Scam Squad

Thank you to Montecito Bank and Trust for making Scam Squad possible. This episode features Montecito Bank and Trust’s very own Senior Fraud Specialist, Shawn Dyer. When mailing checks at the big blue post office boxes, it is important for people to be aware that these mailboxes are targets of theft. Fraudsters also steal account information, write themselves counterfeit checks, and try to pass it...

Online shopping scams and tech support scams are the two scams most likely to trap seniors. Shopping scams also often happen to people who are actively searching for a particular product on the internet. Online shoppers can be enticed by a reduced price on a specific item or shoppers can stumble upon items that are otherwise difficult to find. The most risky items to buy online are pets and pet su...

This week on Scam Squad, Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson shares a warning that she received from the FBI, regarding potential charity fraud associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic. If you feel called to donate to charity, listen to this episode to get tips about what to look for when donating. If you want to learn more about a particular charity, you can learn more by searching about that cha...

Our guest, Sue, called in on our fraud hotline to report that her purse was stolen at the grocery store! Believe it or not, there are groups of people who go into grocery stores for the sole reason of stealing people's purses! Shoppers beware of strangers starting suspicious, 'random' conversations and do not leave your purse or valuables unattended! To report a scam or if you believe you have bee...

This episode of Scam Squad welcomes Senior Fraud Specialist from Montecito Bank and Trust, Shawn Dyer. In this episode Shawn discusses Utility Scams, Tech Support Scams, and she warns about automatic “robo-calls”. Tech Support scams occur when you are on your computer and you see an internet pop-up claiming that you need to fix your computer. Or the pop-up says you have a virus etc. It is true tha...

This episode of Scam Squad features Dr. Judy Christman Yates a criminologist, specializing in financial exploitation. Judy shares the latest news on financial crimes and discusses how scammers use fear tactics to take advantage of unsuspecting people. To report a scam or if you believe you have been scammed, call Vicki Johnson at 805.568.2442

This week’s special guest, Susan, contacted Vicki via the fraud hotline. Susan found out that she was lured into a scam by receiving a phone call allegedly from Amazon. The scammers offered to send Susan money as a rebate, as long as Susan provided sensitive information like bank account information. To report a scam or if you believe you have been scammed, call Vicki Johnson at 805.568.2442

Scam Squad welcomes this week’s special guest, who contacted Vicki Johnson via the fraud hotline. One day, our guest received a phone call from El Paso, Texas, allegedly from the Social Security Administration and the DEA, notifying her that she is being monitored because her social security number is involved in various crimes. Even scammers will wrongfully impersonate authority figures! To repor...

Scam Squad would like to welcome this week’s special guest Doris Roof. Doris Roof is the Senior Fraud Specialist for Montecito Bank and Trust. She is on the show today to tell us about some scams that are all too commonplace. One common scam is a sweepstakes scam; where scammers claim that you are the winner of a large sum of money – but you won’t go claiming that prize unless you send them money...

This week’s episode of Scam squad features special guest, Joni Maiden. Joni is now the director of Santa Barbara County’s Department of Child Support Services and Co-chair of SB County’s Census 2020 Complete Count Committee. Joni shares information about the census, which is conducted every 10 years. Anyone can go online to complete the census at www.my2020census.gov or English Speakers can call 8...

Special guest Marie called the fraud hotline because her 83 year old mother had gotten involved in a scam and lost a considerable amount of money. Marie’s mother was called by a man who claimed to be from Apple Computers. The fake Apple representative insisted that her system was hacked and the only solution was to purchase and send gift cards to the perpetrators. To report a scam or if you believ...

According to new data from the federal trade commission, the most common scam during the pandemic is Identity Theft. Particularly, fraudsters are filing fraudulent unemployment claims with a false identity. It is rumored that certain identity thieves have multiple government checks, addressed to different names, coming to one address. If you believe that you have been victim of identity theft, and...

