Scams & Fraud

I've been desperately trying to get a job. I was contacted by this Marketing Company that offered remote work from home, they seemed to promising. Gave me an account to try out and showed me how the work would be processed.  I started to make money but soon after that they asked for funds for bigger pay.  At first it was very small amounts, then just as quickly it got started the funds I was paid, had made, and the funds I had deposited they kept.  I have never experienced anything like this, ever.  I'm grief stricken and just can't find peace.  My husband is disabled, and this severely hurts our finances, the amount was in the thousands, our life savings. I have filled with several government agencies, filed a police report, with our bank which we never got our monies back.  I was able to contact the real Deloitte Company even spoke with their head fraud investigator sent him everything I had saved of the fraudulent company using their name, but nothing,

bEWARE this is a very horrible scam, you get a text message from the USPS saying that you have a package to be delivered and need .18 cents to pick it up so I gave them card because it looked real. No one told me about this scam and now people from Chicago and Sacramento California have gotten my card and stole 158 dollars from me.I am 61 and work really hard for what money I do get and I pray that God the Father will catch these thieves. This is second time I have been stolen from.

Our AARP Forum is continuously bombarded with folks who are newly registered with postings seemingly with 'useful information' but with hyperlinks to possible 'frauds/ scams/ spams or possible malware sites.' Please 'do not click onto any links' of any infomercial with a link to a "solution, the cure" = possible fraud or to a malware site.----------------------------------------------------------- ---- sign of scams -  they may talk about some medical information in the "Housing or Game Talk or Destinations' AARP forums = not in the proper forum = content is 'wrong' for forum heading.And they are newly registered with a 'neat'  copy and paste but with a "link available = the cure, the solution, the treatment."    They may talk about some other common problems and issues and lay out a nice informative treatment or solution.  --- crypto recovery scams - I've seen twice or more here ---- Be wary of posts talking about 'cannabis' with an al

FROM THE ARTICLE - SEE ARTICLE FOR MORE!!! Are You a Scam Victim? You Might Get Hit Again — by Taxes. Advocates are working to change federal laws to separate fraud losses from taxable income. By Ken Budd, AARP. Published July 30, 2024. Former President Trump’s signature 2017 tax law is having a ripple effect on scam victims: They’re required to pay federal taxes on the money they lost. It’s a nightmare scenario, as Kate Kleinert knows all too well. In August 2020, the retired secretary and widow began an online romance with a man posing as a United Nations surgeon in Iraq. As he supposedly traveled to meet her in Pennsylvania, he claimed he’d been arrested and needed $20,000 for bail. Ultimately, she lost $39,000 in the scam. Then her tax accountant delivered shocking news: She owed $5,000 in federal taxes on the losses. https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2024/victims-pay-taxes-on-stolen-money.html

Just a quick heads-up...I recently received the following Spam email:Subject: 5 Year Membership to AARP for only $9 per Year! From:  August Specials ....It's bogus...no open...no click links! 

FROM THE ARTICLE - SEE ARTICLE FOR MORE!!! VA Announces New Website and Call Center to Protect Veterans From Fraud. A multiagency federal effort aims for a ‘one-stop shop’ to help military families targeted by scams. By Christina Ianzito, AARP. Published August 13, 2024. Scams are rampant these days, and members of the veteran community are favorite targets of scammers; veterans, military personnel and their spouses reported $477 million in losses from scams last year — up $63 million in 2022 — according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).   In response, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the White House have announced the launch of VSAFE.gov and 833-38V-SAFE (833-388-7233). The new website and call center is meant to coordinate efforts across the federal government to protect veterans, service members and their families from fraud and scams. https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2024/vsafe-website-call-center.html

FROM THE ARTICLE - SEE ARTICLE FOR MORE!!! It Can Be Agony When a Loved One Is a Scam Victim — But Refuses to See It. Some chronic fraud victims deny that they’ve been targeted by scammers, frustrating the people who care about them. By Matt Alderton, AARP. Published August 20, 2024. Journalist April Helm, 49, makes her living reporting facts, but she had trouble getting her late mother, Sherri Tyson, to see the truth. In 2018, the widowed Tyson, who passed away in 2020 at age 72, met a much younger diamond magnate named Gerald online and became convinced that they were in love. She ended up losing $350,000 to the romance scammer, even as Helm tried her hardest to make her mother see that Gerald was a fake. https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2024/victims-in-denial.html

Hackers May Have Stolen Your Social Security Number In a Massive Breach  Hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but I'm a little surprised I haven't heard anything about this from AARP.One of the few emails I still deliberatelly get is FWN Fraud Alerts...woulda thought this rated....even gave it a few days before posting anything.

