Scams Galore!

A column published in the Morgan County Citizen on March 17, 2017.Scams galore.….

Over the past several weeks, we have experienced a dramatic increase in residents receiving phishing emails or telephone calls from individuals attempting to gain their trust for the sole purpose of swindling them out of their hard- earned money.

By definition, a scam is a fraudulent scheme proposed by a deceptive individual, group, or company for the purpose of obtaining money or something of value. Myriad scams run the gamut from IRS tax filings, employment propositions, on-line banking/financial institutions, fictitious scholarships, on-line dating services, tourism, rental equipment/properties, sham arrest warrants, jury duty, PC maintenance, counterfeit merchandise, and so on. All scams are merely a vulnerability test of the level of trust of the potential victim.

One very popular telephone scam sweeping the area is the grandparent scam. Everyone is well aware of the close, unique relationship grandparents enjoy with their precious grandchildren, so fraudsters merely exploit that loving relationship. Unfortunately, social media platforms provide fraudsters an array of intelligence information to craft their schemes. Sadly, many account holders readily post their daily activities and often times, very personal information. Their openness is a treasure trove for the fraudster. Once they glean as much insight as they can into a potential victim, they contact the unsuspecting victim either by phone or email and masquerade as a government official, usually from a foreign country. They claim their grandchild was caught up in some illegal activity but is eligible for release and return to the United States for a nominal fine or fee. Once they gain the trust of the grandparent, the official directs them how to make the payment to secure their immediate release. After the victim complies with their instructions, then another pretend government official calls and claims there are additional fees to cover transportation, customs transfers and so on. It only stops when the victim realizes it is a scam and discontinues cooperating.

The other trending scam is the email banking scam. An extremely authentic looking phishing email arrives in the potential victim’s inbox suggesting a problem with their bank account. There are a number of variations to this type of scam but typically the email requests verification of certain vital information. Once the trusting victim provides the requested information, their account is quickly void of any funds. Often times, the fraudster then sells the victim’s information to another scammer for identity theft opportunities.

With the countless types and variations of scams being perpetrated daily nationwide, residents must be cognizant that con-artists are constantly lurking for the susceptible, trusting victim. They are relentless and determined to find an easy “mark” to defraud. Residents are encouraged to refrain from sending anyone money unless they personally know the person they are dealing with or at least, they should consult with a family member, a close friend or a law enforcement official before sending money in response to a phone call or email. A quick, independent verification of information before reacting can prevent victimization and in turn save thousands of dollars.

Please join us in combatting the scammer by subscribing to NIXLE at https://www.nixle.com/ as well as the Federal Trade Commission Scam Alert Notification system at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts to receive our NIXLE alerts and the FTC’s scam updates.

Together, we can put the scammer out of business!

"Christopher A. Bish, MPA"

Scams_Galore_031317.pdf

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