This episode tells the story of a friendly stranger who suddenly enters the life of a lonely senior. In this particular instance, a young woman befriended an older gentlemen and ended up stealing millions! Countless stories similar to this continue to play out and we are warning others to not be fooled. To report a scam or if you believe you have been scammed, call Vicki Johnson at 805.568.2442

On this episode of Scam Squad we are proud to welcome back senior fraud specialist at Montecito bank and trust, Shawn Dyer. Shawn reports on some reoccurring scams that target elders, specifically because the scammers use the US mail. Elders are more likely to be scammed via the USPS because young people most frequently use digital mail. People are receiving letters, addressed to them according to...

Join Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson and host Patti Teel as Vicki shares some important social media scams that are too frequently reoccurring. Social media potentially houses sensitive personal information. This lures fraudsters to phish unsuspecting browsers with fraudulent messages by making false claims or fake friend requests. In our last episode we talked about fraudulent friend reque...

The week’s episode of Scam Squad features Santa Barbara community member Jeanne West. Jeanne has been a long-time advocate for senior wellness in the Santa Barbara community, serving as a member of the Santa Barbara County Elder Dependent Adult Abuse Prevention Counsel for 25 years. Now Jeanne works as a Community Engagement Manager at Hospice of Santa Barbara. Jeanne is here to talk to us about v...

This episode of Scam Squad features Montecito Bank and Trust Fraud Manager, Doris Roof. Doris sees many different types of scams at the bank. With social distancing in place, there are many fraudulent offers for ‘work at home’ job opportunities. Beware of offers that ask you to buy gift cards as a ‘mystery shopper’. Also fraudsters ask for personal information via text message. Scammers often pose...

We know that scams tend to recirculate. Some scams are seasonal, and even predictable, leaving us to wonder if scammers still think they can get away with old tricks. One scam we cover today is an example of a reemerging classic style scam, involving a phony letter from the Bank of Singapore, Hong Kong. We also provide our listeners with up to date Covid-19 scams. To report a scam or if you believ...

Through our show, we hope that our listeners are up to date about current scams going around in the market. It is not surprising that we see increased scams related to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson continually receives notices and warnings from the FBI and Department of Justice about COVID-19 scams. Scammers are posing as COVID-19 ‘contact tracing’ agents an...

Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson reminds our listeners about the many different forms of scams that take place. In a scam, what separates victims from non-victims? A recent study suggests that out of 1400 people who reported a scam, about half did not engage the scammer at all. Around 30% of people engaged the scammer but did not lose money. 23% of people engaged the scammer and lost money....

Deputy district Attorney Vicki Johnson interviews a guest, Paulie, about an Amazon Credit Card Fraud Scam. Paulie, received an ‘order confirmation’ email from what appeared to be an Amazon Order. Paulie and her husband never placed the reported order from Amazon and proceeded to contact the listed phone number for the fraud department. This was an elaborate scam that our professional fraud investi...

This episode of Scam Squad features Senior Fraud Specialist at Montecito Bank and Trust, Shawn Dyer. Shawn talks about a few familiar scams that seem to continuously reoccur. E-mail compromise and tech-support scams continuously plague the market. Luckily for consumers, scams are easily recognized and avoided when proper precautions are taken. E-mail compromise happens when a scammer sends an emai...

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was launched at the United Nations on June 15th, 2006. This is an international effort to raise awareness within the global community about elder abuse. WEAAD serves as a call to action for our communities to educate people about abuse, neglect, and the exploitation of seniors. Elder abuse is a crime in the United States that is largely unrecognized or unrep...

UNEMPLOYEMENT FRAUD by Hub for Podcasting

Special guest Dayton Aldridge shares with us the reality of ‘voice cloning’ and ‘artificial intelligence’. As artificial intelligence becomes more common-place, computers are talking among themselves to provide better search results to human users. With each passing day, A.I. is gathering more data from the general population in order to become more advanced. As A.I. application becomes more wides...