Scam Alert -- How Fake Facebook Profiles are Fooling the Faithful

In a new Facebook scam, con artists are impersonating popular church pastors. Once they gain a following, scammers use their influence to drum up donations for non-existent causes. 

  

How the Scam Works:   

You see your church's pastor or a popular minster on Facebook. The profile looks normal; it has photos and inspirational posts. To show your support, you "friend" the pastor.

A post from a Facebook account impersonating Joel Osteen

But as the profile gains more "friends," you notice that the content changes. Now, the posts are frequently, even redundantly, about the importance of giving to charity. And the pastor starts requesting followers donate to a specific charity. When you do a search, you find that the charity doesn't exist and your pastor has another Facebook profile with 10x the number of friends. The account you followed was a scam. 

The latest trend in Facebook scams is for con artists to impersonate popular religious figures. Once they gain a following, scammers use their influence to drive donations to fake charities. The "pastor" then pockets the funds raised. (Above is a post from a scammer impersonating Joel Osteen and asking for donations.)

How can you avoid these scams? Do a quick search on Facebook before you "friend" a public figure to make sure you have the correct account. The number of friends/likes is a giveaway. Also, always check out a charity before you donate. BBB Wise Giving Alliance is a great place to start.   
 

I Spotted a Fake Facebook Account. What Should I Do?  

• Don't share, like or comment on the posts. That just perpetuates Facebook spam.
• Be sure to report fake profiles to Facebook following these instructions.

How Doing a Favor for an Unknown Caller Can Cost You

Consumers are reporting a resurgence in a classic phone scam. Victims who fall for this con allow an unknown caller to run up their phone bills without their knowledge. 

  

How the Scam Works:   

You receive a collect call and accept the charges. When caller comes on the line, it's clear you don't know him. But he begs you not to hang up. He claims that he has been arrested for a minor violation and is trying to reach his family. Unfortunately,he's dialed the wrong number and will only be allowed one phone call.  

 

The caller asks you to help him by forwarding his call. He instructs you to dial *72 and the phone number he needs to reach. You dial the numbers, thinking you are doing him a small favor. But you really just allowed the scammer to bill unlimited collect phone calls to your account. 

 

The *72 code causes all your subsequent incoming calls to be forwarded. The scammer can make collect calls to your number and have them automatically forwarded to the person he wants to reach. Even though you aren't answering the calls, the charges will still be billed to your account. You may not realize this has happened until you receive your next phone bill.

The scam is most frequently used by inmates looking for a way to make "free" collect calls. But identity thieves can use this technique to "steal" your phone number. They set up your number to forward to themselves and answer when your bank calls to check up on suspicious charges/withdrawals.  

How to Spot a Scam:

Protect yourself from call forwarding scams by following these tips: 

• Place a collect call block on your account. If you don't need to make or accept collect calls, telephone service providers often allow you to block them for free. 
• If you receive unwanted calls from a nearby correctional facility, contact them directly and request that your number be blocked.
• Read your telephone bills carefully. Watch for any unusual charges.
• Pay attention to your phone's ringing. If your phone frequently rings only once or is not ringing at all, this could be an indication that your line has been forwarded.
• If you believe your phone is being forwarded, dial *73 or #73 to deactivate 

Scam Alert -- How Doing a Favor for an Unknown Caller Can Cost You - morganservice.net@gmail.com - Gmail

Scammers Use Launch of Affordable Care Act Insurance for ID Theft Con

Consumers nationwide are reporting receiving scam phone calls claiming they are eligible for health insurance cards through the Affordable Care Act. But the insurance is not available until October, so don't let scammers tell you otherwise.

  

How the Scam Works:   

You receive a call from someone claiming to be from the federal government. The caller informs you that you've been selected as part of the initial group of Americans to receive insurance cards through the new Affordable Care Act. However, before he/she can mail your card, the caller needs to collect some personal information, such as bank account and social security numbers. 

 

Of course, it's a scam. There is no card, and enrollment for insurance under the Affordable Care Act doesn't start until October 1st. Sharing personal information with a scammer puts you at risk for identity theft. Scammers can use the info they obtain to open credit cards in your name or steal from your bank account. 

How to Spot a Scam:

Scammers often pose as government workers and take advantage of the confusion surrounding new or complex policies. Here are tips for dealing with this type of scam.

• Hang up, don't press any buttons and don't call the scammer back. We all like to have the last word, but returning the phone call may just give the con artist information he can use.
• The government typically doesn't call, text or email.  Government agencies normally  communicate through the mail, so be very cautious of any unsolicited calls, text messages or emails you receive. Also, if the government is contacting you, they should already have your basic personal info, such as address and social security number. 
• Don't trust caller ID. Scammers have technology that lets them display any number or organization name on your screen.
• Never give out personal information such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, dates of birth or social security numbers to unfamiliar callers.

