Your child is safe at home, but scammers are calling to get info about them to put into a state "registry." It's a scam ... don't fall for it.
Hear this story and more on Scams & Cons News.
[00:00:04] This is Scams and Cons News with Jim Grinstead. Imposters are using multiple identities to box victims into scams. And in California, con artists pretending to be part of the Amber Alerts system are trying to get sensitive information about your children. But we start with Australia's crackdown on digital scams, using a method that could cost banks and websites more than $100 million to implement.
[00:00:32] AI Newsreader Bill explains, Treasury modeling suggests banks may spend $101 million in the first year and $32 million annually thereafter to avoid hefty fines for failing to prevent scams. Digital platforms are expected to incur costs of $106 million initially and $42 million each subsequent year,
[00:00:58] while telecommunications companies may face expenses of $22 million in the first year and $14 million annually. These reforms come in response to record scam losses in Australia, with $3.1 billion lost to scammers in 2022 alone, affecting approximately 500,000 Australians.
[00:01:23] The new legislation, introduced in November, requires designated industries to take reasonable steps to prevent, detect, report, disrupt, and respond to scams or face significant penalties. While the Australian Banking Association and customer-owned Banking Association have cautiously welcomed the reforms, they suggest that compliance costs may be underestimated.
[00:01:50] The Treasury notes that most regulatory costs will likely fall on banks not affiliated with these associations, including 46 Australian branches of foreign-owned banks. Despite concerns about potential burdens and uncertainties, the government maintains that these measures are crucial for protecting Australians from scams.
[00:02:14] The government has invested $180 million to tackle scam activity, and reports indicate that scam losses have decreased for the first time since 2016. CBS News has been doing a series of stories over the past year on romance scams, and the results are what you'd expect. Lonely people being conned into giving up big money in exchange for love and attention.
[00:02:39] One woman told CBS why she paid $40,000 to a stranger, and we learned about a proposed law that would help catch those scammers. What do you say to people who would look you in the eye and say, I'd never get taken like that? And I would say that's because you're coming from logic. It's all about getting you hooked with emotions.
[00:03:01] During our year-long investigation into romance scams, we learned that more than 64,000 Americans were taken for more than a billion dollars last year, double the $500 million just four years earlier. 50% of people who are using dating websites say that they've come across somebody who's tried to scam them. Democrat Brittany Pedersen and California Republican David Valadeo told us the tech platforms need to do a better job protecting their users.
[00:03:31] No matter how advanced you think your ability to understand what's out there, they're going to deceive so many people, and we really have to get in front of this. This bipartisan team introduced the Online Dating Safety Act, legislation that would require dating apps like Match.com to notify users if they've been in contact with a scam account. After passing the House, the bill didn't get a vote in the Senate, so they'll have to try again next Congress.
[00:03:58] If the dating app had gotten in touch with you and said, this guy's a known scammer, would you have lost all your money? No! I could go tick, tick, tick, oh my God, what's going on? Match Group told us they've already begun rolling out fraud notifications and will work with senators to finalize the bill. Starlink provides internet services via satellite.
[00:04:24] It's great for those who live in remote areas or have poor service in their neighborhoods. In Florida, police have arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with a massive fraud operation targeting Volusia County vendors. For nearly a year, the man and his accomplices posed as county officials conning businesses out of thousands of dollars in products, including Starlink. The scam unraveled when a Starlink dealer grew suspicious of a large order.
[00:04:53] This led to the discovery of a previous $48,000 shipment of Starlink kits to a storage unit in Davie, Florida, an order that was never paid. The break came when somebody tried to activate one of the stolen Starlinks and detectives traced the signal to the conman's apartment. Surveillance footage later exposed the man loading Starlink boxes into an SUV. When police searched his home, he confessed to his role in the scheme.
[00:05:22] Investigators say he was the U.S. point man, receiving stolen goods and converting cash to Bitcoin for overseas partners. He now faces charges of organized fraud and identity theft. Bullets were delivered to a man who's believed to have scammed DoorDash drivers out of more than a million dollars. News 12 in New York tells what happened. David Smith was supposed to appear in Stanford Superior Court to accept or reject a plea offer in his case.
