Scam Alert - Placing an ad on your car doesn't get you paid

I just heard of a new scam.  It goes like this.  You receive an e-mail or other solicitation that indicates that you can add an advertisement to your car, drive it around, and get paid by the advertiser.  To do this, you just need to pay a one time fee of $39.95.

Unfortunately, this is a scam.  While it is true that there are companies that will hire you to drive around a vehicle with their ads on it, you don't have to pay a membership fee to do so.  Any offer where you are supposed to get paid but requires a payment from you to get started is almost always a scam.

As I often heard growing up, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  And that's even more true in this day and age.

Scam alert regarding buying prescriptions online

There is a new scam being used to cheat consumers out of their hard earned money. Or even their not so hard earned money. It goes like this:

Victim buys a prescription online. Some time later, sometimes years later, a scammer posing as an FBI agent calls the victim, usually from a Washington, D.C. number just to make it look more legit. The FBI impostor tells the victim that buying the medicine online is illegal and criminal charges are being pursued. The victim is often told a warrant has been issued for his or her arrest. The victim, however, can avoid the criminal charges by going ahead and paying a fine. The fine, if paid, goes into an overseas account, usually in the Dominican Republic. The "fine" ranges from $100 to $250,000!

Be on the lookout for this scam. And, for goodness sake, don't pay a $250,000 fine!

New scam involving Equifax

The Better Business Bureau serving eastern North Carolina is warning consumers on its website about a new scam involving Equifax.  Business are apparently receiving faxes that appear to be from Equifax, one of the three major consumer reporting agencies, but are actually from scammers.  The faxes seek sensitive financial information and asks the businesses to fax the information back to "Equifax" - but its not Equifax who is sending the faxes.  The faxes are fraudulent and should be ignored.

Just an FYI - before you ever respond to any solicitation for personal or private information, confirm with the alleged source that the request is legitimate.

New scam aimed at attorneys!

As if attorneys weren't maligned enough, I just received this from the Mississippi Bar Association.  Apparently there is a new scam out there targeting lawyers.  Every lawyer out there needs to be aware of this scam because I could see how one could easily fall for it.

The Bar has been advised of at least two scams being perpetrated on lawyers involving a common set of facts. The lawyer is hired by an out of state client to assist it with collecting a debt from a local business debtor. The premise is that the creditor believes it might settle with the local debtor, but wants to get the case ready just in case. The amounts involved are in the low six figures. The lawyer is either hired by phone or email and may or may not insist on a written employment contract. A day or two after the lawyer agrees to represent the fraudulent client and before the lawyer contacts the debtor, an official bank check appears in the mail for the full amount of the collection. Many of the scams involve an official Citibank check (although any bank could be used in the scam).

Often, the mailed checks originate in Canada, even though the debtor is a local business. The envelopes containing the official bank check have Canadian postmarks and are sent via air mail. The lawyer is asked to deposit the check into his or her trust account. A few days letter, the lawyer is asked to wire the funds overseas due to an emergency and to remit the funds net of attorneys fees. The check eventually is returned as account closed, NSF, or for other reasons in a week or two. The lawyers trust account debited for the full amount. Since the funds were wired, the opportunity to retrieve the funds from an overseas bank account is virtually nonexistent. The Bar urges all lawyers to develop specific policies to insure trust account funds are protected at all times.

So, fellow barristers, beware!

2010 Census - stand up and be counted ... but make sure its legit first!

A buddy of mine forwarded the following to me regarding tips to avoid census fraud -

AVOID ID THEFT DURING THE 2010 CENSUS
Zander Insurance wants you to be aware of scam artists using the 2010 Census as a means to steal your personal information.
THE CENSUS will be mailed to 134 million households on March 1. The form has 10 questions about your age, date of birth, race and whether you rent or own a home. It does not ask for your social security number or information about your taxes and income. If you do not return a completed Census Form by April 1, it is likely that a Census Taker will either call you or come to your door to obtain the information.
BE CAUTIOUS AND USE THE FOLLOWING SAFETY TIPS:
1. The Census does not ask for your Social Security Number – do not give that information out to anyone claiming to be with the Census Bureau.

2. Never invite a Census Taker into your home.

3. All Census Takers carry official government badges marked with just their name, a Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date.

4. The Census Worker is supposed to provide you with a letter from the Census Director on official letterhead.

5. The Census Bureau will not contact you via email.

6. Do not click on any websites that pop up disguised as a census survey. The Census Bureau does not solicit information over the internet.

