Money Safe

Renee from Tacoma writes in with a Craigslist scam that I have warned about before.

i know how we all love craigslist good deals and stuff but after trying to find a house for rent here in tacoma i also found a big scam! there is someone going to rental houses.com and copying the info and putting it on craigslist for a way cheaper amount.they also change the email addresse each time.they wrote me saying they were working in africa and needed someone to take care of there house.they also wanted me to send 300.00 to get the key.this told me it was a scam.i ended up finding the real owner who said this was the 6 th time someone has posted his house on there and stoled his info..this was ONE of the adds please note there are like 4 more too.crazy...

Here is the ad that Renee says started this whole fiasco:

$1000 / 3br - 3 BR / 2 BA HOUSE AVAILABLE NOW (Tacoma, WA )

One level, 3bdr, 1.5 bathroom, bonus room for office/ family rm / guest room. Hardwood floors throughout except kitchen and bonus room. 2 car garage w electric openers. Gas fireplace & furnace. Comfortable kitchen includes refrigerator with water and ice dispenser and range. No dishwasher. Also space for small dinnette. Large, leveled, fenced backyard with two sheds, great for kids. W/D hook-up in garage. Quiet neighborhood. Elementary school at street's end. Middle and High school within 2 miles. Close to shopping centers, grocery stores, and bus line. YMCA one mile. Point Defiance Park and Zoo two miles away. 20 minutes to McChord. 25 minutes to Fort Lewis. Public 9 hole golf course one block. Easy access to Highway 16. Tacoma Community College few miles away. Univ of WA (Tacoma) and Univ of Puget Sound minutes away.

I followed up on a scam exactly like this one a few months back, and actually talked to the supposed landlord on the phone. He wanted me to pay him the first month's rent, and he wanted it badly. He called me dozens of times, day and night from a Nigerian phone number, demanding that I send the money. Eventually he gave up.

Another example of why you need to deal locally when making large purchases. The warnings are posted all over the place on Craigslist.

Nicole writes in, with another Craigslist horror story:

I have a story for you! I posted an item on CL for $450 and I think I have a person from Africa or wherever those people are that try to get into your bank account E-mailing me about an item I posted. I am not sure who to E-mail on here but I figured I would send it here and you point me in the right place. He told me that he would give me a check overnighted if I took down the item today, and sent him my name, address, plus my phone number. I could tell it was a scam from that point, because my ex got scammed over 10,000 dollars. Thanks for reading this ..

Nicole, first of all, good for you for recognizing this as a scam. Chances are, this scammer is not trying to steal your bank info, but rather just trying to dupe you out of your money. the way they do it is to send you a check (which is probably bogus), in hopes that you'll send them the item. They will probably also try to send you a bogus check for over the amount of the item, with instructions to wire back a portion of it.

I have another story on Craigslist scams coming up next week. They are becoming very prevalent.

a viewer named Jennifer from Kenmore, says her father is a magnet for check scams. This is a good heads up for how these cons work.

Hi Bill - I thought of you after going through this with my father. He has beeen quite the target for mail fraud. Just recently he received 3 checks from lottery co.. He was able to cash the checks and then was required to wire large sum of $ back to receive the balance of his winnings. Luckily he is to cheep to return the wire. The checks deposited then bounce and he in return will owe the bank. Luckily we caught this and put a freeze on the $ so he was not out much. The checks are real and issued on closed bank accounts. In checking with the banks these companies have several accounts open and close them in a short period of time.

I brought this to your attention, after watching an episode on fraud that you did a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks Jennifer.

Probably the most disturbing part of these scams and ripoffs is how ruthless the perpetrators are. They target the elderly, and so it becomes an entire family's problem. It's really up to us to watch out for our parents and make sure that they aren't being taken advantage of like this. Good on you, Jennifer, for fighting back against this kind of fraud. We all need to be diligent these days.

