Scams

They’re always wanting your money, Part 2.

~ grant.gallagher ~ 1 Comment

Author Ryan M. Chippendale has been in public safety/service for over two decades. He has held the roles of Police Officer, Firefighter, EMT, CPR Instructor, NRA Instructor, Glock Armorer, and Notary Public, among others.  He is the proud father of three girls (12, 10, 4) and has been married for thirteen years.  He is the son of a senior mother who keeps a running honey-do list for him, and he has expertise with firearms, electronics and computer systems.  He is an ordained minister, is fluent in sarcasm and has been known to be found at a karaoke bar once or twice in his life. This is the second of a series of three blog posts.

 

If you’re just joining us then you missed the first article where I briefly discussed senior scam phone calls.  The takeaway from that was if any stranger calls you, filter it though a skeptical lens.

There is one small caveat though… what if the phone call is from someone who claims to be NOT a stranger?  “Hi Grandma, I got arrested in Mexico and the only way they’ll let me out is if you go by a Walmart gift card and send it to me.”  First, you know from the first article that no government agency known to me will accept a gift card but what about your poor grandson?  Are you the heartless person to leave him sitting in a Mexican prison?!?  Take that drop of cynicism and apply it to this scenario… ask a challenge question.

What is something super obvious that your grandson would know?  It doesn’t have to be tricky like asking the color of the sweater you wore at Christmas, more like the name of the street you live on.  Or his mother’s first name.  The scammer will just hang up, or if you’re lucky, they’ll spew some curse words at you before hanging up.  Believe it or not, a lot of people are taken by this method.  

Phone calls are the Mecca of scammers because it removes the ability of the victim to get a feel for what’s real and what isn’t.  With technology these days, they are even able to remove accents from their voices.  You might be more comfortable speaking with someone who has a southern drawl than a foreigner.  If you’re on the phone, listen for things that sound culturally improper… those are harder to fake.

Another example of a common telephone scam relies less on sympathy and more on fear.  You receive a call from someone who tells you that you’re a victim (they hope) of a fraud.  “Hello, this is Bank of America and we’ve detected some fraudulent activity on your account.  Before we can continue, we need you to verify your social security number?”  How responsible and thorough of Bank of America, right?  The problem is that it isn’t actually Bank of America calling… do you even have a Bank of America account?  What if there actually is some kind of fraud happening and the person calling is legitimate?  No big deal… ask for a reference number or the like.  Hang up and call the phone number on the back of your credit card.  I don’t even trust the Google searches in a situation like that.  Pull out your paper statement or the physical credit card to get the phone number.  Always be wary of someone who calls you and asks you for information.  Always be suspicious of someone who calls you and wants to pressure you into doing anything as if time is a factor.  

Along the lines of fear, your power is about to be shut off.  It’s not, but imagine I made the scenario real enough and you believed your power was about to be shut off?  It’s 30 degrees out, you have electric heat, you have an electric stove, your family is about to sit in the dark and eat uncooked food!  As a scammer I’m going to slap you with whatever I can make you afraid of.  But don’t worry… we can clear this outstanding bill up with a quick and easy trip to Wallgreens for a gift card to satisfy the debt.  Ding ding ding… red flag!  Gift card for anything = scam.  Often criminals will pretend to be some type of utility company and call about an outstanding bill and threaten suspension of services if payment is not immediately made.  Same as the Bank of America story… Hang up, pull out the bill and call them yourself.  Maybe there is actually a delinquency, butseek it out yourself.  Don’t trust a stranger who called you.  

Trust but verify!

 

Moving Home? A Cautionary Tale…

~ grant.gallagher ~ 1 Comment

Author Todd Ellis balances his work life with community volunteerism.  A Critical Infrastructure communications expert, Ellis helps design systems for rail, bus and airports and was awarded two related patents.  After hours, Ellis is an Auxiliary Police Officer in his local township, teaches firearm safety courses, is an adult Scouter and a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus.  Ellis and his wife Stacey reside on their uniquely sloped property known as Leprechaun Hill in southeastern Pennsylvania.

As we get older, many folks desire a warmer climate. Sometimes, seniors are capable of maintaining a dual residence; enjoying summers in the North, then heading South as the weather begins to turn. More often, there will be a total move of a residence that requires the use of a professional moving company. Due to increasing labor and transportation costs, shipments of household goods can be surprisingly expensive. It’s natural that anyone, whether on a fixed income or not would look for better moving costs.

