Scammed Again: 

A Guide to Recognizing 9 Popular Scams

It's understandable to feel vulnerable in an age where someone can buy your personal info on the "dark web". Scammers use small pieces of information to create elaborate scams, taking our money and vanishing without a trace. With new scams popping up each day, it’s important that we’re prepared when faced with these situations.

Gone are the days of a Nigerian prince emailing you asking for your donation so he may return to the throne.

Common Scams

1.     Overpayment Scam

2. Tech Support Scam

3.     Prize Sweepstakes

4.     Employment Scam

5.     Grandparent Scam

6.     IRS/FDIC Scam

7.     Auto Warranty

8.     eBay / Shopify Scam

9.     COVID-19 Testing site scam

Checks and Payment Scams

1. Overpayment scams

How it works

   Someone buys a couch from you and "accidentally" writes a check larger than the agreed amount. They ask you to send them the difference. Within the next few days the check declines for insufficient funds, but you already sent the buyer the “excess funds.” You can’t find the buyer, and the bank won’t give you the money you returned. Now someone has your goods and your money. 

   Also referred to as "refund scams", these scams prey on people’s good nature; people want to feel helpful. The goal is to convince you  they paid you too much and trick you into sending them the "extra money". It's usually wire transfer, cash, or through a store gift card because it's "easier". If they tell you to "keep they change", that is an instant red flag. Who is really going to pay above asking price if they don't need to?

  Overpayment scams are popular, and easy to fall for. The interactions leading up to the scam may seem casual and "typical". In most cases, it's not until the victim notices the overpayment that they start to question the buyer. But this is when you should notice something "seems off” because that is the actual scam. Many people don't notice the scam until after they give the money to the scammer. By this point, the bank denies the check due to insufficient funds in the other account, and you're slapped with an NSF fee.

Avoiding it

• If someone "accidentally" overpays you in the form of a check and asks for the change, do NOT deposit the check.

• Avoid handing over any material until you are certain of payment.

• When able, use cash or a verified mobile payment application (Zelle, CashApp, etc.)

2. Tech Support Scam from Amazon, Microsoft, or Geek Squad

How it works

Each "provider" has a slightly different scam, but each one offers to provide tech support to help "reverse" or "cancel" a charge. You will get an email with a fake invoice, or receive a direct phone call. The scammer will offer fake tech support and connect to your computer, pretending to refund the money, and then blame you for "transferring too much" into your account. They have you withdraw cash from your bank, which you will ship to them in a sealed box. But they'll most likely have you buy gift cards and provide the code to redeem the card. 

In the end, the scam is like the overpayment scam, but they pretend to be tech support from Amazon, Microsoft, or Geek Squad. YouTube content creators Kitboga, and Pierogi from Scammer Payback, provide insight into how these scams work, and how the scammer tries to deceive you.

Avoiding it

• Retail companies will never ask to remotely connect to your personal computer

• Companies do not accept payment through gift cards (Google, Amazon, Target, etc.)

• The scammer doesn't usually try to verify your identity

• Ask the "tech support" probing questions, like "what debit card or bank account was this charge made to?"

3. Sweepstakes scams

How it works

       You receive a letter in the mail claiming that you have won a large prize. To claim the prize you must send a payment. It may be a very convincing piece of mail with an official looking logo. It may even resemble a well-known company. These scams use a scarcity tactic, by telling you it is a “limited time offer”. This tricks our brain into acting without putting too much thought into it. In the end they take your money and disappear, and you are left thinking nothing of it because you assume you lost. You lost all right.

Avoiding it

• Legitimate sweepstakes will not force you to pay a fee for participation, as opposed to a raffle

• It is illegal for sweepstakes companies to offer you “better odds” if you make a separate purchase

• If you think it might be legitimate, research the sweepstake through the company’s official website

• Read the fine print

4.     Employment Fraud

How it works

  In the era of the "side gig" and "hustle culture", people are looking for jobs with remotely positions, such as data entry, customer service, or freelance work. Scammers will post a job ad, looking much like any other job ad, whether it's a job board or social media. They job looks enticing, often stating that "you can make thousands of dollars a month working from the comfort of your home". 

   The real scam begins when it comes time to "pay you". In these situations, your "new job" tells you that you must pay to receive the training before you're able to start working. In this case, the victim sends the money to the scammer, and they vanish when you try to contact them. Some victims reported cases where they will do the work without receiving any payment, and then the new employer will "ghost" them.

Other examples of job scams:

• Reshipping scam

• Reselling Merchandise

• Job placement

• Mystery Shopper

   While legitimate jobs are available with the same title/role as some of the ones listed above, many are a scam. Any company that wants to charge you for a certification to get the job, or asks you to pay for anything to start working, is likely a scam.

   If you never receive a check, the scammer likely wanted your personal information for identity theft. If you believe you're a victim of identity theft, it's recommended that you contact the credit bureaus and place a "freeze" on your credit. This will prevent anyone from opening a new loan or credit card in your name.

Avoiding it

• If someone tells you that you can make a large amount of money quickly, and easily, it's a scam.

