Friday March 27th, the House of Representatives is expected to approve the coronavirus stimulus package approved on Wednesday unanimously by the Senate and send it to the President for his signature. A significant part of this legislation is the checks of up...
read moreScam of the day – March 26, 2020 – Adobe Issues Critical Security Updates
Adobe has just issued new security updates for a number of its products including Adobe Acrobat and Reader. Last year Adobe confirmed that it will stop updating and distributing Adobe Flash at the end of 2020 although frankly, it would be wise for you to migrate away...
read moreScam of the day – March 25, 2020 – Publishers Clearing House Scam
Publishers Clearing House, the sponsor of some of the most popular legitimate lotteries in the country no longer limits its contests to one or two a year, but has numerous lotteries each month. Recently there has been an increase in reports of scammers calling people...
read moreScam of the day – March 24, 2020 – Coronavirus Phony Grant Scam
Scams related to the coronavirus pandemic are spreading as fast as the virus itself. Scammers continue to take advantage of the fear, concern and interests in all things related to the coronavirus. The latest scam involves phony government grants for which the...
read moreScam of the day – March 23, 2020 – Western Union Refunds
As I first reported to you in January of 2017, Western Union, which provides money wiring services around the world settled fraud charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission, the Justice Department and a number of states' Attorneys General. Under the terms of the...
read moreScam of the day – March 22, 2020 – Utility Company Scams Continue
Spring is only a few days old, but utility scams, many of which are related to Winter heating bills continue to find victims. Scams involving utility bills for electric, water or gas services have long been popular with scammers. In one recently reported case a...
read moreScam of the day – March 21, 2020 – Government Coronavirus Emergency Aid Check Scams
While as I write today's Scam of the day, Congress has not yet passed legislation authorizing checks or direct deposit payments to Americans to help them through the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, initial proposals provide for approximately 250...
read moreScam of the day – March 20, 2020 – Alex Jones Ordered to Stop Selling Phony Coronavirus Cures
It was just four days ago that I told you about the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sending letters to seven companies, Vital Silver, Quinessence Aromatherapy Ltd., N-ergetics, GuruNanda, LLC, Vivify Holistic Clinic, Herbal...
read moreScam of the day – March 19, 2020 – Wisconsin Woman Charged with Identity Theft Through Stealing Mail
Identity theft can be high tech, low tech or no tech. Stealing mail from mailboxes for purposes of identity theft has been done by identity thieves for years. Numerous times over the last eight years I have warned you about the danger of having your mail, such as...
read moreScam of the day – March 18, 2020 – Coronavirus Charity Scams
The coronavirus continues to be primary in the minds of everyone around the world. Many people are responding to the crisis by giving to charities that are helping purchase medical supplies and providing assistance to people affected by the pandemic. Unfortunately...
read moreScam of the day – March 17, 2020 – Billionaire Becomes Victim of Identity Theft
Tilman Fertitta, the billionaire owner of the NBA's Houston Rockets recently became a victim of identity theft when someone obtained his name, Social Security number and date of birth through the Dark Web, that part of the Internet where criminals buy and sell goods...
read moreScam of the day – March 16, 2020 – FTC and FDA Warning About Phony Coronavirus Cures
The coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread worldwide and many people are rightfully concerned about contracting the disease. I have been warning you about coronavirus related scams for the past few weeks. Today's Scam of the day is a specific warning about seven...
read moreScam of the day – March 15, 2020 – Email Impersonation Scam
Recently I received the following email: "Dear Steve, How are you ? I need a Favor from you. I'll need to get an Ebay gift card for my Niece, it's her birthday today and i totally forgot i can't do this now because I'm currently on a short trip.Can you get it from any...
read moreScam of the day – March 14, 2020 – Phony Coronavirus Websites Infect with Malware
I have been warning you about coronavirus related scams since the first week in February. Today's scam of the day focuses on scams related to to the legitimate and informative interactive coronavirus world wide tracking map created by Johns Hopkins University. A...
