[00:00:04] This is Scams and Cons News with Jim Grinstead.
[00:00:09] A new survey claims more than 66% of respondents have been targeted by romance scams, with 10% of the victims losing more than $10,000.
[00:00:19] And police in Australia arrested a serial scammer 13 times and each time released him on bail only to have him scam again.
[00:00:28] You remember we recently told you a story about scammers who were renting out people's swimming pools and pocketing the money?
[00:00:35] The homeowners didn't know what was going on.
[00:00:38] So we start out today with a riff on that scam.
[00:00:41] It's mischief really.
[00:00:43] It turns out that a woman in Elkhart, Indiana is having a birthday party and posted it on TikTok.
[00:00:49] Police took notice.
[00:00:51] The department says the video asked individuals come to the party but not to bring gifts.
[00:00:56] That was the request.
[00:00:56] Well, the department says it is confirmed the individual depicted in the video does not live at that address.
[00:01:01] There is no birthday party.
[00:01:03] The public safety statement goes on to say the resident who actually lives at this house did not create the videos.
[00:01:10] It is not having a birthday party at that location and respectfully asked individuals to not come to her residence.
[00:01:16] There is no indication of an active threat, nonetheless.
[00:01:19] But the department will be doing checks in the area out of an abundance of caution.
[00:01:23] An elderly accountant in Hong Kong has become the victim of a sophisticated phone scam, losing approximately $2 million.
[00:01:31] The 74-year-old man was manipulated into staying in hotels for a week, which prevented him from contacting anyone and allowed the scammers time to drain his bank accounts.
[00:01:41] The investigation revealed that a 19-year-old suspect arranged the hotel stay, allegedly under duress from a fraud syndicate that claimed he was implicated in a criminal case in mainland China.
[00:01:53] The teenager was arrested and is suspected of delivering forged documents to the victim, including fake confidentiality and investigation orders.
[00:02:01] The scam began with a phone call from someone impersonating a mainland official who falsely accused the accountant of involvement in illegal activities.
[00:02:11] To further deceive him, the fraudsters instructed him to set up three new bank accounts and transfer his assets into them.
[00:02:19] He was told to provide the scammers with account passwords.
[00:02:22] Between August 28th and September 3rd, about $2 million were transferred out of those accounts through multiple transactions.
[00:02:31] The scheme was uncovered when bank staff noticed suspicious activity and alerted authorities.
[00:02:36] Officers struggled to reach the victim by phone because he'd been told to avoid contact with others.
[00:02:42] The suspect was apprehended before he could flee Hong Kong.
[00:02:46] As the song goes, diamonds may be a girl's best friend.
[00:02:50] But only if they're real diamonds and not if they're part of a scam.
[00:02:55] I knew that it wasn't real, but I also felt like it needed to get to the right person.
[00:03:01] In efforts to get to the right person, Melissa Anderson looked at the sender's name and address on the package.
[00:03:06] I thought that Cody Polk sent this to the wrong person.
[00:03:10] And so I was trying to find Cody Polk on Facebook.
[00:03:14] And so I typed in Cody Polk and then it said Cody Polk ring.
[00:03:19] And I knew right then that there was something going on.
[00:03:23] She quickly learned she wasn't the only one getting this ring, which turned out to be a moissanite, not diamond.
[00:03:29] On social media, there are several posts.
[00:03:31] People saying they got the same ring from what appeared to be the same person.
[00:03:35] And then...
[00:03:36] On top of that, I received a second one.
[00:03:38] Now two exact same rings.
[00:03:40] The rings come with this warranty card that has a QR code which states you need to scan to register the ring for the warranty.
[00:03:47] It seems so just innocuous.
[00:03:49] Like, I'll scan the QR code and do my warranty.
[00:03:52] According to the United States Postal Inspection Service, this is called a brushing scam,
[00:03:57] where scammers send unsolicited merchandise to people for various reasons.
[00:04:01] A sheriff's department in Louisiana issued a warning about this scam, stating their financial crimes detective investigated it
[00:04:07] and says the goal was to try and get you to innocently scan the QR code to get your information.
[00:04:13] Melissa never scanned the QR code as she says there are too many red flags.
[00:04:17] I tried to get to the bottom of who's behind mailing the rings, but emails the company listed came back as undeliverable.
[00:04:23] The return address goes to a business strip mall with no location for the exact address.
[00:04:28] Melissa says she has no idea why she got the rings.
[00:04:30] She does order online often.
[00:04:32] Investigators say sometimes it's just random who gets the items in a brushing scam.
[00:04:37] Malwarebytes, a cyber protection firm, released research claiming more than 66% of respondents have been targeted by romance scams,
[00:04:46] with 10% of the victims losing more than $10,000 and 3% parting with $100,000 or more.
[00:04:54] 94% of those who lost money were unable to recover it.
[00:04:58] 75% of the victims are over age 55.
[00:05:02] 56% were men.
[00:05:05] Younger individuals are also affected with 11% of the victims aged 18 to 44 and 40% being female.
[00:05:13] About 26% engaged with scammers for extended periods.
[00:05:17] 12% communicated for several months, while 5% were involved for a year or more.
[00:05:23] The survey found that 40% of the respondents never disclosed their experiences to anyone.
[00:05:29] Only 11% reported the scams to law enforcement or organizations for help.
[00:05:35] Scammers primarily reached their victims through social media, followed by online dating platforms, email, and text.
[00:05:44] This is Scams and Cons News.
[00:05:54] An old email scam, known as sextortion, has taken a more personalized approach.
