Many so-called psychics are frauds. But so are some auto mechanics, lenders and roofers. There’s fraud in just about all lines of work.
What we do know is this: There’s not enough evidence to refute paranormal phenomena. Nor enough to prove it beyond a doubt.
And we also know this: There exist scams involving hot and cold readings.
I could give a scam reading to a flamboyant, colorfully-dressed woman (whom I’ve known for only a minute) with big hair, lots of costume jewelry and a supersonic laugh.
I could tell her she’s attracted to quiet, analytical, detail-oriented, very serious men whose eyes well up during sappy movies. She’ll pay me $100 for my “reading” and think I’m a psychic. What she doesn’t know is that I know that people with “sanguine” temperaments are attracted to the “melancholy” temperament.
I didn’t “read” her based on psychic abilities. I “read” her based on a book about temperaments I read years ago. Some people get really good at cold readings and make money off of this.
Hot Readings
You have an appointment with a woman. You find her Facebook page (because you got enough preliminary information to achieve this). You learn all about her. You look her up on LinkedIn too.
Come appointment (reading) time, you start telling her things about herself, flooring her. Scammers can cunningly extract information via other routes as well, but the bottom line is that the crook gets information ahead of time and pretends it’s only just coming up during the reading.
Cold Readings
The information is gleaned right on the spot—via skilled observational powers. Typically the cold-reader begins broadly, such as, “You’re very sad these days,” watching the customer’s body language and facial reactions, and then making deductions based on those.
The reading is very carefully worded to cover the possibility that the deductions are wrong. The scammer might say, “A person very dear to you is no longer around,” instead of the specific, “A person very dear to you has recently died.” All possible reasons for the “loss” are covered with the ambiguous statement.
Cold readings to a large group are a joke, because the scammer will announce something that, by the law of averages, will apply to several people in the group. He then narrows it down from there.
There may be many honest, true psychics out there (some police departments use them for missing-persons cases believing if there wasn’t some fire to this smoke).
But beware of the scammers. Don’t pay someone to tell you something about your life that’s already on Facebook or evident in your clothing and mannerisms.
https://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/1S1-300x179.jpg179300Robert Sicilianohttps://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/small-logo-safr-me-300x98.pngRobert Siciliano2016-02-10 05:00:292018-04-27 09:38:01Beware of Hot and Cold Reading Scams
What would you rather have happen to you? A Russian ring of hackers has infiltrated your computer and smartphone and is hell-bent on taking control of your finances, social media life, even the smart gadgets in your house…OR…you’ve just been diagnosed with paranoid psychosis, and in fact, nobody’s out to harm you at all.
In a day and age where it’s become increasingly easy for hackers to hijack your credit card and bank accounts, spy on your baby by hacking into the baby-cam and spy on you via your laptop’s camera … the line between paranoia and real-life spying has become very muddled.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a day that goes by that someone contacts me completely convinced they are being spied on. Maybe they are, most likely they are not. Especially when they begin to explain how every device they own and seems to know everything about them and so on. The likelihood of a hacker having control over their TV is pretty small.
For example, 30 years ago if someone said, “Someone is watching me through my computer,” we’d just assume that person was delusional and needed some medication. Nowadays, we’re apt to immediately think, “Put tape on your laptop’s camera hole!”
So how can we weed out the crazies from the true victims? Just because your laptop has a camera hole doesn’t mean you can’t be imagining that your ex-spouse is spying on you through it.
Many claims of fraud or victimization are real, and many are deliberately made up for financial gain (e.g., faking back pain after a fender bender) or are the result of mental illness.
Sometimes, it’s obvious when the claim is fraudulent or the result of being “crazy.” In fact, the tip-offs that it’s mental illness at play are more obvious than when it’s fraud, since the con artist can be quite skilled.
A general rule of thumb is to look at the simplicity—or lack thereof—of the case. Is the claimed cause simple or convoluted?