Michelle is getting some annoying scam phone calls:

We have been receiving calls from a number that only identifies itself as "marathon, Fl". They have correctly given us the last 4 digits of one of our credit card numbers and offered us "free gas". We have told them numerous times we are not interested and if they have sent us something we will send it back and to please stop calling us. They will not stop calling. I called the number left on my caller id only to recieve a message stating "Hello, thank you for calling back, this company is working dilligently to steal your identity, press 1 for more information" Then what happens is it says the mailbox is full and cannot recieve any more messages. I have contacted the FTC and filed a complaint. Thought you would want to know and maybe spread the word. The number we recieve the calls from is Marathon Fl 305-848-1247. Thanks Bill and have a great day :)

Happy to spread the word about this one. I called the number and recieved a "not valid or blocked from your area code" recording. It's a pain that you had to deal with this, but I applaud you for having a sense of humor about it. You did the right thing filing a complaint with the FTC. I would also make sure that you get on the national "do not call" registry, and add that number to it.

I'm also seeing more of the bank phishing scams, that look so real that you are tempted to click on the link to update your account.

It looks something like this:

Important Notice To Credit Card Account Holder's
_______________________________________________________

To take advantage on a low interest rate on all transactions on
Balance Transfer, update on your information is needed to be
updated in our newly upgraded database to take advantage in ,
this special offer before August 11th 2008.

Kindly update your Credit Card Account details

https://www.bankofamerica.com/loc/cgi-bin/

Thank you for your patience as we work together to protect your account.

Sincerely,
Bank of America Customer Service

*Important*
Please update your records on or before 48 hours.
_________________________________________________________
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC.

Again, the scam email has the real Bank of America logo and asks for you to update your account. It looks legit, but understand that your bank will not contact you randomly in this way. They will not ask you to "update" your information.
If you have questions about your account, or about any correspondence you have received from anyone claiming to be your bank, just contact them and they'll set the record straight for you.

I'm Bill Wixey, keeping your money safe.

I received an email from a viewer who thought they had found a great deal on a used car, but several things about the deal didn't add up, primarily the proposition from the seller to use "Safepay Solutions" as the holding company for the payment.

I have discovered numerous consumer complaints about "Safepay Solutions".
The company has an unsatifactory rating with the Better Business Bureau, which has received more than 20 consumer complaints about them in the past 36 months.

http://reno.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=100&bbb=1146&firm=6011210

Http://www.talkgold.com/forum/r90580-.html

The parent company of Safepay Solutions dissolved the company under that name in 2007...

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS130156+04-Jan-2008+PRN20080104

...and now may be operating under the name Emaji, and it's stock is trading for under a penny a share.

http://www.hotstocked.com/companies/e/emaji-EMJI-92632.html

In my opinion, this viewer did the right thing in backing out a deal, especially with a company with such a spotty history.

http://www.ratingshub.com/review/index2.php?item_id=328

This is a good reminder that if you're getting involved in a transaction, involving a company that you aren't familiar with, it's always a great idea to do some of your own research before jumping in.

After seeing our story, Terri from Redmond writes in, with another take on this:

I had a very similar incident with a used car on Craigslist as the SafePay one you reported on. It was a 2002 VW Passat with 48,000 Miles for $4000 (way too good to be true) She told me that we would be using Ebays Protection Program for "our" safety. I told her I didn't even know what that was and I needed to know what city to look at the car in. She said the car was here with her in Dallas, TX and that she was a single mom with 2 kids with money probs, that's why she was selling it so cheap. She said it was in great shape, no engine probs, damages or hidden defects, never smoked in and always garaged blah blah blah and that we WOULD be using Ebays Protection Program for this and all she needed was my full name and address so she could open a case number with Ebay with no further obligation or fees to me. Then the car would be shipped to me where I would have 7 days to decide if I wanted it or not and she would pay the shipping back if not. I told her as good a deal as it was, I would pass. I tried to email her a week later and her email address was suddenly invalid. Please also share this as there are more ways than SafePay they are trying to use!!
Thanks for reading this.
Terri

That's a good reminder as well. If you're making a major purchase, such as a car, it's always better to make those deals in person, face to face.

