Friday, August 21, 2009

Who's Who, Vanity Publishing, Bank Account, Car Purchase, Vacation, Employment, Adoption, and Check Scams are on the rise!

In the midst of the economic spiral, SCAMMERS have become more and more creative. Some scammers have increased their territories, targeted better established businesses, and taken on a variety of industries. You would think that the investigative industry would be on the scammer's DO NOT EMAIL list. JP Investigative Group, Inc. found that scammers are desperate and greedy. We received a check in the amount of $2,750.50 by UPS next day air from Live Design, 1742 Creekside Drive, Sugar Land, TX, 77478. The phone number listed was 281-499-712, registered to Ralph Turner, Missouri City, TX, 77477. JPI received an email from a Daryl Rodwell, subject: PAYMENT DELIVERED and the email instructed the owner to have the check cashed at his local bank, deduct the cost of the item the scammer was going to purchase from the owner, and have the excess funds wired to the scammer's mover via money gram transfer at any Wal-Mart store. He listed his mover's information as: George Marsh, Boston, MA, 02131. The scammer also stated to deduct the money gram money transfer charges from the excess funds and $50 for the owner's gas used for running around during the transaction. The scammer demanded that this transaction be taken care of that day so the mover could pick up the funds before the scammer's arrival from Hawaii. The JPI staff couldn't believe that an investigative firm would receive such an email. After JP Investigative Group investigated the check, we found it to be fraudulent. The name on the check belonged to an Attorney in Fort Lauderdale, FL and he informed our investigative team on the case that the account had been closed. The Attorney advised that it was his eighth call that day regarding the check scam. This scammer had been very busy spending money on sending out UPS next day air packages to at least seven other potential victims. We contacted Regions Bank and they confirmed again that the check was fraudulent. In addition, we notified Craigslist because this email scam was received as a result of a posting to sale an item on Craigslist. You would think that the scammer saw the email address listed on Craigslist as info@jpinvestigations.com. If you take away info@, and type in jpinvestigations.com; you will discover that it belongs to a private investigative firm.

The newest scam that has targeted JP Investigative Group is the receipt of the 2009 Best of Charlotte Award. I’m not sure if we can call this a scam because some people might not mind paying for the cost of their awards. The US Commerce Association (USCA) emailed us a SECOND NOTICE that we should log onto their website and enter our award code RVCG-BDRK. The email displays what our award would look like which is a nice glass award with Best of Charlotte 2009 Jp Investigative Group Inc Private Investigators printed on it. We entered the code and a link appeared showing us a nice black lacquer finish, beveled edge, gold aluminum metal 2009 Award Plaque and a hand-polished optical crystal, faceted beveled edge 2009 Crystal Award priced at $79.99, $179.99 or $199.99 for both. We suggest that you travel to your local trophy store and buy them cheaper. Also, they told us that the press release publicizing the selection of JPI has been posted on their website. Since no one knows about USCA, who would find out about the press release? We suggest that you go online and send out a free press release tooting your own horn about your achievements and any upcoming events that you are excited about and add it to your own website. Take the money that you saved and invest in a press release to be advertised in your local newspaper to generate publicity.

Other scams:
*Million dollar transfer to our bank account from foreign heirs of estates.

*Investment Banker in need of a beneficiary for a deposit. He needs to find a reliable partner in our country who can assist him to withdraw millions of dollars from a suspense account without a beneficiary. He needed our bank account information to make this scam work. Please do not provide any bank account information via the internet.

