A man got taken by a scammer and called a local TV station for help. The scammers weren't caught, but they later called the man back, pretending to be the anchor and tried to shake him down again.
It didn't go well for the scammers.
Hear this story and more on Scams & Cons News
[00:00:04] This is Scams and Cons News with Jim Grinstead. Scammers apparently are hiding behind charities to steal your money. One group is using the photo of a hospitalized boy to raise money, while another cop the Napa Truffle Festival's name is affront to sell non-existent vendor slots. But we begin with a new twist on an old scam. When a scam hits town, police often turn to local media to put out a warning.
[00:00:33] It alerts residents to be aware of the scam. So scammers working Sandusky, Ohio decided to place a call in the name of a local news anchor. It didn't go well. The couple lost a few thousand dollars before deciding to call anchor Tony Geffes to confirm the story. So instead of falling for someone claiming to be me, they hung up the phone and called me at the station. When Tom Koos handed cash over to someone claiming to be a courier collecting bail money for his grandson,
[00:01:03] he did not know it was a scam until hours later. Now, Tom is much more cautious. It just all sounded so fishy. A few weeks ago, 13 Action News explained how scammers conned Tom and his wife out of thousands of dollars in cash. A few days ago, someone called him again. This time, the caller claimed to be me. This person on the phone said they were you from Channel 13.
[00:01:27] The caller told Tom and his wife people who saw the story on the news were donating money to make up for their loss. But he couldn't answer basic questions about where this fund was, how much money was in the fund, how to proceed with it. Tom also asked the caller why he was using an 800 number instead of my cell phone or the newsroom line. He said, well, I can see you're upset and I'm upset and I don't want to be talking to you anymore. And I said, well, that's fine with me. After that conversation, Tom called me directly.
[00:01:57] Verify, verify, verify, because it's too late afterwards when you get sucked into one of these deals, you know. He also called the Sandusky County Sheriff's Office and explained what happened. Now that second attempt at a scam is part of the investigation. Tom says he may never get back the money he lost, but he hopes no one else gets scammed by a phony courier or a fake phone call. Edmonton police are sounding the alarm over a sophisticated cell phone scam that has cost victims more than $600,000.
[00:02:27] As of December the 18th, 91 reports have been filed regarding this fraudulent scheme. It works as a scammer pretends to be a cell phone carrier representative, often claiming to be from TELUS. They offer an enticing deal on a phone with a low monthly rate. The scammer requests personal details, including social security codes and passwords. Using this information, they access the victim's actual account and order a new phone.
[00:02:57] When the phone arrives, the account holder is instructed to call back for activation. The scammer then calls the mark, says there's an issue with the phone, and provides an address for its return. The victim unknowingly sends the new phone to the scammer and is left with a bill. Police say the scam can be hard to spot because the scammer is using the victim's actual cell phone account to order and ship the phone.
[00:03:24] A fraudulent email scheme targeted vendors at the Napa Truffle Festival, with scammers posing as Oxbow public market representatives. Fake emails, claiming to be from market co-owner Steve Carlin, offered open vendor spots for the January event. Scammers requested a $50 daily fee and credit card information. One vendor reported unauthorized lift and door dash charges after sharing payment details.
[00:03:52] Another vendor became suspicious of an insecure credit card submission form. Oxbow public market said it will not be hosting outside vendors or food trucks and has not requested any payments. The Napa Truffle Festival, founded in 2010, bills itself as North America's premier truffle event, and vendors and attendees are urged to verify all communications directly with the event organizers.
[00:04:19] Scammers were apparently trying to find marks to donate to the family of a child in a coma. AI news reader Michael said the effort spanned three states. A recent Facebook post asked Marshfield, Massachusetts residents to help identify a 14-year-old boy who was allegedly hospitalized and in a coma after a hit-and-run crash. The post read,
[00:04:43] We urgently need assistance in identifying a young boy approximately 14 years old involved in a hit-and-run incident left for dead by the side of the road in Marshfield. He is currently in a coma and deputies are unable to identify him due to the lack of ID. Let's share this post to help identify him. Reporters confirmed that there were no recent hit-and-run incidents in Marshfield.
[00:05:09] The same photo and message appeared on community pages across other states, including Pennsylvania, Alabama, and Washington. In each case, the location was changed. Marshfield replaced with Hazleton, Atmore, or Spokane, but the rest of the post remained the same, with comments disabled. A Google Lens search traced the photo's origin to an entirely different story.
[00:05:36] The image is actually of 17-year-old Anthony Rosales, who was critically injured in a car crash in Grand Prairie, Texas, in August 2024. The crash, caused by a suspected street racer, tragically killed Rosales' family and left him in the hospital. The photo shows Rosales in critical condition, but he was not in a coma as claimed in the post.
