Online Scams – Don’t End Up a Victim
Since I moved Florida Document Specialists to its new office location in the Professional Building in downtown
Daytona Beach, I have been blessed with lots of new customers, and I have been
keeping quite busy. Hardly a day goes by
without helping someone with document preparation for their divorce, wills, trusts, or other situations.
Although I pay to advertise in
some periodicals like the Daytona Beach Pennysaver, most of my local customers answer ads that I have placed on Craigslist in the Daytona Beach
legal services section. Craigslist can
be a wonderful tool for finding goods and services, but it is also saturated
with scam artists hoping to make you their next victim. You would be surprised how many honest,
trusting people fall prey every day.
Every now and then someone will
call or stop by hoping to get help after being scammed. In all of the cases, nothing can be
done. The scammers are professionals,
and most of them operate from overseas.
You can report online scams to the police or federal
authorities, but there is a 99.9% chance that you will never see your money
again.
From time to time I will be
updating this article with the stories of real-life local victims that have
called me and told me their stories. Of course, I will
not divulge their names. Getting scammed is embarrassing.
The best way to combat Internet scams is education.
I can offer you one GOLDEN RULE that should keep you safe
from MOST scams online:
NEVER, EVER, WIRE MONEY (WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM, GREEN DOT,
WAL-MART)
TO ANYONE!
THIS INCLUDES BANK TO BANK MONEY TRANSFERS WITH A ROUTING NUMBER
There is not a legitimate
business or “seller” anywhere that would request a wire transfer or bank
transfer. If you send money in this
fashion, kiss it goodbye. No one will be
able to help you.
Please re-read what I have said
above. If someone requests that you send
them money via a, “Wire” transfer, YOU ARE BEING SCAMMED. PERIOD.
THE TIMESHARE SALES SCAM
Here is a sad story of a local
Ormond Beach woman being scammed this week.
We will call her Darla.
Darla owns a timeshare condo
unit in Daytona Beach. She used to use
it frequently, but she has decided to sell it. She lives up north.
Darla posted the unit for sale on
many different websites that specialize in timeshare sales. She even posted on Craigslist.
Darla soon got a call from a, “company”
specializing in matching buyers with sellers.
The caller was extremely professional and knowledgeable and provided a
business address, (later found to be a vacant apartment) and phone number. The caller assured Darla that he had found a
buyer for her timeshare at the asking price.
All that was needed was a processing fee to cover legal document
searches, doc stamps, blah, blah, blah.
Darla wired the “company” $1,325
to cover the fees needed to “close” the sale.
The criminal gave Darla a Bank of America routing and account number, and you can probably figure out what happened next.
Of course, no one is answering
the phone now. Darla has lost her money,
and she has zero chance of fighting back against these savvy criminals.
Read my golden rule above. NEVER conduct business with a transfer of
money directly into someone’s bank account.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF LONELY, TRUSTING WOMEN (Romance / Dating Scam)
I am particularly repulsed by this common scam. Online dating is becoming very popular, and there are lots of dating websites out there where single women can post their profiles in hopes of finding true love.
This scam is most always perpetrated by criminals overseas. Common warning signs of this scam are when the man claims he is stationed in the military overseas or works for a business that requires him to travel overseas to work on projects for his company. The man will often claim to be a single parent.
These scammers are very patient. They will spend weeks gaining the trust of their victims through numerous e-mail exchanges, online chats and even real phone calls. If the scam moves to the telephone, the victim will often notice that the man speaks with an accent. One woman I know was sent a bouquet of flowers after she was foolish enough to provide her home address.
Then suddenly at some point the man will either have a travel emergency or concoct some other situation that will play on the victim's sense of compassion:
1. Lost Wallet, Lost Plane Tickets, Stuck at the Airport (Needs new ticket, motel/food money)
2. Has a chance to "retire early" from the military and needs a processing fee for paperwork.
3. Son/Daughter has fallen ill, and the hospital in Nigeria won't accept his credit card.
4. Expensive tools were stolen from his luggage and he needs immediate replacements for work.
5. Anything else that you can imagine.
And of course, the only solution to the new boyfriend's problem is a wire transfer via Western Union, etc. Once the money starts flowing, the victim is plucked like a chicken for as much as the scammer can get away with. Then, his "disposable" cell phone will no longer work and the victim will never hear from him again.
I just found a helpful link with more information in this subject:
CAR SALE SCAM FROM CRAIGSLIST INVOLVING EBAY
This is a very common scam that works well. It plays upon any ignorance about how eBay works.
The victim looks through Craigslist and finds an ad for a nice car at a very attractive price. The car is most always located out of state. Why anyone would buy a car without looking at it in person is beyond me, but greed takes over and the bait is taken.
Once the buyer (victim) contacts the seller (scammer), the seller will tell the buyer that he want's to, "do things right" by using eBay and the go-between agent for the safety of both of them.
Soon, the victim will receive a very impressive counterfeit e-mail claiming to be from a personal sales agent at eBay. The e-mail is professionally done with eBay logos, etc. The "personal agent" assures the victim that he will be handling the sale via eBay. Then, the "eBay agent" tells the victim to wire money (Western Union or Bank Transfer) to "eBay", and he provides detailed instructions. The victim wires the money, and it is gone forever.
1. eBay is not involved with ANY craigslist ads.
2. eBay does not have agents, personal representatives or anything of the sort.
3. Read the Golden Rule above. Wire transfers = SCAM.
If you have been victimized by this scam, you will never see your money again. I'm very sorry.
Here is a good page from eBay giving more detail on protecting yourself from this type of online scam:
Great advice. Thank you.
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