7. The Census does not ask for credit card or bank account information.
Visit the U.S. Census website at http://www.2010.census.gov/ or call the U.S. Census Telephone Questionnaire Assistance Center at 1-866-872-6868 for additional information.

New identity theft scam

A new identity theft scheme has emerged, targeting landlords and renters. Here's a quote from a recent article by Connie Thompson at komonews.com:

"Someone is hijacking legitimate rental ads online, omitting the contact information, dropping the monthly rent by hundreds of dollars and steering renters to a Web site called eRentalApplications.

The site solicits both landlords and tenants, claiming to forward rental applications to landlords for specific properties listed on the site. Prospective tenants have to apply one line and submit an application fee of $14.95. Once the fee is cleared through Paypal, the site says your application will be submitted to the landlord. But landlords and property managers tell the Problem Solvers they know nothing about this company and the listings are unauthorized. In some cases the properties are not even available for rent. Local renters report being interrupted repeatedly by people knocking on the door wanting to look at the home they found listed online.

In addition to being charged $14.95, unwitting consumers are providing a disturbing amount of private information on the application; name, address, email address, date of birth, names and birth dates of all children, names of pets, current and previous addresses, current and previous employment information, credit history, drivers license and license plate numbers -- all just to apply for a home they've never seen.

The requested information has nothing to do with wanting to look at a house or apartment.Even more disturbing is that the privacy page, which also refers to the name Linskiy Company LLC, says the company can obtain more information, including your social security number, from your credit report. The site also says they can share your information with third parties.Should someone be intent on stealing your identity, they'd have everything they need. And for every application filed, whoever is behind eRentalApplications is collecting nearly $15 through Paypal. The Internet is being flooded with complaints from across the country.

I traced the company to what turns out to be a post office box in Roseville, California -- a city outside Sacramento. But the box belongs to a very shocked carpet cleaning business whose owner says had the box since the first of the year and has never heard of eRentalApplications. The California Department of Real Estate tells me the company does not have the license that's generally required to solicit landlords and tenants.My phone calls prompted California regulators to look into it. The Federal Trade Commission is also checking it out.

In the meantime, do not give money or information to eRentalApplications.com.Consumers with complaints are urged to contact the FTC and file complaints with the Better Business Bureau, and the Attorney General's offices in both California and Washington state."

One more scam to watch out for.

Another phishing scam

The Pennsylvania Attorney General is warning about another phishing scam. Phishing is where identity thieves or other criminals try to get you to give them your private information (i.e. Social Security number, date of birth, etc.) so they can then use it to steal the consumer's identity or sell it to someone willing to steal the identity. This new scam involves text messages or automated calls to cell phones.

"Attorney General Tom Corbett urged consumers to be watchful for scam text messages or automated calls on their cell phones and urged consumers to never divulge personal information in response to an unsolicited message. Corbett explained that the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection has been receiving a steadily increasing number of complaints about unwanted cell phone text messages – often claiming to be from consumers’ banks or credit card companies.

'These bogus ‘security alerts’ typically warn consumers that their bank or credit card account has been compromised and requests that they send a reply message or call a toll-free number to correct the problem,' Corbett said. 'Consumers who call the scam number are often asked to ‘confirm’ their account number, password or PIN – leaving them vulnerable to fraudulent charges or identity theft.'

Corbett noted that identity thieves are always looking for ways to disguise their scheme and reach out to new potential victims – especially young people, who are much more likely to use text message services. Messages that appear to come from banks, credit card companies or other legitimate businesses are the latest tools that thieves are using to trick consumers into giving up vital personal information. Corbett added that consumers are also reporting a growing problem with unwanted 'spam' text messages. These messages are typically unsolicited ads for prescription drugs or pornography and can be costly for consumers, who may be charged fees ranging from $.10 to $.50 per message that they receive.

Corbett offered the following tips for consumers interested in preventing unwanted 'spam' or scam text messages:

- Be careful when asked for your telephone number. Giving your phone number in response to contests or online promotions can lead to unwanted calls and messages.

- Never respond to unsolicited text messages – it only lets the sender know they’ve reached a working number and may lead to more messages in the future.

- If your wireless provider bills you for unsolicited messages, contact them and ask them to remove the charge or give you a credit for those fees.

- If your cell phone company will not waive fees for unsolicited text messages, file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

- If you do not wish to receive any text messages, consider asking your cell phone provider to block all text message services for your phone.

- Report messages that are deceptive, offensive or advertise illegal products or services."