For example, you hear a crash, race into the living room and see that your favorite vase—which is located near the bottom of the staircase—has been broken to smithereens. Near the vase is a basketball. At the top of the staircase are your two young sons with scared looks on their faces.
They cough up an explanation: “We were in the living room reading. The basketball was on the floor. A gust of wind blew through the window so hard that it tossed the basketball into the vase. We thought you’d blame us so we ran up the stairs.”
Common sense must be used in determining the most probable cause of an event. This holds for parents, claims adjustors, detectives and juries at a trial. The best judge views things through the lens of simplicity.
https://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/12D-1.jpg320480Robert Sicilianohttps://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/small-logo-safr-me-300x98.pngRobert Siciliano2015-06-09 05:00:222018-04-27 09:42:22Is It Fraud or are You just Crazy?
In the last few days, a number of tech magazines like Computerworld and PC Advisor have reported that FraudFox VM poses a threat to the security of online businesses—especially banks and payment services.
FraudFox VM is a special version of Windows with a heavily modified version of the Firefox browser that runs on VMware’s Workstation for Windows or VMware Fusion on OSX. It’s for sale on Evolution, the apparent successor to the Silk Road online contraband market, for 1.8 bitcoins, or about $390.
FraudFox VM was created to defeat device recognition, or fingerprinting, which is used in fraud prevention to assess the risk of a device connecting to a business. Web browsers are used to collect data like operating system version, time zone and IP address. Each of these characteristic can be used to assess risk and uncover possible fraud.
So how worried should your business—and customers—be about this new software? I sat down with Scott Waddell the Chief Technology Officer of iovation, the fraud prevention experts, to find out what the reality is behind the media headlines.
How reliant are banks and financial institutions on this kind of technology to stop fraudulent transactions these days? Is fingerprinting used more for mobile than on desktop? Banks leverage device reputation solutions with great success in both fraud mitigation and risk-based authentication strategies. Of course, good security is all about layered defenses, so smart banks use these tools as part of a defense-in-depth strategy to avoid over-reliance on any one security technology.Device recognition is used on all Internet connected devices these days, mobile and desktop alike. Mobile transactions are the fastest growing segment being protected with these tools, but the majority still originate from desktop operating systems.
Do you think this would be an effective method for cybercriminals to get around those defenses? FraudFox VM may be interesting for its purpose-built virtual machine packaging, but there’s really nothing new in the approach. Tools have been available to fraudsters for years to facilitate changing device parameters, manipulating JavaScript, blocking data collection, obscuring IP address and location, and so on. Many of these capabilities have even migrated into easy-to-use settings in the major web browsers to make testing easier for web developers.Device reputation solutions have evolved along with such tools and continue to provide great uplift in fraud catch in spite of them.
From the reported attributes that FraudFox can change, it would be unable to evade native recognition tools (those embedded in native desktop apps) and it would stumble over transactional similarity scoring on the web that considers more device attributes along with tagged recognition. So the tendency at financial institutions would be to trigger step-up authentication to one-time passwords through out-of-band channels (SMS, mobile app, voice) that FraudFox could not intercept.
Is possible to fake browser fingerprints manually or using other tools? Does this thing look like a good consolidation of other tools that people might use to defeat fingerprinting? As previously mentioned, there are other tools and techniques fraudsters use to evade recognition or to try to mimic the devices of their victims. These often stand out from actual browsers in ways that defeat their intended purpose. A couple years ago, the Gozi Prinimalka trojan attempted to duplicate device attributes of compromised systems much as FraudFox VM aims to do. However, its limitations made it ineffective against modern device reputation offerings that evaluate risk and reputation through multiple strategies including link analysis, profiling techniques, velocity rules, proxy and Tor unmasking, device attribute anomalies, and more.FraudFox VM seems to be relatively limited in its capabilities considering the variety of techniques sophisticated fraud mitigation tools bring to bear.
