[00:00:00] This complex financing talk is very hard to get my depot ever done yet?
[00:00:06] But you already have a depot.
[00:00:08] No.
[00:00:09] Yes, you have the Vodafone Gigadepot.
[00:00:11] That's right! And I have myself in the hand how big my depot is.
[00:00:15] Now with the Vodafone Gigadepot and the data volume of the next month.
[00:00:19] Go on in the 5G-Source 5G-Netz of Vodafone.
[00:00:22] Vodafone. Together we can.
[00:00:30] This is Scams and Cons News with Jim Grinstead.
[00:00:35] A pastor said he may have misunderstood God by selling cryptocurrency.
[00:00:40] And an 82-year-old woman set up a sting to catch a scammer.
[00:00:45] But we begin with a Cricut wireless store in Athens, Georgia,
[00:00:49] which was hit by a scam resulting in a loss of nearly $12,000.
[00:00:54] The incident involved the fraudster posing as the company vice president.
[00:00:58] The scammer contacted the employee,
[00:01:01] claiming to be overseeing the replacement of the store's communication system.
[00:01:05] The caller convinced the 20-year-old employee to pay a supposed delivery fee,
[00:01:10] using funds from a recent customer payment to do that.
[00:01:13] But he'd have to break into the store's safe to get the money.
[00:01:17] He was directed to a nearby auto zone to buy the needed tools.
[00:01:21] Following the scammer's directions,
[00:01:23] the employee used the tools to access the safe and withdraw the money.
[00:01:29] The scam escalated further when the employee was told to deposit $4,000
[00:01:33] into a Bitcoin machine at a local store.
[00:01:36] The remaining $8,000 was handed over to an unidentified man in a blue hoodie
[00:01:41] who claimed to be collecting the cash on behalf of the scammer.
[00:01:50] An online pastor, Elagio Regalado, and his wife, Caitlin,
[00:01:56] faced civil fraud charges for allegedly selling a cryptocurrency
[00:01:59] described by regulators as practically worthless.
[00:02:03] Regalado claims divine inspiration guided him into this venture,
[00:02:07] saying,
[00:02:08] God told me to do it,
[00:02:10] although he acknowledged the possibility of having misheard the message.
[00:02:13] The Colorado Securities Commissioner filed a legal complaint against the Regaldos,
[00:02:19] alleging they raised nearly $3.2 million
[00:02:21] by promoting their cryptocurrency, Index Coin,
[00:02:25] to Denver's Christian community.
[00:02:27] Investigators assert that the couple violated anti-fraud laws
[00:02:31] by marketing Index Coin as a low-risk, high-profit investment,
[00:02:36] despite its being illiquid and practically useless.
[00:02:40] Commissioner Tung Chan remarked,
[00:02:42] We allege that Mr. Regalado took advantage of the trust and faith of his own Christian community,
[00:02:48] emphasizing that investors lost millions
[00:02:50] while the Regalados allegedly funded a lavish lifestyle.
[00:02:54] The couple sold Index Coin to more than 300 investors between June 2022 and April 2023.
[00:03:02] In a video message,
[00:03:04] Regalado admitted to earning $1.3 million from sales
[00:03:08] and spending a few hundred thousand dollars on home renovations he claimed were divinely inspired.
[00:03:13] He expressed uncertainty about whether he misinterpreted God's message
[00:03:17] or if the project was still meant to succeed.
[00:03:21] Despite lacking prior experience in cryptocurrency trading,
[00:03:25] Regalado felt compelled to enter the market,
[00:03:28] asserting that God was guiding him to innovate.
[00:03:31] However, he later admitted that technical failures prevented investors
[00:03:34] from converting Index Coin into cash.
[00:03:37] The Colorado Securities Commission highlighted that the Regalado's lack of experience
[00:03:42] became evident when a third-party audit described their Index Coin code
[00:03:47] as unsafe and riddled with issues.
[00:03:50] Chan cautioned consumers about the ease of creating new coins and exchanges,
[00:03:54] urging skepticism in such investments.
[00:03:58] A Portland, Oregon couple was nearly scammed out of $400,000,
[00:04:02] but was caught in a sting that sent them to jail.
