There is no question about it, 2020 has been more than challenging, but the New Year is right around the corner. Let’s hope 2021 brings us goodness in the form of health and peace.
With the holidays here, I thought it would be helpful to recap some common scams that have escalated during COVID-19 and also provide a few shopping tips to keep you and your money safe.
Many of you have seen or heard about these scams, however you may find some new information about them in the info below.
IRS or Amazon Text Scams:
People are receiving text messages from companies that look real, but they are fake, and, if you click on the link you may be receiving malware or revealing your personal information.
Tip # 1 – IRS Fraudulent Text Messages
The IRS is warning people about a COVID-related text message scam. Here is how the scam works: People get a text message saying they have “received a direct deposit of $1,200 from COVID-19 TREAS FUND. Further action is required to accept this payment… Continue here to accept this payment …” The text includes a link to a phishing web address.
This fake link appears to come from a state agency or relief organization. It takes people to a fake website that looks like the IRS.gov Get My Payment website. If people visit the fake website and enter their personal and financial account information, the scammers collect it.
Tip # 2 – Amazon Fraudulent Text Messages
Suspicious or fraudulent emails, text messages, or webpages not from Amazon.com may contain:
• Links to websites that look like Amazon.com, but aren’t Amazon.
Note: Legitimate Amazon websites have a dot before “amazon.com” such as http://”something”.amazon.com. For example, Amazon Pay website is https://pay.amazon.com/. We’ll never send emails with links to an IP address (string of numbers), such as http://123.456.789.123/amazon.com/. If the link takes you to a site that is not a legitimate amazon domain, then it is likely phishing.
• An order confirmation for an item you didn’t purchase or an attachment to an order confirmation.
Note: In a separate tab type in the Amazon URL and go to your orders on the Amazon site to see if there is an order that matches the details in the correspondence. If it doesn’t match an order in your account in Amazon.com, the message isn’t from Amazon.
• Requests to update payment information that are not linked to an Amazon order you placed or an Amazon service you subscribed to.
Note: In a separate tab type in the Amazon URL and go to your orders. If you aren’t prompted to update your payment method on that screen, the message isn’t from Amazon.
• Attachments or prompts to install software on your device.
• Typos or grammatical errors.
• Forged email addresses to make it look like the email is coming from Amazon.com.
Tip #3 – Gift Card Scam:
Gift cards are a popular and convenient way to give someone a gift. They’re also a popular way for scammers to steal money from you. That is because gift cards are like cash: if you buy a gift card and someone uses it, you probably cannot get your money back. Gift cards are for gifts, not payments. Anyone who demands payment by gift card is always a scammer.
• Buy gift cards from sources you know and trust. Think twice about buying gift cards from online auction sites, to avoid buying fake or stolen cards.
• Inspect gift cards before you buy. A gift card should have all its protective stickers in place. Report the card to the store if anything looks scratched off or damaged.
• When you buy, save the receipt. Keeping the gift card receipt can be helpful if you run into problems with the card.
• Treat gift cards like cash. Report a lost or stolen gift card to the card’s issuer immediately. Most card issuers have toll-free numbers you can find online to report a lost or stolen card. Depending on the card issuer, you may even be able to get some money back.
• Read the fine print before you buy. Is there a fee to buy the card? If you buy a card by phone or online, are there shipping and handling fees? If you don’t like the terms and conditions, buy elsewhere.
• Read the card and any terms and conditions. Check for an expiration date or fees. If it appears that the value of your card has expired, or that fees have been deducted, contact the company that issued the card. They may still honor the card or reverse the fees.
• Use your card as soon as you can. It is not unusual to misplace gift cards or forget you have them; using them early will help you get the full value.
Yip # 4 – Online Puppy Purchase Scams
Puppy buying is at an all-time high — so it’s no surprise that you may be on the search for a new dog right now. But the truth is, as puppy buying rises, so do puppy scams.
In today’s digital world, almost everyone uses the internet for shopping, including finding a new puppy! Don’t worry — it’s easy to spot puppy scams online if you’re aware of the red flags to look for. And it’s even easier to find a good breeder when you know what questions to ask. Here’s everything you need to know before starting your online puppy search.
What is a Puppy Scam?