Any other thoughts? It’s certainly interesting to see tools like this for sale on Evolution, which appears to be catering to fraudsters and identity thieves. All the more reason for online businesses to take advantage of collaborative technologies that bring the power of community to the fight against the increasingly organized economy of cybercrime.
Fraudsters will always look for new ways to commit cybercrimes. However, a strategic, multi-layered approach to fraud prevention is the best defense.
https://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/4D1.jpg200300Robert Sicilianohttps://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/small-logo-safr-me-300x98.pngRobert Siciliano2015-01-22 05:39:102018-04-27 09:44:56Can Hackers Use FraudFox VM to Defeat Your Fraud Prevention?
Educational institutions are giving out student loans and grants, and the recipients aren’t even attending school. Instead they’re spending the money any which way, while the schools have no idea they’re being ripped off.
With a database, the Education Department flags applicants who’ve applied for federal Pell grants—applicants with an “unusual enrollment history,” such as having received financial aid for at least three schools in only 12 months.
The Department forwards these suspect names to educational institutions; the schools then request that applicants provide documents including prior transcripts. What the school then gets from the applicant determines if a loan or grant is denied.
This flagging procedure has caught 126,000 applicants who sought aid for the 2013-2014 school year.
It’s so easy to scam schools because most federal aid does not require a credit check, and how the money is spent is not tightly restricted.
A school receives the money from the government and spends some on tuition. The remainder is sent as a check to the recipients to spend on books and even living expenses while (supposedly) the recipient attends classes.
Community colleges are especially vulnerable due to their open enrollment and low tuition. The lower the tuition, the more money that’s left over to be sent to the con artist.
The proliferation of this scam can be attributed to the Internet because online applications can result in receiving aid—without the applicant ever being within a mile of the campus.
Application Red Flags
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) names the following alerts that financial aid offices can check applications for.
Large financial aid refunds or disbursements
Attendance at several other colleges
A large student loan balance but no degree
Unfortunately, these red flags won’t flutter much if the applicant is a first-time scammer.
Data Red Flags (according to the AACC)
Several registrations coming from similar locations out of state
Several uses of the same PO box, physical address or IP address
Multiple uses of the same computer and/or bank account
The emergency contact is the same person for multiple registrants.
Certain courses getting a fast increase in number of enrollees
Frequent communication from similar individuals or locations
Every applicant should be identity-proofed, which is easier said than done. Verification is one element of identity proofing.
To combat this fraud, Finaid.org notes:
Families must sign a waiver allowing the financial aid office to obtain tax returns straight from the IRS. Some people have submitted fraudulent tax return copies during verification. Getting them directly from the IRS prevents falsification. Another route is to require families to provide copies of their 1099 and W-2 forms, especially when income figures seem suspect.
Request copies of the applicant’s four most recent bank statements; inspect them for unusual transfers and unreported income.
Conduct 100 percent verification.
For parents claiming to be enrolled in college, require a proof of registration plus copy of the paid tuition bill. Confirm registration with the school. And if a parent with a PhD or master’s degree is returning to school for an associate’s degree, be highly suspect.
In cases of divorce or separation, ask for the divorce decree or proof of legal separation, plus street address for each parent.
Compare to each other two consecutive income tax returns to detect any movement of assets to hide them.
There’s more that can be done for identity proofing: biometric software. Biometric Signature ID (BSI) has designed a “Missing Link” patented software-only biometric.
This is the most potent form of ID verification on today’s market, and additional hardware is not required. It measures:
Unique way someone moves the mouse, finger or stylus upon logging in
Length, direction angle, speed, stroke height, of the
The password is created with BioSig-ID™. Measurement of the above can positively identify the user, regardless of what device they log into. This technology makes it impossible for a fraudster to impersonate the user.
