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I got this scam today. When he asked for my social security medicare info, in a very Indian scammer voice, I asked was he dropped on his head when a baby? He was taken aback and said he did not know. Because, I said, only someone with major brain damage would think an attorney would fall for this buggery bollocks scam.

I said the only curse word i learned in that language. Cuz they would use it against me. And sure enough here it came to my email today.

Does the scammer get notified of scams as well? Mighty coincidental that he used the very scam of the day on me. Hmmmm.
But i see there are two dates for this notification, with one of them being back in June or such. So he was not right on top of the scam heap after all.



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Scam of the day – July 23, 2023 – Medicare Card Verification Scam

Steven Weisman, Esq.

Jul 22

For many years Medicare used a person's Social Security number as his or her Medicare number which put Medicare recipients in serious danger of identity theft. Medicare resisted changing the Medicare number to a safer random number for many years. Finally, in April 2018, new random numbered cards began being sent by regular mail to all 60 million Americans enrolled in Medicare and in 2020 the switch over to new more secure Medicare card numbers was complete.

But this has not stopped identity thieves. Many older Americans are receiving emails or phone calls purporting to be from Medicare either offering various health services or new Medicare cards with microchips. All the targeted victim has to do is merely verify their Medicare number. And while your Medicare number is no longer your Social Security number, giving it to an identity thief can cause you substantial problems when you try to access Medicare as well as cost the American taxpayers millions of dollars.

TIPS

It is easy to determine when you receive a phone call, email or text message from Medicare if it is legitimate. They don't contact you by email, text message or by phone so anytime you are contacted in this manner, you can be confident it is a scam. As for phone calls purporting to be from Medicare, you should never provide your Medicare number, Social Security number, credit card number or any other personal information to anyone who calls you on the phone because you can never be sure they are legitimate. Even if your Caller ID indicates the call is from Medicare, the IRS or some other legitimate organization, through a technique called "spoofing" your Caller ID can be tricked into making it appear that the call is legitimate.

The real Medicare also will not contact you and ask you to verify your Medicare number and there are no new Medicare cards with microchips. If you get a call asking for personal information that appears legitimate, merely hang up and call the company or agency at a number that you independently know is legitimate to find out the truth.

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newest SCAM: and i am suspicious cuz i received it today the 5th and it is allegedly from the 6th of January. oh just messing wit ya.


Site logo image ScamicideScam of the day – January 6, 2024 – Major Data Breach at Loan Servicing Company

Steven Weisman, Esq.

Jan 5

LoanCare, a major, national home mortgage servicing company recently disclosed that it had suffered a data breach affecting 1.3 million of its customers. Sensitive information stolen included names, addresses, Social Security numbers and loan numbers. Having your Social Security number compromised is particularly troublesome since it can readily be used to make you a victim of identity theft. Additionally, information such as your loan number can be used by the cybercriminals to help craft spear phishing emails to lure victims into providing personal information or clicking on infected links in emails. Be particularly wary of emails that appear to come from LoanCare which cybercriminals send to lure people into clicking on infected links or providing personal information. Here is a link to LoanCare's information from its website about the data breach. https://incident.loancareinfo.com/

As I have reminded you many times, we are only as safe and secure as the security of the companies, government agencies and websites that have our personal information. So even if you are extremely diligent in protecting your personal information, you can be in danger of identity theft and scams if your personal information falls into the hands of hackers.

So what can you do to protect yourself from these data breaches that will be occurring?

TIPS

One important lesson is to limit the amount of personal information that you provide to companies and websites whenever possible. For example, your doctor doesn’t need your Social Security number for his or her records. Unfortunately, loan servicing companies do need your Social Security number.

You should make sure that you have a unique password for each of your online accounts so that if one of your passwords is compromised in a data breach, all of your accounts will not be in danger. If your information is compromised in a data breach, you should immediately change the password for that account.

If you have not already done so, set up dual factor authentication for each of you accounts where it is available. This will protect you from having those accounts stolen by someone who may have access to your password.

