Technology helps scammers target entire population

Here are the five latest scams reported to the Roanoke BBB office:

Computer Threat Cold Call Scam Scam: Scammers are cold-calling consumers and masquerading as either the FBI and IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center), Microsoft, or Windows tech support. They request remote access to the computer, and then either make remedial repairs and adjustments, or give the appearance that they are making repairs and adjustments. Once they are finished they request a credit card number or banking information to pay for the service. If the consumer refuses the scammers freeze the computer and threaten to do further damage unless the consumer send in payment.

Protect yourself: Install a firewall and anti-virus program on your computer and update these programs frequently, update your operating system and web browser software regularly, protect your passwords by keeping them in a safe place, create different passwords for each online account that you have, never give personal or financial information to unsolicited callers. Contact your service provider directly if you are concerned you may be exposed to viruses or other security threats and find a computer repair company you can trust.

Facebook Cloned Friend Scam Scam: Scammers go onto Facebook, find a profile and copy all the details to make an identical profile page. They then add all of the friends that are attached to the legitimate profile and then begin sending messages to these friends with one of the following claims: they are in trouble and need money wired, they know of a great grant program that is easy to qualify for and will then send them on to another fraudulent page to enter banking information or they have a great business opportunity and think their friends should invest. The scammers have also been known to report the real page as being fraudulent to Facebook so that it is blocked, many times without the real owner knowing about it.

Protect yourself: Check your privacy setting on all your social media accounts to ensure you aren’t sharing personal information with strangers, hide your friends list from the public, be cautious of friend requests from strangers or from people you thought already were friends, avoid posting any personal information, consider enabling login notifications, consider one-time passwords when using public Wi-Fi (before using public Wi-Fi to access your Facebook account, text “otp” to 32665 to receive a temporary password to log in to your account).

Summer Job Scam/Work at Home Scam: Scammers go onto online job posting websites and advertise seasonal and work-at-home jobs that require little or no experience and offer high pay for remedial tasks. Once the consumer applies and is “hired,” they are required to send in a fee that is generally requested for training services and manuals, office equipment, marketing packages, or sales leads. Victims then send in money either via a money order or wire transfer and never hear from the company again. They occasionally receive worthless training materials and resources.

Protect yourself: Look out for big bucks for simple tasks, offers out of nowhere from strangers, requests for up-front payments, requests for wired payements, refusal to give details in writing, references that are missing or suspicious, contact information that is missing or doesn’t make sense and the request for you to buy expensive items.

Medical Alert Phone Scam Scam: Scammers cold-call consumers via call centers or robo-calls and inform the consumer they have received a free medical alert system. Consumers are told they have been either recommended by a friend or family member for the product, or that it has been completely paid for by a friend or family member. In the instances of receiving robo-calls, consumers who call or respond to the message are presented with a high-pressure sales pitch for a yearly medical alert monitoring system. Consumers are told them must supply credit card information or other banking information to receive their “free” medical alert system. The company references several reputable medical alert companies, but has no connection to established medical alert companies.

Protect yourself: Be wary of anyone offering you something for “free” in exchange for your personal information. Do not provide your bank account information, Medicare number, Social Security number or any other personal information to unknown individuals over the phone.

Phantom Debt Call Scam Scam: Scammers call consumers and claim that they are sending the police to their home within the next hour with an arrest warrant unless the consumer pays a percentage of a debt they owe. Scammers have claimed they are from the police, FBI, CIA, sheriff’s department, or other law enforcement agency. Many times they will use stern and threatening language. Scammers demand payment in the form of a money order or wire transfer.

Protect yourself: Look out for cold-calls from any enforcement agency demanding money (they don’t operate like that and will never call you in such a manner), anyone that requests you to wire money, and debt collection requests without any details, paperwork or other validation of debt. Reputable agencies will never threaten you with arrest and imprisonment because of a debt.

Rebecca Holland | 981-3138

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Though we would like to trust people, in this day and age you should have your guard up against scammers.

Threats can come from a knock at your door, a phone call, an email or even a message over social media sites. Most of us think we’re too smart to ever get duped, but just as technology progresses, so do the schemes of criminals.

“The scam artists follow technology. So anything new that comes out, you can pretty much bet the scammers will find a way to use it,” said Julie Wheeler, president of the Better Business Bureau in Roanoke.

And scammers are targeting everyone, from seniors to stay-at-home parents to college students.

Target audiences

Seniors are often scammed by callers posing as their children or grandchildren asking for money to be wired due to an emergency, or by callers offering a free medical alert system.

Wheeler explained, “The medical alert phone calls are calling people and saying that their friend or relative has paid [for them] to have a medical alert system. Then they want you to give them a lot of personal information to get the free system.”

While most scams infiltrate an area and then move on after a week or so, Wheeler said the Roanoke BBB office has been getting calls for about a month reporting this medical alert scam.

Meanwhile, stay-at-home parents are often the targets of work-from-home offers that require a pricey initial investment but promise a big return. Scammers take aim at students looking for work during the summer months . They’ll often post job openings on sites like Craigslist and will gather loads of personal information through fake job applications.

Scam artists are also using social media platforms to reach people. Facebook scammers will copy someone’s Facebook page and then reach out to their entire friends list to try to get money. Wheeler described the process as a new twist on the grandparent scam.

“Privacy settings are really important. You should have everything blocked where only friends can see the information,” she said.

If you sell products on eBay or Craigslist you’re not safe either. After someone offers to buy your merchandise they may send you a check for more than you were asking. Then you’ll receive a follow-up email saying they made a mistake and request that you cash the check and return the difference. In most cases the original check is counterfeit, so in the end you’ve lost the item for sale and the money you refunded.

Red flags

Even though the scammers have gotten smarter, there are some basic red flags you can look out for in every situation.

First, be wary of an offer that requires you to act quickly. Additionally, if someone is asking for a lot of personal information (like your Social Security number) or bank information, you should think twice. Also do some extra research if the scam claims to be a person or service that requires an immediate wire payment or balance transfer.

If you suspect that you’re interacting with a scammer, Wheeler suggests taking a big breath and doing your homework. Don’t fall for high pressure sales where you must act quickly and remember that if an offer seems too good to be true it probably is. If something is described as free, you shouldn’t have to provide any personal information or banking information to get the deal.

Recovering from scams

Unfortunately, once money is wired it usually can’t be recovered.

However if you have paid for an offer with a credit card and you’re not pleased with the service or suspect fraud, you can dispute the charge. If you did not give any money but did provide a lot of personal information, follow-up with a credit check.

“Check annualcreditreport.com, which is handled by the FTC [Federal Trade Commission]. Each agency is required by law to provide your credit report to you for free once a year,” Wheeler said. “The quicker you find something the easier it is to clean up.”

If you get into the process and haven’t released any personal information or money, end the interaction immediately. You can report scams to the BBB, the Internet Crime Complaint Center, the FTC or, if it’s a local individual or group, your local police department.

What scams have you encountered recently? Alert other readers and share your experiences on the Shoptimist blog at blogs.roanoke.com/shoptimist.

Monday, August 12, 2013