[00:06:00] Emails now include images of the victim's home, by using images taken from mapping services like Google Maps.
[00:06:08] Victims report receiving messages that not only address them by name, but also feature photos of their street or front yard.
[00:06:15] The sender claims to be a hacker who compromised the recipient's computer and recorded them during private moments.
[00:06:23] The email demands a ransom of nearly $2,000 in Bitcoin.
[00:06:28] They threaten to release the footage if payment is not made within 24 hours.
[00:06:33] The emails typically include claims that malware has been installed on the victim's device, with references to notorious spyware like Pegasus.
[00:06:41] Scammers often use previously leaked passwords to enhance their credibility, suggesting they have access to personal information obtained from data breaches.
[00:06:51] A scammer was caught in Australia and released on bail.
[00:06:55] Guess what he did next?
[00:06:57] He went on to become a serial scammer.
[00:07:00] He was arrested 13 times and each time he was released on bail.
[00:07:05] News 7 in Australia explains how it worked.
[00:07:08] Melbourne-based Alana Petridis is accused of creating fake profiles on Facebook by swap and sell pages,
[00:07:14] and scamming shoppers out of more than $10,000, pretending to sell designer dresses, shoes and even a kimono that never existed.
[00:07:24] It's alleged Petridis' most recent offending occurred between April and May,
[00:07:29] with at least 23 people across the country falling victims to her lies.
[00:07:34] She basically stopped talking to me and then on the Friday she blocked me.
[00:07:38] The magistrate described the offending as sophisticated and said he had no doubt if released back into the community,
[00:07:45] Alana Petridis would re-offend.
[00:07:48] It's football season, and if you're planning to go to a game, you might want to be careful where you get your tickets.
[00:07:53] For years, an online scammer exploited Craigslist selling counterfeit NFL and Major League Baseball tickets and defrauding fans out of thousands of dollars.
[00:08:04] The NFL got a surge in ticket fraud complaints and asked the New York Police Department Financial Crimes Task Force for help.
[00:08:13] Police said many victims were purchasing tickets for NFL games on Craigslist,
[00:08:17] only to find out upon arrival that the tickets were fake.
[00:08:21] Police wanted to find out if it was one individual running the scam or a larger organization.
[00:08:27] They found multiple computer IP addresses linked to numerous Craigslist posts offering high-end tickets.
[00:08:34] Each ad claimed to be from a wealthy individual unable to attend the event,
[00:08:38] selling luxury suites for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
[00:08:43] Officials noted that the scammer was meticulous,
[00:08:46] creating fake phone numbers and email addresses tied to various accounts to receive payments.
[00:08:51] The scam had been ongoing since 2019, affecting numerous victims across multiple states.
[00:08:58] However, the scammer made a critical mistake when a victim requested a selfie and a driver's license for verification.
[00:09:04] He sent his own photo and his real ID, which led police directly to him.
[00:09:08] Authorities executed a search warrant at the scammer's home in early 2024.
[00:09:14] They found evidence that his activities extended beyond New York,
[00:09:18] impacting fans in states like Wisconsin and California.
[00:09:22] Ultimately, the scammer was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
[00:09:26] You may use Google Voice.
[00:09:29] The service provides you a number and allows you to make calls via the Internet.
[00:09:33] Usually, two-factor identification is needed.
[00:09:36] Not only must you sign into your phone or computer,
[00:09:40] a code is also sent to your email or by text just to confirm it's you.
[00:09:45] Those codes are there to protect you.
[00:09:47] But now they can get you in trouble.
[00:09:49] Eva Velasquez with the Identity Theft Resource Center says,
[00:09:53] despite years of warnings about this type of scam,
[00:09:56] people continue to fall victim.
[00:09:57] This report from the ITRC shows that of the 13,000 instances of identity theft reported to them by victims,
[00:10:05] 60% involve the use of Google Voice.
[00:10:08] In terms of Google Voice, this one is dependent on you sharing that multi-factor authentication code.
[00:10:16] So the key takeaway here is, I don't care how legitimate sounding the reason is,
[00:10:22] you don't share that with another party.
[00:10:24] Now, if an imposter does get access to your account,
[00:10:28] well, Google has made it easier to take back your phone number.
[00:10:31] If you go to Google Voice Help on Google,
[00:10:33] you'll see a tab labeled Protect Your Verification Code,
[00:10:36] and then you'll see an option to disconnect your phone number.
[00:10:40] After entering your telephone number,
[00:10:42] you'll be given an access code that you can then enter to disconnect your phone number.
[00:10:46] Velasquez says their research shows victims of all ages are being impacted by identity theft-related scams,
[00:10:52] with the 62% of the people they spoke to falling between the ages of 25 and 64 years old.
[00:10:59] Velasquez says it's a reminder that we need to pay attention
[00:11:02] and use tools like multi-factor authentication correctly.
[00:11:06] A 73-year-old woman has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison
[00:11:10] for swindling more than $270,000 from elderly victims.
[00:11:15] The South African District Court found her guilty of multiple counts of theft and aggravated theft,
[00:11:21] with the judge highlighting her lack of remorse and manipulation of vulnerable individuals.
[00:11:27] The woman was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison,
[00:11:30] with a minimum non-parole period of five years.
[00:11:33] The sentence was backdated to May 2022,
[00:11:37] meaning she will remain incarcerated until at least 2027.
[00:11:40] The prosecutor described the woman as a con artist who exploited her victims over a nine-year period,
[00:11:47] stealing an estimated $4.2 million,
[00:11:50] although she was only charged for $272,000.
[00:11:55] This is Scams and Cons News.