Question: Dear Steve, I don’t believe this is a relative of mine. I think this is a SCAM. Patrick Answer: Dear Patrick, It is a scam. Recently you sent me a question about a payday loan collection attempt that was also a scam. Clearly, you’ve made a list of targets to try and scam. A …
A paper published in the Harvard Journal on Legislation presents some interesting data that will test your beliefs and assumptions regarding fraud and scams. James Toomey wrote The Age of Fraud, in which the data is educational and surprising. Toomey presents a common belief that people over 65 are more targeted for fraud and scams …
A frequent question I get is from people upset with the performance of some company they hired to help them. When they reach out to me for answers, they are pissed off and angry. That is understandable. There is a healthy and helpful way to resolve such company complaints without raising your blood pressure or …
Today we need to have an honest discussion about the most significant growing scam category. Once you finish learning about it in this podcast, you will have to help spread the word to friends, family, and people you know. Don’t let them become a victim. Although cryptocurrency has yet to become a mainstream payment method, …
American National Bank and Trust Company has reported that counterfeit cashier’s checks using the bank’s routing number of 051401027 are being presented for payment nationwide in connection with various internet scams involving mystery shopping and job opportunities. There are at least three known variations of counterfeit items in circulation; coloration is unknown. Variation #1 – …
If you receive an email regarding a NORTON 360 LIFE renewal, it is a scam. Do not call the number in the email. It appears designed to get suckers to call and then the person on the phone will attempt to get personal information from you. There are a number of red flags in the …
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has been informed that an entity using the name “FNB” is misrepresenting itself as a national bank. While the entity may represent that they are affiliated with a legitimate financial institution, they are not. The fictitious entity has been robocalling and robotexting consumers to obtain information …
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has been informed that an entity using the name “Amarico Trust Bank” and branding itself as “AmTrust Bank,” an inactive institution, is misrepresenting itself as a national bank. The fictitious entity has been using a foreign-hosted website designed to obtain information to likely perpetrate identity theft. …
Two California hospice facility owners were arrested today in Los Angeles on criminal charges related to their alleged participation in a kickback and health care fraud scheme. According to court documents, Oganes Doganyan, 49, of Northridge, and Kristine Arutyunyan, 38, of Glendale, paid illegal kickbacks for the referral of Medicare beneficiary information that could be …
A three-count criminal indictment was unsealed yesterday in federal court in the Eastern District of New York charging Roberto Gustavo Cortes Ripalda, 54, of Madrid, Spain; Fernando Haberer Bergson, 48, of Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Ernesto Heraclito Weisson Pazmino, 53, of Miami, Florida, with conspiring to defraud investors and financial institutions as part of an …