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Current Scams
Canadian Lottery & Sweepstakes Scams
Usually a letter is received stating you have won the Canadian Lottery and it will be accompanied by a check from a company not related to Canada. The checks are usually between $1,200.00 and $4,900.00 and the victim is asked to deposit the check in their bank and wire a portion of the check to Canada for taxes. The wire will be picked up in Canada within 20 minutes and untraceable and the check will come back 7-10 days later Closed account, NSF, or Counterfeit. The victim is now out the money wired and owes the bank for the returned check.
Action - Customer can bring this information to the bank for verification and the U.S. Postal Inspectors handle these cases, a complaint can be made in person, or online at https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/.
Secret Shopper & Work from Home Scams
Almost identical to the lottery and sweepstakes scam. Usually a letter or email is received stating you have the opportunities to become employed or make additional income from working for this company; company is usually bogus. The letter will once again be accompanied by a check, usually between $1,200.00 and $4,900.00 and the victim is asked to deposit the check in their bank. They are then instructed to complete a survey for several large retailers the US, but the first is to score Western Union or Money Gram for their customer service skills. The check you received is separated into how much to spend at each business and you are asked to wire a set amount (the larges amount), via one of the wiring companies to Canada or in some cases a large US city. Within 20 minutes the money is picked up on the other end and once again untraceable. The deposited check will come back 7-10 days later closed account, NSF, or Counterfeit. The victim is now out the money wired and owes the bank for the returned check.
Action - Customer can bring this information to the bank for verification and the U.S. Postal Inspectors handle these cases, a complaint can be made in person, or online at https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/.
Cell Phone Texting Scam
Victims will receive a text message from someone claiming to be a bank, or law enforcement agency stating their debit or credit card has been used fraudulently. When the victim calls, or texts back they ask for the card number, expiration and CVV (Visa), CVC (MasterCard) three digit code on the back of the card. The fraudsters now have everything needed to shop online, or counterfeit a card with their information.
Action - Customer should contact their cell phone carrier to file a complaint and never give out personal information via texting and contact your State Attorney General's office http://ago.mo.gov/ to complain about cell phone texting from third parties.
Phone or Email Phishing Scams
This starts with a phone call where the bad guy will identify themselves as Visa, MasterCard, FDIC, or Law Enforcement stating there is a possible fraud on their account and asking the customer to verify the credit, or debit card number expiration and CVV (Visa), CVC (MasterCard) three digit code on the back of the card. In some cases the bad guys will ask to verify date of birth and/or mother’s maiden name. This will supply all the information to commit identity theft on a customer.
Action - MasterCard, Visa, Law Enforcement, and the FDIC will never have any customer information, so they would never contact you directly. Contact your phone carrier and file a complaint. If a caller ID number is available, then contact your State Attorney General's office to complain about this company not following the State Do Not Call List. You have to be registered on the Missouri No Call List to file this complaint, but to register or file an online complaint go to http://ago.mo.gov/.
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