read moreScam of the day – March 13, 2020 – New Variation on the Jury Duty Scam
I have been warning you about the jury duty scam for eight years, but it continues to snare many unwary victims. Recently, the Sheriff of Newbury County, South Carolina issued a warning about this scam and there have been increasing reports of this scam being...
read moreScam of the day – March 12, 2020 – FTC Issues Warning About Mystery Shopper Scams
I have written many times over the last seven years about the mystery shopper scam because it continues to ensnare unwary victims. Recently the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a new warning about this scam. Mystery shoppers are people hired to shop at a...
read moreScam of the day – March 11, 2020 – Coronavirus Phishing Email
I first told you about coronavirus phishing scams on February 8th. Today, I am warning you again and am including a copy of one of the phishing emails presently being circulated. Scammers are always taking advantage of whatever has the public attention and turn it...
read moreScam of the day – March 10, 2020 – Tennessee Tornado Charity Scams
Natural disasters, such as the recent series of tornadoes that struck the Nashville, Tennessee area are devastating. Natural disasters like this bring out the best in people who want to donate to charities to help the victims. Unfortunately natural disasters also...
read moreScam of the day – March 9, 2020 – Spring Break Brings Increase in Grandparent Scams
Many colleges around the country are or will soon be taking their Spring Break. The words Spring Break often conjure up images of young college students on beaches rather than thoughts about their grandparents, but for scammers, Spring Break and grandparents are...
read moreScam of the day – March 8, 2020 – J.Crew Discloses Data Breach
Five days ago in a required filing to the California Attorney General, clothing company J. Crew revealed that it had suffered a data breach last April in which personal information of an undisclosed number of its customers was taken. The stolen customer online...
read moreScam of the day – March 7, 2020 – Money Mule 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 participants or unknowing participants in the...
read moreScam of the day – March 6, 2020 – Amazon Phishing Scam
Shopping on Amazon is extremely popular both with consumers and scammers seeking to exploit Amazon's popularity. 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...
read moreScam of the day – March 5, 2020 – FTC Shuts Down Illegal Debt Collector
Abusive and fraudulent debt collection is a major problem with some of the scammers who operate these scams even attempting to collect on debts that don't even exist. I have reported to you many times about the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) actions against many of...
read moreScam of the day – March 4, 2020 – GoFundMe Scams
Crowdfunding is the name for the process by which people raise funds on websites such as GoFundMe for various projects from movies and books to the development of new businesses. Unfortunately, as I have been warning you about since 2012, the potential for...
read moreScam of the day – March 3, 2020 – Happy Birthday Charles Ponzi
Had he not died in 1949, today would have been Charles Ponzi's 138th birthday. Scam artists around the world should probably honor the man who perfected the scheme that bears his name that has been used by many scammers to steal billions of dollars from unwitting...
read moreScam of the day – March 2, 2020 – FTC Sues Online Trading Academy
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued the investment training company Online Trading Academy (OTA) and its principals for fraud and has obtained a temporary restraining order shutting it down and freezing its assets while the lawsuit proceeds. The Online...
read moreScam of the day – March 1, 2020 – National Consumer Protection Week
The week of March 1-7th has been designated by the federal government as National Consumer Protection Week. During this week people are encouraged to learn more about how to protect themselves from fraud, scams and identity theft, which are topics we discuss here at...
read moreScam of the day – February 29, 2020 – Business Email Compromise Scams Shark Tank Star
I have warned you numerous times in the last few years about the Business Email Compromise scam which continues to be an effective scam perpetrated against many companies. According to FBI figures the amount of money lost to victims of this scam last year reached a...
read moreScam of the day – February 28, 2020 – FTC Sending Checks to Victims of Tech Support Scam
Tech support scams are a profitable way for scammers to steal your money. I have been warning you about these scams for years. They come in a number of different varieties including pop up ads on your computer and telephone calls purportedly from Microsoft, Apple,...
