BBB Scam Alerts
Mar 18, 2016 12:00 AM
2016-03-18T00:00:00
Better Business Bureau Serving Northwestern Ohio and Southeastern Michigan, Inc.
BBB ALERT ON "PRIME TECHNOLOGIES"
FIRST: Last week we warned about "ransomware" software that seizes your computer hard drive and holds it for ransom. According to BBB records, consumers are alleging that representatives from Prime Technology (also known as Prime Tech Help and Prime Tech, 220 Hertigate West Ct., Greenwood, SC.) are calling consumers and gaining access to their computers after telling them they have been hacked or have a virus. This company address is actually an apartment. Consumers complain to BBB that the company is charging them thousands of dollars a year for virus protection and/or repair of their computers. If you know a victim of this company, they should file a complaint with Internet Crime Center(ic3) run by the FBI. We have a great deal of information on this scam, which is believed to have cheated consumers in many states out of more than five million dollars.
NEXT: YET ANOTHER TAX SCAM is now hitting. We are still getting tons of threatening phone calls, telling victims they owe unpaid taxes and that if they don't pay up pronto, the sheriff is going to be around in the next hour to arrest them and throw them in jail.
But in addition, the filing of fraudulent returns has exploded, especially because we have seen so many data bases hacked and identity theft is rampant. NOW here are the problems: The IRS has become so concerned about the alarming rise in bogus tax returns that it is now issuing what are called Identity Verification Letters or 5071C forms, where they suspect a possible fraudulent return. Problem #1 is taxpayers who receive these might worry that the letters themselves are part of an identity theft ruse because they ask you to call a toll free number or visit a website to confirm identity. And Problem #2 is that there is, in fact, a scam email currently making the rounds with the subject line "Identity Verification." The message has an IRS logo and reads: "Kindly verify your information from a 1040 tax form that you filed within the last six years. Follow the reference below to verify your identity." This is followed by a link that appears to be the genuine IRS website but in fact takes you to a phony IRS page (actually based in Hungary) where you're asked to divulge personal tax account details.
FACT: IRS does NOT send out verification requests by email, so if you get one, it's a scam. Nor does it telephone you without first sending out a 5071C letter.
TWO MORE TAX SCAMS: A fake IRS agent calls you to tell you that a check sent to you has never been cashed. He wants to re-send it but needs your checking account number. Actually the only way IRS collects bank account numbers is if you put them on your tax return.
A REFUND E-MAIL appears to come from IRS and informs you that a refund of $168.43 (or some other amount) is due to you, but you must click on a link and fill in your personal information on a claim form in order for the refund to be released. The IRS doesn't do this, of course.
NEXT: The Rental Property Scam is serious. Internet apartment and home rental scams, especially on Craigslist, are rampant! Researchers reviewed more than 2 million for-rent posts and found 29,000 fake listings in 20 major cities. I have talked to many local Realtors who have seen this scam! The biggest scams we see are when con artists (often overseas) extract listings of homes for sale fromRealtor web sites, then duplicate and change them to a "rental listing" and post it on Craigslist. They invent all sorts of amenities and give a really low rental price. Consumers, eager to get the home or apartment (children and pets welcome) at that low price, contact the "rental agent" or "manager", who is often currently traveling in Nigeria or another foreign country. They are told that, to rent the place, they need to send a deposit and first month's rent to the manager by Western Union. Of course, the place was never for rent and the money is lost.
BBB always warns consumers to never pay a security deposit or first month's rent by prepaid debit card or wire transfer, especially overseas! They should watch out for deals that sound too good: promises of low rents and demands that demands that money must be sent immediately or the rental will be lost.
Most important; see the property in person: Don't send money to someone you've never met for an apartment you haven't seen. If you can't visit an apartment or house yourself, ask someone you trust to go and confirm that it is what was advertised. Never fall for the overseas landlord story.
Dick Eppstein, BBB
FIRST: Last week we warned about "ransomware" software that seizes your computer hard drive and holds it for ransom. According to BBB records, consumers are alleging that representatives from Prime Technology (also known as Prime Tech Help and Prime Tech, 220 Hertigate West Ct., Greenwood, SC.) are calling consumers and gaining access to their computers after telling them they have been hacked or have a virus. This company address is actually an apartment. Consumers complain to BBB that the company is charging them thousands of dollars a year for virus protection and/or repair of their computers. If you know a victim of this company, they should file a complaint with Internet Crime Center(ic3) run by the FBI. We have a great deal of information on this scam, which is believed to have cheated consumers in many states out of more than five million dollars.
NEXT: YET ANOTHER TAX SCAM is now hitting. We are still getting tons of threatening phone calls, telling victims they owe unpaid taxes and that if they don't pay up pronto, the sheriff is going to be around in the next hour to arrest them and throw them in jail.
But in addition, the filing of fraudulent returns has exploded, especially because we have seen so many data bases hacked and identity theft is rampant. NOW here are the problems: The IRS has become so concerned about the alarming rise in bogus tax returns that it is now issuing what are called Identity Verification Letters or 5071C forms, where they suspect a possible fraudulent return. Problem #1 is taxpayers who receive these might worry that the letters themselves are part of an identity theft ruse because they ask you to call a toll free number or visit a website to confirm identity. And Problem #2 is that there is, in fact, a scam email currently making the rounds with the subject line "Identity Verification." The message has an IRS logo and reads: "Kindly verify your information from a 1040 tax form that you filed within the last six years. Follow the reference below to verify your identity." This is followed by a link that appears to be the genuine IRS website but in fact takes you to a phony IRS page (actually based in Hungary) where you're asked to divulge personal tax account details.
FACT: IRS does NOT send out verification requests by email, so if you get one, it's a scam. Nor does it telephone you without first sending out a 5071C letter.
TWO MORE TAX SCAMS: A fake IRS agent calls you to tell you that a check sent to you has never been cashed. He wants to re-send it but needs your checking account number. Actually the only way IRS collects bank account numbers is if you put them on your tax return.
A REFUND E-MAIL appears to come from IRS and informs you that a refund of $168.43 (or some other amount) is due to you, but you must click on a link and fill in your personal information on a claim form in order for the refund to be released. The IRS doesn't do this, of course.
NEXT: The Rental Property Scam is serious. Internet apartment and home rental scams, especially on Craigslist, are rampant! Researchers reviewed more than 2 million for-rent posts and found 29,000 fake listings in 20 major cities. I have talked to many local Realtors who have seen this scam! The biggest scams we see are when con artists (often overseas) extract listings of homes for sale fromRealtor web sites, then duplicate and change them to a "rental listing" and post it on Craigslist. They invent all sorts of amenities and give a really low rental price. Consumers, eager to get the home or apartment (children and pets welcome) at that low price, contact the "rental agent" or "manager", who is often currently traveling in Nigeria or another foreign country. They are told that, to rent the place, they need to send a deposit and first month's rent to the manager by Western Union. Of course, the place was never for rent and the money is lost.
BBB always warns consumers to never pay a security deposit or first month's rent by prepaid debit card or wire transfer, especially overseas! They should watch out for deals that sound too good: promises of low rents and demands that demands that money must be sent immediately or the rental will be lost.
Most important; see the property in person: Don't send money to someone you've never met for an apartment you haven't seen. If you can't visit an apartment or house yourself, ask someone you trust to go and confirm that it is what was advertised. Never fall for the overseas landlord story.
Dick Eppstein, BBB