Puppy scammers post fake litters online or pretend to be someone they’re not (usually an existing breeder) to take advantage of puppy sales (sans the puppies.) This means that if you aren’t careful, you could find the perfect puppy, send the ‘breeder’ your money, and never receive a puppy or any follow-up communication in return.
While many times these fake listings appear on websites like Craigslist, some scammers find ways to position themselves as reputable breeders by stealing personal info from them.
Luckily, it’s easy to know what to look for to ensure your puppy buying experience is both safe and enjoyable.
What are the Red Flags Buying Puppies?
No phone calls. The seller prefers to handle communication by email and not the phone. A reputable breeder will always communicate with you via phone or video chat (if not in person) before selling you a puppy. Fraudulent sellers are oftentimes outside of the U.S. and may be hiding their phone number by only communicating by email.
Copycat or stock photos. Photos of the dog or ad text can be found on multiple websites. Search for the text in the listing to see if the seller copied and pasted it from another site.
Sketchy payment. The seller asks for wiring of money or payment by gift cards. Be aware that if you choose a non-secure method of payment, it is highly unlikely that you will get your money back. Avoid paying a stranger using apps such as Venmo, as it is harder to get your money back if you don’t get what you paid for. Paying by credit card or PayPal are typically the safest options.
Price is too good to be true. Research the prices for the breed you are considering ahead of time. Purebred dogs sold at deeply discounted prices are typically frauds. If the seller says they register their dogs with a specific organization, you can call the organization to confirm.
How Many People Have Been Affected by Puppy Scams?
According to BBB data, nearly 10,000 scam reports and complaints have come in during the last three years about “businesses” selling puppies and dogs. The FTC estimates that only about 10 percent of victims report these crimes, so this number could be much higher.
Sixty percent of these reports indicated the consumers never received the pets they purchased, and others received pets that had health or genetic problems and did not receive documentation for their pet.
“Scammers love to try to take advantage of people when they are in high emotion situations,” said Steve Bernas, president and CEO of BBB serving Chicago and Northern Illinois. “The excitement of buying a new pet can cloud good judgement, and victims can be hurt financially and emotionally when they realize they have lost their money, and hopes for a new pet.”
How Can I Safely Find a Breeder or Puppy Seller Online?
While scammers are likely to start talking money immediately, legitimate sources will always take time and diligence to make sure the dog you are choosing is a good fit for your family.
Analyze reviews and referrals. The best sources for purebred puppies will have ample positive reviews or referrals from satisfied puppy owners proving they are legitimate and reputable.
Meet your breeder or puppy seller. Always ask to talk on the phone or video chat. Meeting in person is great whenever possible.
Ask questions. Responsible breeders and puppy sellers love to chat and educate about dogs. Ask anything and everything that you might want to know about the breed, the breeder, and the available puppies. Ask about the breed and how your pup’s parents compare to the official breed standard and other breed traits. How big are the parents? What do they look like? What kind of temperament do they have? Have the parents achieved any AKC titles or awards?
Ask for proof. Don’t be shy — responsible breeders will be happy to share information about your puppy’s parents, and proof of health records and screenings. You should be sure that the puppy has been seen by a licensed veterinarian and know where the puppy is on their shot-schedule. This will also help you so that you have the proper medical information when you bring your puppy home and you will know what shots are needed next.
Get documentation. Ensure that before leaving with your puppy, you will receive documentation of your dog’s papers. The words “American Kennel Club” as well as the AKC logo should be clearly visible. If the breeder or puppy seller hesitates to give you papers, this is usually a warning sign.
Be patient. If they seem anxious to complete the sale or get your deposit as soon as possible, or if you feel like they are pushing you to make a quick decision regarding a puppy, be careful. Such behavior is often a warning sign that the person you are dealing with is actually a scammer, and there is no puppy.
The AKC Marketplace is one of the best places to start your search for a puppy, as long as you are vigilant about the above warning signs. AKC Marketplace conducts thousands of kennel inspections a year and is the only online resource to exclusively list 100% puppies from AKC-registerable litters. If you find anything suspicious while searching for a dog on AKC Marketplace, report the details to akcmarketplace@akc.org.
Now that you are armed with the proper knowledge to start your online puppy search safely, have fun and get ready to bring home your new pet!
Tip # 5 – Read Product Reviews Before Buying
Before you buy, search for product reviews on the web. Do your research. 81% of those who did not research or look at independent reviews of the company or product lost money.
