Continuing Scams
Wow. It has been almost 4 years since I published what I thought about Scams. I would think the government would begin to crack down on scammers, and there have been some that have been caught and new tools that can be used by the government. Does it stop a scammer. It's like holding back a tidal wave with a shovel. There are just too many of them out there and they keep inventing new ways to scam people.
Phone scams. That's a major issue today. Often a scammer will call with a spoofed number (the Caller ID shows a number, but in most cases it is invalid). I can't spell out every scam here, but thus far, I can recollect the following scams: A) Extended Auto Warranty (they are all scams); B) Amazon calling to tell you that there has been a charge on your account for an iphone, ipdad, etc., this is all a scam. C) IRS - they will never call you until you have started communication with them via US mail. D) Rebate scam - often they will tell you that you paid for a service they can no longer provide and want to give you a refund, it's all a scam. E) Social Security Scam - the scammer will pretend to be with the Social Security Administration, usually an officer of some kind, and tell you that your social security number is being suspended. That NEVER happens. F) Medicare/Medicaid scam - they will call you promising you better benefits. Only the scammer benefits. G) Lower Interest Rate scam. They will tell you that you have been paying your bills on time and they offer to lower your interest rate. All they want is your credit card number. There are probably many others, but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
Text Scams. Often these are from your cell phone provider saying that you have won a prize for being a good customer. Just a scam. And then there are the car-wrap scams. You will be paid about $600+ a week to drive around with a wrap on your vehicle. The scammer will send a check, then tell you to deposit it into your account. You will be then required to pay the car wrap person. But, the check is written on a stolen account. When the check is returned, you are out money and the scammer has run off with it. This is just one of the text scams.
Email Scams - way too many to list. Many are that you have been chosen to receive a reward. Oft times there is a nonsensical survey and then the website states "Oh, you qualify". To receive the reward, you have to pay for some product or service (which you don't actually get), and you don't get the reward. Car-Wrap Scams. Also, you will probably receive emails from high ranking government officials stating that there is a consignment box that was seized from a diplomat that had had your name on it. All you have to do is pay a clearance fee of $50 - $700.00. Some even call it a Stay of Proceed. They will ask you to send the money to claim your fund. It is all a scam. Others state that they are with USPS or UPS and that they cannot deliver the package because they have a bad address. This is a Scam.
NEVER, EVER, EVER believe that anybody or company will receive payment via gift cards (iTunes, Google Play, Walmart or Target Gift Cards, etc.).