How a Fake Facebook Giveaway Fooled Fans

Facebook scammers are at it again. They impersonated JetBlue's Facebook page, pretending to offer a free vacation to a user who "liked" and shared the post. The fake account collected 1,000 likes in a single day, demonstrating that Facebook scams are as lucrative as ever.


How the Scam Worked:

A post from "JetBlue" appears in your Facebook newsfeed. The airline is offering the chance to win a free vacation for four. To enter, all you need to do is "like" and share the message.


The Facebook page looks real. It uses JetBlue's logo, colors and cover image. And the contest could be real too; businesses often run giveaways to bolster their Facebook likes.


However, there are two clues that this is a fake: the awkward grammar ("an all paid vacation" instead of "an all expenses paid vacation") and the fact that JetBlue's real page has 800K likes.


What's the Point of Facebook Scams?


Savvy spammers set up Facebook pages that urge users to "like," share or comment on the posts. Scams run the gamut heart tugging images of sick children with captions that falsely promise "a dollar donated for each 'like,'" to fake celebrity accounts to fraudulent contests. The more times the images are shared or "liked," the more it boosts the spam page's "edge rank," the score a Facebook page is given to dictate how it interacts with other Facebook profiles. After the page accumulates enough fans and a high enough "edge rank," the spammers sell it. Of course, scammers can use fake Facebook pages for more "traditional" scams like phishing for personal and/or banking information. If you want to be absolutely sure, go to the company's website and click on their Facebook link.


How can you avoid these scams? Do a quick search on Facebook before you "like" a business or other organization. You can make sure you have the right account by picking the one with substantially more "likes." For example, the real JetBlue page has 800,000 "likes."


I Spotted a Fake Facebook Page. 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. 

How Scammers Fool Ebay Sellers into Giving Away Goods

Thinking about selling electronics or other valuables on eBay? Be sure to watch out for this scam. Using a few tricks, scammers fool sellers into shipping goods without receiving payment. 

How the Scam Works:

You list an item on eBay. For this example, let's say it's a laptop. Someone purchases it, and, in addition to the official notification email you get from eBay, you also receive a message from the buyer.

In this email, the buyer claims he has an emergency and needs the laptop immediately. He may say it's his son or daughter's birthday gift. In other cases, the buyer claims to be in the military, and he's shipping out in a few days. The buyer may also ask you to send the item to an unconfirmed address, often in another country. You reply and agree to send the item that day... as soon as you have confirmation of payment.

The next email you receive appears to be from PayPal. It looks like a message confirming the buyer's payment. But before you ship the laptop, you log into your PayPal account and check the transfer history. The buyer never sent the money, and the "PayPal" email was a fraud!

How to Spot an eBay Buyer Scam:

• Check the buyer's profile. It's important that a buyer's profile shows positive feedback, a history of eBay use and their location. However, this isn't a guarantee that the buyer is legitimate. Scammers often hack into eBay accounts and use them to bid. Then, they request that the item be shipped to another address. 
• Make sure the email is really from PayPal. Read the email carefully, and check that the "sender" address is really from an "@paypal.com" domain. Also, hover over URLs in the message to make sure they link to the real PayPal website
• Watch out for bad grammar and misspellings. Official company emails, such as notifications from PayPal or eBay, aren't filled with typos and awkward English. Poor grammar is a sure sign the email is a fraud. 
• Log into PayPal directly. Before you ship an item, always confirm payment by logging into PayPal and checking your account. Go to the URL directly. Don't use a link from the buyer's email. 
• Contact PayPal: Think an email is a fraud? Forward it to spoof@paypal.com.

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.