Post by kas on Feb 27, 2012 15:40:38 GMT -5
Fraud Alert: ‘Imagination’ is the Only Limit for Online Scams
Police urge residents to avoid falling victim to scam artists who are constantly changing their plots to target the next victim.
By Jason Vallee Email the author February 23, 2012
A lonely 29-year-old man creates a profile to an online dating site and a short time later he receives a message from an attractive woman who would rather chat privately via email than going through the dating service.
Cautious but hopeful, he sends her a message. The next day she responds with pictures and a detailed story of who she is and what she likes, which leads to a week of back-and-forth conversations every day, as the two seemingly make a real and personal love connection.
There is no happy ending here, however. The 29-year-old is left heartbroken and several hundred dollars in the hole after he discovers the whole thing was simply a ploy to tug on his emotions and get him to willingly hand over his money to help the “damsel in distress” and her sick mother.
Welcome to the world of online scams, where the only limit to the ways you could be targeted lie within the minds of those perpetrating the scams.
“In today’s world of Internet profiles, social media and online databases, the only thing limiting what a scam artist can do is their own imagination,” said Southington Police Sgt. Lowell DePalma. “It’s not just phishing anymore. There’s a new kind of scam every week.”
The Facts About Online Scams
Online fraud has increased by more than 70 percent since 2007 with more than 300,000 complaints filed in the United States in 2010 alone, according to a study conducted by ConsumerFraudReporting.org. The scams led to more than $270 million in losses for U.S. residents.
Those who filed complaints had losses of nearly $1,000 per person, the study showed.
The worst part, state police said this week, is that despite receiving thousands of complaints each year, it is nearly impossible to trace the money once the victim turns it over.
Lt. J. Paul Vance, a public information officer with Connecticut State Police, said the cases often cross state lines and even into foreign countries, making it impossible to chase down those who are committing the fraud. Worse yet, even the paths used to transfer money are untraceable.
“Unfortunately for the victims, once the money has been sent we are forced to tell them it’s gone,” Vance said Wednesday. “The retrieval rates in online and telephone scams are very, very low. We have thousands who contact us for help and maybe a handful of the cases will actually lead to resolution.”
DePalma said that in Southington, the department receives several complaints each month. One of the most recent victims, who filed a complaint last week, was an elderly woman who fell prey to the “Canadian DUI scam” that has grown in popularity over the past five years.
The scam starts with a phone call to an elderly resident, man or woman, from a young male who claims he is the resident's “grandson.” He has been arrested in Canada after he was in an accident and found to have been under the influence at the time, the perpetrator tells his victim.
Playing on the emotions of the intended target, the “grandson” pleads for help and begs the grandparent not to call his parents, claiming he is “embarrassed and doesn’t want to tell them yet.”
“In this situation, the elderly resident gave her credit card number and provided him with $4,500 for bond and court fees,” DePalma said. “She learned the next day that her grandson had never left the state, but by that time it was too late.”
Elderly residents are often the primary targets for online scam artists, Vance said, although it doesn’t stop there. Anyone can be targeted using emotions – love, compassion and fear are three of the most commonly used – and the ways that people are scammed change on a daily basis.
The perpetrators often seek anywhere from just a couple hundred to several thousand dollars, Vance said.
Inside the Makings of a Scam
In compiling research for this article, I let myself “fall victim” to an online scam. I did not lose money, knowing going in what the end result would likely be. I never intended to follow through in providing cash, but the experience gave me some insight into how the scam artists work.
Meet “Tracy Eveyln Fabian,” a 29-year-old with both American and Malaysian roots who purportedly lives in Bloomfield. She claims to work for the Hewlett-Packard Company as a sales manager and, after a bad experience, turned to online dating to find her true soul mate.
Seems innocent enough, right?
“Tracy” contacted me through an old Zoosk account I had, one that is not fully active because I am not a paying member. I still receive notice when I get a message, however, and can read the first portion of that message through my personal email account. In her message to me, she immediately states that she’s not had luck and would be deactivating her account soon – a preemptive strike for when they take her profile down.
Knowing in advance where this was actually going, I played along. I took her email and sent a brief but direct message telling her just a little about myself and encouraging her to write back soon. Sure enough I received an email the next morning.
It didn’t take long for her back story to come out. She opened up in just her second email, telling me that her boyfriend had cheated on her and she has been single for a while now. She claimed to have lost her American-born dad at the age of 10 and her mother moved back to Malaysia when she was 25.
She also told me that she was currently in Malaysia to help her sick mother and while mom was healing well, she wouldn’t be back for a week or two. In that email, “Tracy” also sent three pictures and asked more than a half dozen questions about me.
I responded by providing her a lot of details about my life, providing sympathy for her back-story. I did not lie about who I am, but I also was careful not to lie or share information that you couldn’t learn by searching my name online.
She sent a third email, this time detailing her favorite things to do and goals in life. She also asks me for photographs of myself. I reply, sending back photos (again only the ones available already through Facebook) and we enter a good conversation that lasts for nearly a dozen messages.
