Scam involves phony telephone calls from bank Internet
The News Review:
- Scam involves phony telephone calls from bank Internet
- Thousands recovered in scam mail
- fficials offer tips to avoid scams during the holidays
- Welcome to Look Local
Scam involves phony telephone calls from bank Internet
San Diego Union Tribune – Dec 21, 2007
DATE>December 21 2007. CNTENT>MILWAUKEE – Rick Larson the chief operating officer of Milwaukee's West Bend Savings Bank was home watching television when the phone rang. The voice urged him to call a toll-free number and verify his debit card information including his secret personal identification number or risk losing use of the card. The irony of impostors posing as a local bank and then inadvertently calling one of the top executives of that bank might have been humorous except that Larson knew the trouble such schemes can cause.
Thousands recovered in scam mail
BBC News – Dec 21, 2007
Trading standards officers found consumers were sending £20 to the mailbox in an effort to increase their sweepstake or “winnings” from £821000 to £1258000. Investigations by police revealed the letters were being sent to another mail box in Vancouver in Canada. Bogus lottery prize draw and sweepstakes are sent out by mail e-mail or telephone in their hundreds of thousands and inform consumers that they have won a major cash prize. To claim a prize consumers are asked to send money upfront to cover administration processing fees taxes or to increase their “winnings”. Major prizeIn many cases the cash prizes either do not exist or the recipient only has a tiny chance of winning the promised pay-out. Trading Standards officer Brian Wilson said genuine sweepstakes prize draws or lotteries would never ask consumers to pay a fee to claim a major prize. He said: “Always stop think and think again if an offer sounds too good to be true… He said: “Always stop think and think again if an offer sounds too good to be true. “We all dream of winning a big money prize draw or lottery and scammers exploit that to their advantage. “The cost to consumers of these scams is huge. ur prompt action in this case will have saved British consumers thousands of pounds. The initiative is part of a regional campaign led by the local authority to crackdown on the perpetrators of scam mail.
fficials offer tips to avoid scams during the holidays
Rocky Mountain News – Dec 21, 2007
Residents can use the Web site’s database to find charities’ financial information and missions. The site also contains the state’s Annual Report on Charitable Solicitations another resource for potential donors. Potential donors also can check how much money paid telephone solicitors actually pass along to the charity they represent and the total raised during a particular campaign. Coffman and Suthers offered these tips to avoid being exploited by bogus charities:* Watch out for charities with names that sound similar to well-known organizations. * Never contribute in cash. Donate by check made payable to the charity. * Certain well-known charities will never solicit donations over the phone.
Welcome to Look Local
Look Local – Dec 21, 2007
A recent spate of these scam letters in South Yorkshire have targeted a cross section of people particularly the elderly. Although police are not aware of anyone who has fallen prey to the scam they are urging residents to be aware of the methods these unscrupulous operators use. ften these pretend to be from a Spanish lottery or offer the chance to gain substantial amounts of money through foreign transfers. Victims of a fake money transfer will receive either a letter fax or email from a person claiming that they need help in transferring money overseas usually $20- 30 million… The letter is often accompanied with a processing form which the recipient is asked to complete and return. Any responses encourage the operator to bombard the victim with further correspondence requesting payments to be forwarded to them to cover administration fees insurance and taxes to enable the prize money to be released. If telephone contact is requested it is always through premium rate phone lines. uk Detective Sergeant Phil Toyne from the South Yorkshire Police Fraud Investigation Team said: “It is important that the families of vulnerable and elderly people are aware of these scams to help to protect their loved ones who are often viewed as a target.
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