[00:06:03] In fact, Rosales was released from the hospital two weeks later and attended his family's funeral. It's not known how much money, if any, the scammers collected. Two criminal rings have been uncovered in Thunder Bay, Ontario, producing thousands of fake paintings, falsely attributed to renowned indigenous artist Novel Morisseau. He's also known as the Copper Thunderbird.
[00:06:29] The art fraud spanned decades, with forged paintings selling for thousands of dollars in galleries across Canada. Victims included everything from a retired school teacher to rock star Kevin Hearn of the Bare Naked Ladies, who successfully sued after purchasing a fake painting. Two primary ringleaders have already been convicted and imprisoned. Detectives meticulously investigated the case, diving deep into Morisseau's artistic style and life history.
[00:06:57] The investigation revealed that forgers used drugs and alcohol to manipulate the counterfeit works. Morisseau is known as the Picasso of the North, by breaking traditional barriers for indigenous artists. The National Gallery of Canada honored him with a retrospective in 2006, just a year before his death. The fake paintings sold for between $2,000 and $10,000 Canadian dollars
[00:07:23] and made their way into top galleries and universities, highlighting a significant breach in the art authentication process. A third potential forgery ring in southern Ontario is still under investigation. This is Scams and Cons News.
[00:07:48] A man arrested months ago for moving into a South Carolina home that wasn't his is back to his old tricks, according to the Anderson County Sheriff's Office. Christopher Speer, age 45 of Anderson, was initially charged in May alongside with DeThera Watson as they presented fake information to buy a house and moved in. They also say Speer tried to scam thousands of dollars in furniture with a series of elaborate excuses.
[00:08:16] Now Speer is facing new charges after he reportedly tried to defraud Hampton Furniture Store. Store managers alerted detectives that Speer still owed more than $3,400 for furniture he'd received. After the delivery, Speer promised to pay, but when the delivery driver returned, Speer wasn't there to drop off the check as he said he would. Instead, he claimed he'd leave it in the store's drop box, but that check never materialized.
[00:08:43] Speer later told detectives the check was stolen, but when they tried to process his payment over the phone, his card was declined every time. Speer has now been charged with breach and obtaining property under false pretenses and booked into the Anderson County Detention Center. Three Chicago-area residents have been sentenced for their roles in moving more than $3.5 million for an overseas romance scam network.
[00:09:09] Among them, a former U.S. Postal Service worker who says she deeply regrets being pulled in what she called a dumbass scheme by her boyfriend. AI Newsreader Sarah tells more. Jennifer Gosha, an Iraq War veteran and former postal worker, received three years probation with six months of house arrest for her role in the Chicago-based fraud operation.
[00:09:33] Authorities say one of the victims was 57-year-old Laura Kowal, a retired healthcare executive from Galena, Illinois. Kowal believed she was in a relationship with a man named Frank Borg, whom she met on Match.com. But Frank wasn't real. He was part of a West African scam network, using stolen photos and fake identities. Over nearly two years, Kowal sent almost $2 million to Frank before scammers began instructing her on how to create fake companies and move money.
[00:10:03] By the end, she had lost everything. Court records show that one of Kowal's payments, $75,000, ended up with three individuals in the Chicago area, including Gosha. The other two defendants, Nigerian Nationals Samuel Anukwu and Anthony Ibeki, were convicted in November. Anukwu, who pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Ibeki, found guilty on 14 counts including wire fraud, was sentenced to 20 years.
[00:10:33] One juror in Ibeki's trial told CBS News that emotional testimony from victims, including a retired dentist with early-onset dementia, left a lasting impression. Gosha claims she, too, was a victim, believing she was in a relationship with Ibeki, whom she thought was a Nigerian doctor. Her attorney says she was manipulated into becoming a money mule. Judge Steven Seeger acknowledged the serious impact on victims, but also noted Gosha's lesser role in the scheme.
[00:11:01] The Federal Communications Commission is warning homeowners across the country about a sophisticated mortgage scam that's already cost victims hundreds of thousands of dollars. The scheme, called Green Mirage, targets homeowners by posing as their legitimate mortgage lender. Scammers use caller IDs spoofing to make it seem like the call is coming from a trusted financial institution, making it difficult for homeowners to detect the fraud. Here's how it works.
[00:11:30] The fraudsters typically contact homeowners who have recently sought mortgage relief or loan modifications, making them more likely to believe the call is legitimate. The scammers often have specific personal details, like the homeowner's name, address, or even their current or former mortgage lender. Once they have the homeowner on the line, the scammers claim there's an urgent issue with their mortgage and that immediate payment is required to avoid penalties or foreclosure.
[00:11:57] But instead of directing payments through the usual mortgage channels, the scammers instruct victims to send money in untraceable ways, such as mailing money orders to attorneys or uploading funds to prepaid debit accounts like Walmart Green Dot money cards. The FCC says Green Mirage has impersonated more than 400 mortgage lenders so far.
[00:12:19] Many homeowners only realize they've been scammed when they receive foreclosure notices from their actual lender, but by then, their money is long gone. This is Scams and Cons News.