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Warning RE: Identity Theft Losses - You likely won't get the money back

6/27/2022

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Sad news, friends.

If you are a victim of identity theft, if they manage to get money out of your bank, investment, or retirement accounts, you are probably never getting that money back.

You can go to IdentityTheft.gov for a good checklist of things to do if you've been a victim, but they don't suggest anything to help you get the bank or investment broker to take mercy on you and make you whole. (Indeed, from their point of view, if they started paying off on identity theft claims, they would multiply exponentially as people would not take precautions against identity theft.)

If you are not a very comfortable Internet user -- such as if you don't know how to set up and use and maintain unique strong passwords for each different site you subscribe to or each business you patronize on the Internet, you might want to consider NOT doing any business on the Internet and asking for trusted friends to buy things for you and you give them cash or checks for those things.

If you aren't able to clearly recognize spam and phishing attacks promptly, you may need to adopt a strict "no click" policy of never clicking on anything in an email, just like you would never invite people into your home before looking through the door to see who is out there.

(And if you're a super-comfortable Internet user, don't get cocky! People who are experts fall for scams online all the time. Remember, in the old days, you could pretty much only get ripped off by local criminals. Now, every criminal in the world is just one click away from you.)

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Very Good Article on the truth about "Certified Used Cars"

6/14/2022

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Consumers' Checkbook, a consumer-oriented site, has a very good article on "certified" used cars -- if you are considering one, you will want to read the whole article carefully before you go shopping. Short excerpt below ...

https://www.checkbook.org/puget-sound-area/used-car-certifications-often-not-meaningful/


Used-Car Certifications Often Not Meaningful
by Anthony Giorgianni
Last updated May 2022

Dealers promise rigorously inspected rides and peace-of-mind warranties, but we found some consumers get rebuilt wrecks and even a former crash-test vehicle.

Most used-car shoppers find the process a stressful ordeal filled with possible perils. They worry they’ll end up with an unreliable vehicle, and they don’t feel comfortable dealing with car salespeople: A 2022 Gallup poll found them to be the second-most-hated profession in the U.S.; only lobbyists fared worse. Worst of all, supply-chain problems for new-car factories have created a surge in demand for used ones—during the first quarter of 2022, average prices for secondhand rides were up 35 percent compared to the previous 12 months. Competition is so stiff that many used cars are purchased sight unseen by desperate buyers.

To reassure used-car buyers worried about getting stuck with a lemon, manufacturers in the 1990s began offering “certified” used cars. They’re marketed as the crème de la crème of the secondhand auto world and even come with manufacturer-backed warranties.


But our research uncovered that certified labels don’t guarantee vehicles won’t have serious hidden mechanical or structural problems. We were astonished by some of the flaws we discovered, many that should have been noticed during promised inspections. We also found certified cars that were totaled wrecks that were rebuilt and resold, and even an SUV previously owned by the government and used in crash tests.


Because manufacturers count on their dealers to conduct the promised inspections needed to certify vehicles, certification labels are only as reliable as the diligence of the dealerships and their mechanics in doing the screening tasks and fixing any problems they find. And our research indicates they’re not always diligent. . . .


(Read the whole thing at https://www.checkbook.org/puget-sound-area/used-car-certifications-often-not-meaningful/)

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Another warning on Griftocurrency (aka "cryptocurrency")

6/3/2022

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New Analysis Finds Consumers Reported Losing More than
$1 Billion in Cryptocurrency to Scams since 2021

Most of the Losses Consumers Reported were to Bogus Cryptocurrency Investment Scams

Consumers reported losing over $1 billion to fraud involving cryptocurrencies from January 2021 through March 2022, according to a new analysis from the Federal Trade Commission. Fraud reports suggest cryptocurrency is quickly becoming the payment of choice for many scammers, with about one out of every four dollars reported lost to fraud paid in cryptocurrency.