With these unique patterns, BSI software can distinguish the user from everyone else. If the person who registered for the account is NOT the same person who is attempting access, they are stopped – avoiding any potential cheating or financial aid fraud.
https://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/9D-300x250.jpg250300Robert Sicilianohttps://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/small-logo-safr-me-300x98.pngRobert Siciliano2014-01-31 12:00:122018-04-27 09:52:49Student Financial Aid Fraud is a big Problem
Thanks to social media, societal norms have undergone a seismic shift in the past five years. What was once considered private or even taboo is not only fair game, it’s expected. But this can have serious consequences from the ending of friendships to exposure to physical harm.
I’ve talked about the concept of TMI or too much information and how social networking and mobile devices have made sharing so much easier and faster than ever before. But we all need to seriously think about some hard consequences of sharing too much personal information. Thinks about it…is that friend really a friend if you haven’t seen them in 25 years?
McAfee’s Fifty Plus Booms Online study found despite the fact that social networks have a reputation among the younger generation as a hub for drama among friends, this is also the case among other demographics—even in the 50-and-over age group. According to respondents, 16% of those who are active on social networks have had a negative experience, with almost 20% of those resulting in ending a friendship.
Further, the study finds that even though 88% consider themselves tech-savvy, they are still engaging in dangerous online behavior, such as sharing personal information with people they have never met in person. Even though 75% of them believe that social networks can expose them to risks such as fraud and identity theft, 52% have shared their email address, 27% their mobile phone number and 26% their home address. All things that open them up to possible exploitation and even physical harm.
They are also using their mobile devices to share information. Nearly one in four (24%) mobile users have used their device to send personal or intimate text messages, emails or photos to someone and yet over 30% do not have basic password protection on their mobile devices and almost half do not have any security software on their mobile devices.
And because these boomers (and all of us) are spending more time online─with 97% of them going online daily and spending an average of 5 hours a day online─ we all must be aware of the concerns that exist with the increased use of mobile devices for everyday tasks and social networking and what information we may be sharing.
Here’s some tips to help us stay protected:
Remember the Internet is forever—Even if you have the highest privacy settings, it’s good practice to consider anything you do on the Internet as public knowledge, so be careful what you share online or via your mobile device.
Don’t reveal personal information—Seriously consider why it’s needed before you post your address, phone number, Social Security number, or other personal information online.
Put a PIN on it—Make sure you have your smartphone and tablet set to auto-lock after a certain time of unused and make sure it requires a PIN or passcode to unlock it. This is especially helpful to protect any information you do not want seen should your device be lost or stolen.
Manage your privacy settings—At most, only friends you know in real life should be able to see details of your profile.
Change your passwords frequently—In addition to choosing passwords that are difficult to guess (try to make them at least eight characters long and a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols), remember to regularly change your passwords.
Turn off the GPS (Global Positioning Service) function on your smartphone camera—If you are going to be sharing your images online, you don’t want people to know the exact location of where you are.
Use comprehensive security on all your device Enjoy a safe online experience no matter what you do or where you are. McAfee LiveSafe™ service protects all your PCs, Macs, smartphones and tablets and can help you secure your data and keep your identity private with its many different features, including a secure data vault, password manager, and protection from phishing scams and malware.
So…really, please, come on now, can we all just tone it down a notch? And one more thing: Please protect your devices—I mean ALL your devices.
Follow @McAfeeConsumer for live online safety updates and tips and use hashtag #BabyBoomers to join the discussion on Twitter or like McAfee on Facebook.
https://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/financial-fraud.jpg768393Robert Sicilianohttps://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/small-logo-safr-me-300x98.pngRobert Siciliano2013-12-19 10:00:062018-04-27 09:53:40Oversharing on Social Media Common Amongst 50+
When you think about it, Facebook is weird. Where else in the world do you call people who you don’t know your friends? I probably have about 10-15 friends. Most are acquaintances and the others 400 are total strangers.
There’s a lot of excessive trust in the Facebook world. People have entirely dropped their sense of cynicism when logged on. They have no reason to distrust. People who are your “Friends” are generally those who you “know, like and trust.” In this world, your guard is as down as it will ever be. You are in the safety of your own home or office hanging with people all over the world in big cities and little towns and never have to watch your back.
