scams

[Charon]

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Scam of the day – September 26, 2024 – Skimmers Continue to be a Problem

By Steven Weisman, Esq. on September 25, 2024

Recently, it was disclosed that skimmers were found on credit card processing equipment at the grocery store Ocean Mart in Roy, Utah although skimmers are appearing on credit card processing equipment in increasing numbers around the country. Skimmers are small electronic devices that are easily installed by an identity thief on gas pumps, ATMs and other card reading devices. The skimmer steals all of the information from old style magnetic strip credit card or debit cards which then enables the identity thief to use that information to access the victim's credit card or bank account when the skimmer is used on a debit card. Each skimmer can hold information on as many as 2,400 cards.

MasterCard and Visa announced in December of 2016 that the deadline for the installation of EMV chip card readers on gas pumps was being delayed three years to October 1, 2020. This deadline was further delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic to April 17, 2021 at which time less than half of the gas pumps in the United States complied with the requirement to install EMV chip card readers. And although that deadline has long since passed, due to the cost involved, many gas pumps still are not enabled for your chip credit card.

Wider implementation of the use of EMV chip cards at retail stores where their use has been mandated since 2015 has resulted in a dramatic reduction in data breaches and credit card fraud at retailers using this equipment. EMV chip cards are far safer than the old-style magnetic strip cards.

TIPS

Always look for signs of tampering on any machine you use to swipe your credit card or debit card although the more advanced forms of skimmers that are installed in a gas pump's interior cannot be detected from an inspection of the outside of the pump. Keys to open the gas pumps to allow the installation of the skimmer are readily available online. If the card inserting mechanism appears loose or in any other way tampered, don't use it. In regard to the contactless payment screen, if it is not working, there is a high likelihood that it may have been tampered with.

Debit cards, when compromised through a skimmer put the customers at risk of having the bank accounts tied to their cards entirely emptied if the theft is not promptly reported and even if the victim reports the theft immediately, the victim loses access to his or her bank account while the matter is investigated by the bank. Debit cards should not be used for anything other than as an ATM card. Instead use your credit card and monitor your account regularly to find out early if you have become a victim of this scam. With a credit card, your liability for fraudulent purchases is limited by law to no more than $50 and I am not aware of any credit card companies that hold their customers responsible for any fraudulent purchases. However, fraudulent debit purchases do not come with the same federal legal protection.

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[Charon]

MASSIVE WIN
Inbox

Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsel <jay.sekulow@email.aclj.org> Unsubscribe
11:06 AM (11 hours ago)
to me

ACLJ
EILEEN,

A teacher was banned from praying, a federal judge ruled that public prayer is unconstitutional, and today is See You at the Pole when students gather to pray.

In a major victory, we secured a teacher's right to pray today as well after she was banned from praying anywhere students might see her. Our lawsuit continues, but this is a massive win in the case.

In another case, we are appealing – for a second time – to reverse a federal judge's ruling that bans public prayer.

Sign Our Petition Now
Atheists and anti-Christian extremists continuously rush to court, claiming to be offended by prayer. And we've filed in federal appeals court to have this ruling overturned . . . AGAIN. Now our next court deadlines are looming.

Prayer is fundamental. It is your constitutional right. We've been fighting – and WINNING – these cases for decades. We defeated attempts to shut down churches during the pandemic and helped win a critical case at the Supreme Court last year, ensuring your right to go to church.

But TODAY, as students (and teachers) gather to pray and we fight in court to defend prayer, take action with us.

Sign Our Petition: Don't Ban Prayer.

Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel

DONATE NOW

[Charon]

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Scam of the day – September 28, 2024 – Watch Out for Hurricane Helene Scams

By Steven Weisman, Esq. on September 27, 2024

Natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes are common occurrences. Hurricane Helene has wreaked havoc in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes and earthquakes bring out the best in people who want to donate to charities to help the victims. Unfortunately natural disasters also bring out the worst in scammers who are quick to take advantage of the generosity of people by contacting them posing as charities, but instead of collecting funds to help the victims of these natural disasters, these scam artists steal the money for themselves under false pretenses.

Charities are not subject to the federal Do Not Call List so even if you are signed up for the federal Do Not Call List, legitimate charities are able to contact you by phone. The problem is that whenever you are get a phone call, you can never be sure as to who is really calling you so you may be contacted either by a fake charity or a scammer posing as a legitimate charity. Using a technique called spoofing, the scammers can manipulate your Caller ID to make it appear that the call is coming from a legitimate charity when it is not. Similarly, when you are solicited for a charitable contribution by email or text message you cannot be sure as to whether the person contacting you is legitimate or not.

