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Scam of the day – May 6, 2021 – Happy World Password Day
Today is World Password Day, which is a day dedicated toward inspiring people to choose better passwords for their various online accounts. Each year the password manager company NordPass does a study of the worst passwords commonly used. These easily discerned...
Scam of the day – May 5, 2021 – New Report Shows Impostor Scams Dramatically Increasing
Impostor scams have long been among the most lucrative for scammers. While there are many variations of this scam, the most common variations have involved scammers calling their intended victims on the telephone posing as some governmental agency such as the, FBI,...
Scam of the day – May 4, 2021 – Social Security Scammers Sentenced to Prison
Last week a married couple, Mehulkumar Manubhai Patel and Chaitali Dave were sentenced to prison in Georgia for their role in a Social Security phone scam. Phone scammers calling from India called targeted victims in the United States telling them that their Social...
Scam of the day – May 3, 2021 – Free CBD Oil Scam
With marijuana use being legalized throughout much of the United States, Cannabidiol (CBD) products are quite popular for a number of uses including decreasing anxiety, pain relief and as a non-addictive sleep aid. Scammers are always using whatever is popular with...
Scam of the day – May 2, 2021 – FTC Sending Refunds to Victims of Credit Card Interest Rate Reduction Scam
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in conjunction with the Attorney General of Florida brought legal action against E. M. Systems & Services which, using a variety of different names, set up websites and cold called people falsely claiming that they could save...
Scam of the day – May 1, 2021 – New AOL Phishing Scam
Today's Scam of the day is about a phishing email presently circulating that attempts to lure you into clicking on a link in order to continue using your AOL account. Millions of people still use AOL. One reason is that you get greater email privacy when compared to...
Scam of the day – April 30, 2021 – FTC Brings First Charges Under COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act
Recently the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Eric Anthony Nepute and his company Quickwork LLC for violating the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act by deceptively marketing products containing Vitamin D and zinc as being scientifically proven to...
Scam of the day – April 29, 2021 – PayPal Phishing Email
Here is another good example of a phishing email that is presently being circulated. It was sent to me by a Scamicide reader who received it. It makes for compelling reading, but it is a scam. Phishing emails, by which scammers and identity thieves attempt to lure...
Scam of the day – April 28, 2021 – FTC Sending Refunds to Victims of Phantom Debt Collector
Receiving a telephone call from a debt collector is not a pleasant experience. Being hounded by someone attempting to collect a debt you do not owe is fraud. I have written many times in the past about scammers who use deceptive and abusive collections practices in...
Scam of the day – April 27, 2021 – MacKenzie Scott Is Not Sending You Money
Of all the scams I have written about in the ten years that I have been writing Scamicide.com, one that continually ensnares people is phony gifts from Mavis Wanczk. Many of you may not remember the name of Mavis Wanczyk, but she was the lucky winner of a 758...
Scam of the day – April 26, 2021 – Phony Utility Company Phone Calls
This particular scam is one about which I have warned you many times over the years, but it deserves another warning because it is still occurring throughout the country. Recently, the Hartford Connecticut Police Department issued a warning that people were...
Scam of the day – April 25, 2021 – Increase in Postal Service Smishing Scams
Although the term may not be as familiar as "phishing" which is the name for emails that lure you into clicking on malware infected links or providing personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft, "smishing" is the term for text...
Scam of the day – April 24, 2021 – FBI Issues Warning About Government Impostor Scam
Impostor scams have long been among the most lucrative for scammers. While there are many variations of this scam, the most common variations have involved scammers calling their intended victims on the telephone posing as some governmental agency such as the, FBI,...
Scam of the day – April 23, 2021 – Costco Related Scams Increasing
Costco is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores and is the fifth largest retailer in the world. Due to its popularity, it is not surprising that scammers have recently been using it as a basis for a...
Scam of the day – April 22, 2021 – Unusual Aspect to Geico Data Breach
I am sure most people are familiar with Gieco from its clever commercials which often feature a talking Gecko. Geico is the second largest auto insurer in the country and recently it suffered a data breach in which the driver's license numbers of an, at this time,...
Scam of the day – April 21, 2021 – Term Paper Extortion
We are rapidly approaching the end of the semester for many college students and scholarly term papers are a requirement at the end of the semester for many students. Unfortunately, some students hire companies to write their term papers for them which these students...
