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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2008 > February > 14 > Entry
Revisiting old scams
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ah yes, the age of technology is great. We can sit on our duffs and cruise the world and order just about anything. Let’s say you wake up at 8:10 a.m. and decide you’re interested in Anthropology. By 8:15 you’ll have enough information to carry on cocktail discussions that evening with the boss’s new trophy wife about GG-rubbing. (I thought it was the author of the Harry Potter books.
We all know there are those who love this same technology for slightly different reasons. We also know there’s a sucker born every minute. The art of scamming used to take some acting skill for that inevitable face-to-face meeting with the victim. Now scammers can be anyone they want. I’m actually very impressed with some of the approaches, some cheesier than others, but regardless of how phony they sound to you, someone else out there sees it as an opportunity. In this age of super-technological snake-oil selling, don’t forget two important things:
- If it’s too good to be true, it usually is and,
- You rarely get something for nothing.
Some scams:
The Can’t Miss Car Deal
The Council of Better Business Bureaus received more than 35,000 complaints about car sales in 2006. Don’t be dazzled so much with a good deal that you don’t check the car out. “Off-lot” deals can easily be cars that had previous damage, flood damage, odometer rollbacks. Watch out for overpriced extended warranty packages.
A good rule is to have your own mechanic check the car and don’t go into a car dealer without first checking the prices out on the cars you’re interested in first. Buy a vehicle history report but don’t consider that the bible on the car. It’s best to arrange your own financing at a credit union or bank before you go car shopping. Don’t agree to undercoating and other unneeded add-ons when you’re negotiating.
Lotto Winners
You get an unsolicited phone call telling you you’ve won a prize or a foreign lottery.
The Hook- To collect the money, you must wire or overnight fees to cover insurance, taxes and shipping and handling.
New Twist- Scammers have learned to use a new tool known as “spoofing.” They disguise their real phone numbers on your caller ID with legitimate federal agency numbers in Washington D.C. and claim to be with Federal Trade Commission or the very official sounding “National Consumer Protection Agency.”
The FTC received more than 45,000 complaints about this type of scam in 2006. This ranks number three in it’s annual top fraud complaint list. Sweepstakes victims lose an average of $2,700 and lottery scam victims lose an average of $3,200.
What can I do? Real sweepstakes DO NOT require up-front payments. You can put your number on the national “Do Not Call Registry” at www.donotcall.gov or 888-382-1222.
(Let me just say that I’ve won the Spanish Lottery three times now and someone over there owes me 32 million dollars.)
Bank Account Problems
The pitch is easy. You get a call or and e-mail notifying you that there is a problem with your bank account that can be easily rectified if you give your account number, online password and / or Social Security Number to a bogus website. These websites are complete with phony logos of legitimate banks.
These were floating around for a couple of years. Washington Mutual and Suntrust Bank logos were being used for this “phishing’ scam. Always verify this with your bank before any response. Asking for sensitive numbers like account, SSN and online passwords is not a practice of legitimate banks when it’s unsolicited.
Great Stock Deal
Someone calls you about a great stock tip. It sounds like they were calling a friend but they have apparently called the wrong number. Being the alert financial wizard you are, you decide to cash in on your good fortune. This is called a “Pump and Dump” scam where they sell you high on some thinly traded microcap stock before the bottom drops out. The latest variation has these tips showing up as text messages on cell phones.
The FBI estimates these “Pump and Dump” scams cost victims about $6 billion a year.
Roof Repair
The victim is approached by a contractor and arranges the repair of his or her roof—sometimes after heavy thunderstorms and hail. The victim is convinced that although they can’t see the damage, it’s there none the less. The contractor takes a large up-front payment and then either absconds or delays any further work until such time he fades out. In 2006 there were more than 85,000 complaints with 40% either not settled or not pursued.
➢ Get estimates from at least three contractors. DON’T hire someone who comes to your home unsolicited, uses high-pressure ales tactics, or promises a price too good to be true.
➢ Use LICENSED contractors.
➢ Ask for references, proof of liability, worker’s compensation, and property-damage insurance.
➢ Put the deal in WRITING and specify the work to be done by the contractor and subs. ➢ Check your county or city for needed permits.