Recently a senior couple (we’ll call them Kay and Ted) moved from their Upstate New York residence to a long awaited move to Florida. A retired businessman, Ted made several telephone calls to local movers to obtain a competitive price. COVID issues have decimated moving company labor – and thus Ted couldn’t obtain a proposal from anyone. No local company had enough personnel to cover current commitments and none was interested in Ted’s long-haul opportunity.

Kay and Ted were becoming desperate. Having already sold their home, it was imperative to quickly find a mover who could pack and ship their household belongings before the closing date. Ted began looking online for alternative shippers. One particular firm looked pretty good – their company name sounded a lot like a familiar nationwide moving company but promised to provide better pricing. Ted was delighted to find that the company could send a representative to their home within a day and provide a written proposal. Both Kay and Ted were proud that they did it all on their own without having to ask family members for help.

Ted reviewed the contract; it had plenty of strongly written terms and a good price. The firm showed up the next week to retrieve their goods…in a rented box truck. Their excuse was that their truck was tied up on another job and their goods would be transferred into their bigger truck the next day.

Kay and Ted closed on their old home and flew to their new Florida destination. A stipulated fourteen days for delivery came and went – and no truck, no furniture, no household goods. Calls to the moving company were answered by a polite receptionist but no information was provided about their shipment. Concerned, Kay called their son Rick to see if he had any ideas on what to do. Their son, a security expert, carefully listened to the facts and then asked for an electronic copy of their contract. Within minutes Rick had determined there was a big problem; other customers had been posting complaints about the company across the Internet for the last year. He read about customers who never received their shipments and customers that were asked to pay additional funds before delivery.

This is called “hostage taking”. Unscrupulous moving companies sometimes seize goods from individuals who appear to be well-heeled and then refuse to deliver until “unexpected fees” are collected. Unfortunately, anxiety sometimes wins over good judgement and the victim pays the moving company, hoping to simply walk away from a bad situation. That approach doesn’t help the next potential victim! Several other victims had registered complaints on the Better Business Bureau’s site, but the moving company was not a BBB member and only responded in a limited way to keep complaints at bay.

Rick quickly developed an action plan. First, he had Kay call their new local police department to file a report. A responding detective called the moving company on behalf of his department and that got the ball rolling. Because the goods were shipped across state lines, Rick also contacted a friend who is a Special Agent at the FBI. Because Ted had found the company on the Internet, Rick was advised to file a complaint on the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint website (www.ic3.gov). A quick four days later, a truck arrived with Kay and Ted’s belongings. Although the goods were a bit banged up there was a great relief that irreplaceable items were recovered.

Kay and Ted learned several important lessons; they didn’t do their homework and investigate the company online or look for positive (or negative) references. They never asked the company about past customers, and they accepted the company’s odd story that the rented box truck was only a temporary measure. Lastly, they didn’t ask their son Rick for assistance which could have prevented the anxiety this situation caused. Remember, a deal that seems too good often isn’t good at all.

How to Spot an Internet Scam

~ grant.gallagher ~ 2 Comments

Author Michael Lindner is a software developer living in Monmouth County, NJ, with his beautiful wife and the youngest of his three sons. His interests are faith, family and freedom, which makes him an anachronism.

The term “Spam” is used to describe any unwanted or unsolicited email or text. Often these “spam” messages are also “scam” messages – messages designed to con you out of money or personal information that can be used to rob you. If you’re like me, you get text messages and emails almost every day from scammers. As a long-time computer professional I can share some tips to spot them and avoid getting scammed. Here are some of the things I look out for – do any of these seem familiar?

Getting messages from a company you don’t do business with. Almost every day, I get a message with a link to a gift for being a loyal Verizon cellular customer. The problem is that Verizon is not my phone carrier.

If you receive a message claiming you are a customer of some company you know you are not a customer of, chances are it is someone trying to trick you into either trying to accept a “free” gift or trying to tell them you are not their customer. Sometimes the message is from a company you have an account with, but is referencing something fake. For instance “Thanks for paying your December bill, here is a gift” when you paid your December bill weeks ago (or haven’t paid yet). Check the source of the email or text, it is probably wrong.

Getting email messages from a suspicious email address. Email and web addresses work from right to left. If you google Verizon you will find their web address is www.verizon.com. The important part is the last two parts, “verizon.com”, which is called the “domain name”. Every web site the company has, and every email the company uses, will end in that same domain name, “verizon.com”. Scammers will usually use email addresses and links that are similar, but different. Some examples might be “verizon.xyz.com”, “verizon.xyz”, “verison.com” or “verizon.com.xyz.org”. Note that they do not end in “verizon.com”.

