Blog

Scammers work the phones, and so do scam-fighters.  The FTC just heard from our friends in the Office of Refugee Resettlement about a new scam targeting refugees from Bhutan.  We want to shine some light on this – and ask you to share this with anyone who might get a call like this.

Here’s the scam:  Someone calls a recently-resettled refugee from Bhutan.  The scammer says he’s from the “Federal Grants Department” in Washington, DC, and seems to be calling from a DC-area phone number.  He claims that the person he’s talking to is eligible to receive $10,000 because they’re a refugee from Bhutan.  The scammer also says that the refugee must send a money order for $650 before they can claim the $10,000.

Unfortunately, people have gotten hurt by this scam.  At least one refugee paid nearly $5,000 for what the scammer called “processing fees.”  How can you steer clear of scams like this?

• Don’t give important personal information – or money – to someone who contacts you unexpectedly.
• Remember that the federal government does not charge security deposits or processing fees when it gives financial grants.
• If you are a refugee and get a call like this, talk to the case manager at your resettlement agency immediately.
• If you have gotten a call or sent money in a situation like this, please report it to the Federal Trade Commission, online or at 1-877-FTC-HELP.
• To find out how to avoid immigration scams, visit ftc.gov/immigration or ftc.gov/inmigracion

No one in the refugee community, or any community, can afford to lose money to a scam. Please pass this on, and thank you.

Getting a traffic ticket isn’t anyone’s favorite thing.  Even worse?  A fake ticket – a spam email that tricks you into downloading spyware onto your computer.

That’s just what happened to some Seattle government employees who received deceptive emails from overseas scammers that were designed to look as if they were from the city’s Department of Motor Vehicles.  Never mind that Seattle doesn’t have its own DMV.  The email asked the recipients to complete a linked form.  Once the link was clicked, a malware program installed itself and infected the consumer’s computer:

Although this particular spam campaign is recent – the Seattle Police Department reported it January 19 and the emails apparently were sent from a domain registered in Ukraine earlier in the month – it’s not a new kind of scam.  Last August, a number of police departments across the country warned consumers about spam campaigns involving alleged “Uniform Traffic Tickets” emailed from state police departments.  If a recipient opened the email and clicked on the attached “ticket,” a malicious program installed itself on the person’s computer.  This scam borrows from others like it that take advantage of the public trust in communications sent from   government entities.

How can you protect yourself – and your computer – from these spam campaigns?  Read your emails carefully.  For example, the Seattle version used a European date format: day/month/year.  Another clue:  municipalities, including Seattle, don’t email traffic tickets – they prefer to mail them.  Finally, keep security software on your computer up to date.  That way, if you inadvertently click on a link emailed to you that attempts to infect your computer, you’ll be better protected.

For more information on how to be on guard against this kind of fraud and secure your computer, visit the FTC’s website.

There’s no doubt about it: you are responsible for your debts. If you fall behind in paying your creditors – or if you dispute the legitimacy of a debt – a debt collector may contact you.

But at a certain point, some debt is too old to be sued on – state laws limit collectors’ ability to collect through legal action after some period of time has passed. Most consumers don’t know their legal rights when it comes to collection of old debts past the statute of limitations. So when a collector tells a consumer that she owes money and demands payment, it may create the misleading impression that the collector can sue the consumer in court to collect that debt.

In most states, having time-barred debt doesn’t mean that your debt has been forgiven, that you don’t owe it, or that a debt collector can’t try to get you to pay. It simply means that you can’t be sued to collect on the debt. (That doesn’t mean that all debt collectors play by the rules, but I’ll get to that later.)

Time-barred debt can be part of your credit history. Debt can stay on your credit report for seven years from the date of the last activity. In many states, if you make a partial payment on the debt, the clock resets.

A debt collector might come right out and tell you that the debt is time-barred and that you can’t be sued if you don’t pay. But then again, he might not. That’s why it’s important for you to understand your rights and know how to respond to debt collectors who are trying to collect on old debt.