AARP Has a discount program with Payless Car Rental, Payless car rental is rated as one of the worst car rental companies on many web sites. I am surprised that AARP has an association with Payless.Renter Beware 

AARP Fraud Watch Network - Watchdog Alert Handbook:  Common Elements of Today's Scams - and How to Stay Safe   (04/22) I was at my local library and picked up this pamphlet by AARP - a white 8 1/2"  x 5 1/2"  - 21 pages+ Here's a PDF version you can get a quick read- click here  ----->  https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/14/24/18e40b8f457db6298e0999c9a693/fraud-fwn-watchdog-042022.pdf 🤔

FROM THE ARTICLE - SEE ARTICLE FOR MORE!!! Drivers: Keep an Eye Out for New Toll Road Scams. Criminals pretend to be highway officials requesting payment after your trip.By Ken Budd, AARP. Published July 05, 2024. Taking a road trip this summer? Gas prices and traffic jams aren’t your only concern. Cybercriminals are now asking drivers to pay fake highway tolls. The scam began gathering steam in early March, according to the FBI, and it appears to be growing more prevalent. https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2024/toll-road-texts.html

FROM THE ARTICLE - SEE ARTICLE FOR MORE!!! Scammers Who Commit Title Fraud Steal Your Identity — Then Your Home. Criminals can use public information to victimize both buyers and owners in this real estate scam. By Matt Alderton, AARP. Published July 16, 2024. Since his untimely death from a heart attack in 1977, Elvis Presley’s adoring fans have been flocking to his home to pay their respects. This spring, however, Presley’s mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, attracted an entirely different kind of admirer: Naussany Investments & Private Lending (NIPL), a dubious investment firm that tried to sell the King’s Graceland estate after purporting to have acquired the deed from his late daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. ​According to a lawsuit filed by actor Riley Keough, who is Elvis’s granddaughter and Graceland’s trustee, NIPL claimed to have granted a $3.8 million loan to Lisa Marie Presley in 2015, at which time she offered the deed to Graceland as collateral. When the

FROM ARTICLE - SEE ARTICLE FOR MORE!!! Multiple tenants all expect to move into the same house. By AARP. Published July 19, 2024. Phillip and his family are planning a move from Las Vegas to Denver and need a new place to live quickly. He finds the perfect rental house on Craigslist but he doesn’t want to take any chances and flies to Denver to tour the home with the real estate agent. A few days after he moves in, a woman knocks on the door claiming she has also rented the house. They realize this is more than just a crazy mix-up when a second person arrives expecting to move. https://www.aarp.org/podcasts/the-perfect-scam/info-2024/-family-left-homeless-rental-scam.html

  AXIOS. 07/15/2024 - Change Healthcare cyberhack fallout ripples to consumersPay attention folks -  from the link ~The Change Healthcare cyberattack shook U.S. health care to its core for months and exposed major cyber vulnerabilities. But the likely ripple effects on individuals are only now becoming apparent.Why it matters: As many as 1 in 3 Americans may have had personal information compromised, some of which is purportedly being trafficked on the dark web — and is expected to enable identity theft, as well as tax, insurance and mortgage fraud.And experts say the people with the most at stake aren't aware they're at risk. .. . . . . Between the lines: The lack of details is compounding frustrations with Change's parent, UnitedHealth Group, which was harshly criticized in Congress for not having basic safeguards like multi-factor authentication in place, and is facing huge legal and financial ramifications.UnitedHealth recently revealed the compromised

Hello, I received a letter from a former employer concerning a data breach. The letter explained what happened, and what information was involved. The information that has been impacted was Social Security number, driver's license number, passport number, name, address, and other government issued identification numbers that were on file. The former employer is offering complementary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services through IDX, a ZeroFox company. This protection will be available for 12 months after enrolling.My question is why they are only offering 12 months of protection, my information has been leaked because of their poor cyber security measures and I will have to deal with this issue for the rest of my life. What can we as victims do to make the companies that were involved in a cyber security incident be responsible for the life of the person affected by the breach?