➢ Don’t pay large amounts in advance and don’t pay the balance before the work is completed. (Completed means completed to YOUR satisfaction.)
➢ Pay by credit card if possible, or check but NOT cash. Think twice before arranging financing with the contractor.
Be skeptical and ask a lot of questions when you and your money are on the line. In the words of my Uncle Dewey: “Never let a salesman think you aren’t crazy. Somehow it seems to keep things in order.” Uncle Dewey never had a problem convincing anyone of that.
Don’t take any wooden nickels.
Comments
By reader
February 14, 2008 6:31 PM | Link to this
Roof repair guys…ugh. Several years ago, we had a new roof installed. The guy came highly recommended, absolutely no complaints, credentials checked out. Workmanship & clean-up, etc. were fine, but the “darn” warranty never arrived. Needless to say, the guy stopped answering phone calls. Sooo, we sent a registered letter, contacted the BBB, etc. (Previously, he had never had a complaint.) An attorney-friend wrote a letter. No response (big surprise). We wanted the stupid warranty as we were anticipating selling the house. The attorney advised us against pursuing the manufacturer for the warranty. If the roofman had not paid the manufacturer for the roofing materials, the manufacturer would be able to file a material lien on our home, if they got wind of who we were. Geez.
By Love my Brazilian wife
February 15, 2008 2:15 AM | Link to this
Lt. Steve….you forgot a few of the scams. Today, I received an e-mail from a suppossed Lt.(first class) in the Army who was attached to the 35th division. First of all, we don’t call a 1lt a lieutenant first class and second…there is not a 35th division in the Army. I spent 10 yrs in…so I should know. Well anyway, he goes on to explain that he and some of his subordinates had discovered a hidden cache of Saddam’s money. He said he needed help in getting the money out of Iraq. I would like to say that I have no sympathy for anyone stupid enough to fall or participate in one of these scams. All you have to do is look at the way they write English and you figure out that they are not native speakers. This is a huge red flag. I find these e-mails to be the humorous light of my day.
By love my Brazilian wife
February 15, 2008 2:23 AM | Link to this
Lt. Stephan says… HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY?HOPE ALL IS WELL.
MY NAME IS (LT 1ST CLASS) STEPHAN MORALIS; I AM AN AMERICAN SOLDIER, SERVING IN THE MILITARY WITH THE ARMY’S 35TH INFANTRY DIVISION IN HERE IN IRAQ.AM IN A VERY DESPERATE NEED FOR ASSISTANCE,THAT’S WHY I HAVE SUMMOND UP COURAGE TO CONTACT YOU. I FOUND YOUR CONTACT PARTICULARS IN AN ADDRESS JOURNAL.
PLEASE GET BACK TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT I CAN GIVE YOU MORE DETAILS.
LT. STEPHAN MORALIS
(35TH INFANTRY DIVISION)
HELLO,Standard Header|Full Message ViewLt. Stephan Moralis
This is the email….is this were an official e-mail, he would of had an address from the military….As I said, you would really have to really lacking a few brain cells.
By love my Brazilian wife
February 15, 2008 2:32 AM | Link to this
Lt. Stephan says… HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY?HOPE ALL IS WELL.
MY NAME IS (LT 1ST CLASS) STEPHAN MORALIS; I AM AN AMERICAN SOLDIER, SERVING IN THE MILITARY WITH THE ARMY’S 35TH INFANTRY DIVISION IN HERE IN IRAQ.AM IN A VERY DESPERATE NEED FOR ASSISTANCE,THAT’S WHY I HAVE SUMMOND UP COURAGE TO CONTACT YOU. I FOUND YOUR CONTACT PARTICULARS IN AN ADDRESS JOURNAL.
PLEASE GET BACK TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT I CAN GIVE YOU MORE DETAILS.
LT. STEPHAN MORALIS
(35TH INFANTRY DIVISION)
HELLO,Standard Header|Full Message ViewLt. Stephan Moralis
This is the email….is this were an official e-mail, he would of had an address from the military….As I said, you would really have to really lacking a few brain cells.