[00:04:05] AI Voice Sarah tells the story.
[00:04:09] A Chinese national is in custody,
[00:04:11] accused of participating in a $3 million gold bar scam targeting an elderly Portland couple.
[00:04:17] Biao Lin, 27, was arrested by the FBI in Portland just as he was about to collect over $400,000
[00:04:25] in gold bars from the unsuspecting victims.
[00:04:29] Lin, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, allegedly flew to Spokane and drove to Portland to carry out the scheme.
[00:04:36] Lin faces federal charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
[00:04:41] Prosecutors say he was involved in a larger operation that has targeted elderly victims across the nation.
[00:04:48] The elaborate fraud allegedly involved hackers breaking into victims' computers,
[00:04:53] scammers posing as government officials, convincing victims to convert money to gold for safekeeping,
[00:04:59] and directing victims to package and hand over gold bars to couriers.
[00:05:03] Earlier in 2024, Lin allegedly collected $580,000 in gold bars from another victim on the East Coast.
[00:05:13] The FBI became aware of this case when an 86-year-old woman and her 93-year-old husband
[00:05:19] reported being scammed out of over $3 million.
[00:05:23] The couple was locked out of their financial accounts and contacted by fraudsters posing as fraud department
[00:05:29] and Social Security Administration officials.
[00:05:32] FBI agents set up a sting operation, having the victims prepare a decoy package.
[00:05:38] When Lin arrived to collect the gold using a predetermined password, he was arrested.
[00:05:43] Athens-Clark says video footage may provide evidence.
[00:05:47] This is Scams and Cons news.
[00:05:54] Hi, Herr Jauch.
[00:05:55] Herr Ulmen, was haben Sie diesmal wieder nicht verstanden?
[00:05:59] Ja, Herr Jauch, können Sie mir das mit dem E-Rezept nochmal erklären?
[00:06:01] Es ist doch nun wirklich einfach.
[00:06:03] Also, Shop-Apotheke-App öffnen, Krankenkassenkarte dranhalten.
[00:06:07] Karte dranhalten, Rezepte auswählen, bestellen, fertig.
[00:06:10] Ja, Sie wissen doch, wie es geht.
[00:06:11] Ja, aber also einfach nur dranhalten ist das ...
[00:06:14] Ich dachte, meine Frau wollte mich verarschen.
[00:06:16] Diesmal auswärmsweise nicht.
[00:06:18] Ha.
[00:06:19] E-Rezept, Shop-Apotheke. Hältst du schon dran?
[00:06:22] An attempt at a sex scam caused a teacher to have a heart attack and die.
[00:06:32] The incident, in Agra, India, happened when a 58-year-old government schoolteacher died
[00:06:39] after receiving a distressing scam call about her daughter.
[00:06:43] On September 30th, the woman received a WhatsApp call from a man posing as a police officer.
[00:06:49] The scammer claimed her daughter had been arrested in a sex trafficking case
[00:06:53] and demanded nearly $1,200 to prevent the release of an obscene video.
[00:06:58] The woman's son said his mother received around 10 phone calls from them within 15 minutes.
[00:07:05] The caller's profile picture showed a man in a khaki uniform.
[00:07:09] The son quickly realized it was a scam when he noticed the Plus 92 country code
[00:07:14] indicating the call originated from Pakistan.
[00:07:17] Despite his reassurances, his mother remained anxious.
[00:07:22] After returning from school, the mother complained of feeling unwell.
[00:07:27] She was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival due to cardiac arrest.
[00:07:34] Five individuals were charged in connection with a massive tech support scam that defrauded victims of at least $8 million across 10 states.
[00:07:43] Your computer has alerted us that it is infected with the virus and spyware.
[00:07:48] This virus is sending your credit card details, Facebook login, and personal emails to hackers remotely.
[00:07:56] Please call us immediately at the toll-free number listed so that our support engineers can walk you through the removal process over the phone.
[00:08:03] The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri announced that the Five faced charges of wire fraud.
[00:08:11] The alleged scheme involved contacting elderly victims via telephone and electronic messages,
[00:08:17] falsely claiming that their savings and retirement accounts were compromised.
