Federal Trade Commission- DO NOT CALL Registry

SCAM ALERTS

Spring is the time of year that travelers & gypsies start their season...paving scams, home repair scams, or just distract you while their partner goes through your home looking for money or other valuables!  A group came through Buchanan and Bedford in February!

A female and male subject were traveling together in a white pickup (and possibly a third male subject was with them).  In Buchanan the female subject pushed her way in the front door once it was opened to her, chatted, asked for a glass of water, then left with two males in the pickup truck.  (It is believed that once they realized the woman's son was there, they opted to find another target).  The next day, a female and male subject entered a home within sight of the first house.  Again, the female subject asked for a glass of water.  The male subject immediately went about searching the home.  The resident here was alone and was a bit more frail.  It is believed that he was looking for the resident's purse and when he couldn't find it, asked for $2.00 in hope of seeing where she went to get it from.  The resident refused and they left.  In Bedford, however, the victim was not so lucky.  The male and female subject used the same story about wanting a glass of water, but used a piece of linoleum to distract the resident while the male removed a wallet from the purse sitting in the living room floor.  In each incident, the subjects gave their name as "Hamilton".

Remember that if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. There have been several reports in the county where citizens have received calls offering gas coupons, movies passes, Home Depot coupons and a variety of other freebies by merely paying $3.95 for a trial membership.  The caller then will ask about your check number, the name of your bank, and the bank routing numbers so that the company can do an electronic check to directly withdraw the money from your account.  What usually happens (according to the Better Business Bureau) is that they deduct a membership fee that has been as high as $277.00 from your account. 

Sellers BEWARE!  If you are selling something in the classifieds or using an internet service, beware of any individual who wants to buy what you are selling and will have a Cashier’s Check sent to you in an amount larger than the selling price.  Normally, they will want you to wire the extra money to a foreign account, and they will make arrangements to have the item they are purchasing shipped to them.  In reality, they aren’t the least bit interested in the item you are selling.  They send you a counterfeit check that looks so real that many banks take them.  It sometimes takes about ten days for the check to be determined counterfeit.  Their hope is that the bank will release a certain amount of the funds for you to wire to them before the counterfeit is discovered.  This is one of the many angles of the Nigerian Scam.

 Reported November 2004 

·        A Botetourt Couple received a phone call from a woman identifying herself as being with Medicare.  She advised the couple that she needed to come to their home and talk to them about their insurance.  She arrived an hour later.  After viewing their life insurance policies (think about what information is on a life insurance policy…name, date of birth, social security number) and recording information, she told them that she would be in touch with them about additional information.  At no time did she give them a card, written material or any other documentation that could validate her presence there.  Normally in these situations, the person is trying to sell supplemental health insurance, but this wasn’t the case.  While at the residence, the woman used the rest room two or three times that was in another part of the house.  After she left, the family noticed that the front door was unlocked.  (Either she was stealing their information for identity theft, or she allowed someone else to come into the home while she kept them distracted in another part of the house).  At this time, nothing seems to be missing from the residence. 

Medicare nor Social Security will ever call to schedule an appointment.  They will send you a letter to contact them.

 Reported in September 2004

 §        With so much in the news about fraud today, a new scam is being seen.  A subject approached an elderly woman at her home attempting to sell “fraud insurance” to protect her in the event that credit was opened in her name or her personal information was used for other fraudulent financial ventures.

 According to the Virginia Bureau of Insurance, no such policies exist.  Most likely, this type of fraud is being committed to obtain personal information for identity theft.  In the case here, the woman wrote a check for a policy and became suspicious when the person would not give her a receipt.  Nothing has come through the bank for payment, so it is possible that this person only wanted personal information to perhaps commit some type of identity theft later. 

 §        A gentleman received a phone call one evening from the “Susan Black of United Consumers” stating that some type of computer virus had placed his checking account on her computer.  She then requested his checking account number so that the account could be removed.  (Do you see the red flags???).  Fortunately, he didn’t fall for this and after hanging up, contacted his bank so that they could watch his account for irregularities.

§        A female subject received a phone call telling her that she could get some money from the Coleman Grant Foundation that would not need to ever be paid back.  The caller would simply have to verify her bank name and account number.  Fortunately, she didn’t fall for that and refused to give her account numbers.

 §        The sweepstakes scam just never ends.  A Botetourt woman received a phone call stating that she had won a large amount of money, but she would need to go to her bank and draw out $2000 for a courier to pick up at her home.  She would then receive her money at that time.  Again, and another good fraud fighter—she didn’t fall for it!  Remember…IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS!

 §        If you EVER have a subject(s) come to your door attempting to sell you something (especially if they seem to push their way in), ask them to leave and if they don’t, call the Sheriff’s Office immediately.  Most likely they are trying to distract you while their buddies are looking for things to steal.  Remember that legitimate solicitors should be wearing a Botetourt County Solicitors Permit with their picture at all times.  This year’s permits are yellow.  They are always the same color as the current county decal.