If you have questions about a deal that you're involved in, or think you might be getting scammed, let me know about it, and I'll look into it for you.

I'm Bill Wixey, keeping your Money Safe.

Scott, from Tacoma, writes in:

Dear Mr. Wixey,

I got this letter and it sounded to good to be true. I was supicious and tried to report it to crime stopper and was told they could do nothing about. Before I gave out any information I went to the bank to check it out and the also confirmed most of these email are possible scams or is there a way you can verity if it is legit or a scam . Here is what I was sent and there reply. I wil try to see your response on the air but if possible could you please return my email to let me know if it is legitimate or not.

Respectfully
Scott
Please give my best regards to the crew for my wife and I enjoy your staff

Thanks Scott.

This is an increasingly common online scam. Like millions of people, Scott posted his resume online. What he didn't realize is that scammers are taking advantage of job hunters' eagerness, and duping the job seeker into sending them money. Here's how this transaction went down:

Scott received a "hit" on his resume:

----- Original Message -----
From: Latoya Smith
To: latoya_smith001@yahoo.com
Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 12:06 AM
Subject: CONCERNING YOUR RESUME YOU POSTED ON THEJOBPLANET.COM ( EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY)

It is part of our company goals that people can actually work from their home and earn good income and numerous reputable companies are now adopting this system.

You will be performing the responsibility of a Cashier from the comfort of your home and it will not in anyway affect your present occupation.

The company will be paying 10% on each transaction handled on their behalf and will amount to $4,500 monthly.Let me know if you are interested or not and if you need more information, contact me.

BEST REGARDS: Latoya Smith
FINANCIAL CONSULTANT.
Email: Latoya_smith011@yahoo.it

NOTE: NO FEE WILL BE REQUIRED FROM YOU. I AM NOT A RECRUITING AGENT BUT I AM ONE OF THE COMPANY WORKERS. THE COMPANY IS IN NEED OF SOMEONE THAT IS CAPABLE OF DISCHARGING THEIR DUTIES EFFICIENTLY.

Okay, so Scott thinks it sounds like a great "work at home" situation. But think about it this way: If this is a legit "Investment monitoring company", wbhy would they need someone to take checks from a third party, cash them and then wire them 90% of it? Why wouldn't they just take payment directly? That's what was going through Scott's mind, so he asked for more information, and received this reply:

Thanks for the response and i believe without adequate or enough information, you will not be able to make a sound decision.

I am also one of the company workers but am unable to perform effectively because of the increasing number of the company client and the nature of our company service tolerate no delay.
Our company has authorized me to look for someone that will be performing the following functions on their behalf:
1. Receive payment from Clients
2. Cash Payments at your Bank
3. Deduct 10% which will be your percentage/pay on Payment processed.
4. Forward balance after deduction of percentage/pay to any of the offices you will be contacted to send payment to (Payment is to be forwarded by Western Union Money Transfer).

Thanks

I've featured this scam several times now on Moneysafe, and I'll put this plainly: IT"S NOT A REAL JOB IF YOUR EMPLOYER ASKS YOU TO CASH CHECKS FOR THEM AND WIRE MONEY. It's not a real occupation. It is a con job. The checks you receive are either fakes or drawn on the account of another fraud victim. If it's fake, you will be out the money you wire back, plus overdraft charges. If it's a fraud case, you could face charges for being party to this con.

Thousands of people are getting these offers through online job sites. It's impossible for the sites to keep all of these con artists out. It's up to you to sniff this out, and hit DELETE.

Rachael, from Lacey, is up next:

I received this with the subject line BOA.
I use Bank of America but I knew this was not them. Diabolical!