[00:05:52] Instead, the state's attorney's office learned Smith was killed two days ago. New Rochelle police found David Smith shot several times in the chest at the Heritage Homes complex. Police said a personal dispute led to the 22-year-old's death. They've since arrested four men in connection. Community members did help with this, with calls to the police of the shots and descriptions of people running away. Smith was living in Mount Vernon.
[00:06:19] He moved there after Stanford police arrested him in June 2023 in what one investigator called the most massive scheme he's seen. Smith is accused of scamming DoorDash drivers in California out of almost a million dollars. Investigators recovered a large chunk of it, $733,000 in cash, when they seized five safes from his apartment. Police explained how the scam worked.
[00:06:45] They said Smith would use one of his many phones to place a fake DoorDash order in California. Then when the driver was on the way, Smith would impersonate DoorDash support and claim there was a problem with the order. He would get them to click a link or go to a website and then that essentially would turn over their credentials, their username and password to him. Once he was in control of that, he would change the billing information and steal any funds that they had for deliveries they had done, basically steal their paycheck.
[00:07:14] More than 700 drivers were scammed over the course of two and a half years. Police said Smith also stole the identities of dozens of people to open debit card accounts where he transferred the stolen money. As for the over $700,000 in cash that was seized in this case, Stanford police still have that money. What happens to it and whether it will go to all the victims as restitution will be determined at a hearing in March. This is Scams and Cons News.
[00:07:53] A 53-year-old Indian origin woman from South Africa has been arrested for scamming 17 couples. The woman, a disbarred attorney, allegedly took payments from multiple couples for the same wedding venue on the same dates. The scam came to light when couples arrived at the promised venues only to find them deserted, without water or electricity. The woman was tracked down and arrested by a private security company after one of the victims sought their help.
[00:08:23] The woman's criminal history reportedly spans more than 20 years, including previous fraud convictions and disbarment for stealing from a client's trust fund. She was also wanted for two additional fraud cases. Despite the allegations, the woman denies running a scam, claiming her business hit a rough patch due to cancellations and partners pulling out. She says she owes the nine couples about $3,000 and plans to repay them.
[00:08:50] An insurance fraud case has resulted in a $14.8 million judgment in Greenville, South Carolina. AI Newsreader Sarah lays it out. A federal judge has approved a $14.8 million judgment against disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh in an insurance fraud case involving his late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. The judgment favors Nautilus Insurance Company.
[00:09:16] Murdaugh, who is currently serving life sentences for the murders of his wife and son, was indicted in 2021 for stealing at least $4.3 million in insurance settlements meant for Satterfield's heirs. Satterfield died in February 2018 after a fall at Murdaugh's estate. Murdaugh admitted to fabricating the story about his dogs causing Satterfield's death to create liability and secure an insurance payout.
[00:09:42] He conspired with attorney Corey Fleming to defraud the Satterfield estate, diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the settlement funds. The civil case continues against Fleming and his former law firm with a trial in Charleston's federal court. Nautilus is seeking actual and punitive damages from the remaining defendants. Despite the judgment, it's unlikely Nautilus will recover any money from Murdaugh as his assets have been seized and divided among his many financial fraud victims.
[00:10:11] The insurance company's pursuit of Fleming and his law firm in federal court is seen as an attempt to recoup their losses. This case is part of the broader Murdaugh crime saga, which has sparked numerous lawsuits and criminal convictions, including Murdaugh's life sentences for the murders of his wife and son. Amber Alerts are intended to let us know when a child is in trouble.
[00:10:35] System officials don't call you up and ask for information about your child, but ABC7 says that's what's happening in California. So CHP says that people have been getting scammed, getting calls from these fake representatives. What they want is confidential personal information, preying on people's emotions, trying to get children enrolled in an Amber Alert system that doesn't even exist.
[00:11:02] In fact, CHP wants to remind everyone this is not how the Amber Alert system works. But the Amber Alert, we will not be asking for any type of registration. It is a free service. The Amber Alert is initiated only by the CHP. God forbid you get into a situation where you might have a missing child. Anything of that sort of type of incident is number one is to contact your local agency and then go through the steps that they walk you through.
[00:11:28] So CHP says this is a good reminder for everyone. Spread the word with your family members. Never provide personal information or even answer those calls from unknown or possible scam numbers. And if you've ever been contacted by a scammer, report it immediately to your local police agency. This is Scams and Cons News. I'll see you next time. I'll see you next time. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.