*Who’s Who Award (a scam targeting business owners and high school students). This scam is a fraudulent biographical directory. Some individuals have created Who's Who scams that involve the selling of "memberships" in Who's Who directories that are created online and through instant publishing services. These are essentially thinly veiled scams designed to get individuals to pay for their awards, thus, becoming a simple form of vanity publishing. "Who would be so foolish as to pay for inclusion in a Who's Who book that no one reads?" Ben Rothke reports at http://www.csoonline.com/article/498903/What_s_What_with_the_Who_s_Who_

*Bank of America Email Scam: You have 1 new message from Bank of America. Dear customer, we regret to inform you that your Bank of America Online Account has been temporarily suspended. Your account has been suspended after too many failed login attempts have been made. This is most likely an attempt to gain unauthorized access to your account and/or personal information. To resolve this problem we have attached a form to this email. Please download the form, open it and follow the instructions on your screen. Bank of America, Member FDIC ©2009 Bank of America Corporation. All Rights Reserved. You have received this form because your Bank of America Online Account has been suspended for security reasons. To restore your account please fill in the form below and click "Submit". THE FORM REQUESTS PRIVATE INFORMATION THAT GIVES THE SCAMMER YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION TO GAIN ACCESS TO YOUR ACCOUNT. BANK OF AMERICA WOULD NEVER SEND YOU SUCH A REQUEST BY EMAIL. CALL YOUR BANK AND REPORT IT IMMEDIATELY.

*Paypal Email Scam: Resolution Center, your account access has been limited.
We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party.
We have limited access to sensitive PayPal account features in case your account has been accessed by an unauthorized third party. We understand that having limited access can be an inconvenience, but protecting your account is our primary concern. This has been done due to several failed log-in attempts. We've limited access to your account temporarily. We'll review the limitation once you respond with the information we've requested. THE FORM REQUESTS PRIVATE INFORMATION THAT GIVES THE SCAMMER YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION TO GAIN ACCESS TO YOUR ACCOUNT. PAYPAL WOULD NEVER SEND YOU SUCH A REQUEST BY EMAIL. REPORT IT TO PAYPAL IMMEDIATELY.

We see that the scammers are not smart people at all so don’t let them out smart you and take your money. Here are a list of Do’s and Don’ts from JP Investigative Group:

1) Do your homework and use the internet as your search tool to research the information being emailed to you; look for typos in the email.

2) Don’t cash checks from unknown senders.

3) Don’t give out your personal information via the telephone or internet.

4) Don’t buy items from the internet unless you know the source of the seller; no telephone number is a “red flag”. Use reverse lookup on www.yellowpages.com as a research tool. We have more sophisticated measures by which we do our research as private investigators but you should utilize the free resources before paying a private investigator to investigate your claim. It is expensive to trace scammers to try and get your money back so please do your research BEFORE you spend your hard earned money.

5) Do be cautious of get rich quick scams. If it sounds too good to be true, use your gut feelings or instinct as a caution.

6) Do train your children and teens about scams because they are targeted with the promise of free video games, trips, and tickets. Scammers know that children and teens have access to cash and many of them have debit cards that make it easier for scammers to entice young victims.

7) Don’t pay for awards and recognitions if you own a business. These awards are earned and given to you for free by your Chamber of Commerce, Trade Associations, Business Organizations, or Better Business Bureaus.

8) Don’t be a victim of Travel Fraud. Check out the agency selling the trip with the Better Business Bureau before booking your trip.

9) Don’t be afraid to ask more questions and tell the caller that you will call them back after checking with the Better Business Bureau for more information.

10) Do check the Better Business Bureau and find out more information about the company before you do business with that firm.

11) Do get telephone numbers and if the caller states that he/she does not have a phone number where they can be reached because they have such a large company; please decline their offer and hang up the phone.

12) Don’t believe that someone will transfer millions of dollars into your bank account if you submit your bank account information to them. This is a dream and it will not happen.

13) Don’t believe sympathetic stories when they are requesting you to give money to an unknown charitable organization or individual.

14) Don’t pay taxes on money that you have won from Canada or any other place when the source is not a state lottery whereby you can visit the location to participate.

15) Don’t pay a company to work for them. Please be cautious of any employment opportunity that asks for money to pay for books, supplies, materials, upfront fees, instructions, training, etc.

16) Don’t pay for materials offering “how to get free government grant money” because these resources are on the internet and free of charge. WARNING: There is a lot of leg-work involved. If you become frustrated; don’t give up, stay persistent, and your hard work will pay off. Beware of consultants and companies that solicit you to become their client to help you obtain government funding. Again, do your research and ask for references.