• Legitimate business will have you fill paperwork for tax purposes (W-2, 1099, W-4, etc.)

• Businesses will not charge you to train you

  • • Many industries require licenses/certifications, but they may ask that you have it prior to your employment, unless they offer to pay for it.

Telephone Scams

5. Grandparent Scam

How it works

   When it comes to scammers that want your money, nothing is sacred, and nothing is off limits. Even your grandparents are at risk. They may receive a call from a "grandchild" who is in distress. They will tell the grandparent that they are stranded in the middle of nowhere, they’re in jail, or just need money. The scammer will ask the grandparent to wire them money and not to tell their parents, or anyone else, because they're "embarrassed" or "don't want to get in trouble". In these scams, the scammer may have someone pick the money up from the house instead of a wire transfer.

Avoiding it

• Grandparents and families can avoid these scams by having a good network through social media or phone messaging groups.

• Contact the family member's parents/siblings to corroborate the story

• Get in that habit of identifying when someone is trying to phish for information

• Get in the habit of verifying the person's identity if their voice is different than who they claim to be.

6. IRS/FDIC Scam

How it works

   This is a phone call scam that most of us are familiar with. Someone from the “IRS” (Internal Revenue Service) calls you claiming that you owe money, and there will be a warrant for your arrest if you don’t pay the required amount. It may not always be that extreme, but either way, they will pressure you into paying, using fear as a tool. They will cite federal laws, which may or may not be an actual law, in an attempt legitimize their scam.

• Avoiding it

  • The IRS will NEVER call you.

  • The IRS will always send you letter in the mail to notify you of any problems before any type of legal proceedings take place.

  • Ask the scammer open ended questions regarding your own account and information, such as:

  • Whose name is on the account?

  • What is the most up-to-date address they have on file?

7. Auto Warranty Scams

How it works

   This scam is one that most of us are familiar with. Your phone rings, and when you answer there is an automated voice on the line telling you, "We've been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty". Although legitimate businesses exist that offer a form of car warranties (to include older cars), most calls regarding your warranty are scams.

Avoiding it

   Like the IRS, this scam can be easily avoided. If they cannot tell you anything about the vehicle whose warranty is about to "expire", it's a scam.

 Ask them:

• What company do you work for?

  • • A legitimate business should be easy to find on Google.

• Which vehicle are you asking about?

  • • Whether you have one or more cars, theoretically they should have some info regarding the vehicle they're calling about.

** I have done this personally, and the scammer hung up on their own.

• Ask them if they know who they're trying to reach

  • • Again, if there is a particular car in question, they obviously have the "owner's information", so they should know the name of the person they're calling.

    •  If it's a scam, it's likely they don't know your name and found your number on the dark web.

   The easiest way to avoid these scammers is to hang up on them as soon as you hear that automated voice. And it's something I'm sure most of us do.

E-Store Scams

8. E-bay / Shopify

How it works

   While Shopify is a still-growing e-commerce platform, e-Bay has been operating for over a decade, and people are still experiencing scams. On both platforms, the scammer sets up a "fake store" or profile to attract buyers. Once the victim makes a purchase the scammer will either ship a fake product (put bricks/trash in a package that should have a PlayStation), or they won't ship the item at all. In either situation, the scammer is hoping that you will wait/procrastinate to challenge the payment, either with the platform or their banks, so that you run out of time with your bank. Unfortunately, this scam has a good success rate.

Avoiding it

• To avoid losing money on these platforms, do what you can to research the store and some of the business practices by looking at their reviews

  • • If it's a new account, with few/no reviews, consider shopping elsewhere

• If the store has great ratings, look at the date of all the best reviews. If the highest reviews for the store are all the same day, the probability is that it’s a fake store.

  • • If it's a legitimate store with many great reviews on one day, that could indicate they are not legitimate reviews, so at best they have questionable practices, and I would still avoid buying anything.

COVID-19 Testing Scam

9. Fake Test sites

   With the popularity and convenience of mobile testing sites, often seen in department store parking lots, scammers have taken it upon themselves to pretend to be one of these testing sites.

How it works

Scammers will set up a testing site with all the bells and whistles, logos, clipboards, pop-up tent, swabs, and the reflective vests. The scammer will collect the standard information: name, address, phone, etc. Finally, they will collect payment from you. If they are offering the service for free, they are after your personal information.

Avoiding it

• Find a testing site through your local government’s public health department's website.

• Ask who the testing site works under, their parent company should still have their testing sites listed on their page.

• Ask your doctor for a test, or an at-home testing kit.

 · · ·

   In a world where everyone is connected (modern theory states each person in the world is only six degrees of separation away from each other), the number of scams increase each day. Not only are the type of scams growing, but scammers are putting increased work into lying to you. The classic "con man" is now a few individuals in a room making calls to vulnerable people or committing identity theft online.

To learn more about common scams, how to avoid them, and how to report them, you can visit any of the following:

·        Fraud.org

·        Consumer.ftc.gov/scams

·        Consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/fraud/