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Fraud Alert
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Fraud Archive |
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Internet "Phishing" Banking Scam
October 18, 2004 |
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Press Release: |
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The Office of the Tulare County District
Attorney, Phil Cline, District Attorney, White Collar Crime Unit, the
Elder Abuse Prosecution Program and the Elder Abuse Advocacy and
Outreach Program issue the following warning: Emails alleging to be
warnings, investigation notices or requests for assistance from banks or
other financial institutions have been flooding the internet. These
emails are the attempts of criminals to obtain personal banking
information in order to commit electronic theft. This practice is called
“phishing.” The emails indicate a problem and requests the recipient to
confirm personal banking information or assist in the investigation by
transmitting banking information. Often the notice comes with emotional
wording such as safeguarding, mandatory or required with the consequence
of suspension of the account if a reply is not made by the recipient.
Recent examples include emails purporting to be from Citibank and
Citizens National Bank.
We recommend anyone receiving such emails to not respond in any manner.
Banking information such as account numbers, routing numbers and next of
kin are the open doors for criminals to electronically steal money and
identity. Such information should never be given to persons or companies
whom you do not have a trusted relationship. We further recommend if you
are contacted by mail, email or over the phone about your bank account
give no information, personally contact your banking institution and
call your local police department, the Sheriff’s Department, or the
District Attorney’s Office. If you are a senior citizen, in addition,
you may also call Tulare County Adult Protective Services (559) 733-6585
or the District Attorney’s Office Elder Abuse Unit at (559) 733-6754.
More information may be obtained by calling the District Attorney’s
Elder Abuse Advocacy and Outreach Program at 559-733-6754
Contact Person:
WILLIAM YOSHIMOTO
Supervising Attorney
(559) 624-1054 |
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Madrid, Spain Lottery Scam
August 17, 2004 |
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The Office of the Tulare County District
Attorney, Phil Cline, District Attorney, the Elder Abuse Prosecution
Program and the Elder Abuse Advocacy and Outreach Program issue the
following warning: A business alleging to be handling the El-Gordo De La
Primitiva lottery program from Madrid, Spain has been mailing letters of
notification to residents of Tulare County. The letters indicate the
recipient has won a large sum of money, requests secrecy, states a
deadline date and asks the recipient to contact an agent of a security
company to process the claim. In addition to the phone call, a payment
processing form is to be faxed to the security company. Bank account and
next of kin information is required.
We recommend anyone receiving Loteria Primitiva letters to not respond
in any manner. Banking information such as account numbers, routing
numbers and next of kin are the open doors for criminals to
electronically steal money and identity. Such information should never
be given to persons or companies whom you do not have a trusted
relationship. We further recommend if you are contacted by mail, email
or over the phone about any overseas lottery or any type of lottery they
have not entered give no information and call your local police
department, the Sheriff’s Department, or the District Attorney’s Office.
If you are a senior citizen, in addition, you may also call Tulare
County Adult Protective Services (559) 733-6585 or the District
Attorney’s Office Elder Abuse Unit at (559) 733-6754 and then call the
Phone Busters hotline toll free at 1(888) 495-8501. More information may
be obtained by calling the District Attorney’s Elder Abuse Advocacy and
Outreach Program at 559-733-6754 or log on to www.phonebusters.com |
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"International Lottery" Programs
August 16, 2004 |
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Recently residents of
Tulare
County
have been receiving letters from outside the
United States
announcing winners of international lottery programs. The letters sound
official, indicate a large amount of money is waiting and give a
deadline for a response. The letter asks for banking information as
well as information about your relatives. Beware! These are scams with
the purpose of gaining information necessary to electronically steal
your money or identity. |
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Home Repair Scams
April 6, 2004 |
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The Office of the
Tulare County District Attorney, Phil Cline, District Attorney, the
Elder Abuse Prosecution Program and the Elder Abuse Advocacy and
Outreach Program issue the following warning: Individuals and groups of
individuals have been calling and approaching citizens in Tulare County
offering to make repairs or handle major maintenance projects on homes.