Most email programs will show you the actual email address if you hover the mouse cursor over the “From” email address on the screen. A few will make you right click or click on “show headers” to see it. But if an email is suspicious, take the extra time to see who it’s actually from, and whether it is legitimate.

Getting text messages from a suspicious phone number. Most large companies use “short codes” to contact their customers. This is a five to seven digit number. If you receive a text message allegedly from your phone carrier or similar that is from a “normal” 10 digit phone number, it is likely a scam. Be careful.

Getting message with a link that doesn’t go to the right web site. Links to web sites look like “https://www.verizon.com/support”. The part after the “://” and before the next “/” is the important part, and just like the email addresses, it must end in the proper domain name, in this case “verizon.com”. An email might have a link that says “click on Verizon customer service” to claim your gift. If you hover your mouse cursor over the link, most browsers will display, at the bottom of the window, where the link actually goes. If that link is not going to the domain you expect, odds are the email is a scam. If the email looks suspicious but you want to go to the site the email allegedly goes to a safer way is to google the address (for example, google “Verizon customer service”) and click on the search results.

Web sites that ask for personal information. Suppose the email looked ok, but when I click on the link the site I go to is asking for my name and birth date, or other personal information, to “verify” who I am? That’s likely not a legitimate site. If you are uncomfortable with the site asking for personal information, look up the phone number of the company it’s supposed to be from, call their customer service and ask if the email and site are legitimate. Most companies are happy to help, and grateful to find out about scammers using their name.

What to do with scam emails, texts, etc. What should you do with a suspicious message? First off what not to do. Do NOT respond to it, even to say “rot in hell you scammer”. The more information they get from you, even just the fact that you are a real person, the more they can do. Ignore ignore ignore.

Most email clients have a “Spam” button that you can click on. Use it. Not only does that keep you from having to see the message, but it gives the email program information on catching future scam messages. Use spam filters if your email/phone provides has them. These take feedback from other users reporting spam to stop such messages from getting through to your inbox in the first place.

Most of all, remember the adage “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.”

They’re always wanting your money – Part 1

~ grant.gallagher

Author Ryan M. Chippendale has been in public safety/service for over two decades. He has held the roles of Police Officer, Firefighter, EMT, CPR Instructor, NRA Instructor, Glock Armorer, and Notary Public, among others.  He is the proud father of three girls (12, 10, 4) and has been married for thirteen years.  He is the son of a senior mother who keeps a running honey-do list for him, and he has expertise with firearms, electronics and computer systems.  He is an ordained minister, is fluent in sarcasm and has been known to be found at a karaoke bar once or twice in his life. This is the first of a series of three blog posts.

Criminals exploit seniors for what they perceive to be naive tendencies but in reality it’s because they are generally too nice… and too trusting.  According to the Senate Special Committee on Aging, scammers cheat seniors our of approximately $2.9 billion annually.  Consider that number is likely low; a lot of these crimes go unreported as the victims are embarrassed or ashamed of being taken advantage of.  I’ve had investigations where I was able to identify victims of a scam, had the criminals in custody, seized the proceeds of the scam, and yet the victim still denied they had been taken.  

After you finish these articles you may be inclined to develop an extremely cynical outlook towards strangers.  While that’s not necessarily the healthiest way to live, a dash or cynicism can help you apply a “smell test” to situations that might victimize you.  As much as it pains me to admit this, some criminals are clever.  Almost to the point where I’ve been impressed by their creativity.  Even the dumb ones are being schooled by a hierarchy. The criminals get together and compare what works and what doesn’t. Often, they use the infamous “Dark Web”, making tracking their communications more difficult.  

Let’s discuss some rules which if you apply to your life, you will protect yourself against 99% of scams we’ve seen.

First, and what is super obvious after it’s explained – the government (or law enforcement) will never call you.

Let me explain… this doesn’t mean that if your car is parked in a construction area and they’re trying to get it moved, a police department wouldn’t call you and ask to have your car moved.  What will NEVER happen is a law enforcement representative calling to tell you that you’re wanted for a crime, or someone used your social security number, or if you don’t do *something* there will be a negative consequence.

Scammers will cold call you and represent themselves as a member of a law enforcement agency.  They will tell you that you have an outstanding warrant for your arrest (for most folks that’s a scary thought) and that if you don’t do what they tell you, you will be imminently arrested.  Often they want you to purchase gift cards from a local retailer and digitally transmit the funds to the scammer to satisfy whatever fraudulent accusation they’ve convinced you is going to get you arrested.  Can’t figure out how to do that?  It’s ok, they’ll settle for you just reading off the numbers from the card you bought.  They will also instruct you that you must stay on the phone with them the entire time.  While this might make you think there’s some legitimacy to this tactic, it’s solely so you don’t have the opportunity to call someone and ask if something sounds fishy.