That’s when the scam finally becomes crystal clear. “Tracy” wrote me after we discussed a list of fun activities we’d like to do together, making a plea for help.
“I am just coming back from the hospital right now. Yesterday evening I had an emergency and my mom’s condition is very critical,” she wrote. “Baby, I don't feel comfortable to ask you for help but due to my mom’s critical condition now, I don't know maybe you can help me out with some funds to get the drugs she needs. Baby my mom and I will really appreciate you a lot. I pray God will bless you abundantly. Hope to from you soon.”
I hesitate and send her an email saying I don’t have much. I offer help in other ways, saying I have friends in the medical field, asking what the disease and drugs are that she needs. She writes back and says the drugs are needed for a kidney disorder and that she has $250 already and says, “I only need $200 more.”
In a follow up email, I agree. I ask how to send the money and she immediately provides me with an email that includes Western Union information, as shown in the screen shot above.
Three days have passed and I never sent any money, never intended to. DePalma and Vance said thousands across the state send the cash and then never hear back.
The Electronic Trail to Nowhere
“Tracy” claimed to be from Bloomfield, but research through several reverse email lookups revealed that the account was created a few years back in Sunnyvale, Calif. The account had “no owner” and all mail was being forwarded to a second account that I could not obtain. The email had been used to create dozens of social profiles on dating network sites.
Unfortunately, this type of secondhand contact makes the lines difficult, if not impossible, to trace, Vance said. The networks established to transfer the cash are even more difficult to follow.
The majority of scams start with a Western Union or other money transfer request and if the person claims not to have the money, the perpetrators will seek credit card information. The money transfers or credit information is then used to obtain the cash, which is then transferred again and picked up by a third party elsewhere.
Once received, the third party will put the money in a separate bank account and transfer it again, keeping a small amount as a “fee.” The third party will often be involved in just a couple transfers per year, police said.
In some situations, the money will be put into a foreign account and even forwarded again, making it completely untraceable at this point, Vance said. The entire exchange takes just a matter of hours to finish.
“We will work to follow it as far as we can, but it often leads to dead ends,” Vance said.
Protecting Yourself
Both Vance and DePalma said the most effective way to guard your money is to remain skeptical at all times, even when transferring the money might seem like a safe bet.
Don’t simply check and double check your sources, Vance said; make sure 100 percent that you can determine exactly where your money is going. If there is any doubt whatsoever, Vance said it’s time to back away.
"The best way to avoid falling victim really is to just never transfer money to someone you've only talked to over the phone or met online," Vance said.
Police urge residents to avoid falling victim to scam artists who are constantly changing their plots to target the next victim.
By Jason Vallee Email the author February 23, 2012
A lonely 29-year-old man creates a profile to an online dating site and a short time later he receives a message from an attractive woman who would rather chat privately via email than going through the dating service.
Cautious but hopeful, he sends her a message. The next day she responds with pictures and a detailed story of who she is and what she likes, which leads to a week of back-and-forth conversations every day, as the two seemingly make a real and personal love connection.
There is no happy ending here, however. The 29-year-old is left heartbroken and several hundred dollars in the hole after he discovers the whole thing was simply a ploy to tug on his emotions and get him to willingly hand over his money to help the “damsel in distress” and her sick mother.
Welcome to the world of online scams, where the only limit to the ways you could be targeted lie within the minds of those perpetrating the scams.
“In today’s world of Internet profiles, social media and online databases, the only thing limiting what a scam artist can do is their own imagination,” said Southington Police Sgt. Lowell DePalma. “It’s not just phishing anymore. There’s a new kind of scam every week.”
The Facts About Online Scams
Online fraud has increased by more than 70 percent since 2007 with more than 300,000 complaints filed in the United States in 2010 alone, according to a study conducted by ConsumerFraudReporting.org. The scams led to more than $270 million in losses for U.S. residents.
Those who filed complaints had losses of nearly $1,000 per person, the study showed.
The worst part, state police said this week, is that despite receiving thousands of complaints each year, it is nearly impossible to trace the money once the victim turns it over.
Lt. J. Paul Vance, a public information officer with Connecticut State Police, said the cases often cross state lines and even into foreign countries, making it impossible to chase down those who are committing the fraud. Worse yet, even the paths used to transfer money are untraceable.
“Unfortunately for the victims, once the money has been sent we are forced to tell them it’s gone,” Vance said Wednesday. “The retrieval rates in online and telephone scams are very, very low. We have thousands who contact us for help and maybe a handful of the cases will actually lead to resolution.”
DePalma said that in Southington, the department receives several complaints each month. One of the most recent victims, who filed a complaint last week, was an elderly woman who fell prey to the “Canadian DUI scam” that has grown in popularity over the past five years.
The scam starts with a phone call to an elderly resident, man or woman, from a young male who claims he is the resident's “grandson.” He has been arrested in Canada after he was in an accident and found to have been under the influence at the time, the perpetrator tells his victim.
