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Scam 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,...
read moreScam of the day – February 13, 2020 – Valentine’s Day Scams
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. This is a very important day to many people including scammers and identity thieves who always manage to find an opportunity in whatever is newsworthy to scam you out of your money. There are many Valentine's day scams, but the most...
read moreScam of the day – February 12, 2020 – Another Wells Fargo Phishing Scam
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...
read moreScam of the day – February 11, 2020 – Amish and Mennonites Targeted in Ponzi Affinity Fraud Scheme
Affinity fraud is the name for the type of fraud where people put undeserved trust in someone offering an investment opportunity because that person is "someone like me." Affinity fraud works because people trust other people who may share a common bond, such as...
read moreScam of the day – February 10, 2020 – Scammers Love Gift Cards
Recently a 63 year old Wyoming man was scammed out of $500 by scammers who had texted him to tell him that he was entitled to $350,000 in "relief funds." In order to claim the windfall, all he had to do was pay a $1,500 transfer fee through gift cards. After paying...
read moreScam of the day – February 9, 2020 – Extended Car Warranty Scams
Recently there has been an increase in scams involving extended car warranties. Many of these scams start with a robocall. Other times the scam begins with a postcard. Often the caller even knows the make, model and year of your car. They will tell you that your...
read moreScam of the day – February 8, 2020 – Coronavirus Scams Part 2
Yesterday I told you about "pump and dump" stock scams related to the coronavirus outbreak. Scammers are always taking advantage of whatever has the public attention and turn it into an opportunity to scam people and the SEC has already warned the public about "pump...
read moreScam of the day – February 7, 2020 – Coronavirus Scams Part 1
Scammers are adept at manipulating anything that has captured the attention of the public and turning it into an opportunity to scam people. Today and tomorrow I will be telling you about scams related to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak. Earlier this week the...
read moreScam of the day – February 6, 2020 – Google Docs Phishing Scam
A phishing email is presently being sent to unsuspecting victims that urges you to click on a Google Docs link. A copy of one version of the email is reproduced below. Clicking on the link will turn over your email account to the scammer which not only will give the...
read moreScam of the day – February 5, 2020 – Mavis Wanczyk Instagram Scam
Many people may not remember the name of Mavis L. Wanczyk, but she was the lucky winner of a 758 million dollar Powerball drawing in 2017. Not long after she claimed her prize, a scam started appearing in which many people received an email with the message line...
read moreScam of the day – February 4, 2020 – Wells Fargo 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...
read moreScam of the day – February 3, 2020 – Social Engineering Hacking of WhatsApp Accounts
More than a billion people use the WhatsApp mobile messaging app that helps you send text messages, photographs, videos and audio. Due to its extreme popularity, it is not surprising that WhatsApp has become an attractive platform for scammers. I have reported to you...
read moreScam of the day – February 2, 2020 – Fraudulent Social Security Phone Calls
Last week the Senate Aging Committee released its annual report in which it indicated that fraudulent phone calls where scammers pose as Social Security Administration employees asking for personal information were the number one phone scam last year. Phony calls...
read moreScam of the day – February 1, 2020 – Super Bowl Merchandise Scams
The Super Bowl, which will be played tomorrow in Miami between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers promises to be a hugely popular event with an estimated viewing audience of well more than a hundred million people. Following the game, many people...
read moreScam of the day – January 31, 2020 – Critical New Apple Security Updates
As was made abundantly clear by 2017's massive Wannacry ransomware attack that exploited a vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows operating system for which Microsoft had already issued a security update and the massive Equifax data breach that also occurred as a...
read moreScam of the day – January 30, 2020 – Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week
February third is the start of Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week. Income tax identity theft, by which identity thieves file phony income tax returns with counterfeit W-2s using the Social Security number and name of their victims is still a major problem for the IRS...
read moreScam of the day – January 29, 2020 – Utility Scam
Scams involving utility bills for electric, water or gas services have long been popular with scammers. I recently received an email from a Florida Scamicide reader who received a phone call on her answering machine that indicated it was from Florida Power &...
read moreScam of the day – January 28, 2020 – Census Job Opportunity Scams
Anything that is currently in the news or popular with the public is fodder for scam artists, the only criminals we refer to as artists. As I mentioned in the January 22, 2020 Scam of the day, the United States Census Bureau is conducting a national census as it is...
read moreScam of the day – January 27, 2020 – Grandparent Scam Claims More Victims
Many of you are familiar with the grandparent scam where a grandparent receives a telephone call from someone purporting to be their grandchild who has gotten into some trouble, either a traffic accident, legal trouble or medical problems in a far away place. The...
read moreScam of the day – January 26, 2020 – Fake ID Scam
Young people have been using fake IDs in order to buy liquor or to get into clubs for many, many years, however, now in the Internet age, obtaining a fake ID carries tremendous risks of being scammed or becoming a victim of identity theft. It has been estimated that...
read moreScam of the day – January 25, 2020 – FTC Report on Fraud During 2019
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has just released its annual report detailing the most common types of scams in 2019. The report also provides information about the FTC's refund programs to consumers victimized by scams in 2019. Starting with the good news, the...