No government agency accepts gift cards in payment for anything.  In fact, if anyone ever asks to you buy a gift card, you should assume it’s a scam.  No matter how much how much convincing they use, gift cards = scam.  I’ve experienced cases where the victim received a phone call from a person and the caller ID read “US Marshal Service.”  The scammer instructed the victim to Google the phone number on the caller ID which revealed a legitimate Deputy US Marshal in Texas.  The problem was, the scammer utilized a method called “spoofing” to change their caller ID.  While the situation may have appeared real, once the “agent” instructed the victim to purchase a gift card, then the giant red flag should have gone a mile high.  

Another more disgusting scam targeted towards seniors involves pretending that their grandchildren are in some kind of trouble.  This attack comes from the scammer pretending to actually be the grandchild, or perhaps a law enforcement officer who has their grandchild in “custody”, and needs bail to have them released.  Guess how that bail needs to be paid?  You got it, gift cards.

If the phone rings, and it’s a stranger – you should be skeptical.  Think about it.  Have you ever tried to call a government agency and they actually answered the phone in less time than it takes to cook a roast?  They don’t have the staffing to call YOU either.  In the extremely rare example that it’s a legitimate call, there’s nothing wrong with asking for their contact information and verifying.  Research the phone number, not just calling back the number they give you.  Figure out a way to authenticate who they are.  All else fails, take notes and go to your local police department.  Let a trained professional offer their opinion on the situation. 

  • The Government won’t call you
  • Technology such as caller ID is just as susceptible to exploitation 
  • Anyone asking for payment via gift card is likely trying to scam you
  • Law enforcement doesn’t call ahead their intention to arrest you.  We like surprises.

While this goes without saying, this is absolutely not an exhaustive list of scam possibilities.  In later articles I’ll discuss different tactics a scammer might use to victimize you.

Welcome to Silver Tigers!

~ grant.gallagher

Silver Tigers is a blog dedicated to awareness and preparation in the growing community of active over 60s.

Hello! and “Thank You” for joining us at the “Silver Tigers Training and Preparedness Blog”. Please bookmark the site and subscribe to receive updates. There’s also a Newsletter where we will send ideas, information, classes and so on. You can sign up for that, here.

So, what, or rather, ‘Who’, IS a “Silver Tiger”? It’s you, it’s us, it’s our contemporary friends and family members. We’ve learned a few things in our time and we know how to put them to good use. However, while age brings experience, it also brings vulnerabilities, not least in terms of declining physical ability and unfamiliarity with new technologies. There’s also a more aggressive criminal community out there, perfectly willing to take anything from a computer to our entire life-savings.

As it says, Silver Tigers may be Older, but we are also Bolder, and more willing than ever to take responsibility for ourselves and our loved ones in order to make sure we are safe and secure. Nobody is getting one over on us, not today!

Here at Silver Tigers, we cater to this more experienced league of individuals. People who are well-versed at life in general. There may be things you’re hearing about, such as general preparedness, firearms, a defensive mindset. You’ll learn more about these and other related things here at the Blog. Perhaps you know someone who fell for a con such as the horrible gift-card scam. Perhaps you have experiences you’d like to bring to people. Or, perhaps you just want to be connected to people who share your values. These blog posts give you a chance to increase your knowledge in things that may help you, you family and friends, or even save a life.

As you read through our blogs, you’ll see our goal is to introduce you to topics you may not have considered before or have had minimal contact with. Through our wide variety of contributors, you will experience thought provoking topics, learn new skills and hone talents you might not realize you already have.

You’ll learn about subject matter that will help you navigate this changing world more comfortably and confidently. The posts will highlight things you can personally do to keep yourself safe, warm, dry, fed and aware.

Join us on this journey and keep checking the new topics in each weekly installment. The posts will be waiting for you with your Saturday morning coffee.

Share your experiences, good or bad. Never think you have nothing important to say. Everyone has a fresh perspective and viewpoint about what has helped them and their families. All of us has a list of things we wish we’d been told and hadn’t had to discover the hard way. Share them here. We welcome you to write about experiences you’d like to share. Email them to “author-at-silvertigers-dot-blog”. We shall publish them here on the blog. Slots are open specifically for your contributions.

So, let’s hear from you, and we will contribute $20 to a charity of your choice in your name when we post your contribution for everyone to read.

Hope you had a good day! Join is for many more!