WARNING! Phone/Mystery Shopper Scam

A fraudulent Canadian company is calling businesses and citizens using the Decision Analyst and Contractor Advisory Board® name, to collect email addresses to mail counterfeit checks for thousands of dollars by instructing you to deposit the check and then wire part of the money back to them. The company falsely claims the money you wire will go towards your training to become a mystery shopper. This is a criminal and illegal scam. Do not attempt to cash or deposit the check. Do not wire any money to anyone. Membership in Contractor Advisory Board® survey panel is always free.
If you have received a letter or email with similar information to the one described above, the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) recommends the following:

• DO NOT attempt to cash or deposit the check (if the check has already been deposited, you should alert your bank immediately).
• DO NOT send any money to Western Union or Money Gram.
• Contact your local post office, your state consumer protection agency (Visit www.naag.org for a list of state Attorneys Generals in the United States or visit http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/index-eng.htm for Canadian Fraud Scam-Prevention), and/or your local Western Union or Money Gram office.
• Consider filing a complaint to the FTC via its website .

WARNING! Phone/Mystery Shopper Scam | Contractor Advisory Board

How to Protect Yourself After a Hacking Attack

Last weekend, the daily deals service LivingSocial announced that its database had been hacked, granting the cyber intruder access to the e-mail addresses, encrypted passwords and birth dates of more than 50 million users worldwide. 

This is only the latest of many recent hacks. With customer data breaches becoming increasingly common, what should you do to protect yourself? Start with our tips below:  

Protecting Yourself from Hacking:   

The best way to safeguard your personal information is by creating strong passwords and using a unique password for each website. 

What to Do After a Hack:

It happens. Even the most conscientious businesses get hacked. If a company with which you've done business suffered a security breach, follow the tips below to protect yourself. 

• Change your password on the affected website -- and anywhere else you use it. Many web users have a rotation of passwords they use, so be sure to change yours on all appropriate websites.
• Be extra suspicious of any emails coming from the business that was hacked -- especially ones containing links or attachments. Scammers often use the personal information they've obtained along with the hacked business' name to trick customers into sharing credit card or banking info. 
• However, affected business do often communicate with customers after the hack. Be sure these emails are real by hovering over the links in the message. When you do this, the link destination should appear in a pop up box or in the lower left hand corner of your browser. 
• Keep a close eye on your credit card and bank accounts. If hackers have access to your personal data, identity theft is a risk. Call your bank or credit card company immediately if you see any unexpected activity.

Credit union warns not to respond to scam texts

AllSouth Federal Credit Union has issued a scam warning after some people in the Midlands received text messages recently claiming to be from the financial institution.
"This is a scam," said Audrey Brown, AllSouth Vice President of Marketing.  "Do not respond to these texts."
Brown said AllSouth will never ask customers for their personal information via text or email.
"AllSouth did not send this message and anyone who receives the message should not respond to it or call any of the numbers listed in it," said Brown.
The texts advise a person to call a phone number to unblock an account. Once calling the number, people are asked to enter their debit or credit card numbers and other personal information such as a Social Security Number.
People who do not have accounts with AllSouth say they have received the texts.
Brown said the credit union first learned about the suspicious texts from people who have cell phone service through AT&T, but eventually customers of Verizon and Sprint also reported receiving the text messages.
Brown said the credit union has not been hacked, and customers' banking information is safe.  The company is working with its security advisors to monitor the situation.
"The proper authorities have been notified regarding this," said Brown.
If you received one of these text messages, called the number and provided your financial information, you can contact AllSouth at security@allsouth.org.
For more information go to www.allsouth.org.


Credit union warns not to respond to scam texts - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |

Top Ten Scams of 2012

Top Overpayment/Fake Check Scam: Car Ads

The online ad says something like “Get Paid Just for Driving Around” – a prominent company is offering $400+ per week if you’ll drive around with their logo all over your car. They send a check to you, which you are supposed to deposit in your account and then wire part of the payment to the graphic designer who will customize the ad for your vehicle. Whoops! A week later, the check bounces, the graphic designer is nowhere to be found, and you are out the money you wired. The Internet Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov) says they saw this one a lot in 2012.



Top Emergency Scam: Grandparents Scam

The “Grandparents Scam” has been around a while, but it’s still so prevalent we need to mention it again: grandchild/niece/nephew/friend is traveling abroad and calls/texts/emails to say he or she has been mugged/arrested/hurt and needs money right away (“…and please don’t tell mom and dad!”). Plus the FBI says that, thanks to social media, it’s getting easier and easier for scammers to tell a more plausible story because they can use real facts from the supposed victim’s life (“Remember that great camera I got for Christmas?” “I’m in France to visit my old college roommate.”). Easy rule of thumb – before you wire money in an emergency, check with the supposed victim or their family members to make sure they really are traveling. Odds are they are safe at home.


Top Employment Scam: Mystery Shopping

If you love to shop, working as a secret shopper may sound like an ideal way to supplement your income. But scammers have figured that out, too, and many job offers are nothing more than a variation on the Overpayment/Fake Check Scam (above). Sometimes they even tell you that evaluating the wire service company is part of the job, which is why you need to send back part of the money. The Mystery Shopping Providers Association says it’s not the practice of their members to pre-pay shoppers, but if you have your heart set on this type of job, you can find a legitimate gig through their website at www.mysteryshop.org.

