Consider yourself warned: Scammers are taking advantage of the recent news that Amazon is selling access to Comcast services, faking calls from the cable company to steal money from unwitting victims.
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Scheme
Woman Out $250 After Falling Victim To Comcast, Amazon Fake Promotion Scheme
By 7.26.16
$5M Credit Card Skimming Scheme Nets Man Seven Years In Jail
By 5.4.16
A high-ranking member of the largest card-skimming operation in the U.S. will spend the next seven years in prison for his part in a scheme that used ATMs at several national banks to steal $5 million from credit card accounts.
Find A Newspaper Subscription Renewal Notice In The Mail? It Might Be Fake
By 5.3.16
Two years ago, newspapers began warning consumers that subscription renewal notices, which ask for your credit card and personal information, may look legitimate, but are more than likely a ploy by unscrupulous companies to get their hands on your money. Today, the Federal Trade Commission took a step to rein in this scheme by suing the operators of dozens of interrelated companies that send out such notices. [More]
BlueHippo Must Pay $14M For Continuing To Rip Off Customers
By 5.2.16
Seven years after federal regulators charged shady “no credit check” computer seller BlueHippo with contempt for allegedly violating a 2008 order by continuing to take money from customers without providing promised computers, the company has been ordered to pay $13.4 million. [More]
Police: Mother-Daughter Duo Stole $28K In Target Merchandise Through Return Scheme
By 4.7.16
When you think of someone stealing merchandise from a big box retailer you probably first think of smaller items that could easily be concealed in purses or on your person. But that certainly wasn’t the case for a mother-daughter duo accused of making away with bed sets, ottomans, chairs, and other items through a return scam at several California Target stores. [More]
Cancer Charities That Scammed $75M From Donors Must Shut Down, Issue Refunds
By 3.30.16
Last May, an investigation involving federal regulators and prosecutors from all 50 states led to four national cancer charities being charged with swindling consumers out of $187 million in charitable donations. Today, two of those bogus charities — responsible for $75 million in bilked donations — have agreed to close up shop and provide refunds to donors.
Operation That Illegally Debited Consumers’ Bank Accounts Must Repay $43M
By 3.9.16
Months after federal regulators ordered a data broker to pay $7.1 million for selling consumers’ sensitive information to scammers, a court ordered one of those alleged scammers and its subsidiaries and operators to provide $43 million in relief to victims. [More]
MoneyGram To Pay $13M, Revamp Policies To Protect Against Wire Transfer Fraud
By 2.11.16
While advances in technology now allow us to zap money from our bank accounts to our friends and family members with the touch of a button, some people continue to rely on money transfer services. But as we’ve reported several times in the past, these companies are often the service of choice for scammers looking to get their hands on your hard-earned money. One such outfit, MoneyGram, today agreed to revamp its policies and provide $13 million in restitution to consumers who were harmed by fraudsters using the service. [More]
Timeshare Telemarketing Scam Bilked $25M From Consumers
By 2.11.16
Three Florida men pleaded guilty recently to assisting in an elaborate telemarketing operation that defrauded $25 million from timeshare owners in the U.S. and Canada. [More]
Regulators Stop Alleged Office Supply Scam That Targeted Charitable Organizations, Small Businesses
By 12.29.15
We’ve said it a thousand times: scammers are the worst, and those that take advantage of organizations trying to do good in the world are the lowest of the low. Such was allegedly the case for Liberty Supply Co., which federal regulators have accused of running an office supply scam that targeted charitable organizations and small businesses. [More]
Beware Of The Santa Scam: There’s Nothing Holly Jolly About Identity Theft
By 12.22.15
Imagine the look in your child’s eye when they open one last gift on Christmas morning. This one isn’t a toy car, a baby doll, or some electronic, it’s a handwritten letter from everyone’s favorite big guy, Santa. But for every legitimate company that offers to send “Santa letters” or provide calls from Jolly Ol’ St. Nick, there’s bound to be another that just wants to Scrooge you out of your money — or worse. [More]
Using Only His Phone, Man Scams 217 Macy’s Stores Into Issuing Fraudulent Refunds
By 9.18.15
If you plan to go on a scamming spree, you probably shouldn’t use your actual email address when completing the transactions. That was ultimately the undoing for a Georgia man who federal authorities say duped more than 200 Macy’s stores in 31 states into issuing fraudulent refunds — and all without having to drive to the mall. [More]
Feds: Green Energy Ponzi Scheme Duped Consumers Out Of $54.5M
By 9.3.15
When someone makes a promise that seems too good to be true: like saying you’ll be “stinkin’, filthy rich” if you invest in their green energy technology, it’s a good idea to look into that proposition with a little more scrutiny. That kind of attractive, yet ultimately worthless deal cost consumers nearly $54.5 million, federal prosecutors say. [More]
Man Charged With Operating Debt Collection Scheme That Targeted, Defrauded Spanish-Speaking Consumers
By 8.28.15
Deceiving consumers is a trademark for most unscrupulous operations attempting to collect debts that aren’t actually owed. Shady collectors have been known to lie about debts, misrepresent themselves as officers of the law, threaten lawsuits and, in the case of one operator, threaten Spanish-speaking residents with deportation. [More]
Man Charged With Operating American Dream Scheme Sentenced To Jail, Must Refund $6.4M
By 8.12.15
A man who helped perpetrate a scam that promised consumers they could obtain the “American Dream” by selling coffee and greeting cards at retail establishments across the country will spend 70 months in jail and must repay $6.4 million to victims. [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]
Pennsylvania Man Charged With Racketeering Related To Massive Payday Loan Scheme
By 6.24.15
A life of stealing started with the snatching of a candy bar and transformed into an illegal multi-million dollar online payday lending scheme that allegedly defrauded thousands of people. At least that’s what federal prosecutors say led to charges against a Pennsylvania man recently. [More]
Man Arrested For Allegedly “Corrupting” Wells Fargo Employees In Scheme To Access Customer Accounts
By 6.3.15
As a bank customer, you generally have an expectation that employees of said bank won’t share your personal or account information with someone that isn’t, in fact, you. But what happens when a person calls the bank claiming to be an account holder in the midst of an emergency and in need of quick cash? Federal prosecutors say that was the basis for a recent bank fraud scheme targeting Wells Fargo customers and employees. [More]
