Spring ushers in birds, bees and scammers
With warm weather come tourists, and with them come the scammers and crooks masquerading as tourists.
Recently a very sharp local owner of a well-known hotel/motel called me with a concern. It seems a scammer called his establishment from somewhere on the East Coast to book a block of rooms for a particularly busy time this summer. The charge was in the thousands of dollars. The caller paid for the rooms with a credit card. The innkeeper accepted the payment and ran the card to complete the transaction.
He didn’t give it much thought until the next day when, upon reflecting on his good fortune in taking such a large booking, he thought about how easy it was, and how few questions the caller had about his hotel/motel. His antenna went up and he called me to ask if I thought the transaction was legitimate or part of a scam. After talking for a few minutes, we both agreed it didn’t smell right. We decided that the best course of action was to wait for the “other shoe to drop.”
Well, it was about a week until the guy who made the booking called back. He explained that his wife had just been involved in a horrible car accident and would be convalescing from her injuries and as a result, he would be forced to cancel the reservations that he had previously made. The “masquerading tourist” went on to explain, in great detail, the car accident, the ensuing fire and his good fortune that his wife had survived. The car was totaled. In addition, his wife’s credit cards and purse were destroyed in the mishap.
Now remember, we had already identified this as a potential crook. The “tourist” then asked the innkeeper to refund the entire amount, previously charged to his NEW credit card, in that the old account had been closed and new cards issued to replace the cards damaged in the car crash. The intelligent innkeeper said no, and the crook hung up, never to be heard from again.
It turns out that the original card was “freshly stolen” and quickly used by the crook, who, in reality, had no intention of using the rooms he had reserved and paid for. From the beginning, he intended to get a “refund” paid to a different card and abscond with the money.
This scam is often attempted in towns like Coeur d’Alene, where we welcome tourists and aren’t as familiar with skilled scammers as in Las Vegas. The amount of money involved would hurt but not destroy a large hotel or hotel chain. However, the amount of money in question could seriously damage a smaller establishment.
My congratulations to the innkeeper/owner who spotted this nasty little trickster.
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YOUR NEW SOCIAL SECURITY CARD: Don’t get excited, you’re not getting one — unless YOU request a replacement because yours has been lost or damaged.
The scam works like this:
The caller pretends to be from the Social Security Administration and explains that the government is replacing all Social Security cards with new cards with tamper-proof features and a chip, like most credit cards being issued today. Of course, in order to receive your new card, you are required to confirm ALL your personal identification information before your new card can be sent to you.
The caller sounds very official and after getting your name, as it appears on your old card, your actual Social Security number, birthdate, address, and any other information they can wheedle out of you, assures you that your new card will be in the mail tomorrow. NOT!
You have just been scammed big time. You have opened yourself up to identity theft and made it simple for the bad guys to use your info. While they’re at it, if you’re particularly cooperative (naive), they might even take a shot at getting you to turn over your bank account number and maybe event a credit card number, expiration date and security code, just to confirm who you are.
BILL’S TIP: NEVER GIVE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY OR BANK OR CREDIT CARD INFO TO SOMEONE WHO CALLS YOU — NEVER! Call me first if you have a question.
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THE SATELLITE HAS MOVED: Lately, crooks have been calling subscribers to satellite television services like DirecTV and Dish and “informing” them that due to technical issues, the satellite sending the signal to their home dish is being moved to a new orbit. For subscribers to continue to receive television programming, all subscribers are being required to exchange their old satellite boxes with the new boxes that have been programmed for the new satellite.
They say they’re calling you to arrange for the exchange and that you will only be out of service for a couple of hours. They go on to explain that a company like UPS or FedEx will deliver your new equipment, as soon as your old satellite box is received. There is no charge for your new box, beyond what you are already paying. Sometimes the caller even offers the subscriber a 10 percent discount for the next year to “thank you” for your cooperation in making this change.
The only thing they ask you to do is provide your credit card information “for security purposes.” As soon as they receive your OLD box, your credit card will be refunded the entire cost of the NEW satellite box. That’s how the scam goes. They get your info, charge and keep the money, nobody comes to pick up or drop off any satellite box — ever.
MY ADVICE: Hang up on these thieves, or like my friend Nettie, tell them to “&$%# Off and Die” and again like Nettie, if you really don’t like them, tell them to “&$%# Off And Die Poor!”
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MEDICARE CARDS: There WILL be new Medicare cards issued in 2018; at least that’s the plan. They could have new security features embedded in them like a computer chip.
REMEMBER, THOUGH: Any calls offering you the new cards are scam calls. The new cards will be sent directly to you in the good old U.S. mail. Again, you know the drill — if you have questions — call me.
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REMEMBER BILL BROOKS: “He’s On Your Side”
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I have many more tips and interesting cases that I’m working on. Call me at 208-699-0506, or email me at BillBrooksAdvocate@gmail.com or fax me at 866-362-9266. (#GoGetEmBillBrooks) You can follow me at www.billbrooksconsumer advocate.com. I am available to speak about consumerism to schools, and local and civic groups. Bill Brooks is a consumer advocate and the broker and owner of Bill Brooks Real Estate in Coeur d’Alene.