The rest of the article can be found here - http://www.gantdaily.com/news/11/ARTICLE/54229/2009-06-14.html.

Even attorneys can fall for scams

I received the below information from the Mississippi Bar today. I have received multiple e-mails similar to what the Mississippi Bar describes. Luckily, I did not fall for it.

"An internet scam targeting attorneys in states around Mississippi and across the country is prompting warnings from bar associations and federal authorities. Please exercise extra diligence when presented with circumstances similar to those noted below.

The scam works like this: a law firm receives a referral from someone posing as an out-of-state attorney to enforce a simple contract dispute or collect a debt from a local corporation owed to a foreign company. The firm, believing it is exercising due diligence, confirms that the prospective client is a real company, then enters into a fee agreement. It sends a demand letter, and later receives a cashier's check made payable to the law firm. The client is pleased and directs the law firm to wire the money, after deducting its fees and costs. The law firm deposits the money in its client trust account, waits for the check to clear the local bank, and wires the money to the client.

Things fall apart when the bank on which the check is drawn notifies everyone that the check is a counterfeit fraud - by which time it is too late to stop the wire transfer, and the law firm's client trust account is now out the proceeds, which the firm has to replace. The scam works because the law firm erroneously believes that the check is good when it clears the law firm's bank. That is not the case. The first clearance is only provisional. The bank on which the check is drawn has additional time under the law to verify the check.

If you suspect you have encountered a similar situation, independently verify the names and contact information provided to you and do not disburse the deposited funds until the bank on which the cashier's check is drawn clears the check. To report a scam, contact your local FBI office."

New phishing scam

What is "phishing", you might ask? According to wikipedia.org, it is "the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication."

The way it works is that you receive what looks like an e-mail from a trusted source, i.e. a bank, the IRS, etc. that says there is some problem (or in the case of the IRS, an unclaimed tax refund) and asks you to log in with your user name and password, which the phisher then steals. Or you could be asked to call a number and give your name, Social Security number, etc. to what you think is a legitimate business. Unfortunately, its not and you have just given away your private information.

I read an article this morning about a new phishing scam that's preying on the growing number of people looking for jobs. The articles says "FlexJobs, the leading website for legitimate telecommuting and online job listings, today cautioned jobseekers to beware of a new phishing email scam targeting jobseekers. This most recent email phishing scam involves asking jobseekers to fill out a credit report in order to gain access to the final interview stage for a job. The phishing email includes a link to a 'free credit report' that the employer has arranged for the jobseeker's convenience. Scammers are taking advantage of the high unemployment rate to contact people by email with deceptive offers for interviews and jobs. "

FlexJobs also warns jobseekers (and anyone else) to look out for:

• "Unsolicited emails.
• Emails from supposed employers but using free email domains (e.g., @yahoo.com, @gmail.com, @aol.com, or @hotmail.com) instead of one related to the company domain name.
• Emails from individuals or companies the jobseeker does not recognize, especially if the emails include links to click on for more information or to proceed with the job application process.
• Requests for detailed personal information, especially social security numbers or financial account details, before a job interview has even taken place.
• Required credit checks to prove interest in a job, or to get an interview."

To read the whole article, see http://www.prweb.com/releases/job/scam/prweb2501944.htm.

LifeLock does not work

You've probably heard the ads and seen the commercials for "LifeLock", which claims to be able to prevent your identity from being stolen. Believe me, there's absolutely no 100% way to prevent your identity from being stolen. LifeLock is just another company preying on victims of identity theft or people scared of having their identity stolen.

LifeLock's sales gimmick is that its CEO reveals his real Social Security number on its advertisements, supposedly because LifeLock can prevent his identity from being stolen. Wrong. LifeLock's ads fail to tell you that his identity has been stolen numerous times since his Social Security number started being revealed in LifeLock's ad campaign, despite LifeLock's supposed "protection".

Not only does LifeLock not work, what it does do can be done easily and for free by you. All LifeLock does is add fraud alerts to your credit reports (regardless of whether you are a fraud victim or not), take you off junk mail lists and request your free credit reports for you. Everything that LifeLock supposedly does for you, you can do for yourself with one letter to each of the credit bureaus and the completion of one simple form sent to annualcreditreport.com. Why pay LifeLock over $100 a year for that, especially in this economy.

