Plenty of Americans don’t file their tax returns until the very last week: it’s just human nature. We shared scary warnings many times before this year’s April 15 deadline that fraudsters are filing Americans’ returns before they do, harvesting their refunds. Some even scarier news (if you’re a health care provider) broke today: some state medical societies report outbreaks of tax return scams among their members. [More]
scams
Victoria’s Secret Worker Accused Of Stealing, Selling Customers’ Credit Card Information
By 4.16.14
While you might be on the lookout for credit card skimmers installed at the ATM, a gas station pump or even a public transit kiosk, you likely wouldn’t expect a retail associate to wield such a weapon against customers. But police say one Victoria’s Secret store clerk did just that, skimming information from unsuspecting patrons and selling it to an alleged cohort. [More]
Scam Alert: No One From Netflix Will Ever Ask For Remote Access To Your Computer
By 4.14.14
Whenever someone you don’t know asks for remote access to your computer, a huge, noisy and very insistent alarm bell should immediately start clanging in your head. Because it’s probably a scam to get access to your personal files, credit card information and other information. [More]
Card Skimmer Discovered On Payment Kiosk In NYC Subway
By 4.11.14
Whenever I’m in New York City and load up a MetroCard at the train station kiosk, I give the card readers extra scrutiny and think to myself, “such a high-volume spot would be a great place to install a skimmer.” My paranoia was justified: earlier this week, the Metropolitan Transit Authority warned the public that they’ve found card skimmers on a few of those very kiosks. [More]
Ads Offering Tax-Relief Are Full Of Broken Promises, Just Want Your Money
By 4.11.14
This may not come as a surprise to any of you, but those ads on the radio that offer to settle your debt to the Internal Revenue Service for a fraction of the bill may be a scam. [More]
Jerk.com Accused Of Using Facebook Profiles To Con People Into Paying To Remove “Jerk” Label
By 4.7.14
The Internet has its share of websites that let people post negative comments and statements about individuals and businesses, and then turn around and allow the insulted parties to remove that content (for a fee, of course). The Federal Trade Commission has accused one such site of creating millions of fake profiles in order to scam Facebook users out of $30 each. [More]
Watch Out For Scammy Links Promising New Info About Malaysian Airlines Flight 370
By 4.7.14
While much of the world is waiting and hoping for any sign of what happened to Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared on the way to Beijing on March 8 with 239 people aboard, there are those out there just waiting for the chance to take advantage of those hopes. [More]
Beware: Your Match.com Crush Probably Doesn’t Love You If He’s Asking For $86,000
By 4.7.14
You might not be able to mend a broken heart or get back any money you sent to the object of your affection under the mistaken illusion that he/she loved you, but that’s why we’re here, to learn from the unfortunate lessons served on others before you’re tempted to say, wire someone you met on a dating site $86,000. [More]
Banks Warned About Massive ATM Frauds, Attacks On Websites
By 4.3.14
It’s hard to feel bad for the banking business, but financial institutions can take a huge hit when consumers are the victims of large-scale fraud or ID theft. Replacing debit and credit cards, issuing refunds, investigating sketchy transactions can all add up — and of course that cost ultimately gets passed on to customers. This is why federal regulators are putting banks on alert to be mindful of increasingly popular ATM fraud and to be prepared for attacks on their websites. [More]
More Details Revealed On WEBLEARN Debit/Credit Card Scam
By 3.31.14
Last week, we told you how our banking sources had linked the recent rash of fraudulent debit and credit card charges from a mysterious company listed as WEBLEARN to the scammers behind a similar scheme that had dinged victims’ accounts for bogus $9.84 transactions during the holidays. Some further investigation by those better equipped to do so has turned up more on this link. [More]
Returning Stuff You Didn’t Buy From Kohl’s For Cash Won’t Go Over Well
By 3.31.14
While we applaud creativity in many endeavors, ripping off a store with a bit of trickery just to get some cash out of the deal is a no-no, clever though it might be. Or in the case of a man accused of scamming a Kohl’s store in St. Louis out of some cash, it’s only a matter of time before your ruse is spoiled. [More]
Fraudulent WEBLEARN Debit/Credit Card Charges Possibly Linked To Earlier “$9.84” Scam
By 3.28.14
We recently told you about a rash of low-value fraudulent charges attributed to a mysterious company called “WEBLEARN” popping up on credit and debit card statements. Since then, we’ve heard from hundreds of people who’ve been hit with these charges and while we still don’t know where the scammers got the purloined card numbers, the identity of the scammers is now less of a mystery. [More]
Colorado Scamsters Borrowed Homeless Adults’ Identities To Buy iPhones
By 3.26.14
Hey, phone subsidies when you sign a new contract are great! If you don’t mind committing to a higher rate plan and don’t want to shell out for an unlocked phone, they’re a good way to get a nice handset. Do you know when they’re not so great, though? When scamsters convince unknowing people to sign contracts, then resell the phones, failing to cancel the contracts as they promised. [More]
Bank Of America Says It Shouldn’t Have To Pay For School Employee Who Stole $840K
By 3.24.14
For more than four years, an employee of a Catholic school in Connecticut got away with siphoning hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school’s account at Bank of America. In 2012, a court ordered BofA to pay $840,000 to the diocese for its failure to catch on to the swindle. Today, the bank was scheduled to appear in court to make its case for why it shouldn’t have to pay that tab. [More]
IRS Warns Of “Largest Ever” Phony Phone Call Scam
By 3.21.14
After receiving more than 20,000 reports of victims being taken in by a phone scam in which the callers pretend to be IRS officials, the tax agency’s internal watchdog has issued a public warning for consumers to be mindful of unsolicited calls claiming to be from the IRS. [More]
EA Server Hacked, Websites Replaced By Phishing Scam
By 3.20.14
From the Mass Effect 3 debacle to last year’s disastrous SimCity launch, things always seem to go badly for video game goliath Electronic Arts around the time of our Worst Company In America contest; perhaps that’s why EA is the two-time reigning champ. The latest gaffe involves a hacked EA web server that appears to have been used by scammers in an attempt to steal folks’ Apple ID credentials. [More]
Check Your Debit, Credit Card Statements For “BLS WebLearn” Scam Transactions
By 3.19.14
A lot of times when someone gets a hold of someone’s credit or debit card info and decides to use it for illicit purposes, the ID thief makes as many charges as possible in a short period of time. But some scammers choose to chisel away at victims’ accounts in the hopes that the crime will go unnoticed. [More]
Man Sends $70K To Online Suitor, Sues OKCupid For Not Warning Him Of Dating Dangers
By 3.19.14
Sometimes, when love is in the air, it’s like nothing matters — eating, sleeping… keeping an eye on your bank account and making sure not to send a bunch of money to someone you’ve never met. A man who was tricked into sending $70,000 to an online suitor is now suing OKCupid for not warning him that such a thing could happen. [More]