FROM ARTICLE - SEE ARTICLE FOR MORE!!! Why You Shouldn’t Answer Calls From Unknown Numbers. Avoid scams — including the ‘say yes’ or ‘can you hear me’ scam – by ignoring unsolicited callers. By Matt Alderton, AARP. Published July 08, 2024. If you watched television in the early aughts, you probably remember the iconic commercials from Verizon Wireless where a roving cellphone spokesman offered up a simple yet sticky catchphrase: “Can you hear me now?” Some 20 years later, callers are still asking folks on the other end of the line if they can hear them. But now it’s often scammers doing the asking, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which has warned consumers about so-called “can you hear me” scams — also known as “say yes” scams. https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2024/unknown-number-do-not-answer.html

i have a long clean and accident free driving record since 1967.....last year thru the hartfod/aarp i was paying $669.00 a year...and my driving...i am now 74...is about 1-2 hours a week! so what would you think about car insurance?....well....the Hartford thinks i should pay $969.00 a year! A $330.00 INCREASE!!!!...i know most of us oldies do not drive as much as we did when were were all working...but...its obvious...THE HARTFORD is using the aarp /"partenership" to rape every old person in this country! remember the "big S.S.increase we all got 2 years ago...the hartford ceo needs that money for another mansion...yacht...or island......the solution is easy: drop the insurance and eat again!;;;;;;;;;;;;screw the law!!!;;;;;;;;;;;

Consumer Cellular did it to me for the last time. First, there's the weak signal everywhere, even though they are using other networks, whose own subscribers have good signals. Then came the relentless upward creep in price, though the unexplained "compliance fee." (They pretend this is something different from a regular old price hike.) But today I woke to email saying that I was taken off the unlimited plan — with no word on what the new plan was — and no longer eligible for the illusory two for $55 plan — with no indication of what new price they were going to charge me. Was this phishing? I went to the web site to check. It was down. Page load times with many minutes and no information was ever served up. So then I called. I waited half an hour while the recorded voice told me about Consumer Cellular's "award-winning customer service." When I finally got through to a human, she told me that all AARP plan customers got this message, and all the time I'd wasted wa

 

When someone comes to you and tries to sell you a service or some repair work, ask to see their driver license. If they don't have one, or refuse - close the door. If they show it to you, check to see that it belongs to the person holding it; make sure it is current; make sure it is from YOUR state. Then use your phone to take a picture of it. Now, if anything goes wrong, you can find them...and so can the police.

------Identity Theft, Imposter Scams, Unemployment Scams, more…-----On Scams and Frauds - US Government website---- Google "USA Gov + On Scams and Frauds"

This one takes the cake, I found another new fan club for on Facebook for Alan Jackson -Great Country Legend,  shows Alan Jackson’s Daughter as creater of this fan club. I liked it and joined. Then I started getting  hammered with instant messages from what is pictured as his daughter. Wanted me to join a place where I could speak with her Father Alan Jackson. I declined. I double clicked on the creater profile her picture and read further to see many things about Nigeria 🇳🇬. Nothing on her family . I deleted & blocked this site. They apparently try to get you to join something where there will have a fake voice of Alan Jackson and it will cost you $$$$$$ a big scam. Spoiler (Highlight to read)  

I did a couple searches before starting this topic, but 'robocall' and 'phone' got so many hits I couldn't sort through them all.  It's a simple question: I recently received a voicemail on one of my phone numbers that was a robocall.  The information accompanying the voicemail indicated that the call originated from one of my other phone numbers.  This is the 1st time I've seen this kind of obvious spoofing.  Just wondering if anybody else has seen it? 

II have been hearing and reading about a Bill being Passed to give SS Retirement and other SS recipients, A Stimulus check in February 2024.  Is this going to happen ??  Can't seem to get any Info. My Bank has heard nothing about it.  Just wondering if anyone has information on this. Replies would be helpful.

An insurance company representative confirmed to me that this is common with older people. I had a bill and was getting calls that it needed to be paid. I called the doctor’s office and they told me that it was paid in full. And I called the insurance company and they told me that they had paid, but the bill collector who kept calling said to me that if I didn’t pay, it would be turned over to a collection agency, and my credit would be at risk. In fact, they said, “why don’t you just pay it so it doesn’t get turned over to a collection agency.” Watch out for this one! If you know you paid, don’t get scammed.