Scam of the day – April 20, 2021 – A Final Round of Adobe Flash Scams
Adobe issued its final security update for the popular, but intensely flawed Adobe Flash software in December of 2020. In 2018 Adobe confirmed that it would stop updating and distributing Adobe Flash at the end of 2020. Adobe has stopped supporting Adobe Flash and...
Scam of the day – April 19, 2021 – Elon Musk Bitcoin Scam
In July of 2020 I told you about how Twitter accounts belonging to many prominent people including Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos, Mike Bloomberg and many more prominent people along with company Twitter...
Scam of the day – April 18, 2021 – Phony Norton Invoice Scam
The phony invoice scam is a common scam popular with scammers because it is quite effective. It starts when you receive an email that purports to be from a popular company with which many of us do business that indicates that you owe them a significant payment. The...
Scam of the day – April 17, 2021 – Moratorium on Evictions During the Pandemic Extended
The Coronavirus pandemic has brought financial strain to many people and difficulty paying monthly rent is high on the list of problems for a lot of people. Initially Congress enacted an eviction moratorium that was to end in January of 2021, but fortunately,...
Scam of the day – April 16, 2021 – Coronavirus Funeral Expenses Scam
If you ever needed further proof of the total lack of empathy of scammers, this scam provides it. Earlier this week the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced a program by which it will pay up to $9,000 for funeral expenses of people who died from the...
Scam of the day – April 15, 2021 – FTC Refunding Money to Victims of MoneyGram Scams
A common theme in many scams, including phony lottery scams and the infamous grandparent scam, is that the scammers will require the victim to wire money or use gift cards rather than use a credit card or a check. Once money has been wired or gift card information...
Scam of the day – April 14, 2021 – Sheriff Warns About Virtual Kidnapping
I have been warning you about phony kidnapping scams, also known as virtual kidnapping, for eight 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 the person receiving the...
Scam of the day – April 13, 2021 – Movie Distributing Ponzi Scheme
A little over a month ago on March 3rd was Charles Ponzi's 139th 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 victims...
Scam of the day – April 12, 2021 – Amazon Phone Call Scam
A famous bank robber was once asked why he robbed banks to which he responded, "because that is where the money is" which is why it is not surprising that scammers have used Amazon as the basis for a wide variety of scams due to so many people buying products through...
Scam of the day – April 11, 2021 – Department of Education Revives Debt Relief Program for Defrauded Students
For profit universities have been a target of state and federal investigations for years. I have written about this topic since 2012. It should be noted that not all for profit colleges are scams, but there are a large number of for profit colleges, sometimes...
Scam of the day – April 10, 2021 – U.S. Marshal Impostor Scam
Impostor scams have long been among the most lucrative for scammers. While there are many variations of this scam, the most common variations have involved scammers calling their intended victims on the telephone posing as some governmental agency such as the IRS or...
Scam of the day – April 9, 2021 – Investment Scammer Sentenced to 17.5 Years in Prison
Investment scammer Anthony Diaz was recently sentenced to 17.5 years in prison upon his conviction of eleven counts of fraud related to his scamming his clients out of millions of dollars. Diaz was a financial planner who convinced his clients to invest in high risk,...
Scam of the day – April 8, 2021 – Important Update for Unemployment Compensation Scam Victims
Even before the Coronavirus pandemic, unemployment benefit scams were already a major problem costing the states and federal government billions of dollars each year. Part of the problem is that the federal government requires the states to pay claims within a few...
Scam of the day – April 7, 2021 – Google Chrome Security Update
As was made abundantly clear by 2017's massive Equifax data breach which affected 148 million people and was perpetrated by exploiting a vulnerability in Apache software for which Apache had already issued a security update, but Equifax failed to install, constant...
Scam of the day – April 6, 2021 – Massive Facebook Data Breach
As I have reminded you many times, we are only as safe and secure as the security as the websites that have our personal information. So even if you are extremely diligent in protecting your personal information, you can be in danger of identity theft and scams if...
Scam of the day – April 5, 2021 – Square Phishing Email
Phishing emails, by which scammers and identity thieves attempt to lure you into either clicking on links contained within the email which download malware or providing personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft, are nothing new. ...
Scam of the day – April 4, 2021 – Roku Activation Scams
Roku is an extremely popular device that enables you to be able to watch free and paid video content on your television through the Internet. For cable cutters it is a good way to view television content and as someone who uses a Roku device, I can attest to its...