Tip # 6 – Fake Websites
Just because a website looks good doesn’t mean it’s real. Websites are easy to create, and scammers often use a name similar to a real business.
Tip # 7 – Fake Merchandise
Online purchase scams were among the top three riskiest scams in 2020. If you find the latest iPad listed at an 80% discount, chances are you will never see the goods you purchased or the money you spent.
Maybe you found something that looks like a really good deal. OR, you clicked on a FACEBOOK ad to buy something. Do not do it!
Counterfeit Merchandise: Name brand goods are prime targets for unauthorized duplication, from sporting goods to designer apparel and handbags. If you purchase any of these products, you may run the risk of not only receiving a poor quality product, but it may not meet environmental and safety regulations or any number of problematic issues.
Look out for red flags. This includes items that are priced significantly lower than what other retailers are charging, spelling and grammatical errors in the advertisements, and poor quality images. These are all signs that the advertisement may be for a counterfeit product.
• Do your research. Before making a purchase, do a quick search for the business in question. Do they have valid contact information? Don’t be fooled by professional photography or consumer reviews on their website. These can be lifted from other sites.
• Search for previous complaints. Do a Google search of the business name followed by “complaints,” “reviews,” or “scam” and see what pops up. If you find other people have been cheated by this business, steer clear of that website.
• Use good judgment. Many con artists play on consumers’ desire to help those in need. Keep this in mind and use your head, not just your heart, when supporting charitable causes. Go to Give.org to research organizations before giving.
Tip # 8 – Credit Cards vs Debit Cards
Here are ten reasons why you should use a credit card versus a debit card. Those who paid with a credit card or PayPal were less likely to lose money.
Credit Cards
Credit card users can reap cash, discounts, travel points, and many other perks unavailable to debit card holders by using rewards cards. Consumers who pay off their cards in full and on time every month can profit substantially by running their monthly purchases and bills through rewards cards.
Credit card use is also reflected on a consumer’s credit report, which allows responsible spenders to raise their scores with a history of expenditures and timely payments. These cards may also provide additional warranties or insurance for items purchased—above those the retailer or brand is offering. If an item bought with a credit card becomes defective after the manufacturer’s warranty has expired, for example, it is worth checking with the credit card company to see if it will provide coverage.
Credit cards still offer much greater protection than debit cards in most cases. As long as the customer reports the loss or theft in a timely manner, their maximum liability for purchases made after the card disappeared is $50. The Electronic Fund Transfer Act gives debit card customers the same protection from loss or theft—but only if the customer reports it within 48 hours of discovery. After 48 hours, the card user’s liability rises to $500; after 60 days, there is no limit.1
The Fair Credit Billing Act allows credit card users to dispute unauthorized purchases or purchases of goods that are damaged or lost during shipping.2 But if the item was bought with a debit card, it cannot be reversed unless the merchant is willing to do so. What is more, debit card theft victims do not get their refund until an investigation has been completed. Credit card holders, on the other hand, are not assessed the disputed charges; the amount is usually deducted immediately and restored only if the dispute is withdrawn or settled in the merchant’s favor. While some credit and debit card providers offer zero-liability protection to their customers, the law is much more forgiving for credit card holders.
If you need to rent a car, many credit cards provide some sort of waiver for collisions. Even if you want to use a debit card, many car rental agencies require customers to provide credit card information as a backup. The only way out for a customer may be allowing the rental agency to put a hold of perhaps a few hundred dollars on a bank account debit card as a form of surety deposit.
Debit Cards
A debit card is a payment card that makes payment by deducting money directly from a consumer’s checking account, rather than via loan from a bank. Debit cards offer the convenience of credit cards and many of the same consumer protections when issued by major payment processors like Visa or MasterCard.
There are also two types of debit cards that do not require the customer to have a checking or savings account, as well as one standard type:
Standard debit cards draw on your bank account.
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards are issued by state and federal agencies to allow qualifying users to use their benefits to make purchases.
Prepaid debit cards give people without access to a bank account a way to make electronic purchases up to the amount that was pre-loaded on the card.