By Dirk
February 15, 2008 8:09 AM | Link to this
Lt. Steve offers very good advice. Your credit card company and bank will never call you up and ask for your information. If they ever do call, they’ll give you your information, and ask you to verify it.
There’s a scam I’ve heard of where the scammers call you up, and give you your name and card number, and tell you that your card number is being misused, and want to verify that you have your card - and all they want you to give them is that little 3- or 4-digit number on the back of the card. DON’T DO IT! This means the scammer/thief already has your card number and name and address and phone number, and in order to royally screw you over, all they need is that little number.
Bottom line: If you don’t initiate the call, never, ever volunteer any information to anyone claiming to be from your bank or credit card company. EVER.
By Jimbo
February 15, 2008 8:35 AM | Link to this
Spoofing isn’t new, spoofing caller Id is only sort of new.. I’m surprised you didn’t mention swatting. Where someone spoofs a person’s phone number while calling 911 to say they’re causing major carnage so the police deploy the SWAT team or other officers to an unsuspecting address.
By Jimbo
February 15, 2008 8:38 AM | Link to this
Spoofing isn’t new, spoofing caller Id is only sort of new.. I’m surprised you didn’t mention swatting. Where someone spoofs a person’s phone number while calling 911 to say they’re causing major carnage so the police deploy the SWAT team or other officers to an unsuspecting address.
By Becky
February 15, 2008 10:55 AM | Link to this
Lt. Steve, funny that this is your story for the day. I received an email this morning from “Anthony Barnes” at the Bank of England wanting to offer me my share of unclaimed funds in his bank..It amazes me that people respond to this things. Jimbo, you taught me something new today,thanks..
By Political Foreskin
February 15, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this
Steve is right. I had a one night stand with this one chick, and she had apparently rifled through my wallet and stole all my condoms, and then she called pretending to be my sperm bank and wanted to know the 3-digit dna sequence listed on the back of the condoms, well, of course I fell for it, even though I should have known that she already had my dna, I’m such a dope, so now I’m up to my eyeballs in frozen embryos paternity suits. I called the Center for Disease Control, but they said moron beware. At least I can keep my beer cold with all the snowflake babies crawling around my apartment. See, that’s how I get by: There’s always a silver lining.
By Chief Wiggum
February 15, 2008 11:42 AM | Link to this
Steve, one of the other scams is this:
You’re selling a car online. Or looking for a roommate. You get a message from someone overseas, and they want your car (or want to be your roommate). They’ll send you a cashier’s check that is a LOT more than you’re asking, all they ask you to do is to cash it, and send THEM a check for the difference…and they may even say you can keep some off the top for yourself.
You can guess the next part, right? The cashier’s check they sent is bogus, and you’ve already sent them one of your REAL checks, and they’ve cashed it.
By Jeffrey
February 15, 2008 11:56 AM | Link to this
Hey guys. I just got an email that asked if I wanted to be a at home salesman for an art and antiques company. All I had to do was receive money orders for sales the company made, keep my “salary” and send the rest back to them. The company was based in the UK. Well it sounded like a good deal however there is no way that I want to pay the fees associated with sending something overseas. So I decided not to go for it. Keep up the good work Steve.
You know I always speed through Sandy Springs hoping that I can meet Lt. Steve however I never seemed to get stopped. What’s up with that?
By KultureFreedom
February 15, 2008 12:11 PM | Link to this
Many people do fall for scam, but what makes it real funny is that some people ACTUALLY they are getting something for nothing. First off, when I buy condoms, WHY would I give the cashier my personal information - unless she is the person I want to bang, and then it would be just a 1st name and cell number and bang her at her house, since its just a one night stand. Secondly, if you are not in my frineds list of my favorite e-mail site, you would INSTANTLY get deleted. Now I do know that there are computer viruses out here that would mimic your Outlook program and e-mail everyone in it, to that I would say, get a new e-maill addres home, like Yahoo or Hotmail to eliminate the fraud e-mails. And lets say, they get caught up in the e-mail virus too, if a friend e-mailed me about cash instead of coming by my home and asking personally, he would get the “gas face” and harshly told to go screw himself. And Lastly, if you are not actually HOLDING a state lottery ticket to which you wnet to the store and bought, you didn’t win S**t!, you knew it when you got the e-mail, so why do you think someone is just going to GIVE you a few million dollars, come on, lets be real and act like responsible adults here, think about the simple stuff and don’t get caught up in scams.
