How to successfully respond to the new dangerous unscrupulous scams
In 2021 it seems like scammers are just becoming even more widespread. Let’s go over a bunch of different scams that are either brand new or that are becoming at least more prevalent even if they’re not exactly new. You still need to be on the watch for them this year.
Let’s start with the so-called car wrap scam and in this one you’ll either see some kind of job posting or maybe even get an email or see an advertisement for something that claims to be able to pay you to just drive your car around. And the idea is that you’ll answer this ad and they’ll say yeah, all you have to do is put an advertisement car wrap logo on your car drive around like you normally would and they’ll pay you several $100 a week for that. If you accept this, they’ll usually send you a check that is a bogus cheque for a few thousand dollars. It will initially cash in the bank before the bank realize it’s fraudulent. But in the meantime, they will tell you: “Oh, use this money and go to our supplier who is a specialist in car wraps and just give him the money and pay him and he’ll handle it…” and they’ll tell you to do this in some way that’s not really reversible; like a wire transfer or a money order, something like that. Probably not too long after you make this payment to the so-called specialist who is part of the scam, then the bank will realize that the check is fraudulent after a couple of days and then they’ll deduct that money out of your account because they never should have been deposited. And then you’re out both the money that was deposited from the check and whatever money you have sent to the scammer. Simply you lost it all. This is just another variation of the fake check scam.
Always be wary of any company that says they’re going to send you a check and you go and use that to buy something that’s kind of sketchy.
Next, we have the so-called family emergency scams. These have been around for a while, but apparently, they were becoming a lot more common with this one. You’ll get a phone call claiming to be a relative of yours and they’re in some kind of emergency that requires you to give them money. This is often like they’re out of town on vacation and they just got arrested. They need money for bail, for example (a very common one). These usually target older people and then they’ll pretend to be grand-kids and they’ll say: “Oh grandpa/grandma, I’m in jail, I need a bail…” whatever. And then they also say something like: “Please don’t tell mom and dad for they will be so mad, please just send the money over now and I’ll sort it out and then tell them.”.
The idea is to get send the money before confirming the story with anyone to find out if this person is even out of town at all. They try to push the elderly to urgently send the money. For whatever reason it’s always very urgent, they need the money now, maybe the hearing is tomorrow and they need the money for a lawyer or they need to get out of jail now because maybe, they’re scary people in jail, that sort of things. And these scammers are cleverer than you may think. In one case someone questioned why they sound different, and they said well they broke the nose while being arrested and that’s the reason, they sound different.
In general, if you ever receive a phone call from anyone, even someone you know claiming to need money right away and you need to wire the money or something like that do not answer any phone call from the number you don’t recognize. First verify the story somehow and get to know that this is a scam going around. In short, if you do get a phone call from someone needing bail, it probably is a scam.
The next scam is fake phone calls from people claiming to be Apple or Amazon support. This is basically a variation of the fake order confirmation scams you may have heard of in the past. Usually this would have been an email. They send you a fake order confirmation and they say to cancel this order, go in here and it’s a fishing thing. Now it is different. They actually call you up on the phone (a robocall) and they may say something like: “This is Amazon support and this is alerting you to an unauthorized purchase of an iPhone for $1000. Press one to talk to customer service to cancel this.” And of course, if you pick up and you’re like: “Oh I didn’t order that.” You press one, you talk to a scammer and then they’ll usually ask for your credentials, they’ll try to get your bank account number saying: “Oh to cancel this, we need your original credit card info.” That it’s a scam. Here is an example: “An unauthorized purchase of an iPhone XR 64 gig advice for $749 is being ordered from your Amazon account. To cancel your order or to connect with one of our customer support representatives, please press one or simply stay on the line…” So that’s just one example for Amazon scam. But apparently Apple is another one that scammers are using. They’ll call you with some kind of robot call and say something like: “There’s unauthorized access to your iCloud account. Press one or talk to customer service or call this number to access customer service…” And then you connect to a scammer.
If you get one of these phone calls, never call the number that they tell you. If you’re really unsure about it, go on Amazon or Apple’s official website and contact them through the official number listed on the website. If you ever get a robocall from this type of scam or any other, never press any numbers on the phone, just hang up right away. Because if they hear you press the number, then they know now that it’s a live working number and then your number may be added to a call list and you’ll start getting even more and more spam calls. It’s best not to answer if you don’t recognize it and just hang up immediately when you realize it’s a scam.
Another type of scam is the overpaid utility bill scam. It is usually a robocall, maybe a voicemail that will say: “Hey, you overpaid your latest electricity bill and you’re eligible for a cash refund. All you have to do is press one or call this number to talk to customer service. It might not be a cash refund. Confirm it and we’ll apply a discount to your next bill…” something like that. Of course, when you press one or connect with “customer service”, who is actually the scammer, then they’ll usually require some kind of confirmation for the payment in the form of your bank account number where to deposit the money… They’ll use your personal information to steal your identity, any type of info they’ll be able to collect from you. At the best-case scenario, it’s like a really sketchy marketing company trying to get you to switch to their crap utility company and they’re basically still lying. You don’t want to interact with them. They’re still using sketchy lying marketing tactics. It’s either a scam or someone you don’t want to deal with anyway.