read moreScam of the day – February 27, 2020 – A New Opportunity for IRS Impostor Scams
I have warned you for years about IRS impostor scams which generally involve a phone call, email or text message purporting to be from the IRS in which you are threatened with severe consequences if you do not immediately make a payment to the scammer/IRS agent. ...
read moreScam of the day – February 26, 2020 – Google Chrome Security Updates
As was made abundantly clear by 2017's massive Wannacry ransomware attack that focused on a vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows operating system for which Microsoft had already issued a security update, constant updating of the software we all use with the latest...
read moreScam of the day – February 25, 2020 – Political Phone Call Scams
The 2020 presidential election is less than a year away, and the Democratic candidates as well as President Trump are actively fund raising. Scammers are taking advantage of the public's interest in the presidential election to make robocalls in which they pose as...
read moreScam of the day – February 24, 2020 – Phony Facebook Lottery Scam
Lottery scams are among the most common scams and although these scams take many different forms, they all have in common that you have won a lottery you never even entered (quite a feat) and that you must now pay money for either taxes or administrative fees in order...
read moreScam of the day – February 23, 2020 – Massive MGM Data Breach
Recently personal information of 10,683,188 people gathered in a data breach of MGM Resorts hotels turned up on Dark Web websites where criminals buy and sell stolen data. The data included full names, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and dates of birth...
read moreScam of the day – February 22, 2020 – FTC Refunding 34 Million Dollars to Victims of Office Depot and Office Max Scam
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is mailing refunds to more than 541,000 victims of a scam operated by Office Depot and Office Max in which they offered a free computer diagnostic scan program called "PC Health Check" created by Support.com that purported to do...
read moreScam of the day – February 21, 2020 – Ring Camera Update
In the Scam of the day for December 14, 2019 I told you about a Tennessee family who reported the Ring camera installed in the bedroom of their three young girls was hacked and the hackers not only were able to spy on the children, but also actually spoke to the...
read moreScam of the day – February 20, 2020 – Unclaimed Property Scams
A Scamicide reader recently forwarded to me an email that informed her that unclaimed money from a source not indicated was being held on her behalf and she needed to respond to the email in order to claim the money. This particular email was a total scam, however,...
read moreScam of the day – February 19, 2020 – New Study of Most Popular Companies Used for Phishing Scams
Over the years, I have written many times about the extreme danger of phishing emails or the more specifically targeted spear phishing emails. Phishing emails come from scammers who pose as companies, governmental agencies or other entities with which you do business...
read moreScam of the day – February 18, 2020 – Virtual Kidnapping Increasing
I have been warning you about phony kidnapping scams, also known as virtual kidnapping, for seven years. The scam starts with a telephone call informing the person answering the phone that a child or other relative has been kidnapped and if they do not respond by...
read moreScam of the day – February 17, 2020 – Netflix Cancellation Smishing Scam
The popularity of Netflix makes it a preferred subject for phishing emails and phishing text messages, which are referred to as smishing. Smishing is the name given to text messages that lure you into clicking on links or providing personal information in response to...
read moreScam of the day – February 16, 2020 – Student Loan Forgiveness Scam
I have written often about phony student loan debt relief companies and with good reason. More than forty-two million Americans have student loans with an outstanding balance of more than 1.4 trillion dollars so it is no surprise that scammers are focusing their...
read moreScam of the day – February 15, 2020 – Critical Adobe Updates
Adobe has just issued new security updates for a number of its products including Adobe Acrobat and the popular, but intensely flawed Adobe Flash software. Last year Adobe confirmed that it will stop updating and distributing Adobe Flash at the end of 2020 although...
read moreScam of the day – February 14, 2020 – Oscar Movie Scams
As I have told you many times, scammers constantly take advantage of whatever is of interest to the public and turn it into a scam. Last week's Academy Awards brought a lot of attention to the movies nominated for best picture Ford v. Ferrari, 1917, Jojo Rabbit,...
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