Playing on the emotions of the intended target, the “grandson” pleads for help and begs the grandparent not to call his parents, claiming he is “embarrassed and doesn’t want to tell them yet.”
“In this situation, the elderly resident gave her credit card number and provided him with $4,500 for bond and court fees,” DePalma said. “She learned the next day that her grandson had never left the state, but by that time it was too late.”
Elderly residents are often the primary targets for online scam artists, Vance said, although it doesn’t stop there. Anyone can be targeted using emotions – love, compassion and fear are three of the most commonly used – and the ways that people are scammed change on a daily basis.
The perpetrators often seek anywhere from just a couple hundred to several thousand dollars, Vance said.
Inside the Makings of a Scam
In compiling research for this article, I let myself “fall victim” to an online scam. I did not lose money, knowing going in what the end result would likely be. I never intended to follow through in providing cash, but the experience gave me some insight into how the scam artists work.
Meet “Tracy Eveyln Fabian,” a 29-year-old with both American and Malaysian roots who purportedly lives in Bloomfield. She claims to work for the Hewlett-Packard Company as a sales manager and, after a bad experience, turned to online dating to find her true soul mate.
Seems innocent enough, right?
“Tracy” contacted me through an old Zoosk account I had, one that is not fully active because I am not a paying member. I still receive notice when I get a message, however, and can read the first portion of that message through my personal email account. In her message to me, she immediately states that she’s not had luck and would be deactivating her account soon – a preemptive strike for when they take her profile down.
Knowing in advance where this was actually going, I played along. I took her email and sent a brief but direct message telling her just a little about myself and encouraging her to write back soon. Sure enough I received an email the next morning.
It didn’t take long for her back story to come out. She opened up in just her second email, telling me that her boyfriend had cheated on her and she has been single for a while now. She claimed to have lost her American-born dad at the age of 10 and her mother moved back to Malaysia when she was 25.
She also told me that she was currently in Malaysia to help her sick mother and while mom was healing well, she wouldn’t be back for a week or two. In that email, “Tracy” also sent three pictures and asked more than a half dozen questions about me.
I responded by providing her a lot of details about my life, providing sympathy for her back-story. I did not lie about who I am, but I also was careful not to lie or share information that you couldn’t learn by searching my name online.
She sent a third email, this time detailing her favorite things to do and goals in life. She also asks me for photographs of myself. I reply, sending back photos (again only the ones available already through Facebook) and we enter a good conversation that lasts for nearly a dozen messages.
That’s when the scam finally becomes crystal clear. “Tracy” wrote me after we discussed a list of fun activities we’d like to do together, making a plea for help.
“I am just coming back from the hospital right now. Yesterday evening I had an emergency and my mom’s condition is very critical,” she wrote. “Baby, I don't feel comfortable to ask you for help but due to my mom’s critical condition now, I don't know maybe you can help me out with some funds to get the drugs she needs. Baby my mom and I will really appreciate you a lot. I pray God will bless you abundantly. Hope to from you soon.”
I hesitate and send her an email saying I don’t have much. I offer help in other ways, saying I have friends in the medical field, asking what the disease and drugs are that she needs. She writes back and says the drugs are needed for a kidney disorder and that she has $250 already and says, “I only need $200 more.”
In a follow up email, I agree. I ask how to send the money and she immediately provides me with an email that includes Western Union information, as shown in the screen shot above.
Three days have passed and I never sent any money, never intended to. DePalma and Vance said thousands across the state send the cash and then never hear back.
The Electronic Trail to Nowhere
“Tracy” claimed to be from Bloomfield, but research through several reverse email lookups revealed that the account was created a few years back in Sunnyvale, Calif. The account had “no owner” and all mail was being forwarded to a second account that I could not obtain. The email had been used to create dozens of social profiles on dating network sites.
Unfortunately, this type of secondhand contact makes the lines difficult, if not impossible, to trace, Vance said. The networks established to transfer the cash are even more difficult to follow.
The majority of scams start with a Western Union or other money transfer request and if the person claims not to have the money, the perpetrators will seek credit card information. The money transfers or credit information is then used to obtain the cash, which is then transferred again and picked up by a third party elsewhere.
Once received, the third party will put the money in a separate bank account and transfer it again, keeping a small amount as a “fee.” The third party will often be involved in just a couple transfers per year, police said.
In some situations, the money will be put into a foreign account and even forwarded again, making it completely untraceable at this point, Vance said. The entire exchange takes just a matter of hours to finish.
“We will work to follow it as far as we can, but it often leads to dead ends,” Vance said.
Protecting Yourself
Both Vance and DePalma said the most effective way to guard your money is to remain skeptical at all times, even when transferring the money might seem like a safe bet.
Don’t simply check and double check your sources, Vance said; make sure 100 percent that you can determine exactly where your money is going. If there is any doubt whatsoever, Vance said it’s time to back away.
"The best way to avoid falling victim really is to just never transfer money to someone you've only talked to over the phone or met online," Vance said.
thegranbys.patch.com/articles/fraud-alert-imagination-is-the-only-limit-for-online-scams#photo-9170196