Next, we have the so-called package waiting scam. And what’s new about this is they’ve been actually sending out text messages where previously it was a kind of a fake order confirmation email you receive. Now you may start getting text messages and they may even know your first name or address etc. And they’ll say: “Oh you have a package waiting from USPS or from Amazon, click this link to find out more and how to receive it. But then if you click the link, it’s going to take you to what looks like a login page for probably Amazon or whatever website they’re saying they’re from. Of course, it’s a fishing page and they’re going to immediately steal your credentials and then use it to order from your real account and then take your money that way. So, if you receive one of these, never click the link. Even if you’re curious what the website is going to look like, don’t do it because they definitely have trackers on those links to track who is clicking the links and who’s not. And then you will start getting even more spam text messages because they know that this is a working number. So just don’t do it.
There is also a whole category of scams which are known as income scams. And these have become so much more widespread that even the FTC has started a new campaign to create awareness called operation income illusion to let people know that these scams are becoming more common. These scams come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Actually, the car wrap can we talked about in the beginning is basically a form of this, but usually you’ll see some kind of job posting or maybe an advertisement on social media too. You may even get an email that will basically claim: “Oh, work from home and you’ll make lots of money…” in a short amount of time and it will basically be something that’s just too good to be true. Regardless of the pretext they used to get your attention, they will take your money in few ways. For example, they may say: “Oh for this job, you’re required to go out and buy a print or something from our supplier.” They may say: “It’s an investment opportunity or a business opportunity.” or “You’ll start your own business and you’ll be using our proven business method etc. Of course, you have to put your money in, but you’ll never ever get anything out of it. But usually with these, the common thread is they’re going to require you to put in your own money upfront somehow. And then they’ll disappear right after, it’s like a fake check scam. Basically, they’ll hide the fact that you’re using your own money. It’s like some kind of multi level marketing where you have to buy the product before you sell it. But with all of these, you can just ask yourself, wait a minute, if they’re going to reimburse me for going out and buy this thing, why don’t they just go and buy it themselves? Obviously because it’s a scam and they want your information and your money.
The modern coronavirus relief in stimulus scams. With the combination of the United States tax season and talk of stimulus bills, there’s a lot of opportunities for scammers to take advantage of people and trick them. One common tactic is scammers will contact you in any number of ways, whether it’s email, text, message, phone call, whatever and they’ll say: “Hey congratulations, you’re now eligible, to get your stimulus check of $2000 whatever and all you need to do to claim it is X, Y, Z.” And then they can steal your money or personal information in a number of ways after that. For example, they might say: ”Hey, your coronavirus check is ready. We just need your bank information to deposit. It may be your bank account number or your bank login and then of course they’ll go in and drain it if they can. Or they may contact you and say: “Hey, to receive this coronavirus check, you have to sign up.” You’re not signed up yet and then they give you a link to some website. Of course, that is going to either steal your information and use it to steal your identity or they might steal your bank login credentials or so. If you’re curious about whether or not you’re eligible to get some kind of stimulus it’s always best to just stick to official news sources. I think there’s plenty of news outlets out there that are official for your local news or national news that will tell you and describe who’s eligible. You don’t have to rely on these sketchy emails or calls that you don’t know who they’re from.
Another type are the vaccine related scams. The FBI and local governments have said that scammers have been using the vaccine as an excuse to lure people in to scam them in a number of ways. You might see an advertisement on social media, you might get a text message or an email where if you click the link or respond to the ad, they’ll probably try to get you to put in a whole bunch of personal information. They can say: “Hey, to sign up to be put on the vaccine list you have to give us all your information, your social security number, your bank info for payment etc. Or they might say: “Oh, you need to put in your credit card number to pay the processing fee.” Another possible scenario they may say: “Hey, if you just pay us a fee will get you to the front of the line. You can get the vaccine first.” That’s a scam. There’s no way to pay to get to the front of the line. Your state or local government may actually have an official way to sign up to get the coronavirus vaccine. So, always go though to your official state or local government website and look for information on how to do that. Don’t be signing up by clicking on links for social media or unsolicited emails you receive. These are all scams.
Bellow is an actual scam complaint submitted by one of our users on the Reverd.com website on 23 Apr 2021 originated from phone number +1 330–222–8188 located in Salem, Ohio, USA (you’ll notice there are some 107 complaints from this same phone number):
“Hi, this is Amanda calling with the US Department of health insurance plan for citizens or you can reach me at 330–222–8188 and I’m actually just reaching out to you regarding the new plans available due to President Biden’s new comprehensive healthcare plan collectively referred to — — — care your plan will provide 100% coverage zero deductible — — — income protection in case you become sick and are unable to work however it is imperative that we speak to you just as soon as possible before these programs change as open enrollment has been extended only for a limited time by the new administration again my number is 330–222–8188 so I hope to hear back from you soon and have a great day…”
Unfortunately, scamming is a lucrative underground business and is not going to go away soon. Join the anti-scam crowd to reduce scam significantly. If you get a scam call report it right away from your phone directly using the free Reverd app . Once reported the number will be blocked on all phones using the Reverd App. Get rid of scam automatically.
Stay scam free, be healthy.
Original article on Medium