The FTC’s latest Consumer Protection Data Spotlight finds that most of the cryptocurrency losses consumers reported involved bogus cryptocurrency investment opportunities, which totaled $575 million in reported losses since January 2021. These scams often falsely promise potential investors that they can earn huge returns by investing in their cryptocurrency schemes, but people report losing all the money they “invest.”
After cryptocurrency investment schemes, the next largest losses reported by consumers were on:
  • Romance Scams: These often involve a love interest who tries to entice someone into investing in what turns out to be a cryptocurrency scam.
  • Business and Government Impersonation Scams: Reports show these scammers often target consumers by claiming their money is at risk because of fraud or a government investigation and the only way to protect their cash is by converting it to cryptocurrency.
Reports suggest that cryptocurrency-related scams often begin on social media. Nearly half of consumers who reported a cryptocurrency related scam since 2021 said it started with an ad, post or message on a social media platform.
People ages 20 to 49 were more than three times as likely as older age groups to have reported losing money to a cryptocurrency scam. Older age groups, however, reported losing more money when they did report a cryptocurrency-related scam.

Some of the red flags consumers should watch out for include:
  • * anyone who claims they can guarantee profits or big returns by investing in cryptocurrency;
  • * people who require you to buy or pay in cryptocurrency;
  • * and a love interest who wants to show you how to invest in cryptocurrency or to send them cryptocurrency.
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and protect and educate consumers. Learn more about consumer topics at consumer.ftc.gov, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.

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One Great Way to Fight Student Debt - You Can Get a Graduate Level Education on How Online Crypto/NFT Scams Work for Free via YouTube

5/17/2022

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Anyone who has EVER thought of "investing" in cryptocurrency or "non-fungible tokens" (NFTs) should watch this priceless expose.

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Don't Paint Cryptocurrency with Such a Broad Brush!

4/26/2022

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A clever Twitter user named Pat Dennis posted this perfect gem recently:
Pat Dennis @patdennis

Sick of people calling everything in crypto a Ponzi scheme. Some crypto projects are pump and dump schemes, while others are pyramid schemes. Others are just standard-issue fraud. Others are just middlemen skimming off the top. Stop glossing over the diversity in the industry.
In all seriousness, I see a LOT of signs of bubbles and scams in the cryptocurrency space.

If anyone consulted me, I would advise clients to put no money into cryptocurrency except for money they would happily take to Vegas or Seven Feathers Casino and be absolutely OK with losing. 

As far as I can tell, sellers are the only ones for whom cryptocurrency is an investment -- for buyers, it's just Beanie Babies for nerds.  You might buy low and sell high -- or you might be the one stuck with a roomful of worthlessness. 
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Spearphishing Attacks - How they get you (and how to spot them)

4/23/2022

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So we are selling a house right now, which involves signing an absurd number of forms, many of which we have already signed, and that all have to be re-signed by everyone every time so much as a comma changes. So I'm constantly getting emails from the title company demanding that we go to a document signing website to re-sign things.

So this afternoon, I got the email in the photo on the left and thought "Great, we've got a closing date!" And I was reaching for my mouse when I remembered that we aren't even using First America Title to do the closing. So the entire email was just bait to get me to click on it -- they send them out by the millions, and some fraction of people end up snared by malware that downloads on their computer when they click on the links in the email.  This is called a "spearphishing attack."

To confirm it was spearphishing, I hovered my mouse over the sending email address, and sure enough, it has nothing to do with any real title company. It's no doubt a spoofed address for some criminal somewhere.

So good reminders:
1. Never click on links in unknown mail, especially mail made up to look all official.

2. Learn to use your mouse to hover over sender email address so you can always double check suspicious emails by seeing the actual sending email instead of just looking at the displayed email (as in the photo on the right).


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Annual Business Registration Renewal Scam Returns

4/14/2022

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So, here it is, 2022, and the old favorite scams come back like dandelions.