Top Advance Fee/Prepayment Scam: Nonexistent Loans

Loan scams continued to fester in 2012. It seems for every legitimate lender out there, there is a scammer waiting to prey on people in desperate situations. Most of the scams advertise online and promise things like no credit check or easy repayment terms. Then the hook: you have to make the first payment upfront, you have to buy an “insurance policy,” or there is some other kind of fee that you have to pay first to “secure” the loan. This year, we heard a new, aggressive twist on loan scams: consumers who were threatened with lawsuits and law enforcement action if they didn’t “pay back” loans they said they had never even taken out in the first place. Some got calls at their workplace, even to relatives. The embarrassment of being thought of as a delinquent caused some victims to pay even when they knew they didn’t owe the money.


Top Phishing Scam: President Obama Will Pay Your Utility Bills

Of all the politically-related scams, this one seemed to be the most prevalent. At the peak of summer with utility costs soaring, consumers got emails, letters and even door-to-door solicitations about a “new government program” to pay your utility bills. Hey, the president wants to get re-elected, right? Maybe he’s just trying to win votes. Victims “registered” with an official-looking website and provided everything scammers needed for identity theft purposes, including bank account information.



Top Sweepstakes/Lottery Scam: Jamaican Phone Lottery

This is an old one that flared up again this year. We consider it flattering (in a weird way) that BBB is such a trusted brand that we “star” in so many scams! In this one, the calls come from Jamaica (area code 876) but the person claims to represent BBB (or FBI, or other trusted group). Great news: you’ve won a terrific prize (typical haul: $2 million and Mercedes Benz) but you have to pay a fee in order to collect your winnings. There are lots of variations on this; sometimes it’s a government grant. Best just to hang up and then file a phone fraud report with the appropriate government agency (see below).


Top Identity Theft Scam: Fake Facebook Tweets

Two top social media sites were exploited in one of this year’s top scams. You get a Direct Message from a friend on Twitter with something about a video of you on Facebook (“ROFL they was taping you” or “What RU doing in this FB vid?” are typical tweets). In a panic, you click on the link to see what the embarrassing video could possibly be, and you get an error message that says you need to update Flash or other video player. But the file isn’t a new version of Flash; it’s a virus or malware that can steal confidential information from your computer or smart phone. Twitter recommends reporting such spam, resetting your password and revoking connections to third-party applications.


Top Home Improvement Scam: Sandy “Storm Chasers”

BBB spends a lot of time investigating and reporting on home improvement scams, but this year we saw an unusual amount of “storm chaser” activity following Super Storm Sandy. Tree removal, roofing, general home repairs – some were legitimate contractors who came from other areas for the volume of work available; others were unlicensed, uninsured and ill-prepared for the work; while some were even out-and-out scam artists who took the money and never did the work. In an emergency, it’s tempting to skip reference checking, but that’s never a good idea. BBB has tens of thousands of Accredited Businesses in the home contracting field who are committed to upholding our mission of trust. Next time you need home repairs, find a contractor at www.bbb.org/search.


Top Sales/Rental Scam: Real Stars, Fake Goods

Sports memorabilia and phony tickets always make the list of top counterfeit goods. From the Super Bowl to the World Series, counterfeiters manage to have their hands in your pocket all year long. With the London Olympics added to the mix, it appears that 2012 was a good year for sports fakes. Some scammers were selling cheap knock-offs in front of stadiums. Others set up websites that just stole your money and never had any goods to begin with. Counterfeit goods are not only a rip-off for you because the merchandise is usually shoddy, but they are also a rip-off for the teams, athletes, designers and artists who create, license and sell the real thing. Buy directly from team stores and websites, or from legitimate retailers. You’ll pay a little more, but it will be the real deal. Remember, if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.



Scam of the Year: Newtown Charity Scams

Within hours of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, social media pages dedicated to the child victims began cropping up…and some of them were scams asking for money. The FBI has already arrested one woman for posing as the aunt of one of the children killed, and state and federal agencies are investigating other possible fraudulent and misleading solicitations. In response to these reports, BBB Wise Giving Alliance offered tips for donors to understand how and when to best support those dealing with such a tragic crisis. Although the number of people defrauded and the total dollars stolen is most likely low, the cynicism and sheer audacity of these scams merits our selecting it as the “Top Scam of 2012.”


More information for consumers:

For more information on these and other scams, go to BBB Scamstopper. Sign up for our Scam Alerts and learn about new scams as soon as we do.
To search for a business in the U.S. or Canada, or to find your local BBB, go to BBB.org.
For information on charities, go to Give.org.
For information on U.S. government services, go to: USA.gov.
For information on Canadian government services, go to Service Canada.

Better Business Bureau Names “Top Ten Scams” of 2012 - BBB News Center