From: sebascd@telefonica.net
> Subject: Confirm Receipt of Your ATM CARD
> Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2008 11:30:59 0200
>
> Attention: Sir/Madam
>
>
> Have You Received Your New ATM CARD?, If Not Report Back Immedaitely To Enable Us Cancel The Already Sent ATM CARD, Which You Can Use To Withdraw Your Money From Any ATM Machine In Any Part Of The World,The Maximum Is (Fifty Thousand Dollars $50.000.00) Per Day.
>
>
> Reconfirm Information:
>
>
> 1) Your mailing Address (P.O box Not Accepted)
> 2) Your Full Name
> 3) A Valid Phone Number.
>
>
> Below is the contact Information of our ATM center:
>
>
>
> (Director ATM Center)
> Tel: 229-93413506
> Email: bafribjj@consultant.com
>
>
> We Await Your Urgent Response.
>
>
> Best Regards
> Mr.McMartins Okri
> Director of Operation,

Thanks Rachael. What I found particularly funny about this scam email is that they actually gave a phone number. But it's an ELEVEN-DIGIT NUMBER. "Mr McMartins Okri" didn't do enough homework to realize that we only use 10-digits here in the States. Another typical scam that I see all the time.

Your bank is not going to contact you about a debit card via email. Your bank is very careful about sending information like this through US Mail, or perhaps they would contact you directly via telephone. If you have any concerns about whether a bank offer is legit, contact your bank and they will tell you whether they have contacted you about such an offer.

And finally, Rebecca writes in with a story about a phone scam that is making the rounds:

received 4 phone calls this week about a free $500 shopping spree from phone# 909-842-9148. all I had to do was pay the $1.95 shipping fee with my credit card. They said their co name is EBI Phany. When I told them It was illegal for them to ask for cc# over the phone they hung up.

Rebecca

Thanks to all of you for writing in, and being do diligent about spotting these scams, and staying in contact with me so I can get the word out. I've been ridiculously busy lately, anchoring the morning and the evening news over the past couple of weeks (whew!), so I haven't been as good as usual in keeping up with all of you. I am getting back at it with a vengeance, going after the bad guys, but I need to hear from you to know what you're seeing. Together, by exposing these frauds, we really are making a difference and helping keep our money safe.

Thanks!

Bill Wixey
Q13 Fox News

Every a week I get dozens of inquiries from viewers about potential scams and ripoffs. Here are just a few that have come my way this week:

Hi,

I have been reading this blog for some time now but never bothered to comment until today. Wanted to let you know that I am a fan and enjoy your work.

Thanks,

Thanks for watching! I'm glad you like the site.

Hi, I would like to keep my name anonymous for personal reasons. Today I received a check that applies exactly to what is said on top about taking 10% and sending them the rest. I will like to know more about this information and a list of which web sites do this. The one that sent me a check is globbal plastics. Their Web Site is globbalplastics.com. And as you can see "global" is spelled wrong, exactly what you stated on top.

I will take a close look into this one. The misspelled company name does raise some major red flags for me as well.

I also receive about 7 letters a week stating that a company called AOG (Award Opportunity Group), Global Funding Associates and the list goes on. These are all scams!! They want $20 or less to send me a report about sweepstakes I have entered in and supposably really won but need their report to find out where to get it or they would send it to me. Which after research is totally false. No one can touch your winnings but you and the IRS, so why are they providing a service to help me receive 3 million dollars, and only want $20. I will tell you why because it is a SCAM!! What is sad is that I have entered sweepstakes in the pass and if I was to win, I wouldn't believe it if Bob Barker knocked on my door holding the check. I sure won't enter anymore, the risk isn't worth it. I just wish the BBB would list these people to help those who don't have the time and energy to research 4 hours like I have tonight.

Thanks to all of you that have taken the time to write in. I spend a lot of time looking in to operations like these, and as soon as I get some answers, you'll see it: either here on the blog or on "Moneysafe" on Q13 Fox News.

I'm Bill Wixey, keeping your money safe.

Police are warning of a growing scam targeting used car buyers.
It's called Curbstoning, and the next time you buy a used car, there are steps you need to take to make sure you don't become a victim.