Many of the “strangers” came into my life as a result of what I do, and I appreciate and accept them for connecting. But I know plenty of other people who don’t write or do media and might be in college, and have 2000 friends! And they know 5 of them! Social media is weird.
Employers, potential employers and others will often friend someone for the sole purposes of getting a solid profile of that person to determine if they want to hire them. Now the AP reports “U.S. law enforcement agents are following the rest of the Internet world into popular social-networking services, going undercover with false online profiles to communicate with suspects and gather private information, according to an internal Justice Department document that offers a tantalizing glimpse of issues related to privacy and crime-fighting.”
I don’t think there is anything wrong with this; it’s a good thing actually. There is a question of legality and whether or not government agents can pose as someone else and lie, which often violates the terms and conditions of the sites themselves.
But the fact remains, there are bad people out there and they need looking after. And if it means an FBI agent posing as someone to catch the bad guy, I’m all for it. So next time you get a friend request from a stranger, they might be someone checking up on you. Guilty conscience? Hope not.
https://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/small-logo-safr-me-300x98.png00Robert Sicilianohttps://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/small-logo-safr-me-300x98.pngRobert Siciliano2010-03-30 17:00:572010-03-30 17:00:57Is Your Facebook Friend a Fed, or Sex Offender?
Peer to peer file sharing is a great technology used to share data over peer networks. It’s also great software to get hacked and have your identity stolen.
Installing P2P software allows anyone, including criminal hackers, to access your data. This can result in data breaches, credit card fraud and identity theft. This is the easiest and, frankly, the most fun kind of hacking. I’ve seen numerous reports of government agencies, drug companies, mortgage brokers and others discovering P2P software on their networks after personal data was leaked.
The Register reports that a Washington state man has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison after admitting to using file-sharing program LimeWire to steal tax returns and other sensitive documents. He searched LimeWire users’ hard drives for files containing words such as “statement,” “account,” and “tax.pdf.” He would then download tax returns, bank statements, and other sensitive documents and use them to steal identities.
I did a story with a Fox News reporter and a local family who had four kids, including a 15-year-old with an iPod full of music, but no money. I asked her dad where she got all her music and he replied, “I have no idea.” He had no idea that his daughter had installed P2P software on the family computer and was sharing all their data with the world. The reporter asked me how much personal information I could find on the P2P network in five minutes. I responded, “Let’s do it in one minute.”
There are millions of PCs loaded with P2P software, and parents are usually clueless about the exposure of their data. P2P offers a path of least resistance into a person’s computer, so be smart and make sure you aren’t opening a door to identity thieves.
Don’t install P2P software on your computer.
If you aren’t sure whether a family member or employee has installed P2P software, check to see whether anything unfamiliar has been installed. A look at your “All Programs Menu” will show nearly every program on your computer. If you find an unfamiliar program, do an online search to see what it is you’ve found.
Set administrative privileges to prevent the installation of new software without your knowledge.
If you must use P2P software, be sure that you don’t share your hard drive’s data. When you install and configure the software, don’t let the P2P program select data for you.
Get a credit freeze. Go to ConsumersUnion.org and follow the steps for your particular state. This is an absolutely necessary tool to secure your credit. In most cases, it prevents new accounts from being opened in your name.
And invest in Intelius identity theft protection. Not all forms of identity theft protection can be prevented, but identity theft protection services can dramatically reduce your risk.
Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discusses P2P hacks on Fox.
https://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/small-logo-safr-me-300x98.png00Robert Sicilianohttps://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/small-logo-safr-me-300x98.pngRobert Siciliano2009-08-27 07:17:372009-08-27 07:17:37Identity Theft Is Easy Over P2P
Since the beginning of the presidential campaign, Sarah Palin has used Twitter and Facebook to communicate with the public. Impostors have taken every opportunity to jack her persona, even hacking into her personal email account.