Scam of the day – April 3, 2021 – Coronavirus Version of Nigerian Email Scam
Today's Scam of the day is another version of the Nigerian email scam that continues to plague the online community. Although it may seem that the Nigerian email scam began in the era of the Internet, the basis of the scam actually goes back to 1588 when it was known...
Scam of the day – April 2, 2021 – Huge Increase in Investment Scams in Australia
Investment scams have always been with us, but the Coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the number of investment scams through scams involving companies and promotors claiming to have effective products that can prevent, detect or cure the Coronavirus. The ...
Scam of the day – April 1, 2021 – IRS Issues Warning to College Students and Educators
There could hardly be a more appropriate time to warn you about a new phishing scam targeting college students and professors than April Fools Day. The IRS has issued a warning to college students and professors who are being targeted with a phishing email that...
Scam of the day – March 31, 2021 – Check Washing: As if You Didn’t Have Enough to Worry About
What is old is new again. 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...
Scam of the day – March 30, 2021 – Sheriff Issues Warning About Remote Access Scams
The Goochland, Virginia Sheriff recently issued a warning about remote access scams. These scams are part of the larger tech support scams and occur when you either see a pop-up ad on your computer or receive a phone call from someone posing as an employee of a tech...
Scam of the day – March 29, 2021 – Phony Vaccine Surveys
In the March 14th Scam of the day I told you about phony Pfizer surveys that appeared to be offering prizes worth a minimum of $90 merely for answering a few questions about your experience with the vaccine. When I originally told you about this scam it was turning...
Scam of the day – March 28, 2021 – FTC Sending Refunds to University of Phoenix Students
For profit universities have been a target of state and federal investigations for years. I have written about this topic since 2012. It should be noted that not all for profit colleges are scams, but there are a large number of for profit colleges, sometimes...
Scam of the day – March 27, 2021 – New Chase Phishing Email
Phishing emails, by which scammers and identity thieves attempt to lure you into either clicking on links contained within the email which download malware or providing personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft, are nothing new. ...
Scam of the day – March 26, 2021 – FTC Shuts Down Work at Home Scam Targeting Hispanics
Working at home sounds very appealing particularly during these days of the Coronavirus pandemic. No commute and you get to work in your pajamas. Recently, the FTC shut down a work at home scam being done by Moda Latina BZInc., Esther Virginia Fernandez Acquire and...
Scam of the day – March 25, 2021 – FTC Sending Additional Refunds to Fraud Victims
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is sending another round of checks to victims of an illegal credit card billing scam perpetrated by J.K. Publications. The FTC first took action against J. K. Publications, Inc in 1998. J.K. Publications purchased access to the...
Scam of the day – March 24, 2021 – Vacation Rental Scams Heating Up
While it is only the end of March, many people who have been socially isolating for a year are looking forward to being able to take a Summer vacation this year and with some level of social distancing still important, renting vacation homes rather than going to...
Scam of the day – March 23, 2021 – FCC Fines Robocaller a Record 225 Million Dollars
Over the years I have written numerous times about the problems presented by robocalls and with good reason. Automated robocalls which, for commercial purposes, are illegal, are the number one consumer complaint reported by the public to the Federal Trade Commission...
Scam of the day – March 22, 2021 – FTC Chairwoman Rebecca Slaughter is Not Sending You Coronavirus Related Money
Many people are eagerly awaiting their next round of Coronavirus related stimulus payments as provided for in the recently passed American Rescue Plan. Of course, scammers are taking advantage of this and have recently been sending out phishing emails that appear to...
Scam of the day – March 21, 2021 – FTC Cracking Down on Phantom Debt Collectors
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its annual summary of activities regarding debt collection. Debt collection scams are common and one of the most devious debt collection scams is what is called "phantom debt collection" which is when scammers...
Scam of the day – March 20, 2021 – Teenage Twitter Hacker Sentenced
In July of 2020 I first reported to you about the hacking of Twitter accounts belonging to many prominent people including Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos and Mike Bloomberg along with company Twitter accounts of...
Scam of the day – March 19,2021 – Amazon Phishing Email
Shopping on Amazon, particularly during the pandemic 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...
Scam of the day – March 18, 2021 – Extended Car Warranty Scams Increasing.
Recently, the Iowa Attorney General warned people about an increase in scams involving extended car warranties, however it is important to note that this increase in extended car warranties is occurring around the entire country. Many of these scams start with a ...