A local man who bought a car on Craigslist thought he got a great deal.
But when he took it into the Department of Licensing to get his title, inspectors knew right away that this was a chop job.
When they ran the VIN number, which came back as a different year than the license plate, officers knew the car had been Curbstoned.

It's a term that a lot of us haven't heard. But the State Patrol says it's becoming big business here in Washinghton.
And that's why the Patrol is teaming up with the Seattle Police Department and the DOL.
They're going after unlicensed dealers to get Curbstoned cars off the road.

The cars in question are assmebled from parts obtained from insurance company salvage yards. They re-assembled, and then sold to unsuspecting buyers.

Here are some tips to avoid Curbstoning:
1) Buy from a licensed dealer.
2) If you buy one online, or thru a want ad, don't fall for the deal that's too good to be true. If it's a $10,000 car, and they're selling it for $5,000, that should be a red flag.
3) If the seller doesn't have the car's title, that should a be a red flag.
4) Ttake the car to a mechanic and get the VIN numbers checked in three places: On the door, on the dash, and near the firewall under the hood. If any of those numbers are missing or don't match, it's probably a chop job.

With the economy tanking, a lot of us are looking for a part-time job to help make ends meet. A lot of the most attractive jobs are ones that allow you to work from home. Many of these jobs are posted online. It sounds like a perfect situation for a stay-at-home mom. They offer flexible hours--maybe only requiring you to work an hour or less a day--and offer good pay and benefits. Some call it data entry. Others call it data processing. But what they are asking people to do is take checks that they are sent, cash them, take 10% for themselves, and then wire the rest to another account. I don't think I need to tell you that the checks are bogus. And when they bounce, the victims are out all of the money, plus overdraft charges from the bank.

I have been contacted by a number of local people who have fallen victim to this "work at home" scam:

Cami was lucky. She pulled out of the deal before she had her money stolen. But another viewer wasn't so fortunate. Angela lost thousands of dollars to con artists, pulling the exact same scheme.

Here's another viewer, who is in the midst of an online job scam:

Hi bill, so i recently just signed up for something similar to the money scam i heard about last night. i went and deposited the check and it's just sitting there and now the guy is calling me out of control and emailing me and telling me that i need to send them the rest of the money. i don't know what i should tell them. i've already reported this to the fbi. i called the bank and they said that so far the check is good and can't do anything for me. can you help me?

Julie:

The Federal Trade Commission says that you should take several steps right now.

First, contact your bank and let them know your situation. If you haven't spent any of the money, the bank can "freeze" those funds, so when the check bounces, you aren't going to be injured, and neither will the bank.

You did the right thing by forwarding your information to the FBI. It would also be a good idea to also file a police report with your local department. This way, you will have documentation that the police are involved.

And finally, it's probably best to not respond. After a while, they will get the message. DO NOT ANSWER THEIR PHONE CALLS OR RESPOND TO TEXT MESSAGES. There have been instances where these scammers have managed to slam charges onto a victims' phone bill.
If you do reply to an email, inform them that you have forwarded your correspondence to the FBI, and they should get the message, but they are persistent. I have investigated countless stories like this, and have gotten myself on the hook with these con artists, just to learn how they operate. I've found that once they get a potential mark on the hook, they are ruthless. They will call and email you constantly, day and night, demanding their money.

Thanks for writing in Julie, and good luck.

A warning from the FBI about these scams:

Job candidates should be cautious when seeking employment online, according to the FBI.

Authorities advise people who are scammed to immediately close all bank and e-mail accounts that could be jeopardized and contact all three credit bureaus to place fraud alerts on their files. They should also regularly monitor credit reports for signs of theft and report the fraud to the site that posted the scam as well as the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Here's another site worth checking out,
offering lots of good information about online offers that "look to good to be true".

I'm Bill Wixey, keeping your Money Safe.

A warning now about a phone scam that is tricking people into handing their phone line over to criminals.