Now, hackers and impostors are chiming in on Sarah Palin’s resignation. The Twitter profile for ExGovSarahPalin snags and reuses graphics, photos and tweets from Sarah Palin’s “Verified” Twitter acount, AKGovSarahPalin. This fake Palin account is still live as of this writing. In one tweet, a Palin impersonator invited followers to her home for a barbecue. Her security staff was reading these tweets and quickly dispatched security personnel to her home to intercept unwanted visitors.
Twitter has a “parody impersonation policy” that permits impersonation, as long as the parody is clear to readers. It’s puzzling to me that they would allow this, particularly in the case of the fake Sarah Palin account, which is plastered with Governor’s likeness.
Social media is not prepared for this type of use. And Twitter should rethink its policies.
Meanwhile, USA Today reports that St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa, who has also fallen victim to social media identity theft and has sued Twitter, claiming damage resulting from “cybersquatting” and misappropriation of his name, has now dropped his lawsuit. One report mentions an out of court settlement that compensates LaRussa for his legal fees and includes a donation to his favorite charity. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone blogged a denial of such a settlement.
Financial identity theft is impossible to prevent 100% of the time, and so is social media identity theft. However, there are ways to lock down your name and protect yourself, or at least to mitigate the potential damage to your name and reputation.
As we spend more time online, meeting people, posting photos and offering glimpses into our personal lives, here are some action steps to keep Social Media Identity Theft at bay:
1. Register your full name and those of your spouse and kids on the most trafficked social media sites, blogs, domains or web based email accounts. If your name is already gone, include your middle initial, a period or a hyphen. It’s up to you to decide whether or not to plug in your picture and basic bio, but consider leaving out your age or birthday.
2. Set up a free Google Alerts for your name and get an email every time your name pops up online. Go to iSearch.com by Intelius and search your name and any variations of your name in what would be a screen name.
3. Set up a free StepRep account for your name. StepRep is an online reputation manager that does a better job than Google Alerts does of fetching your name on the web.
4. Consider dropping a few bucks on Knowem.com and other sites like them. These online portals go out and register your name at what they consider the top social media sites. Their top is a great start. The user experience is relatively painless. There is still labor involved in setting things up with some of them. And no matter what you do, you will still find it difficult to complete the registration with all the sites. Some of the social media sites just aren’t agreeable. This can save you lots of time, but is only one part of solving the social media identity theft problem.
5. Start doing things online to boost your online reputation. Blogging is best. You want Google to bring your given name to the top of search in its best light, so when anyone is searching for you they see good things. This is a combination of online reputation management and search engine optimization for your brand: YOU.
6. If you ever stumble upon someone using your likeness in the social media, be very persistent in contacting the site’s administrators. They too have reputations to manage and if they see someone using your photo or likeness they would be smart to delete the stolen profile.
7. Despite all the work you may do to protect yourself, you still need the Intelius Identity Protect service I’m working with and recommend coupled with Internet security software.
Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discusses scams.
https://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/small-logo-safr-me-300x98.png00Robert Sicilianohttps://safr.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/small-logo-safr-me-300x98.pngRobert Siciliano2009-07-09 07:01:132009-07-09 07:01:13Sarah Palin Victim of Social Media Identity Theft, LaRussa Drops Suit
Throughout the past week or so, scammers from Nigeria, Belgium and the UK have been coming after me in full force, via Craigslist. Unfortunately, the popular online classifieds website has become a launchpad for criminal activity. Everything from online affinity or advance fee scams to baby killers and the Craigslist killer have hampered the website’s reputation.
I use Craigslist to find renters for an apartment that I own. Last year, scammers copied my advertisement verbatim, except for the contact information, which they replaced with their own, and the price, which they reduced by half. The scammer, who claimed to be the property owner, informed potential renters that he was in Austria, and instructed them to drive by the apartment, and to send him a deposit check if they liked the look of the place. Fortunately, I happened to be present when a couple came by, per the scammer’s instructions. We discovered the ruse and contacted Craigslist. The fake ads continued popping up, but after numerous emails to Craigslist, they were all removed.
