Scam Squad

November 16th, 2019. Fake Products Online. Now that the holidays are here, we need to watch out for thousands of dangerous counterfeit and banned items for sale on the internet, especially from Amazon. Listen to Vicki explain the details so that you will be prepared to safeguard you and your family from buying these dangerous items online.

Nov 9, 2019. The Lottery Scams. Hear how a senior couple got cheated out of $30,000 in a Lottery Scam and what you can do to protect yourself from this scam that's been around for many decaces.

November 2nd, 2019. Protect your bank accounts and cards while on vacationing.

October 26th, 2019. SOCIAL SECURITY SCAM. Another woman was swindled out of all her life savings, over $30,000.00 in an elaborate Social Security fraud and scam. Listen to Patti and Vicki retell all the frightening details of the latest scam on Scam Squad.

October 19, 2019. INTERNET DATING ROMANCE SCAMS. Learn how to spot the crooks who take advantage of those looking for love on dating and romance websites. There are a lot of impostors calling from out of the U.S., that are very skilled are romancing people out of there money. Learn all about it in this week's episode.

October 5th, 2019. Yes, even highly intelligent and cautions people fall victims of scams, especially the Grandparents Scam. Hear how a very smart and cautious woman got taken for over $4,000 by a group of con-artists acting out the drama known as The Grandparents Scam.

September 28, 2019. Doris, the Chief Risk Officer, from Montecito Bank and Trust, goes over the recent bank scams being played now, such as the ACH Scam.

September 21st, 2019. SPECIAL BBB INTERVIEW. This week on Scam Squad, we have a special 28 minute interview with The Better Business Bureau as well as an example of the BBB's new radio and podcast show. Scam Squad and the BBB is a one - two punch against scams and scammers. Both provide information and action against scams and consumer fraud as well as prosecuting those who scam and defraud our ci...

September 12, 2019, Affinity fraud is a form of investment fraud in which the fraudster preys upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, language minorities, the elderly, or professional groups. The fraudsters who promote affinity scams frequently are – or successfully pretend to be – members of the group. They often enlist respected community or religious leader...

September 10th, 2019, ACH Scams are on the rise. Crooks look for and often times steal checks from mailboxes inorder to get the account and routing numbers of your checks inorder to scam you with phony ACH accounts on your checking account. Learn how to avoid being so very easily scammed by the ACH Scam.

September 7th, 2019. The Fertilizer Scam is the latest version on the door to door Home Improvement Scam. As in most of these door to door scams, the crooks offer the homeowner a very low or very reasonable price to fertilize and aureate the from lawn. However, when the job is done, the homeowner is presented with an outrageous bill because the crooks claim they had to perform extra work. The croo...

August 31, 2019. Secret Shopper Scam has been around a long time. There are agencies and employers who legitimately advertise for people to work as Secret Shoppers. However, there are also some crooks that set up phony agencies and advertise to reel in and defraud unsuspecting job hunters that want to work as secret shoppers.

August 24th, 2019. Even though your bank will credit your account from a check you deposited or cashed, be aware that the check may still bounce up to a month or more latter if it turns out to be fraudulent or phony. Listen and learn how to protect yourself from the misconception or false notion that the check you cashed or deposited must be good simply because it cleared the bank and credited you...

August 17, 2019. Beware of using those big blue US Post Office mailing bins to mail out your checks. Crooks are increasingly fishing out mail from those big blue US mailboxes and later searching for mailed checks. They will alter the checks so that they are the payee and cash them. Listen how they do it as well as how to protect yourself when mailing out your checks.

August 10, 2019. The phony email from your church is a new low for scammers and crooks. They send out a phone email to church members, asking for donations to help an emergency situation at church. Learn what the Red Flags are for this and other kinds of phony email requests for money for phony emergencies.

August 03, 2019 The Sweepstakes Scam is an old scam that remains quite prevalent even today.

July 27, 2019 - Vicki & Patti have a guest on the show who witnessed up close an attempted CAR WASH SCAM at a senior trailer park. The crooks easily obtain a list of seniors who may be vulnerable to falling for scams. They go to the victims residence and act as if a Car Washing and Auto Detailing session was set up by the victim. When the victim says they didn't not schedule such a cleaning, the c...

Two Fraud Specialists from Montecito Bank tell us how to detect, prevent, and resolve all types of fraud that can happen with bank customers. This also includes fraud scams such as the ever popular Romance Scams. Learn how to recognize the Big Red Flags of the various scams.

Beware of people trying to get you to do a FREE Genetic Screening test that is supposed to be covered by Medicare. Listen to this episode about this latest scam cooked up by crooks and scammers in our neighborhood and cities.

Watch out for misleading ads on Vacation Packages that offer to good to be true prices. Learn how to have a successful vacation without the scams.

A victim loses $11,000 by scammer posing as a Social Security investigator. Learn important tips on how not to be a victim of this type of scam.

The new Scam Tracker Risk Report is out and gives everything you'd want to know about Scam Risk Statistics. Very interesting results this year.

May 25, 2019 - BEWARE OF PEOPLE YOU MEET ON THE INTERNET AND ESPECIALLY FACEBOOK who try to get you interested in applying for a free GOVERNMENT GRANTS. There are many scams out there right now where people you meet on social media sites will try to get you to apply for grant money. They say it's free, but then end up charging you hundreds or thousands of dollars up front for fees such as shipping...

Learn how to protect against your bank accounts from being drained out by crooks who obtain your personal information.

Beware of fake police and sheriff's department calls about owing for back traffic fines where the caller keeps you on your cell phone the entire time while having you get green dot cards or similar money vouchers. The crooks know how to spoof their telephone numbers to show up on your cell phone as law enforcement agencies. Listen to the podcast to learn how to detect and prevent scams.