read moreScam of the day – January 24, 2020 – Federal Express Delivery Scam
People are receiving phony text messages and emails that appear to come from Federal Express informing them of a pending delivery. Some of the messages contain your name, while others are oddly addressed to "mate." The email or text message contains a phony tracking...
read moreScam of the day – January 23 2020 – Windows 7 Scams
We all remember the massive 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack that affected computers in 74 countries including the UK where its entire health care system was affected. Ransomware is the name for malware that once installed on a computer, often unwittingly through...
read moreScam of the day – January 22, 2020 – Census Scams Starting
The United States Census Bureau is conducting a national census as it is required by law to do every ten years. The Census is very important and is required by the Constitution. Census data is used to determine the numbers of members for each state in the House of...
read moreScam of the day – January 21, 2020 – Puppy Scams Coming From India
According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) pet scams involving the online sale of non-existent dogs have increased 39% since 2017. People buy dogs or other pets online and although they think they are taking proper precautions, they often end up getting nothing in...
read moreScam of the day – January 20, 2020 – Equifax Settlement Claim Deadline Approaching
There has been a lot of reporting in the media about the major Equifax settlement of claims brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and all but two of the states' Attorneys General related to the avoidable 2017...
read moreScam of the day – January 19, 2020 – FTC Shuts Down “Success By Health” Pyramid Scheme
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued multi-level marketer "Success By Health" and its executives alleging that the company operated an illegal pyramid scheme. The United States Federal Court for Arizona has granted a temporary restraining order shutting down...
read moreScam of the day – January 18, 2020 – Critical New Security Updates to Microsoft Windows Operating System
As was made abundantly clear by 2017's massive Wannacry ransomware attack that exploited 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 – January 17, 2020 – Free Cruise Scam Starts with a Robocall
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...
read moreScam of the day – January 16, 2020 – Criminal Identity Theft Lands Innocent Man in Jail
Criminal identity theft occurs when someone steals your identity and then commits crimes using your name and Social Security number. The problems encountered by someone whose identity has been stolen by a criminal who then commits crimes in the name of the identity...
read moreScam of the day – January 15, 2020 – Income Tax Identity Theft
A recent report of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) had some good news in regard to what it estimated was the amount of income tax identity theft that the IRS had been able to stop prior to paying money to the income tax identity thieves. Unfortunately, the...
read moreScam of the day – January 14, 2020 – Bill Gates Is Not Offering To Give You Money
It has been more than a year since I first warned you about scams related to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but after receiving an email from a Scamicide reader telling me his story about almost becoming a victim of this particular scam, I decided that it...
read moreScam of the day – January 13, 2020 – Legislators Urge FCC to Action Against SIM Swapping
SIM card swapping is a major problem. A Subscriber Identity Module, more commonly known as a SIM card, is an integrated circuit that stores information used to authenticate subscribers on mobile devices, such as a cell phone. The SIM card is able to be transferred...
read moreScam of the day – January 12, 2020 – Fake Draft Notices Cause Panic Among Young Men
Although the United States has not had a military draft since 1973 at the end of the Vietnam War, young men are still required to register for the draft upon reaching the age of eighteen. Presently there are no plans whatsoever for the re-institution of draft,...
read moreScam of the day – January 11, 2020 – Natural Disaster Charity Scams
Natural disasters, such as the massive bushfires in Australia and the recent earthquake and aftershocks in Puerto Rico have been devastating. Natural disasters such as these bring out the best in people who want to donate to charities to help the victims....
read moreScam of the day – January 10, 2020 – Fortune Teller Charged With Scamming a Woman Out of $71,000
Palm reader Tracey Milanovich was recently arrested and charged with scamming a Somerset, Massachusetts woman out of $71,000 after convincing the woman that her daughter was possessed by a demon. Police allege that Milanovich convinced her victim that if she paid...
read moreScam of the day – January 9, 2020 – 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 – January 8, 2020 – Ohio Woman Victimized by 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 – January 7, 2020 – Apple Tech Support Robocall Scam
Tech support scams in which consumers are tricked by scammers into believing there is a problem with their computers that require the expensive services of the scammers is a major problem. Tech support scams are increasingly common and victimize consumers 60 years or...
read moreScam of the day – January 6, 2020 – Mariah Carey’s Twitter Account Hacked
Last week hackers took over the Twitter account of singer Mariah Carey and sent out sexually explicit messages to her 21.4 million followers that appeared to come from Carey. After several hours her Twitter account was secured. I reported to you in September...
read moreScam of the day – January 5, 2020 – Another Wells Fargo 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...
read moreScam of the day – January 4, 2020 – Annual Report of the Do-Not Call Registry
Since it began in 2003, the National Do Not Call list has grown to include more than 239 million phone numbers. When you register your phone number with the Do Not Call list it becomes illegal for telemarketers to contact you by phone. The Do Not Call list does not...
read moreScam of the day – January 3, 2020 – Wawa Data Breach Class Action Filed
In the December 22, 2019 Scam of the day, I informed you about the massive data breach suffered by Wawa, a convenience store chain of more than 850 stores around the country. Wawa had recently disclosed that it had suffered a data breach that went undiscovered for...
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