Last week I posted a new ad, and within minutes, I received the following email:
Subject: RENTAL INQUIRY!!hope to hear from you soon
Hello Robert,
Let me know if the room/apt you advertise on craigslist.com is still available and let me know if you can accept certified cashier check as mode of payment..And the last price for the space.
I’m presently in Belgium.I will be coming immediately the place is vacant for me to move in.But the issue is that because of the distance i wont be able to come to see the place.Meanwhile let me tell you a ill about myself..I don’t smoke and I don’t have boyfriend.Am Sarah Smith and my nick name is SERA and am 26years old i lost my dad some years back when i was young so my mom had to remarry so she married to Mr Scott Michael who is my step dad now..He has been the one who has been taking care of me all this while i believe he is a God sent to me cux i have never regretted moment with him..Things i like are as follows reading,swimming and chatting with people around me and also make them happy..I have always been thinking of how i will affect peoples life positively by making donations to the less privileges cus when i looked at my pass when i lost my dad from the story my mom told me..I noticed it is not easy for people that as no parent.Well i hope when we meet in person you will know more about me..Meanwhile my step dad will need the followings to make payment to you ASAP..
1.Your name and surname.
2.Address in full with the zip code..
3.I will need your phone number
I wait to have this information from you so that my step dad can make payment for the rental fee and security deposit in advance … I Await to hear from you….
Hope to hear from you pretty soon.
Thanks, SARAH
It’s easy to dissect this scam. The person who sent this email has two goals. First, the scammer wants to build a relationship with his or her mark. He or she provides a (horribly written) story in an attempt to establish trust. The victim is then more likely to fall for the scam, following the scammer’s instructions and conducting the necessary financial transactions. Many victims are foolish enough to provide account numbers or other personal identitifying information. Second, the scammer is setting up an affinity, or advance fee scam. In such a con, the scammer mails you a check. You deposit this check in your bank account, and it temporarily clears. In that limited window of time, the scammer will request that you return some or all of the money. He may claim to have changed his mind about renting or buying from you, or that he accidently made the original check out for more than the agreed upon sum. So you wire the money back. Within a day or two, the bank calls to let you know that the original check was counterfeit. So you’ve lost the money you wired to the scammer.
How can you protect yourself from scams like this, or other scams that take advantage of online classified ads? Use common sense, be smart, and pay attention. If you do that, you won’t fall for these types of cons.
When we were young, our parents told us not to talk to strangers. Strangers are not yet part of our trusted circle. So don’t trust them! There’s no benefit to paranoia, but being a little guarded can prevent you from stumbling into a vulnerable situation. Since predators use online classifieds to lure unsuspecting victims, you should find out as much as possible about strangers who contact you. Use Google or iSearch.com to investigate names and email addresses.
Whenever possible, deal locally. People who cannot meet you in your town are more likely to be scammers. And even when you do meet in person, you should be wary.
Never engage in online transactions involving credit cards, cashier’s checks, money orders, personal checks, Western Union, MoneyGram or cash, that require you to send money to a stranger in response to money they have sent you. This is an advance fee scam.
Be smart. Don’t disclose your financial information, including account or Social Security numbers, for any reason. Scammers will say anything in order to get this information.
Prevent check fraud. When sending checks in the mail, you want to prevent “check washing,” which occurs when they recipient alters the name of the payee and increases the dollar amount, draining your checking account. Something as simple and inexpensive as a select uni-ball pen can help. These pens contain specially formulated gel ink (trademarked Uni-Super Ink™) that is absorbed into the paper’s fibers and can never be washed out.
Secure your PC. Make sure your PC is protected with McAfee anti-virus software and all your critical security patches in your operating system are up to date.
Protect your identity. You can’t prevent all forms of identity theft. However you can significantly reduce your risk by making a small investment in your personal security by investing in Intelius Identity Protect or considering the options described in this blog post.
As opening new lines of credit becomes more difficult, identity thieves are gravitating toward check fraud.
