Our Community in Fairfax County, Virginia
Sellers can be victims of fraud when buyers send fake checks or money orders that are detected by the bank only after the seller has shipped the goods. A buyer might offer to use a cashier’s check, personal check, or corporate check to pay for the item you’re selling.
Sometimes, the buyer sends a fake check or money order that exceeds the cost of the item that has been purchased. The so-called buyer (or the buyer’s “agent”) states that he made a mistake, or comes up with another reason for writing the check for more than the purchase price. In either case, the buyer asks you to wire back the difference after you deposit the check.
You deposit the check, learn that it has cleared, and wire the funds back to the “buyers.” Later, the bank determines that the check is fraudulent, leaving you liable for the entire amount. The checks were counterfeit, but good enough to fool unsuspecting bank tellers.
Scam artists continue to come up with new ways to convince us to give them our hard earned money, and one of the latest on-line scams from Nigeria is particularly compelling.
Instead of sending you an email with a complicated story of why a stranger needs you to deposit their (fake) check and then send back some (real) money, this scam starts with an advertisement for a late-model used car on reputable on-line used car sites.
The on-line description of the used car looks slick—it should, as it probably was copied from a real offer. What stands out is the price, which can be a third of the car's real value. If you inquire with an email, you get a response with a compelling story that seems to make sense.
Warning signs. First, nobody sells a car for a third of its value. Second, you have to act fast—no time to research anything or talk with friends and family. Then there are the many inconsistencies, such as:
Before sending cash anywhere, check into the offer. You could contact the legitimate broker service using contact information from its Web site and verify that the information you received is correct. You could create a new email account with a different name and inquire about the car as if you were another interested buyer—do you get the same email reply with no indication that the car already has a buyer?
Most important, remember that if a deal seems too good to be true, it is. In a case like this, the first and only thing you should do is contact the on-line used car site and notify them of an offer that appears to be a scam. They will remove the car offer from their site, sparing other unsuspecting victims thousands of dollars and crushed dreams.
Last April, strangers in the community were driving through making offers to seal driveways. An alert citizen refused the offer but called the police non-emergency number (703-691-2131) to report the incident as suspicious. A Mason District police officer responded and was directed to the next block where the persons were then "sealing" the driveway of a senior citizen. When the officer established that they were "sealing" the driveway by painting it with oil, the citizen decided not to have the job completed and the persons left without any payment.
Please inform your neighbors about this incident. This should put all of us on alert-people working scams are out and about right here in our neighborhoods, this is not just an urban legend circulating on the Internet. Be on the alert for yourself-and look out for your neighbors as well. Senior citizens are often the target of these people because they tend to be trusting folks and often are unable to do the type of jobs the scammers are offering to do. Remember, the driveway sealing scam is only one of the traditional scams that surface every spring. Be extremely wary of anyone who comes to your door uninvited with an offer to do work at a bargain "because they are in the neighborhood."
Thanks to the good citizen who picked up the phone and called in the suspicious event! Anyone who does business in the county is required to have a business license and be a licensed contractor for any home improvement. It's good business to ask to see these licenses before you hire anyone.
Many of you are familiar with the old-fashioned Ponzi scheme where you get a letter in the mail asking you to send $5 to the person at the top of a short list of names. Then you were supposed to retype the letter, taking the top person off the list and adding your name and address to the bottom. If you mailed copies of the letter to five to ten friends and everyone followed through, you were supposed to make thousands of dollars.
It is against the law to use the US mail to run a Ponzi scheme like this. However, with the advent of the Internet, the same scheme is back, with a twist to make it legal. Instead of paper mail, people are using e-mail. And instead of giving money to the stranger at the top of the list, you are technically buying a report from that person, a report that is sent to you via e-mail after you send in the money.
Folks, this is still a Ponzi scheme, regardless of its technical legality. The odds of your name moving from the bottom to the top of the list and making any money are slim. The real money is made by the people who initiate the scam by sending out thousands and thousands of e-mails to people like you and me. If you don't recognize any of the names on the list, you can be sure that all the people on the list are working together on this scam.
Please erase these messages as soon as you get them. If you want to make a little extra money, get a part-time job. Don't harass your friends by playing along and trying to get them involved. Save your money and your friends; just hit "Delete Message."
I recently received an e-mail message describing what I believe was an attempt to case a house from the inside.
