Courtesy of the Pima County Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers: The Arizona Daily Independent is proud to announce a new column, The Scam Squad. Lou Sampson, a volunteer with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, founded the group and now they are thwarting cons by sharing their information on the latest scams to hit the Southern Arizona streets.
A resident of Green Valley presented a current circulating scam at the SAV office, with a request that we inform others, so that they do not become victims. The woman received an unsolicited phone call, requesting personal information such as her social security number and date of birth, from a “government worker” who feigned concern over “the new government changes in health care.”
The so-called worker said that the purpose was to ensure that her medical coverage would continue, and she would be issued a new Medicare card as soon as her address could be confirmed through her personal information. Luckily, she hung up! She kept her personal information out of the hands of the scammers, and potentially her savings as well. This is not the end of her story, however. She then received mail with appropriate-looking governmental logo, which looked believable and official, and, again, there was a request for personal information.
The woman knew that the information being requested was already on file with the Federal government and the would-be-victim was appalled that the criminals were actually using government logos to dupe people into giving information that could literally wipe out their savings.
Shred all mail with personal information, bank account numbers, billings from doctors, requests for applications for credit cards. Shred everything before discarding it in the trash.
The Scam Squad was also alerted to a new scam, again from a concerned citizen. An e-mail came in the form of a Class Action-type of Law Suit, against the Mortgage Lenders, entitled “FRESH START.” The letter requests that a sum of money be sent in to be part of the law-suit, in order to receive monetary benefits due to the many losses consumers experienced by bad bank loans.
The Red Flag should be: asking for money in advance! Remember, never give money in advance. Requests for sums of money for the old Nigerian lotto (or any illegal lottery outside the United States) is a scam. If the lottery winning is legitimate, and you have won, the amount for taxes will be deducted from your winnings. You never pay in advance.
Beware of any person or company that asks for money in advance. So be warned that the newest scam comes in the form of a request to be part of a class action law suit. Another Red Flag to remember is if there is urgency in a claim, such as a request that you must submit the fee ASAP or the benefit will be given away to someone else.
Do not withdraw money from your bank account and wire money to the scammers. Once the wire is complete, it is almost impossible to trace who picked up the transferred money. If you fax or send a check, the bank account information is in the hands of the criminals. Protect yourself and your personal information.