Check fraud is a billion dollar problem. As predicted by the Identity Theft Resource Center, check fraud, which accounted for 12% of financial crimes in 2007, increased to 17% in 2008. According to the American Bankers Association Deposit Account Fraud Survey Report, $969 million were stolen via check fraud in 2006, up from a reported $677 million in 2003. Of the $969 million dollars lost to check fraud, 38% was stolen through return deposit scams, 27% was stolen using cloned checks, 28% was stolen using counterfeit checks, and 7% was stolen by altering or washing checks.
In an article in The New York Post, a brazen ring of thieves enlisted crooked bank tellers to run a check fraud scheme that was brought down when the crooks made the mistake of forging checks from a NYPD account. Two criminal hacker ringleaders organized the counterfeit scam, using 950 “soldiers,” or “mules,” to deposit and cash counterfeit checks, netting them millions of dollars. Three bank tellers were involved, stealing and selling customer profiles which included names, Social Security numbers, and account numbers. Insider identity theft of this kind accounts for up to 70% of all instances of identity theft.
Check fraud victims include banks, businesses and consumers themselves. Our current system for cashing checks is somewhat flawed. Checks can be cashed and merchandise can be purchased even when there is no money in the checking account.
I presented a program on motivation and self-improvement at a women’s prison in Massachusetts a few years back. I requested a little background on the women I was speaking to, just because I watch too many movies and I wanted to know if there was any possibility I’d get shanked. The case worker informed me that about 80% of the women were incarcerated for check fraud and shoplifting. It seems that when some people get a checkbook, they consider it an opportunity to print money.
There are numerous forms of check fraud:
Forged signatures are the easiest form of check fraud. These are legitimate checks with a forged signature. This can occur when a checkbook is lost or stolen, or when a home or business is burglarized. An individual who is invited into your home or business can rip a single check from your checkbook and pay themselves as much as they like. Banks don’t often verify signatures until a problem arises that requires them to assign liability.
Forged endorsements generally occur when someone steals a check and cashes or deposits it. There’s really nothing anyone can do to protect themselves from this, aside from guarding their checks and going over their bank statements carefully.
Counterfeit checks can be created by anyone with a desktop scanner and printer. They simply create a check and make it out to themselves. In order to prevent your checks from being counterfeited, make sure you shred all canceled checks before throwing them away, and be sure to lock up any checks in your home or office. Consider a locked mailbox so nobody can access your bank statements. You should also seriously consider using online banking exclusively, and discontinuing paper statements.
Check kiting or check floating usually involves two bank accounts, where money is transferred back and forth, so that they appear to contain a balance which can then be withdrawn. A check is deposited in one account, then cash is withdrawn despite the lack of sufficient funds to cover the check. In this case, it’s generally the bank or whoever cashed the check that gets burnt, unless they are able to go after the person who used their own account.
Check washing involves altering a legitimate check, changing the name of the payee and often increasing the amount. This is the sneakiest form of check fraud. When checks or tax-related documents are stolen, either from the mail or by other means, the ink can be erased using common household chemicals such as nail polish remover. This allows the thieves to endorse checks to themselves. In this case, something as simple and inexpensive as a select uni-ball pen can help. Select uni-ball pens contain specially formulated gel ink (trademarked Uni-Super Ink™) that is absorbed into the paper’s fibers and can never be washed out. The pen costs two bucks and is available at any office supply store.
If you write a check to pay a bill and then put it in your mailbox for the postal carrier to deliver, you put yourself at a higher risk for check fraud. Thieves see that red flag up and go phishing for checks. I suggest using a uni-ball pen and taking checks directly to the post office, or dropping them in a big blue mailbox.
If you plan to do any online banking, which millions do, make sure your PC is protected with McAfee anti-virus software and all your critical security patches in your operating system are up to date.
What we do know is this: There’s not enough evidence to refute paranormal phenomena. Nor enough to prove it beyond a doubt.
