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Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
Showing posts with label phone scam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label phone scam. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Who’s reporting robocalls?
Saturday, July 20, 2019
FTC Consumer Alert: Medicare does not give out DNA kits
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Tuesday, July 2, 2019
FTC Consumer Alerts: Who’s pretending to be the government now?
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Thursday, June 27, 2019
FTC - Consumer Alerts: Are You Getting Unwanted Calls?
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Thursday, May 9, 2019
Get a one-ring call? Don’t call back
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Sunday, March 31, 2019
FTC Alerts: What to do about robocalls
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Friday, March 29, 2019
FTC Consumer Alert: Operation Donate with Honor continues
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Thursday, March 28, 2019
FTC Alerts: Robocallers, you’re out
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Sunday, March 24, 2019
FTC Consumer Alert: Those (not really) IRS calls (video)
Franklin Police Chief Thomas Lynch had a voice message to all residents recently alerting us to avoid phone scams. This FTC video delivers the same message
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Tuesday, October 30, 2018
FTC Consumer Alerts: Hang up on spoofed SSA calls
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Thursday, September 20, 2018
"This is the largest scam of this type we've ever seen"
I have shared many scam alerts from the Federal Trade Commission and other good sources. Here is a really good article getting into the details on how one of these phone scams worked and how it was taken down. That similar phone calls are still happening shows that there is still an opportunity for the nefarious folks to make some money.
The one thing we can do to stop this is to NOT to fall for the scam.
"On Nov. 24, 2014, a woman named Diana received a menacing phone call in Hernando, Miss., a small city nestled in the northwest corner of the state. A caller purporting to be an IRS agent claimed she owed back taxes and told her that agents were waiting to arrest her unless she paid up immediately. The caller was insistent, threatening, and urging her to act quickly.
The demands eventually produced the desired result: After the "agent" ordered her to withdraw $19,625 in cash, Diana bought 21 prepaid cards called MoneyPaks equaling that amount at a local store. After purchasing the cards, she read the unique serial number off each MoneyPak card to the caller, effectively giving him all her money.
The caller wasn't actually an IRS agent; he was an impostor from Worldwide Solution, a call center in India. No agents waited outside. Diana owed no back taxes. Hers just happened to be one of the millions of phone numbers dialed by an international conspiracy of con artists running a series of impostor schemes, according to a federal indictment issued in October 2016."
Continue reading the full story online
https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2018/sep/tigta-irs-impersonation-scam.html#.W5--uybd6Hk.email
Related link on FTC scam alerts
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/scam-alerts
From the Franklin Matters archives
http://www.franklinmatters.org/search?q=ftc,+scam+alert&max-results=20&by-date=true
"This is the largest scam of this type we've ever seen" |
Monday, July 30, 2018
“They’re just looking for you to react to the email"
From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180729/sextortion-scam-hits-franklin-over-past-week
Regular readers will recognize that I share info from the FTC on scam alerts that they post. Being vigilant these days is required. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Several of these alerts can be found in the archives
http://www.franklinmatters.org/search?q=FTC%2C+alert
"Local residents are experiencing an old email scam with a new twist: Sextortion scammers appear to be hacking into breached databases and using old passwords for leverage over their victims.
Scammers claim to have videos of their intended victims on their laptops while they watch pornography on the internet. They threaten that if a certain amount of money isn’t paid, they will send those videos to everyone in their target’s address book. The password trick is just an additional ploy.
Kevin Morton, owner of Franklin computer repair shop Nerds-To-Go, was working on a sextortion case when contacted on Thursday afternoon. He said scammers are usually all bark and no bite, but he has seen a higher volume of these calls for help coming from the Milford and MetroWest areas in the past few weeks.
“To fix it, just simply delete the email and change the password,” Morton said. “It’s not really necessary to get a new email address.”
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180729/sextortion-scam-hits-franklin-over-past-week
Regular readers will recognize that I share info from the FTC on scam alerts that they post. Being vigilant these days is required. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Several of these alerts can be found in the archives
http://www.franklinmatters.org/search?q=FTC%2C+alert
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
FTC Scam Alerts: Staying away from nanny and caregiving job scams
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Thursday, July 12, 2018
FTC Scam Alert: Online love asking for money? It’s a scam.
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Sunday, March 25, 2018
FTC: How to stop unwanted calls
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Saturday, January 20, 2018
FTC: Scam spotted thanks to a clever store clerk
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Thursday, September 21, 2017
MA Consumer Affairs has a 4 Part Series on "A Consumer Guide to Landline Telephone Service"
The MA Consumer Affairs blog has a four part series on "How Do You Connect? A Consumer Guide to Landline Telephone Service"
From Part 1
http://blog.mass.gov/consumer/massconsumer/how-do-you-connect-a-consumer-guide-to-landline-telephone-service-part-1-overview/
Part 2
http://blog.mass.gov/consumer/massconsumer/how-do-you-connect-a-consumer-guide-to-landline-telephone-service-part-2-billing/
Part 3
http://blog.mass.gov/consumer/massconsumer/how-do-you-connect-a-consumer-guide-to-landline-telephone-service-part-3-bundled-services/
Part 4
http://blog.mass.gov/consumer/massconsumer/how-do-you-connect-a-consumer-guide-to-landline-telephone-service-part-4-slamming-and-cramming/
From Part 1
"When buying landline telephone service for your home, you should be aware of several issues, including technological changes impacting the communications network, and ask questions to make sure you are getting the type of telephone service that best meets your needs.
Telephone calls are generally categorized as:
Always contact your service provider of choice to inquire about their service offerings and available calling plans. You can choose one provider for all your calling needs, or you can select different providers for different types of calls.
- Local: Calls made within your immediate area as determined by the exchanges (area codes) in the calling plan and the service provider you choose. It is possible that calls in your own municipality may not be considered local. Be sure to ask or request a list of the exchanges that are part of your local calling plan;
- Regional: Calls made outside the “local” calling area; and
- Long Distance: Calls generally made out-of-state.
Federal Law allows you to keep your current phone number when you change providers as long as you remain within the local exchange. When switching providers be sure to tell your provider you want to keep your existing phone number."Continue reading part 1
http://blog.mass.gov/consumer/massconsumer/how-do-you-connect-a-consumer-guide-to-landline-telephone-service-part-1-overview/
Part 2
http://blog.mass.gov/consumer/massconsumer/how-do-you-connect-a-consumer-guide-to-landline-telephone-service-part-2-billing/
Part 3
http://blog.mass.gov/consumer/massconsumer/how-do-you-connect-a-consumer-guide-to-landline-telephone-service-part-3-bundled-services/
Part 4
http://blog.mass.gov/consumer/massconsumer/how-do-you-connect-a-consumer-guide-to-landline-telephone-service-part-4-slamming-and-cramming/
How Do You Connect? A Consumer Guide to Landline Telephone Service: Part 1—Overview (image from MA Consumer Affairs article) |
Friday, September 15, 2017
FTC Scam Alert: Equifax isn’t calling
Many Franklinites are likely among those affected by the Equifax breach (as I was). Hence, this is worthy of sharing!
Also from the Federal Trade Commission - What to do
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/09/equifax-data-breach-what-do
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Also from the Federal Trade Commission - What to do
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/09/equifax-data-breach-what-do
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Downtown Partnership: Phone scam targeting local businesses
If you get this solicitation call Franklin Police
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