By Fred
February 15, 2008 3:09 PM | Link to this
I used to get emails from The Fifth Third Bank to update my account information. I thought come on now, if you are going to scam, at least use a believable bank name. A couple of years ago I drove through ST. Louis on my way to cover a race and guess which bank I saw signs for (and actual banks)? The Fifth Third Bank. Just damn them midwesterners is weird…………
By ElBubba
February 15, 2008 5:22 PM | Link to this
I feel left out of this discussion. I’m wondering if it’s because I don’t have a lot of money, or it might be good computer stuff… I have a guru that sets up things like Trend Micro.
I did get pick-pocketed once and they were good at it. Two old folks and a city bus driver in Bolivia. The driver hit the gas, I almost fell on the old people (they were seated)and then I went to a cafe and didn’t have a wallet. They were really good, I felt bad about almost landing in their laps.
I guess I should be happy, that is the most ‘violated’ I’ve ever been. I’ve never had my house or vehicle broken into, but certainly know people who have.
El Bubba
By Political Foreskin
February 16, 2008 6:28 PM | Link to this
After reading all the posts here, I think I can safely surmise that what we have here is a total disrespect for the law.
By Sheila
February 16, 2008 7:27 PM | Link to this
In 1908, the Fifth National Bank and the Third National Bank merged. No joke. The Fifth Third Bank has headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, but has branches in several other states, too.
By ElBubba
February 16, 2008 8:21 PM | Link to this
Foreskin is ‘myspacing’ again.
By catlady
February 16, 2008 8:23 PM | Link to this
The Adventist pastor put his piano for sale in the local weekly paper and got a TDD (supposedly from a deaf person) from someone who wanted to send him the money with extra, have him cash the check, and pay the guy who was to pick up the piano in cash. Thankfully the pastor TDDed back that he was no fool. So watch out, everyone, they can use TDDs to hide their whereabouts also. And it means they troll the local small town papers as well.
By catlady
February 16, 2008 8:29 PM | Link to this
The Adventist pastor put his piano for sale in the local weekly paper and got a TDD (supposedly from a deaf person) from someone who wanted to send him the money with extra, have him cash the check, and pay the guy who was to pick up the piano in cash. Thankfully the pastor TDDed back that he was no fool. So watch out, everyone, they can use TDDs to hide their whereabouts also. And it means they troll the local small town papers as well.
By Just an FYI
February 17, 2008 8:39 AM | Link to this
There are “companies” now posting job openings on places like CAreer Builder and Monster.com as well as Hot jobs for either a Personnal Assistant or an Office Manager and the details of the job are they send you checks and you “deposit” them into your bank account minus your 10%-30% and mail a check from your bank back to them. The job posting e-mail will contain a link to a “company” that is always based over seas and doesn’t have any of the features that a legitimate website would have. The wording is too generic and none of the links work. One of them that I received claimed to have a job in Douglasville.
By Political Foreskin
February 17, 2008 4:31 PM | Link to this
Officer Steve, I have a question about police powers to deputize bloggers in order that we can make citizens arrest of people who annoy us on blogs like this. Will you deputize me and give me carte blanche authority to formally arrest and cyber-taser any moron who I think stinks? I have my hand on the bible now so I’ll repeat any swearing in ceremonial words you’d care to mention. I’m just itch’n to make an arrest, sir, so time’s a wastin’.
I like police work so far. I likes it reals good.
By Cassie
February 18, 2008 9:11 AM | Link to this
El Bubba -
I got pick pocketed at Lenox during the Olympics!!!
By Lt. Steve
February 18, 2008 2:18 PM | Link to this
Jeffrey: Last ticket i wrote was 1988!!
By ElBubba
February 18, 2008 4:05 PM | Link to this
Foreskin,
I think you should be cyber-circumsized for having a name like foreskin. It’s rude and obnoxious.