Scam Squad

Scmsqd - 2022 - 10 - 08 - Caretaker by Hub for Podcasting

Doris Roof, Senior Fraud Specialist at Montecito Bank & Trust shares cyber -crime stats from a USA Today article. Here are some of the findings: - 84% of Americans have been scammed through social engineering - Scam victims pay out more money to scams as they get older. Victims younger than 50, on average were scammed out of $324.00 Victims in their 60's, on average, were scammed out of $426.00 Vi...

Today's special guest is Dayton Aldrich, a colleague of Vicki's and the Restitution Specialist for the District Attorney's Office in Santa Barbara. He shows real-life footage of a woman having second thoughts about stealing from a carport. When she notices that she's being filmed on a security camera, she quickly puts her loot back. The topic then turns to mail fraud. Dayton recommends that unless...

Scmsqd - 2022 - 09 - 17 - Identity Theft by Hub for Podcasting

Scmsqd - 2022 - 09 - 10 - Kidnapping Scam by Hub for Podcasting

Senior Fraud Specialist Shawn Dyer, from Montecito Bank & Trust, reports that several scams are still rampant. 1. Most recenty, people are getting emails from a scammer pretending to be from Norton Lifelock, telling you that your account has been compromised. Of course, when you email them back, or call the number in the email, they'll try to get the banking information they need to hack into your...

Scam Squad Special Guest--Dr Judy Christman Yates, (Criminologist and Financial Exploitation Specialist) SMISHING 1:15 Dr. Judy Christman Yates explains Smishing & Gives Tips to Avoid it. Here’s an example of smishing. You receive a text message. It may claim to be from a company, such as Amazon, saying that there’s a problem with your account. However, when you open the text and click on the link...

Chief Deputy Clerk in Santa Barbara County, Melinda Greene, works to protect seniors with capacity issues. If an older adult comes into the Hall of Records with someone who takes over the conversation in order to obtain a marriage license or a real estate record, the staff at the Hall of Records are on high alert and are unlikely to process the request. Instead, they are likely to contact Adult Pr...

Scmsqd - 2022 - 08 - 13 - Summer Scams by Hub for Podcasting

Special Guest, Doris Roof, (Senior Fraud Specialist from Montecito Bank & Trust), says that email compromise scams are on the riise, especiallly for businesses. Here's how it works. A business receives an email from a vendor, asking them to change the routing number and account number on their ACH deposits. If the person who receives the request believes it and makes the change, (without double ch...

GRANDPARENTS SCAM by Hub for Podcasting

Special guest, criminologist Dr Judy Christman Yates, gives advice on the legitimate way to find out if you have unclaimed money just waiting for you! But don't be fooled! Scammers are contacting people, telling them that they are a claimant in a class action lawsuit that was settled for $4,800,000. To get your share, you need to send $30 - $50 to a processing center within five days. While this i...

It's difficult for some people to understand how anyone falls for a Romance Scam. In this episode, Vicki explains how it happens and gives a real life example. An older woman named Sue lost her husband of 40 years and began reminiscing about him--posting old vaction pictures and beautiful memories on Facebook. A scammer, pretending to be a widower too, send an encouraging note, telling her to stay...

Shawn Dyer, Senior Fraud Specialist from Montecito Bank & Trust, shares the scams they're seeing more often. Here is a brief description of them: You are asked to verify a purchase. (Often, the purchase in question is said to be from Amazon or Paypal. People often panic when they think that they've been charged for a large purchase they didn't make. But BEWARE! Instead of corresponding with Amazon...

Just in time for your summer vacation, this episode delivers a warning about Airbnb Scams. Some people are shocked to find that when they arrive at their destination, their lodging is not available. There are several possible explanations that the scammer may use. You may be told that there are plumbing problems or that the lodging was damaged by the previous tennant. You may be offered inferior l...

Special Guest, Dayton Aldrich, discusses victim restitution before describing Skimmers & Malicious QR codes. These days, skimmers are harder to spot than ever before, because they may be miniscule cameras--which can record your credit card number and pin codes. The best practice to avoid skimmers is to go into the store or the gas station and to use your credit card (rather than a debit card) beca...

Workers are drawn to Cambodia through social media advertisements promising high-paying jobs. As soon as they arrive in the country, their travel documents are seized and they are held and forced by racketeers to make scam calls in their own languages. Those who refuse are subject to various forms of abuse and mistreatment. They are assaulted, whipped, and electrocuted. Some get beaten up and othe...

Doris Roof, Senior Fraud Specialist from Montecito Bank & Trust warns us about fraudsters who work in pairs to intercept the verification code sent by your bank. Here’s how it works: One crook (who pretends to be the bank customer/debit card holder) calls the bank. Most often, the crook asks for an address change, an increase in their card limit or a travel exemption. (With a travel exemption, the...

Jeanne never thought she'd be taken in by a scam. But when she received an email from her elderly neighbor, asking her to purchase gift cards for her, she never thought that it might really be a scammer... As Deputy District Attorney often says, "There's a scam for everyone." At the end of the show, Vicki shares some good news from the Department of Justice, who cracked down on medical providers w...

Don’t miss this special episode with dynamo, Debbie Deem, who formerly worked as an FBI Victim Specialist. Rather than calling herself retired, Debbie prefers the term UNLEASHED, as she continues to tirelessly advocate for fraud victims, who are often shamed and treated differently than violent crime victims. Debbie wants to break the stigma that fraud victims face. These are NOT victimless crimes...

Two scams that former FBI Victim advocate Debbie Deem talks about in this episode are the Sim Swap, where scammers get your personal information and are able to get your mobile phone carrier to transfer your phone to them and scams that involve artificial intelligence (AI). It may seem like science fiction, but more and more, scammers are able to produce audio and video recordings that sound and l...

Patti - In this episode, I describe a part-time job solicitation and offer that I received via email. In some ways it seemed legitimate. The email said that they would not ask for any money from me, and that I would receive a 1099. For just a few hours of work a week, I could make several thousand dollars. They said they wanted me to process payments--quite a vague job description. And I wondered,...

Shawn Dyer from Montecito Bank & Trust says that several of their customers have been scammed out of money just when they needed it the most. They went online searching for fast cash and unfortunately, applied for loans on fraudulent sites, giving thieves access to their banking information on the loan applicataion. Usually, they also provided the crooks with personal information that could lead t...

Don't miss this episode! A brave college student, (who we'll call Mary), shares her story to help others. Mary had just moved out of her family home when she received a phone call from a woman who claimed to be from Border Control and Customs. The officer told Mary that they had a package addressed to her. Inside the package, they claimed they'd found $70,000 in cash, illegal drugs, and fake IDs....

In this insightful episode, we'll gain an understanding of why young people become scammers in Jamaica. A woman (who called herself Candance) told her story in the Jamaica Gleaner. She describes how she followed in her brother's footsteps and quit high school to begin working as a lottery scammer. Candance said, "I left school because while it could prepare me for the future--I needed a way out NO...