Frugal consumers may prefer to use debit cards because there usually are few or no associated fees unless users spend more than they have in their account and incur an overdraft fee. (The no-fee advantage does not hold for prepaid debit cards, which frequently charge activation and usage fees, among other costs.) By contrast, credit cards generally charge annual fees, over-limit fees, late-payment fees, and a plethora of other penalties, in addition to monthly interest on the card’s outstanding balance.
Tip # 9 – Read Your Monthly Statements
Read your financial statements during the holidays and beyond, ensuring there are no errors or fraudulent charges. Run the report for your children under 18, there should be nothing on them. If there are, dispute them immediately.
Tip # 10 – Keep Your Passwords Safe
If you have not changed your passwords recently or are using the same password for all your accounts, start the New Year off right by changing all of them.
Here are a few tips for creating strong passwords. Take a moment to review these, and consider strengthening some of your passwords if they fall short.
-Create unique passwords that that use a combination of words, numbers, symbols, and both upper- and lower-case letters.
-Do not use your network username as your password.
-Don’t use easily guessed passwords, such as “password” or “user.”
-Do not choose passwords based upon details that may not be as confidential as you’d expect, such as your birth date, your Social Security or phone number, or names of family members.
-Do not use words that can be found in the dictionary. Password-cracking tools freely available online often come with dictionary lists that will try thousands of common names and passwords. If you must use dictionary words, try adding a numeral to them, as well as punctuation at the beginning or end of the word (or both!).
-Avoid using simple adjacent keyboard combinations: For example, “qwerty” and “asdzxc” and “123456” are horrible passwords and that are trivial to crack.
-Some of the easiest-to-remember passwords aren’t words at all but collections of words that form a phrase or sentence, perhaps the opening sentence to your favorite novel, or the opening line to a good joke. Complexity is nice, but length is key. It used to be the case that picking an alphanumeric password that was 8-10 characters in length was a pretty good practice. These days, it’s increasingly affordable to build extremely powerful and fast password cracking tools that can try tens of millions of possible password combinations per second. Just remember that each character you add to a password or passphrase makes it an order of magnitude harder to attack via brute-force methods.
-Avoid using the same password at multiple Web sites. It’s generally safe to re-use the same password at sites that do not store sensitive information about you (like a news Web site) provided you don’t use this same password at sites that are sensitive.
-Never use the password you’ve picked for your email account at any online site: If you do, and an e-commerce site you are registered at gets hacked, there’s a good chance someone will be reading your e-mail soon.
-Whatever you do, don’t store your list of passwords on your computer in plain text. My views on the advisability of keeping a written list of your passwords have evolved over time. I tend to agree with noted security experts Bruce Schneier, when he advises users not to worry about writing down passwords. Just make sure you don’t store the information in plain sight. The most secure method for remembering your passwords is to create a list of every Web site for which you have a password and next to each one write your login name and a clue that has meaning only for you. If you forget your password, most Web sites will email it to you (assuming you can remember which email address you signed up with).
-One thing to note about password storage in Firefox: If you have not enabled and assigned a “master password” to manage your passwords in Firefox, anyone with physical access to your computer and user account can view the stored passwords in plain text, simply by clicking “Options,” and then “Show Passwords.” To protect your passwords from local prying eyes, drop a check mark into the box next to “Use Master Password” at the main Options page, and choose a strong password that only you can remember. You will then be prompted to enter the master password once per session when visiting a site that uses one of your stored passwords.
-There are several online third-party services that can help users safeguard sensitive passwords, including LastPass, DashLane, and 1Password that store passwords in the cloud and secure them all with a master password. If entrusting all your passwords to the cloud gives you the creeps, consider using a local password storage program on your computer, such as Roboform, PasswordSafe or Keepass. Again, take care to pick a strong master password, but one that you can remember; just as with the Firefox master password option, if you forget the master password you are pretty much out of luck.
If you want more info from BBB: Better Business Bureau Scams
In the spirit of the holiday giving season, consider sharing this information with your family and friends. The more people who know about these scams, the fewer victims we will have.
PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM FRAUD AND SCAMS – VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS
We are offering FREE virtual presentations on how to protect yourself from fraud and scams. Call to schedule “Stand Up Against Fraud” to learn more about COVID-19 scams and other scams happening in our area.
Contact: Maro Casparian atamc@denverda.org or phone 720-913-9036.
I wish you all safe and healthy holidays!
Beth McCann, Denver District Attorney