Electronic invitations to a party, from a friend, safe right? Well not so fast. There is a new scam going around inside a party invite. Name of the company is legitimate; scammers are impersonating the real company. Plus, recent FBI Public Service Announcements. Let’s Talk About Scams is broadcast live…
Pig butchering scams - we have talked about them before, and it is worth talking about again. Join us as we talk with our guest, Erin West, a globally recognized speaker, and educator specializing organized crime, with a focus on the criminal investigation and prosecution of cryptocurrency-related cases. Erin will…
What do you do if you have been the victim of an internet related scam? Who should you call? Can you get your money back? We will be talking with retired FBI agent Martin Hellmer about his experiences investigating scams and he will share advice on what to do if…
It is time to talk about “phishing” because a friend recently fell for a phishing scheme. The email, which appeared to come from his cable company, claimed that the method of payment was rejected. And while we are at it, let’s talk about “smishing”, a social engineering attack using fake…
What would you do if you overheard a phone conversation that sounded like the person was being scammed? Last year, I accompanied my mother to an appointment at her doctor’s office. I overheard a gentleman sitting across me making a phone call. He was speaking loud enough that it was…
What would you do if a friend sent you an email asking if you would be willing to buy them a gift card? For most of us, our default reaction would be to say yes and help out our friend. Because most of us are generally nice folks, we are…
Recently, I was about to start a fraud prevention presentation when my mom called to tell me she was having some computer issues. I drove over to her place. Upon arrival, her computer had a pop-up on the screen that made her computer inoperable. The pop-up was making a siren…
This week, we will share top five telltale signs you are being scammed. · Someone you don’t know is calling you incessantly and creating a sense of panic when it comes to your money. · Someone is telling you not to talk to anyone else. · If you are at…
We discussed this four months ago and it is worth revisiting, our Anatomy of a Scam Infographic where we discuss the three parts of a scam. We have some examples of scams that we will break down using the Anatomy of a Scam. Tune in to see if you can…
Last week Brian Watson talked about phone scams, and it is okay to hang up. Something we hear a lot is - I do not answer the phone unless I know who it is as scammers do not leave voicemails. Or do they? We are starting to hear from people…
I like to show a photo of a yellow rotary dial phone circa 1980. I grew up with this phone in my house. I ask my audience to raise their hand if they ever had a similar phone. After I show the photo of the phone, I always ask “what…
Pig butchering is the latest variation of the romance scam. This particular version started in China. The scammers refer to their victims as pigs and use a Chinese word that translates to “killing pigs plate.” In the same way a farmer will fatten up a pig before slaughter, the scammer’s…