Through the use of AI, scammers are also contacting people through social media with pleas for charitable donations. Often these social media posts will contain AI enhanced photos and videos and you can never be sure if the posts are legitimate.

TIPS

Never provide credit card information over the phone to anyone whom you have not called or in response to an email or text message. Before you give to any charity, you may wish to check out the charity with http://www.charitynavigator.org where you can learn whether or not the charity itself is a scam. You can also see how much of the money that the legitimate charity collects actually goes toward its charitable purposes and how much it uses for fund raising and administrative costs.

Here is a link to charitynavigator's picks for the best charities for donations to help the victims of the storm. https://www.charitynavigator.org/discove...arity_list

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[Charon]

[video=youtube]Scam of the day – October 10, 2024 – Comcast Data Breach Affects 230,000 Customers by Steven Weisman, Esq. | Oct 9, 2024 | Scam of the day In the over twelve years that I have been writing Scamicide, today and tomorrow represent the second time that I have ever had to write about data breaches on consecutive days. This is an indication of how common serious data breaches have become. This situation is very frustrating, but 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. 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. Today’s data breach involves 230,000 customers of Internet service provider Comcast Cable Communications which does business as Xfinity which disclosed this week that it had suffered a major data breach that goes back to 2021 in which names, addresses, birth dates, Comcast account numbers and, most disturbingly, Social Security numbers of more than 230,000 its customers were compromised. Armed with your Social Security number, a criminal can make you a victim of costly identity theft quite readily. The data breach of Comcast was not the fault of Comcast but rather the fault of Financial Business and Consumer Solutions (FBCS) a debt collection agency that was formerly used by Comcast. The stolen data related to Comcast customers in 2020 and 2021. The data breach at FBCS occurred last February and originally was not believed to have compromised any Comcast customer data, however, this week it was determined that indeed Comcast customer data was compromised in a ransomware attack 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. 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. However it should be noted that the malware responsible for this particular data breach is able to bypass password requirements and dual factor authentication. Freezing your credit is also 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 https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html Everyone also should monitor their credit reports regularly for indications of identity theft. The three major credit reporting agencies now provide free weekly access to your credit reports so you can monitor your credit reports easily on your own. Here is the only link to use to get your free credit reports.https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action Some scammers have websites that appear to offer “free” credit reports, but if you read the fine print, you often may find that you have signed up for unnecessary services. 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 sign up for free using this link. https://scamicide.com/scam-of-the-day/[/video]

[Charon]

[video=youtube] Read on blog or Reader Site logo image Scamicide Scam of the day – October 14, 2024 – Mavis Wanczyk Scams Continue On and On By Steven Weisman, Esq. on October 13, 2024 She's back! Actually, she has never left. I have been writing about scams related to Mavis Wanczyk for seven years but recently I have received emails from Scamicide readers telling me about various new incarnations of a variety of scams that share the same hook which is that Mavis Wanczyk is giving money away to lucky people. Many of you may not remember the name of Mavis Wanczyk, but she was the lucky winner of a 758 million dollar Powerball drawing in 2017. Not long after she claimed her prize, a scam started appearing in which many people received emails with the message line referring to the Mavis Wanczyk Cash Grant. The email indicated that you were chosen to receive a large cash grant from Mavis Wanczyk. All the lucky strangers receiving the emails had to do was provide personal information in order to qualify for the grant. In addition, phony social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were also set up in Ms. Wanczyk's name through which people were contacted with the same phony offer of free money informing them that in order to qualify for the grant they merely needed to provide personal information. Recently a Scamicide reader told me that after he had tweeted a message on X (formerly Twitter) he was contacted by a scammer posing as Mavis Wanczyk that she liked his tweet and that she was sharing some of her Powerball winnings with a select amount of people that follow her on social media. Fortunately, the Scamicide reader was smart enough to recognize that this was a scam. TIPS It is difficult to win a lottery you have entered. It is impossible to win one that you have never entered and neither lottery winners, nor anyone else is sending out messages through the Internet offering free money to anyone who responds with personal information. Never give out personal information that can make you vulnerable to identity theft unless you have absolutely verified that the party requesting the personal information is legitimate and has a legitimate need for the information. Finally and most importantly, remember neither Mavis Wanczyk nor any other lottery winner is giving away money to strangers. 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 insert your email address where it indicates "Sign up for this blog."[/video]