If a collector doesn’t tell you that a particular debt is time-barred – but you think that it might be – ask the collector if the debt is beyond the statute of limitations. The collector doesn’t have to answer, but if he does, the law requires the collector to tell the truth.

If the collector declines to answer, and he’s allowed to, ask another question: What do his records show as the date of your last payment. This is important because it helps determine when the statute of limitations clock starts ticking. If the collector doesn’t give you this information, send him a letter within 30 days of receiving a written notice of the debt. Tell him that you are ‘disputing’ the debt and that you want to ‘verify’ it. The more information you give the collector about why you are disputing the debt, the better. The collector must stop trying to collect until he gives you verification.

Getting back to not all debt collectors playing by the rules… Even though it’s against the law, some debt collectors may go ahead and sue you on a time-barred debt anyway. If that happens, pay attention and respond. Consider talking to an attorney. You or your attorney should tell the judge that the debt is time-barred and, as proof, provide a copy of the verification from the collector or any information you have that shows the date of your last payment. The lawsuit will be dismissed if the judge decides the debt is time-barred. In any case, don’t ignore the lawsuit. If you do, the collector likely will get a court judgment against you, and possibly take money from your paycheck, bank account, or tax refund.

To learn more, read Time-Barred Debts: Understanding Your Rights When It Comes to Old Debts.

Have you ever received one of those messages from someone in another country asking you to move millions of dollars to your bank account for safekeeping — and offering you a big commission for your trouble?

How about someone promising you big profits in a foreign business deal? Often referred to as “Nigerian letters” (because they were originally sent by airmail from Nigeria), these missives now come from all over the world by email, fax, and phone.  Last year, a new version of this scam emerged:  Fraudsters posing as FBI agents threatened people with charges of money laundering or terrorism if they didn’t pay to get a certificate from a Nigerian agency clearing them of the crimes.

Scammers are constantly experimenting with new ways to get consumers’ hard-earned money.  The stories vary, but two things remain consistent: 1) You’re asked to send money or provide your bank account information and 2) Rather than giving you money, these crooks set their sights on stealing it from you.

While there are certainly home-grown crooks in the United States, many scammers are now targeting people in this country from abroad using today’s technology. Email and internet phone service have become popular ways to solicit potential victims because of the low cost.  Similarly, social media networks, online dating sites, and other sites where people connect online are tools for scammers as crimes common to the physical world are morphing to the Web.

Take “sweetheart swindles,” for instance.  Fraudsters strike up phony “relationships” with people they meet online — and eventually ask for money to cover emergency expenses or the cost of coming to the U.S.  Once they get the cash, they’re never heard from again.

Fake check scams also continue to evolve. In this fraud, consumers are lured into accepting real-looking checks or money orders for items they’re selling, as an advance on prizes they’ve supposedly won, or for performing some type of work at home. They’re told to send a portion of the money — say, to pay taxes on their winnings. The checks or money orders are counterfeit.  And when they bounce, the victims must repay the financial institutions where they deposited or cashed them.

New versions of this fraud are emerging all the time. The National Consumers League recently reported that scammers are sending fake checks to consumers for agreeing to have their cars wrapped with advertisements.  (And they’re told to send part of the proceeds to someone who will do the wrapping.) There is no advertising campaign, of course; the story is as phony as the checks.

Scammers often want payments wired to them because they can get the money quickly, and in cash, before people realize they’ve been swindled. But they’re always looking for other ways to get your money.

Earlier this year, Consumer Federation of America released tips and a video describing how some con artists are now telling victims to pay them using MoneyPak, a product intended for transferring money to prepaid cards or to pay bills from legitimate merchants. Go to www.consumerfed.org/fraud  to learn more about this and other scams.

So, how can you protect yourself from fraudsters when their pitches are constantly changing? Just remember: If someone tells you to send money to get money (or love), it’s a scam. Once you’ve sent the money it may be gone for good.  Don’t send money to any stranger.  And be sure to get advice from a consumer protection agency or another trusted source.