Scam Squad

Many modern families do not visit their elderly relatives as often as they would like or should in order to see if they are being treated well by their caretakers. With massive budget cuts and deregulation, corporate greed and computer automation, elder abuse is rapidly rising as more and more elderly relatives become isolated and forgotten about except for the quick drop-by during the Holiday Sea...

The Phony Debt Collector Scam has been hitting us hard the past few weeks. Crooks will call and claim that you owe money for all kinds of things. and then threaten to wreck your credit standing and even threaten to have the police put you in jail. Patti and Vicki tell us how to know real debt collectors from fraudulent ones and give out phone numbers of agencies that fight against scams like this.

Beware of people who approach you in parking lots that offer to fix the dents in your car right there in the parking lot for a cut rate price. Almost all of them are cons and scammers that will quote you a low price, but will find ways and excuses for jacking the price up really high. When they're done, changes are they fixed more dents that were agreed upon and will insist that you pay a small fo...

The Grandparents Scam is an old scam that just keeps hanging on, mostly because so many of us post a lot of information about us and often our whole families on social media sites such as Facebook. This information is used by crooks in order to be so successful at pulling off the old Grandparents Scam again and again. Find out how crooks take information off your Facebook and other social media si...

Warning, the Phony Tech Support Scam has been running out of control lately in Santa Barbara County, costing business and individuals tens of millions of dollars. This is a very DANGEROUS SCAM because it allows crooks to get your credit card and personal information as well as wreck your computer. This week, Patti Teel and D.A. Vicki Johnson get the latest info on this scam from Laurel Sykes the C...

This week Vicki and Patti talk over the most common scams currently being called into our local Sherriff's Dept. Shockingly, according to the FBI, most of the fake kidnapping calls are coming from inmates inside the Mexican prisons and jails while an accomplist in the U.S. collects the ransom money and sends it to the Mexican mafia. Learn more by listening to this podcast.

Patti Teel and Deputy D.A. Vicki Johnson interview a new guest who had a near miss with a romance scam. Listen to all the horrible details of how these crooks romance women out of their entire life's savings.

This week, Patti and Vicki ask Sheriff's receptionists what it is like being first responders to phone calls from victims of all kinds of heartless and mean spirited scams and swindles such as the Sweetheart Swindles that have cheated so many senior aged women out of their entire life's savings.

Laurel Sykes explains the basic types of scams that are being used to defraud the public.

Laurel Sykes, Chief Risk Officer at Montecito Bank and Trust, shows us all of the most recent new angles crooks are using to swindle and cheat us out of money through the use of Phone Scams. Be sure to listen and learn about the most evil and heartless phone scams sweeping the nation and how you can protect yourselves from the possibility of losing your life savings to crooks. Don't miss this one.

Beware of phony vacation tours and cruises that offer very low prices to get you to sign up quick and very early way in advance of the start of the vacation or cruise. , When it's time for your vacation cruise, the boat and the crooks have left the port long, long time ago with your money and a very, very cold trail that's probably too hard to probably catch up and jail the crooks .

Learn how to avoid common scams. This week Patti and Vicki tell you how to avoid getting taken by crooks that use the Phone Vacation Rental Scam.

Today's guest on Scam Squad tells how an extortion emailer tried to blackmailer her. However, our guest was to wise to fall for the blackmail internet extortion scam. Listen to the details from today's guest on Scam Squad.

Crooks are sending fake bank text messages to victims who fall for them and lose money and personal information.

Watch out for phony Medicare phone calls from crooks pretending to be Medicare agents asking you for all of your personal information

Laurel Sykes, from Montecito Bank and Trust explains how the Mystery Shopper Scam works.

Work at home scam

Scam Squad - Credit Card Skimming by Hub for Podcasting

Credit Card Skimming - 071418 by Hub for Podcasting

Join the Scam Squad movement. Learn how to avoid being scammed, and share what you learn with others. Together, we can stop scammers in their tracks!

Join the Scam Squad movement. Learn how to avoid being scammed, and share what you learn with others. Together, we can stop scammers in their tracks!

Join the Scam Squad movement. Learn how to avoid being scammed, and share what you learn with others. Together, we can stop scammers in their tracks!

Join the Scam Squad movement. Learn how to avoid being scammed, and share what you learn with others. Together, we can stop scammers in their tracks!

Join the Scam Squad movement. Learn how to avoid being scammed, and share what you learn with others. Together, we can stop scammers in their tracks!

Join the Scam Squad movement. Learn how to avoid being scammed, and share what you learn with others. Together, we can stop scammers in their tracks!