International travel is great! There are millions of great places to see, people to meet, and foods to try waiting out there in the world. Unfortunately, there are also crooks and fraudsters everywhere. Most of us know how to handle a sticky situation when we’re on our home turf, but what do you do when someone in a place where you don’t speak the language is taking advantage of your wallet in a way you didn’t agree to? [More]
scams
6 Things We Learned About Bluetooth ATM Skimmers In Mexico
By 9.17.15
If you took a summer vacation this year, you may have spent it on a beach, on a boat, or at a theme park. Security journalist Brian Krebs spent his summer vacation doing something that sounds super-fun to us: hunting down compromised ATMs in Mexico. He found quite a few, and also learned who might be behind all of his fraud. [More]
CFPB Sues Debt Relief Firm, Alleging It Bilked Customers For $67M
By 9.15.15
Being in debt can be paralyzing, leaving some people with the feeling like they’ll never climb their way out of the hole. So when a company promises it can help ease that burden, it might some like a good idea to spend even more money in the hope that you’ll ultimately be pointed in the right financial direction. Federal regulators say one debt relief operation took in $67 million from customers in need of help, but most of that money just went to the firm’s fees while the customers’ debts continued to pile up. [More]
Supplement-Maker Who Diluted Products With Other Powders Sentenced To 40 Months In Prison
By 9.9.15
When you buy a food product or a dietary supplement, you should be confident that the product’s ingredients are listed on the label, and that you’re getting what you paid for. Federal prosecutors say that one dietary supplement wholesaler in New Jersey spent four years selling products diluted with products like maltodextrin or rice flour, increasing profits but defrauding customers. The company’s owner now must forfeit $1 million in profits and has been sentenced to 40 months in prison and one year of supervised release. [More]
No, You Aren’t Going To Win An Audi Or A Diamond Ring Just By Liking & Sharing A Post On Facebook
By 9.9.15
Although you might be suspicious that something sounds too good to be true, not every scam you come across on the Internet will immediately set off alarm bells. After all, what’s the worst that could come from liking and sharing a post on Facebook, beyond the fact that a new Audi R8 V8 or a diamond ring from Tiffany & Co. won’t become yours? Some scams exist (and thrive) just to get those valuable likes and shares, and gain an audience for future scams. [More]
Fake Boss Wire Transfer Scammers Have Now Stolen $1.2 Billion From Companies
By 8.28.15
All year, we’ve been sharing information about a scam hitting companies all over the world, where very clever and resourceful scammers impersonate bosses and extract money on false pretenses. The best protection against this kind of fraud is education, and while law enforcement are doing their best to let people know about the scam, the number of victims is only increasing, and law enforcement estimates that the scammers have drained $1.2 billion worldwide from businesses’ bank accounts. [More]
Couple Accused Of Pulling “Shoulder Surfing” Scam To Cash $400K In Counterfeit Checks At Walmart
By 8.18.15
Whenever you’re dealing with your private information in a public place, it’s a good idea to use your body/bag/hand as a shield to keep prying eyes from peeking where they shouldn’t. You never know, there could be someone trying to pull a “shoulder surfing” scam, as officials are calling the method employed by a couple of accused scammers who allegedly preyed on folks cashing checks at Walmart. [More]
AAA: E-ZPass Users Targeted By Phishing Scam Demanding Money For Unpaid Tolls
By 8.18.15
Scammers can be tricky to identify, but when they target the experts, it makes spotting fakes a lot easier: AAA is warning E-ZPass users of a phishing scam circulating around right now demanding money for unpaid tolls, after one of its own pros received a suspicious email. [More]
Police: Pennsylvania Woman Faked Cancer For Two Years To Scam Thousands In Donations
By 8.12.15
Any scam that takes money from unsuspecting folks is bad, of course, but those that prey on people trying to help those in need seem to leave an extra nasty taste in the mouth: police in Pennsylvania say one woman took advantage of the kindness of others by pretending she had cancer for two years, allegedly raking in thousands of dollars in donations. [More]
Regulators File Suit Against Data Broker That Helped Payday Loan Scammer Bilk $7M From Consumers
By 8.12.15
From time to time, federal regulators shut down shady payday lending companies that debit consumers’ accounts or charge their credit cards without permission. But those nefarious operations have to get their information from somewhere, right? Well, today the Federal Trade Commission sent a message to all of those companies providing such personal information to scammy-mcscammersons by taking action against a data broker operation that illegal sold payday loan applicants’ financial information. [More]
Surprise! This $200 Off Kroger Coupon Is Actually A Scam
By 8.10.15
This coupon promises to get you $200 off your next $20 shopping visit to the supermarket chain Kroger. Well, except for how the coupon doesn’t actually work at Kroger. Or exist. The promise of unrealistically amazing coupons is used to get people to click on a link that could harm your computer. [More]
Don’t Fall For The Mail-Order Puppy Scam
By 8.7.15
Getting a dog from a breeder can run you thousands of dollars, so it might be tempting when someone offers to sell you a baby puppy for a fraction of that. But if that seller is just some random person who demands that you wire them a cash payment, you’re probably getting rooked. [More]
Scammer Accused Of Swindling Investors Out Of $24K For Fake Clint Eastwood Cowboy Documentary
By 8.6.15
When you think of Clint Eastwood, he of the flinty-eyed gaze and chiseled jawline, you probably think about the Wild West, the wide open prairie and the cowboys who range there. Which is exactly what one scammer was counting on when he allegedly swindled $24,000 out of investors in Montana for a cowboy flick that he said would be narrated by Eastwood himself. [More]
Operators Of Credit Repair Business Masquerading As The FTC Must Return $2.4M To Consumers
By 8.4.15
Three months after regulators shut down a credit repair company catering mainly to Spanish-speaking consumers for falsely claiming to have a close relationship with the federal government – calling itself “FTC Credit Solutions” – and bilking thousands of dollars from individual consumers with empty promises of boosting their credit scores, the real Federal Trade Commission announced it has reached a settlement that will result in the return of $2.4 million to victims of the scam. [More]
Stupid Scammers Sell Play-Doh “iPhones,” Get Caught When Victim Asks To Buy More
By 7.28.15
Dear dumb criminals: If you’re lucky enough to trick someone into buying an iPhone box full of Play-Doh, consider your crappy, evil job done and move on to the next victim. Because if that buyer calls you back asking to purchase more “iPhones,” they’re either less-intelligent than you, or you’re about to be arrested. [More]
Telemarketers Took Millions From Senior Citizens In Medicare Card Scam
By 7.27.15
There’s now one less unsavory, immoral, disrespectful group scamming senior citizens of their savings, as federal regulators took action against the operators of a scheme in which telemarketers pretended to be Medicare representatives in order to bilk millions of dollars from older consumers. [More]
Buyers Of Convicted Liar Kevin Trudeau’s Weight Loss Book May Finally Be Getting Refunds
By 7.22.15
Last year, author Kevin Trudeau was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for repeatedly violating pledges to stop lying about the content of his book The Weight Loss Cure “They” Don’t Want You to Know About. Yesterday, nearly a decade after Trudeau was first held in contempt over his misleading claims about this book, a federal judge gave the go-ahead for a plan to finally issue refunds to consumers who purchased the title. [More]
New York Sues Leukemia “Charity” For Allegedly Raising $10 Million Through Deception
By 7.21.15
Most of us understand that not every dollar given to a charity is going directly to the people or causes that the charitable organization supports, but when the charity tells lies about how your money will be spent and instead wastes nearly every penny on enriching a handful of employees, a line is crossed. [More]