[00:08:21] Victims were instructed to transfer funds to the scammers to protect their accounts.
[00:08:26] In many cases, these transfers took the form of gold bars purchased by the victims and collected by couriers working with scammers.
[00:08:35] Among the victims was an 82-year-old woman from St. Louis who was misled into believing her financial accounts were at risk.
[00:08:42] The scammers posed as tech support representatives and convinced her to open a bank account and purchase $250,000 worth of gold bars to safeguard her funds.
[00:08:53] On May 1st, the scammer flew from Florida to St. Louis and rented a car to meet with the victim.
[00:08:59] However, law enforcement intervened before she could complete the transaction.
[00:09:03] The scammer reportedly sent a warning message to her accomplices via WhatsApp just before the police arrived.
[00:09:11] The group operated across various states, including Arizona, California, and Pennsylvania, using handlers and couriers to execute the frauds.
[00:09:19] Each member of the group has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a potential penalty of up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
[00:09:31] A Green Bay, Wisconsin charity was almost scammed by a fake donor wanting to make a donation to an English as a second language program.
[00:09:40] WFRV has the story.
[00:09:41] Eric Sponholz is the executive director of Literacy Green Bay, which provides English lessons to adults.
[00:09:49] A would-be scammer emailed wanting to make a donation but wrote a fake check for more money than they pledged and wanted the overage paid back.
[00:09:58] This person wanted deposit confirmation, not necessarily confirmation that we received the check, but confirmation that we actually deposited the money.
[00:10:07] So then they could come back and then ask us for the overage of what they initially sent.
[00:10:13] Sponholz says that while he's thankful that no information or money was taken, he's still worried about other nonprofits who may not have the resources to catch the alleged scam.
[00:10:22] A scammer has been operating in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, pretending to be a daycare provider and asking for money up front.
[00:10:31] KARE says the scam began on Facebook.
[00:10:34] With her due date approaching fast and no luck in her search, Jackie gave this Facebook group a try.
[00:10:41] She got this message.
[00:10:42] Said, hey, I'm a stay-at-home mom. I can legally care for one family.
[00:10:45] And handed over a check for $2,800 to save their spot.
[00:10:49] But once Jackie's twins were born, she says Natalie Bloss gave her the runaround.
[00:10:55] She would cite excuses like a broken foot.
[00:10:57] She and her children had COVID.
[00:10:59] There was an alleged death in the family.
[00:11:02] In their text chain, Jackie canceled with Natalie citing an extreme lack of communication.
[00:11:08] Natalie replied she would get a refund within 30 days.
[00:11:11] But that didn't happen.
[00:11:13] We realized right away we had been scammed.
[00:11:15] I read through more than 400 documents of court records showing Natalie Bloss failed to refund money to 14 families.
[00:11:22] A New Zealand teenager attempted to con people out of thousands of dollars by creating a fake cell phone tower.
[00:11:29] New Zealand authorities have arrested a teenager for orchestrating a sophisticated smishing scam,
[00:11:34] marking the first time this technology has been encountered in the country.
[00:11:39] Smishing is a form of phishing that uses SMS text messages to deceive victims.
[00:11:44] In this case, the scammer employed an SMS blaster, a device that mimics a cell tower,
[00:11:50] thereby tricking nearby phones into connecting to its fraudulent network.
[00:11:54] The 19-year-old suspect allegedly sent thousands of fraudulent text messages,
[00:11:59] with approximately 700 dispatched on a single night.
[00:12:02] These messages claimed to be from banks,
[00:12:06] alerting recipients to supposed fraudulent transactions and urging them to click on the verification link.
[00:12:12] While around 120 people were affected by the scam,
[00:12:16] authorities report that no financial losses occurred.
[00:12:20] Police executed a search warrant in central Auckland on August 23rd,
[00:12:25] leading to the arrest of the teenager and the seizure of the smishing device.
[00:12:30] The teenager has been charged with interfering with the computer system
[00:12:33] and is scheduled to appear in Auckland District Court December 10th.
[00:12:38] This is Scams and Cons News.
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[00:13:11] You can also find a link in the show notes.
[00:13:14] Thanks for listening.