A subject dressed in dark clothing knocked on the door and attempted to sell the resident on rug cleaning services. When the resident informed the subject the rugs had been cleaned very recently the subject wanted to come in and check the quality of the work. The subject was refused entry and left on foot. He had a roll of paper towels under his arm but no visible vehicle nearby.
Please be aware of people attempting to get you to open your home to their inspection. A very old and successful scam.
IF ASKED, DO NOT EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809, NO MATTER HOW PERSUASIVE THE REASON.
Do not respond to emails, phone calls, or pages that tell you to call an "809" phone number. This scam is spreading extremely quickly, can easily cost you $100 or more, and is difficult to avoid unless you are aware of it. This scam has been identified by the National Fraud Information Center and is costing victims a lot of money.
There are lots of different permutations of this scam, but here is how it works:
Internet-Based Phone Scam Via Email. You receive an email, typically with a subject line of "*ALERT*" or "Unpaid account." The message, which is being spammed across the net, says: "I am writing to give you a final 24 hours to settle your outstanding account. If I have not received the settlement in full, I will commence legal proceedings without further delay. If you would like to discuss this matter to avoid court action, call Mike Murray at Global Communications on 1-809-496-2700."
Phone or Pager Scam. You receive a message on your answering machine or your pager asking you to call a number beginning with area code 809. The reason to you're asked to call varies: it can be to receive information about a family member who has been ill, to tell you someone has been arrested or died, to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc. In each case, you're told to call the 809 number right away. Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return these calls.
If you call from the US, you apparently will be charged $25 per minute! Sometimes the person who answers the phone will speak broken English and pretend not to understand you. Other times, you'll just get a long recorded message. They will try to keep you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges. Unfortunately, when you get your phone bill, you'll often be charged more than $100.00.
Here's why it works. The 809 area code is located in the British Virgin Islands (the Bahamas). The 809 area code can be used as a "pay-per-call" number, similar to 900 numbers in the United States. Since 809 is not in the United States, it is not covered by US regulations of 900 numbers, which require that you be notified and warned of charges and rates involved when you call a "pay-per-call" number. There also is no requirement that the company provide a time period during which you may terminate the call without being charged. Further, whereas many US phones have 900 number blocking, 900 number blocking will not prevent calls to the 809 area code.
No matter how you get the message, if you are asked to call a number with an 809 area code that you don't recognize, investigate further and/or disregard the message. Be very wary of email or calls asking you to call an 809 area code number. It is important to prevent becoming a victim of this scam, since trying to fight the charges afterwards can become a real nightmare. That's because you did actually make the call. If you complain, both our local phone company and your long distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You'll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing wrong.
BOTTOM LINE: Don't call the 809 area code. It can cost you $25.00/minute and because it is overseas, US regulations don't apply.
Another version of a common banking scam is spreading throughout the country, preying on the public's ignorance of Year 2000 (Y2K) conversion issues.
Recently, an unidentified individual from Detroit, Michigan called Northern Virginia and claimed to represent the resident's bank. The caller said that the bank was having difficulty meeting requirements to be computer ready for Y2K. He said all bank customers would need to transfer their accounts to a bond account specially designed to protect their money until the bank could fully comply with Y2K requirements.
He then said to verify that he was talking to the proper person, the accountholder needed to confirm information about him/herself and their account numbers, and then give verbal authorization to transfer funds to this specially designed account. The unidentified caller stressed that the accountholder would lose all their money if they did not act immediately.
In this case, the intended scam victim asked the caller which bank or banks he represented. He was unable to do that and hung up. Others have not been so lucky. The combination of smooth talking, a scary story, and pressure to act immediately can be very compelling.
As always, the bottom line is don't give out any personal information over the telephone unless you have initiated the call and know precisely who you are talking with. Even if the story sounds good, you always have time to check it out with people you know and trust!
A Neighborhood Watch member recently received a call from a woman reporting to be from the Visa company. She needed his Visa Card number and expiration date so she could verify it was still active. If not, she claimed she could activate it for him. He refused and called Visa to check it out. No one from Visa was authorized to call him.
Just a word to the wise ... never give out passwords, card numbers, or any other identifying or authorizing information to anyone over the phone if you did not initiate the call. For that matter, never give out your password to anyone!