Elderly persons are specifically targeted. In some situations, the
targeted individuals are asked to provide significant sums of money in
advance to purchase supplies. In other situations, the service or
product supplied is inadequate or shoddily applied.
Recently an elderly woman was approached in the South
County region with an offer to resurface her driveway. She was informed
a job had just been completed at a nearby location and they would
resurface her driveway with leftover material for half the price of the
other job. A business card left by the individual shows no business
name, no address, only a cell phone number from Montana.
We recommend anyone contacted for services ask for
identifying information such as business location, business license,
contractor license and any other information to establish the legitimacy
of the individual. Furthermore, request estimates in writing, written
contracts and do not provide large sums of money in advance. If you have
any suspicions decline the service. Call your local police department
non-emergency number, the Sheriff's Department, or the District
Attorney's Office. If you are a senior citizen, in addition, you may
also call Tulare County Adult Protective Services (559) 733-6585 or the
District Attorney's Office Elder Abuse Unit at (559) 733-6754.
Contact Person: WILLIAM YOSHIMOTO,
Supervising Attorney (559) 733-6411 |
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Is that credit card offer you received
too good to be true? You may be right! |
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We
have recently become aware of credit card offers that are not quite what
they appear to be. If you receive an offer of credit that requires you
to submit a "processing" or "membership" fee along with your signature
on an acceptance certificate, think twice. These offers may restrict
your use of qualified credit to purchases out of a catalog that is sent
to you along with the new credit card. This means that the credit card
may not be used for any other purposes typically associated with the use
of credit cards. For example, you may not use the credit card for
department store shopping, dining out, vacation expenses, car repairs,
etc. Another possibility is that you may lose your processing or
membership fee entirely and never hear from the company again.
You can protect
yourself!
Before you submit any documents or funds, carefully read the fine print
on any offers you may receive. If you have any doubts, contact the
Better Business Bureau for its rating on the company and for the
company’s history of complaints. Additionally, contact the Consumer
Hotline at the District Attorney’s Office (559-730-2556) to file a
report. Some offers you receive may be more that questionable, they may
be illegal. |
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INTERNET AUCTIONS |
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According to the Federal Trade Commission, Internet auction fraud has
become a significant problem. Most consumer complaints center on sellers
who: |
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Don’t deliver the advertised goods;
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Deliver something far less valuable than they advertised;
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Don’t deliver in a timely way; or
* Fail
to disclose all the relevant information about the products or terms of
sale. |
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Quick tips for buyers |
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Identify the seller and check the seller’s feedback rating. Remember,
some unscrupulous sellers may input their own feedback rating to deceive
buyers.
Be
sure you understand what you are bidding on, its relative value and all
terms and conditions of the sale, including the seller’s return policies
and who pays for shipping.
Establish your top price and stick to it.
Evaluate your payment options. If possible, use a credit card. It offers
the most protection if there’s a problem. Consider using an escrow
service if the seller doesn’t accept credit cards. |
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Quick tips for sellers |
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Provide an accurate description of the item you are selling, including
all terms of the sale and who will pay shipping costs.
Respond quickly to any questions bidders may raise during the auction.
Contact the high bidder as soon as possible after the auction closes to
confirm details of the sale.
Ship
the merchandise as soon as you receive payment. |
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What
to do if you have problems |
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Try to
work it out directly with the buyer or the auction web site. If that
doesn’t work, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by
calling toll-free 1-877-FTC-HELP or visiting the FTC’s web site at
www.ftc.gov.
Although the Commission cannot resolve individual problems for
consumers, it can act against an individual or company if it sees a
pattern of possible law violations. You also may want to contact the
California Attorney General’s office or the Tulare County District
Attorney’s Office Consumer Fraud Hot Line at 730-2556.
Author, Barbara Greaver
Deputy
District Attorney, Consumer & Environmental Crime. |
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