LifeLock used to automatically tell each of the credit bureaus that its customers were fraud victims, even if they were not. In fact, why sign up for LifeLock AFTER your identity was stolen? Isn't the whole point to sign up and PROTECT your identity? But LifeLock would tell the credit bureaus that its customers were already fraud victims, thereby committing a fraud themselves and, in the process, weakening any case its clients might have under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, since juries don't take kindly to plaintiffs who commit fraud but then complain when someone commits one against them.

I guess LifeLock got sued for this fraudulent practice enough times so that now they only report its customers as fraud victims if they are actually victims of identity theft or suspect they are identity theft victims. But if that is already true, then it is already too late for LifeLock to help them, so what's the point? The truth is ... there is no point to LifeLock. It does not work. It does not do anything that you can't do yourself easily for free. And it does not work. I know I said that last one twice but that was on purpose since LifeLock is a total waste of money.

Advice from this consumer attorney, save your money and DON'T USE LIFELOCK.

Scam alert - www.legalcpn.com

This website is a scam - http://www.legalcpn.com/. This website offers to assign you a "CPN" a.k.a. a "Credit Profile Number" to use instead of a Social Security number. Their claim is that by using a CPN, a consumer can avoid any bad credit history already associated with their Social Security number. Don't fall for their claims, which include:

"CPN Services: For as low as $79.99 we will develop your personal business foundation which will be legal for you to own and operate base on current IRS and business rules of law . Don't be discouraged by CPN witch hunters, who rant and rave over the term 'CPN' which is nothing more than a abbreviated 3 letter word which means; nothing more than, Credit Profile Number; which is simply defined as, 'ANY 9 DIGIT NUMBER WHICH CAN BE USED FOR CREDIT,' which means exactly that! Any 9 digit number that can be used for credit, which can be found in every bank, credit union, or financial institution as a SSN, ITIN, TIN, or EIN. Banks and lending institutions DO IN FACT LEND TO; individuals using SSN's, legal non resident aliens using ITIN's, tax paying individuals using TIN's, and businesses using EIN's! For proof and articles proving, 'Their is life beyond SSN Credit.'"

Using a different number is possibly illegal and, regardless, does not work. The credit bureaus' matching logic, while faulty on multiple levels, is able to see through this charade and simply assign the consumer's SSN bad credit to their new "CPN". So, beware, be aware and don't fall for this scam!

Free credit reports are generally not really free

You have all seen the commercials about "free credit reports" with their jingles or catchy sayings. My son, who is only 21 months old, used to stop in the middle of whatever he was doing - playing, crying, eating - to watch the commercials about freecreditreport.com, you know, the ones with the grungy looking band singing a tale about how bad credit ruined their life. People often ask me whether these "free" credit reports advertised on TV are really free.

Unfortunately, they are not. If these "free" credit reports were really free, how would they pay for all the commercials? In reality, you are required to sign up for something (i.e. a year's worth of credit monitoring) to get your "free" credit report. So, unless you want to sign up for something that costs you money, do not use the "free" credit report sites you see advertised on TV.

When the Fair Credit Reporting Act was amended in 2003, Congress mandated that the big three credit bureaus (i.e. Experian, Equifax and Trans Union) set up a website where every consumer in the nation could get one free credit report a year from each of the big three national credit bureaus. This website is http://www.annualfreecreditreport.com/. When you visit this site, it asks for some basic identifying information about you. You then select which of the three credit reports you want to get for free. You can choose one, two or all three, but whichever one(s) you choose, you won't be able to get for another year so choose wisely.

The site then re-routes you to the credit bureaus' websites for the credit reports you chose to get. However, here's where another problem rears its ugly head. Its been reported to me that one or more of the credit bureaus' websites contain arbitration clauses to which you are required to agree to get your Congressionally mandated free credit report. I have already used my free credit reports for the year, so I can not check to see which credit bureaus require arbitration and which do not. However, I find it appalling that consumers are being forced to give away their rights to a jury trial in order to exercise their right to a free credit report. Arbitration is bad because it raises a defense to any lawsuit you might bring against the credit bureaus based upon the contents of the credit reports you receive. A trial is the only place you are on an equal footing with the credit bureaus so you should avoid giving up your right to a jury trial at all costs.

Luckily, there is another way around this. The http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ website also provides a written form that can be completed and mailed in to get your free credit report(s). This form does not include an arbitration clause. Thus, your right to a jury trial is preserved. You can download this form from https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdf. You just complete the basic information on the form, fill in the circles for the credit report(s) you want to receive, and mail it to the address located above the shaded box.

Using this form is the only to get a truly free credit report with no strings attached.