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Tag: scams

  • April Tax Scams

    office_calendar_april_15_400_clr_1743This came from the Oregon Attorney General – but I suspect each state is getting its share of scams related to April 15th with federal, state and local taxes dues for many in the United States.

    Older persons are perhaps a it more vulnerable for many reasons. So if you know of anyone being pestered by phone about taxes, please help that person find the Attorney General information in their state.

    *****************

    Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is warning consumers about a sophisticated phone scam targeting Oregon taxpayers during this tax season

    Victims are told they owe money to the IRS or Oregon Department of Revenue and they must pay immediately through a temporary debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to pay, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes aggressive and insulting.

    “Oregonians need to be vigilant as the April 15th tax deadline approaches. The IRS and the Oregon Department of Revenue will never ask you to pay with a pre-paid debit card or make a wire transfer,” said Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.

    Other characteristics of this scam include:

    • Scammers use fake names and badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
    • Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number.
    • Scammers spoof the IRS or Department of Revenue toll-free number on caller ID.
    • Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS or Department of Revenue emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.
    • Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
    • After threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim.

    If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS or Oregon Department of Revenue, here’s what you should do:

    • If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at (800) 829-1040 and/or the Oregon Department of Revenue at (800) 356-4222.
    • If you know you do not owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes, call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at (800) 366-4484.
    • If you have lost money as a result of this scam, file a complaint with the Oregon Department of Justice online at www.oregonconsumer.gov or by phone at (877) 877-9392.

  • Scams, Medicare, And Obamacare

    scammerObamacare or the Affordable Care Act [ACA] is NOT the same as Medicare.

     

    If you have Medicare, there is need to do anything on October 1st.

    ACA or Obamacare is for people who are not 65 or older who need insurance.

    You might get called by those unethical scammers who will try to sell you something or get your information by telling you they can do something insurance-wise  for you.

    DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM

    They want to steal your credit card information or identity

    PS – please alert any seniors you know

    Thank you.

  • Beware: Medical Alert Impostors Targeting Seniors

    medical laertThe following alert came from the Oregon Atty. General, but it applies to anyone in any state who is a senior citizen or who knows any senior citizens.

    Scammers are not picky as to what state they operate in.

    Please pass this message along.  Thank you.

    ***********

    The Oregon Department of Justice has recently learned older Oregonians are receiving pre-recorded messages from medical alert imposters claiming to be from Life Alert, a personal emergency response and home medical alert system company.

    The recordings sound like a real person claiming that either “someone has purchased a Life Alert system for you,” or that “you qualify for a free Life Alert.” Others may say they are calling from a shipping department to confirm a free order or to send you new Life Alert equipment.

    Life Alert has confirmed the calls are not made by the company. (See Life Alert’s Fraud Alert online at http://www.lifealert.com/fraudalert.aspx.)

    Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum urges Oregonians to simply hang up the phone if they receive a recorded call saying they are with Life Alert or the “I’ve fallen and can’t get up” people. “DO NOT press a button to talk to sales person, and never give personal information or credit card numbers over the phone unless you have initiated the contact or you are sure you know who you are dealing with,” says Attorney General Rosenblum.

    If you think you have fallen victim to these medical alert imposters, contact the Oregon Department of Justice online at www.oregonconsumer.gov or call 1-877-877-9392.

  • New Scam Tied To Affordable Care Act

    phone scams

     

     

    Now that the Supreme court has upheld the Affordable Care Act –

    the scammers are in full swing scamming – using the act and saying they are from the government and need some further information.

    According to the Federal Trade Commission [the FTC:]

    They [the scammers] say they're from the government and that, using the Affordable Care Act as a hook, they need to verify some information. They might have the routing number from your bank, and then use that information to get you to reveal the entire account number. Or, they'll ask for your credit card or Social Security number, Medicare ID, or other personal information.

    I've said it before and I will say it again –

    Do not give personal information to people who call you!

    Even if they say they are from the government….

    Believe me, the government already has your information!

    Stay safe! Stay healthy! Keep your personal info private!

  • An Old Scam With A New Twist

    Please beware –  if you know of some newer users online who might not know about the old Nigerian scams which have now graduated from the mail box to the inbox.

    In these days of post 9/11 money concerns – the threat of being charged with money laundering may scare some into responding to this scam!

    INTERNATIONAL POLICE AUTHORITY UNITED STATES SECTION (IPA)
    Region No. 2 New York City
    P.O. Box 804 Knickerbocker Station
    New York City, New York 10002-0804 USA
    E-mail: [deleted]

    Attn: Sir / Madam

    We, office of the international police authority (IPA) hereby write to inform you that we caught a diplomatic lady called Mrs. Vernon Wallace at (John F Kennedy International Airport) here in New York with a consignment box filed with United State Dollars.

    Meanwhile, base on our interview to the diplomat she said that the consignment box belongs to you, that she was sent by one Williams I. Luis to deliver the consignment box to your doorstep not knowing that the content of the box is money. The diplomat also said that her first transit in the state was at Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport Ohio.

    Now, the diplomat is under detention in the office of (IPA) security, and we cannot release her until we carry out our proper investigation on how this huge amount of money managed to be yours before we will release her with the box.. So, in this regards you are to reassure and prove to us that the money you are about to receive is legal by sending us the Award Ownership Certificate showing that the money is not illegal.

    Note, that the Award Ownership Certificate must to be secured from the office of the senate president in Nigeria, because that is the only office that will issue you the original Award Ownership Certificate of this funds, this is because the fund originated from Nigeria.

    You are advised to forward immediately the Award Ownership Certificate if you have it with you, but if you did not have it we will urge you to contact back the sender of the diplomat to help you secure the Award Ownership Certificate if at all you did not have it.

    Below is the contact information of the person that sent the diplomat:

    Name:  Williams I. Luis
    Email:  [deleted]

    Furthermore, we are giving you only but 3 working business days to forward the requested Award Ownership Certificate. Please note that we shall get back to you after the 3 working business days, that if you didn’t come up with the certificate we shall confiscate the funds into World Bank account then charge you for money laundering, but if you forward the Award Ownership Certificate then we will release diplomat with your consignment box also gives you every back up on the money.

    Thanks for your understanding and co-operation

    Yours Truly,

    I.P.A REGION NO:2

    DCP. DOUGLAS  H. KING

    Cc: FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI).