If you’re hitting the road this holiday weekend, you might find yourself visiting some unfamiliar gas stations, ATMs, or kiosks that accept credit cards. The recent arrest in California of two men who are accused of draining $500,000 from US Bank customers’ accounts should remind people across the country and all over the world: be careful where you swipe your debit card, and be protective of your PIN. [More]
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Did You Pirate Game Of Thrones? Beware Of Phishing Scam Posing As Copyright Notice
By 7.8.16
HBO’s Game of Thrones isn’t just another wacky sitcom about fancy chairs. It’s also the most frequently pirated show on TV, with huge numbers of people clamoring each week to download and share the latest episode. Scammers are now trying to cash in on this sizable audience by sending phishing emails disguised as copyright notices. [More]
Buddhist Leaders Telling NYC Tourists To Beware Fake Monks Who Solicit Donations
By 6.27.16
Just because someone is dressed like the kind of person you may trust, you should always know exactly who it is you’re handing your money to. That’s the warning Buddhist leaders are issuing to tourists visiting New York City, telling them to watch out for fake monks who are pushing people into giving them donations for temples that don’t exist. [More]
$6.3 Million In Refunds Going Out To Buyers Of Book Written By Convicted Liar Kevin Trudeau
By 6.22.16
More than two years after “author,” infomercial pitchman, and professional liar Kevin Trudeau was sentenced to 10 years in prison for repeatedly making bogus weight-loss claims about his book The Weight Loss Cure “They” Don’t Want You to Know About, some of the hundreds of thousands of people conned into buying the book will be getting their money back. [More]
Tech Support Scammer Must Surrender Assets, Banned From Running Tech Support Companies
By 6.21.16
The company name “OMG Tech Help” is so great and so evocative, it’s really a shame that a tech support scam operation used it. That’s one of the brands that a company out of Florida used for a phony tech support scheme that the state of Florida and the Federal Trade Commission busted up in 2014. Now the company has been ordered to surrender the assets that it has left, and its owner can’t run any tech support businesses. [More]
Feds Shut Down Florida-Based Debt-Relief Robocall Scammers
By 6.14.16
A federal court has issued a restraining order against a network of Florida-based robocallers who bilked more than $15.6 million from victims through the use of auto-dialed, prerecorded scam calls pitching bogus credit card rate reduction under the generic guise “Bank Card Services” or “Credit Assistance Program.” [More]
Let’s Watch Some Promotional Videos From Makers Of ATM Skimmers
By 6.14.16 — Updated: 2.28.17
Legitimate businesses create video ads to promote their products, so why shouldn’t companies that can provide you with the supplies to commit crimes? Here are some videos where sellers of the tools of the ATM skimmer trade show off how their products work, in case you’ve always wondered how to insert and remove a super-thin ATM skimmer. [More]
U.S. & Dutch Authorities Shut Down International Scam That Bilked Millions From Elderly
By 6.2.16
Simultaneous legal actions by both the U.S. Department of Justice and Dutch authorities seek to shut down an alleged mail fraud scheme that tricked elderly Americans into paying tens of millions of dollars with the false promise of winning valuable prizes in return. [More]
Technology That Improves Phones Also Means Scam Calls Are Easy And Dirt Cheap
By 5.27.16
The same technology that means you can talk to friends or loved ones anywhere in the world for pennies per minute or for free has a harmful downside: it also means that scammers anywhere in the world can call you cheaply, too, using overseas call centers and an utter lack of human empathy to drain the pockets of victims, who are mostly senior citizens. [More]
New And Improved Version Of Popular ATM Malware Spotted In The Wild
By 5.20.16
Modern ATMs are just computers attached to machines stuffed with cash, and that means that ATMs can also be infected with malware and viruses. Back in 2009, a piece of malware that could make an ATM spit out cash or give out the card numbers of people who had recently used the machine was found in the wild, the not-very-creatively-named Skimer. Now the security company Kapersky Labs has discovered a new and better (if you’re not a bank or a consumer) version of Skimer out in the wild. [More]
Fortune Teller Admits Stealing Millions From Clients For Lifting Curses
By 5.18.16
Whether or not you believe in dark curses or not, you shouldn’t be paying someone your hard-earned cash to lift them. The Department of Justice says the former owner of a fortune teller business in Virginia pled guilty in federal court to committing mail fraud and laundering more than $1 million she stole from her victims, after telling them she was clairvoyant and could see into the past and the future.
[More]
Here’s What You’ll Find Inside A Real ATM Skimmer Found In Indonesia
By 5.9.16
What would you do if you were on vacation abroad, and you found a skimmer attached to an ATM? Security consultant Matt South discovered a camera attachment on an ATM in Bali, Indonesia, and decided to bring it back to his hotel to take it apart. He found a plastic enclosure that contained a modified motion-activated spy camera, and four holes that turned out to be a USB port. [More]
Slamming, A Classic ’90s Phone Scam, Is Still Alive And Well
By 4.21.16
You might remember slamming, or switching someone’s long-distance carrier without their knowledge or permission, as a crime of the years just after phone deregulation, when the idea that one could switch long-distance carriers was novel. It’s a scam that still happens to people with landlines, though, and you should know how to prevent it, and what you should warn landline-having friends and relatives not to do. [More]
Amazon Unintentionally Paying Scammers To Hand You 1000 Pages Of Crap You Don’t Read
By 4.20.16
For a certain kind of reader — the kind who can go through three books a week easy on her commute, let’s say — an unlimited subscription, wireless, e-book service sounds like a dream come true. That’s what Amazon promises with their Kindle Unlimited service, but the plan may be backfiring — not so much on readers, but on authors and on Amazon itself. [More]
Why Is My House Listed For Rent On Craigslist?
By 3.24.16
It must be an awkward conversation when you call up a friend to let her know that the house she owns is up for sale on Craigslist, but protecting us from scams is just one of the many purposes that friends serve in our lives. In California, a woman was surprised to learn that her house was listed as a rental on Craigslist, when she had no plans to rent it out. [More]
Scammer Must Repay $7.75M For Running Bogus Prayer Center & Consumer Complaint Service
By 3.17.16
When facing times of trouble, some people choose to believe in the power of prayer. Others put more trust in their ability to file an official complaint. A Seattle-based scam artist apparently figured he would cover all his bases, operating a trio of bogus companies covering everything from religion to consumer gripes. [More]
Seagate Employee Falls For CEO W-2 Scam, Sends Everyone’s Personal Information
By 3.7.16
Snapchat isn’t the only technology company that has fallen victim to the tax-season variation on the classic CEO e-mail scam, where a scammer impersonating the boss asks for all employees’ tax information. An employee at hard drive company Seagate fell into the same trap, sending 2015 tax information for thousands of current and former employees to unknown scammers. [More]
Inspectors In Massachusetts Combing Gas Stations, Other Card Readers For Skimmers
By 3.4.16
Look out when you’re on the road: police and state standards agencies have noticed a scary trend near highways in New England. Bluetooth card skimmers are appearing on gas pumps and ATMs in New England, slurping up customers’ payment data and beaming it to thieves who may be sitting just around the corner. [More]