This one targets small and medium-sized businesses where either the owner is doing everything themselves and is too busy to read the mail really closely or where someone else opens the mail and sends the invoices to the owner for payment, but doesn't realize that this one is a scam.

I've posted about this scam in 2012 and 2019.

Remember: It ONLY COSTS $100 to renew your corporate registration ($50 for nonprofits).

You DO NOT NEED to pay these criminals $185 to do for you what you can do for $100 in five minutes flat at the Secretary of State Corporations Division Website.

You will get a REAL LETTER IN THE MAIL from the Oregon Secretary of State when it's time to renew your corporate registration. Then it will tell you how to go online and renew your registration here:

 https://secure.sos.state.or.us/cbrbr/renewal.action#stay

So don't make it easy or profitable for scammers!  Recycle that trash they mailed you, or --- better yet -- use it to train your people in how to recognize scams so that your business stays away from them entirely.

IF YOU GOT A NOTICE LIKE THE ONE SHOWN BELOW, IT IS A SCAM TRYING TO RIP YOU OFF!
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A very convincing fraudulent email - you must learn how to check actual sender email addresses

3/28/2022

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The scammers are getting better and better all the time. 

You MUST learn how to use your mouse to hover over email addresses so that the ACTUAL sender email displays, because it is very easy for scammers to fake the email address that appears in the header on your email application.

Note how well done this scam email is -- it looks pretty convincing and, to a busy person, the tempting idea of an email about disaster relief money might be just the push they need to click the link -- which leads to disaster, because this is from a scammer operating out of Germany, it is NOT from the US Small Business Administration.  Sad but true, we must learn to be appropriately suspicious of every unexpected email, ESPECIALLY any that seem to be offering something for nothing.

The top photo is what the email looks like when you glance at it in your inbox.

The bottom photo is what you see if you hover your mouse over the (faked) sender email address - hovering the mouse over the email causes the ACTUAL sender email to show up, which is when you see that it's NOT from the Small Biz Administration but rather from someone in Germany (.de is the country domain for Germany).

If you could only learn one anti-scam habit, learning to find the actual email sender is maybe the one to know.
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A reminder as the holidays approach -- beware of lonely heart scams!

11/26/2021

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Good review: Six Common Scams That Target Elders

8/12/2021

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Good review of some of the most common (most effective) scams that target elders. Always remember these safety rules:
     1) Never give any personal/private information to someone who called YOU out of the blue.
     2) Never buy anything from someone who found you and pitched you on it.
     3) You can just hang up! It's not rude to hang up on scammers.

Here are the six common scams in the article -- which is a short good read (just click on the picture).

     1) Sweepstakes/lottery ("You have won! You just need to give us your banking info . . . ")
     2) "Tech Support" ("We have detected a virus on your system, you need to give us access to your system so we can remove it . . . "
     3) "Grandchild in Need" (Grandma, I've been arrested, send money . . . !")
     4) Romance ("Send money and I'll visit you . . . ")
      5) Social Security ("Give us your bank info . . . .")
      6) Natural Disasters/Contractors ("We'll take care of everything, just give us your credit card number and we'll get started. ")


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LAWYERLY FINE PRINT:

John Gear Law Office LLC and Salem Consumer Law.  John Gear Law Office is in Suite 208B of the Security Building in downtown Salem at 161 High St. SE, across from the Elsinore Theater, a half-block south of Marion County Courthouse, just south of State Street. There is abundant, free 3-hour on-street parking throughout downtown Salem, and three multi-story parking ramps that offer free customer parking in downtown Salem too.

Our attorneys are only licensed to practice law in Oregon. This site may be considered advertising under Oregon State Bar rules. There is no legal advice on this site so you should not interpret anything you read here as intended for your particular situation. Besides, we are not representing you and we are not your attorneys unless you have hired us by entering into a representation agreement with me. While we do want you to consider us when you seek an attorney, you should not hire any attorney based on brochures, websites, advertising, or other promotional materials.  All original content on this site is Copyright John Gear, 2010-2022.

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