Freezing your credit is something everyone should do. It is free and easy to do. In addition, it protects you from someone using your identity to obtain loans or make large purchases even if they have your Social Security number. If you have not already done so, put a credit freeze on your credit reports at all of the major credit reporting agencies. Here are links to each of them with instructions about how to get a credit freeze:

https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-...it-freeze/ https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze...dit-freeze
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

Even after freezing your credit reports, you should still regularly monitor them to look for indications of identity theft which you can now do for free on a weekly basis using this link https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

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Site logo image ScamicideRead on blog or ReaderScam of the day – January 27, 2024 – Teen Sextortion Increasing

Steven Weisman, Esq.

January 26

I have been warning you about sextortion scams for eight years. Recently, the FBI reported that reported incidents of teen sextortion had increased 20% last year and the number of actual cases is probably higher due to the crime often not being reported. In addition, recently Pennsylvania State Police arrested Alvaro Andres Valarezo Sandoval and charged him with sextortion related crimes.

According to the FBI, adult predators, often posing as young girls, contact teenage boys on a variety of online platforms such as games or social media and then convincing the teenage boys to engage in explicit sexual activity while unbeknownst to the teenaged boy, the predator is recording it. The scammer then reveals to the teenager that the scammer has the recording and threatens to post it online unless a substantial payment is made. Many of these scams are organized and based outside the United States, primarily in West African countries such as Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.

TIPS

The FBI advises parents to tell their children to be very careful as to what they share online. Social media accounts which are open to everyone provide predators and scammers with a lot of information that the scammers can use to lure people into scams. Discuss the appropriate privacy settings with your children for all of their accounts.

The FBI also tells parents to remind their children that they can never be sure as to who they are communicating with online and they should be particularly skeptical if they meet someone on a game or app who then asks to communicate with them on a different platform.

If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive free daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and type in your email address on the tab that states "Sign up for this blog."

#sextortion #FBIsextortion
Site logo image ScamicideRead on blog or ReaderScam of the day – February 2, 2024 – Colorado Pastor Scams His Church Members

Steven Weisman, Esq.

February 1

Affinity fraud is the name for the type of fraud where people put undeserved trust in someone offering an investment opportunity because that person is "someone like me." Affinity fraud works because people trust other people who may share a common bond, such as family, religion or some other group affiliation. The list goes on and on. Over the years I have reported on many instances of affinity fraud perpetrated against a wide variety of people. Scammers take advantage of every connection they can make with their victims to gain their trust and then steal their money.

Recently in Colorado, fraud charges were brought by the Colorado Division of Securities against Pastor Eli Regalado and his wife who created a cryptocurrency called INDXcoin and sold it to members of his church and other churchgoers in the Denver area through a cryptocurrency marketplace that he created and controlled. He announced he was selling the cryptocurrency on YouTube telling people that God told him to do this and that God said it was a safe and profitable investment. It wasn't. More than a million dollars of investors money went to fund the pastor's and his wife's extravagant lifestyle and, according to the Colorado Division of Securities, INDXcoin is worthless.

TIPS

Before investing with anyone, you should investigate the person offering to sell you the investment with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Central Registration Depository. This will tell you if the broker is licensed and if there have been disciplinary procedures against him or her. You can also check with your own state's securities regulation office for similar information. Many investment advisers will not be required to register with the SEC, but are required to register with your individual state's securities regulators. You can find your state's agency by going to the website of the North American Securities Administrators Association. Many investment advisers will not be required to register with the SEC, but are required to register with your individual state securities regulators. You can find your state's agency by going to the website of the North American Securities Administrators Association. You should also check with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for information about the particular investment adviser.

As for Cryptocurrency investing, it is important to remember that you should never invest in something that you do not completely understand. This was a mistake that many of Bernie Madoff's victims made. Cryptocurrency scams quite often involve complicated language and investment terms that are purposefully unclear in an effort to confuse potential investors from understanding the real facts. You also may want to check out the SEC's investor education website at www.investor.gov. Scammers can be very convincing and it may sound like there is a great opportunity for someone to make some money, but you must be careful that the person making money is not the scam artist taking yours. Additionally, investing with someone merely because you share the same heritage, nationality, religion or any other affinity is something you should avoid.

If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and type in your email address on the tab that states "Sign up for this blog."

#cryptocurrencyscams #EliRegalado #INDXcoin