Q13 FOX Reporter Bill Wixey shows us how it works in this week's "Keeping Your Money Safe."

Most all of us have the "call forwarding" feature on our home, business and cell phones. now, the state Attorney General's office is warning about con artists, who are using that feature to rip people off.

Kristin Alexander with the Ag's Office says the latest phone ripoff, is being perpetrated by prison inmates, and here's how it works, she says. "You'd get a phone call...and they say 'shoot I misdialed, I only have one call. would you please help me place this call to my wife, my kids are here at the station. I need to have somebody come pick them up.' Well, the number they give, has a prefix which is actually a trigger to make your phone forward incoming calls to another number."

That prefix is usually *72... that's why it's called the "Star-72 scam." Punching in that prefix allows all future calls to be billed to your number. Once you punch it in, that inmate is using your phone to call wherever they want: Other countries, 1-900 numbers, and you wouldn't even know it, until you get slapped with the bill.

Alexander says, "just know right away if somebody wants you to place a call and punch in *-anything, that's not going to an actual phone number, it's tricking you into forwarding calls into your phone."

AT&T says the bottom line on the star-72 scam: Don't ever use your call forwarding to someone you don't know. Only forward your calls when you want them to go somewhere else.

This one really struck a chord with me. My wife and I rented an apartment in New York through Craigslist a few years ago. The accomodations were fantastic, and we couldn't have been more satisfied. But what happened to this local family will make me rethink ever booking accomodations thru an online ad again:

Heidi took this picture with her cameraphone when she arrived at the apartment that she thought that she had rented in New York:

Here's a tighter shot from her cameraphone. Heidi says that the resident of the apartment targeted by this scammer had been visited by at least 15 people who had shown up, bags in hand, thinking they had rented the place.

The Attorney General's Office alerted me to this growing fraud last week. Scammers are targeting the elderly, claiming to be a family member in trouble, and conning them out of money. Then, that very day, I came across the Cooks' story, and followed up with them:

Teresa's family was also targeted by these scammers. Only this time, it appears they were just looking to take advantage of an elderly person, by tricking them to give out their bank account number. She was shocked at how aggressive they were.

Teresa writes:

My husband got a call from a man asking him if he was a senior citizen. My husband played along and said "yes" to see what he wanted. The man (Sam) told him that he needed a new "medical identification card" and that he needed to tell him his "medical identification number" to confirm the number that he had. My husband asked him what the med. identification number was and he said that he could find it on the bottom left of his "bank book" (we realized that he meant the checking account number and routing number). To make a long story short, my husband again played dumb until "Sam" got really frustrated. Thinking he would hang up, he continued. Instead, "Sam" continued to press him, (even after my husband pretended that he had had a stroke and also that his wife had died and he didn't have any idea where a bankbook would be) We thought he would get off the phone when my husband pretended his son was in the room, but "Sam" wanted to talk to him. This continued on! He kept pressing for the bankbook, even telling them where to look (by the nightstand, etc.) FInally, my husband called him out, saying that he was scamming people. He even asked him who the president of the US was (Because my husband believed he was calling form another country) The man said "George Bush" My husband said "who?" And he replied "The Prime Minister." He got off the phone and we were both very disturbed by how much he bullyed my husband. We were concerned that this man would do this again to some poor elderly person and wipe their bank account clean. We just wanted to let you know about this. Thanks!

It's really disgusting what these crooks are trying to do, don't you think. As you surmised, Teresa, it's a pretty good bet that this guy was calling from out of country. They are looking for your money. They're either going to ask you to wire it to them, or try to dupe you into handing over your personal information. It's really not all that sophisticated or complicated.

The Attorney General's Office says this is a growing crime, and just alerted me about another elderly victim in Auburn. The best thing to do, is if you get a call from someone claiming to be a member of your family, ask a few questions that only a member of the family would now. That should tip you off as to whether it's legit.

I'm Bill Wixey, keeping your money safe.