Summer will be here before you know it, and with it come new and old scams. As you consider possible escapes — travel to exotic places; trips to the beach, the mountains or the golf course; a staycation to get much needed work done around your house — bear in mind that these diversions provide the perfect opportunity for con artists and identity thieves just waiting to insinuate themselves into your life, becoming the sand in your picnic basket (or bathing suit) — a vacation-killing burn that no ointment can soothe.
Here are few scams to be on the lookout for this summer.
1. Thanks for the Robocalls, Congress!
Thanks to a new provision slipped into important federal legislation, you may start receiving legitimate robocalls to your mobile phone — something that was previously forbidden by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. According to Consumer Reports, buried in a recent Congressional Budget bill is a provision that allows loan servicers and other collectors of federal loan debt to use robocalls “to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States.”
While these calls will mostly target student loan borrowers, fearless fraudsters will certainly take advantage of this newly legal means to dial for dollars and try to extract money from those among us who don’t read Congressional Quarterly.
TIP: Caller ID is by no means a fail-safe protection. If someone calls you regarding money you allegedly owe, ask for the name of the debt holder, hang up, double-check that the number is legit online, and then call them directly.
2. Your New Chip Card Opens the Door for Fraud
There’s a newish phishing scam that has reared its ugly head in New York state, after a fairly long run on the road involving EMV chip cards. It’s a pretty straightforward phishing scam. The emails look authentic — that is, they appear to be from a bank with which you do business — and they target people who haven’t received their new chip cards. The ask: your personal information to authorize the new card. There may be a link, and if you click, it installs malware on your computer or mobile phone.
TIP: If you have your chip card already and this scam poses a threat to you, you have bigger issues. If you do not have your new card and receive an email or call about it, either go directly to the issuer’s site or call them directly and communicate with a representative. Don’t take the bait!
3. Summer Jobs & First Jobs
New college and high school graduates, and kids home for the summer exploring the job market — possibly for the first time — are getting duped into putting their personally identifiable information (PII) to work for fraudsters via fake job scams, according to a warning from the Better Business Bureau of Central Oklahoma. Sometimes the scam is focused on collecting PII to be used in identity-related crimes, but there are other scams that involve handing over bank account information.
TIP: Check out the company online, and don’t provide your bank account number or any other sensitive personal information. While I know this is incredibly painful for anyone born after 1980, pick up the phone and call your prospective employer.
4. A Moving Scam
A Georgia family learned the hard way that hiring a “man with a van” or any other mover can be risky business. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a woman who asked not to be identified hired movers she found through an online classified ad. They delivered her things, minus about $75,000 worth of personal items. Authorities later learned that the truck used by the suspects had been stolen shortly before the “job.”
TIP: Summertime is when many people choose to relocate. If you’re moving and you need help, hire a reputable company. And always check references.
5. Summer Rental Scam
Here’s an old favorite: You begin your search for a summer place way too late and assume there will be nothing available. But hold on — suddenly you fall upon the absolutely best summer rental ever! You reach the owner or realtor (it makes no difference to a scammer if he or she pretends to be one or the other), and you send a check to the address provided or wire money to an account. He or she then gives you the details about the place. Unfortunately, you have just rented a vacant lot or an empty warehouse. Or when you show up, you discover that you are but one of five families who also rented the house — or landfill.
TIP: If you get a real estate agent on the phone, get his or her license number and check it. Also request references if there are no reviews online, confirm that the address is real and the premises are truly available for rent. Use common sense.
6. Scalpers
Summertime is tour time for the record industry, and the hottest acts can sell out thanks to ticket brokers who horde big blocks of seats for resale at extortionate prices seconds after they go on sale. While this isn’t a scam per se, it creates a fertile field for fraudsters, who offer tickets at more reasonable prices, though they’re often still more than face value. The only problem: They don’t have tickets, or at least not real ones.
TIP: If you are tempted to buy tickets secondhand, be exceedingly careful because there are all sorts counterfeit tickets for sale. Go to reputable sites or deal with folks whom you trust and have established a relationship with.
The Takeaway
Unfortunately, in a world where identity theft has become a near certainty, the season is pretty much irrelevant. When it comes to scams and other kinds of fraud, it’s always open season on you.