17) Do your homework if you are adopting a child. Adoption scams have become more prevalent and very expensive if you are a victim. Utilize the internet for resources, ask for references, and contact your state agencies for any complaints against a specific agency.

18) Do your research on current scams on web sites such as ScamBusters, scamfreezone, www.ripoffreport.com, or contact the National Fraud Information Center.

19) Do sign up to be notified of new scams and review current scams at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s website: http://www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/escams.htm.

20) Do report internet scams to the FBI at http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx

21) Do visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website at http://www2.ftc.gov/index.shtml to learn more about how to protect yourself from fraud, scams, and illegal practices against you as a consumer.

When all else fails, contact JP Investigative Group, Inc. for assistance at 1-877-990-2111. This is a fee based service.

8 comments:

  1. Newest scam from dskarlsson00@googlemail.com: Subject: Classified-Proposition


    -----Original Message-----
    From: Mr. David Stanley Karlsson [mailto:zhicxxk@zhuhai.gov.cn]
    Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 9:31 PM
    To: undisclosed-recipients:
    Subject: Classified-Proposition

    HELLO FRIEND,


    PLEASE BEAR WITH ME FOR NOW AND DO NOT ASK MY NAME. WHAT I HAVE MAY BE OF INTEREST TO YOU. IT IS A BUSINESS PROPOSAL THAT WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO YOU AND I.

    I LIVE IN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM. I AM 53 YEARS OLD AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING IN A BANK IN LONDON FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS WHERE I AM PRESENTLY AN ACCOUNTS MANAGER. I WILL GIVE YOU MY FULL DETAILS ON YOUR REPLY TO THIS LETTER. MY AIM OF CONTACTING YOU IS TO SOLICIT YOUR CO-OPERATION AND ASSISTANCE BASED ON ONE OF THE ACCOUNTS UNDER MY MANAGEMENT CONTAINING $18.5MILLION (EIGHTEEN MILLION & FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS) WHICH HAS REMAINED DORMANT FOR THE LAST TWELVE YEARS. THIS ACCOUNT WAS OWNED BY THE LATE MRS. LAUREN BAKER AND FOLLOWING MY INVESTIGATION, I FOUND OUT THAT SHE DIED ON MAY 1992 VIA A CAR CRASH IN THE BAHAMAS AND SHE LEFT NO CHILDREN OR NEXT OF KIN.
    I WILL INFORM YOU MORE ON HOW WE CAN GET THE MONEY IN HER ACCOUNT TRANSFERED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT IF YOU AGREE TO CO-OPERATE WITH ME ON THIS ON YOUR REPLY TO THIS MAIL.

    I WILL ALSO GIVE YOU MORE PERSONAL DETAILS OF ME AND THE TRANSACTION ON YOUR REPLY.
    PLEASE TREAT THIS AS CONFIDENTIAL, URGENT AND OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE.

    PLEASE RESPOND ONLY VIA: dskarlsson47@googlemail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. FRAUD ALERT FROM JPI:
    Prince Kwesi [from prince_3@yahoo.com]

    09/05/2009
    Good Day,
    With due respect, trust and humility, I write to you this proposal, which I believe would be of interest to you. I am contacting you because I assume you are a reliable and capable foreign partner that will assist me and my mother to receive a metal box safe containing valuable on our behalf. My names are Prince Kwesi 21yrs old and the son of Late Mr.Mathew Omohiyi Kwesi, my father was the "Chairman" of the farmers co-operation in Zimbabwe.

    He was among the few blacks that were murdered in cold blood by the President Robert Mugabe Administration during the land dispute that just happened in Zimbabwe. After the death of my Father, I and my mother moved out of ZIMBABWE because our live were in danger and because of the money and Diamond(45kg)that my father kept in his hidden safe in our house. The amount contained in the safe is(US$3.5m)Three million,five hundred thousand United States Dollars).We got to know the content of the box from a hard cover paper found at the back of a frame picture hanging on the wall of my late fathers bedroom.

    The money was meant for the purchase of new machines and chemicals for the farms and establishment of new farms in in my country. Before his death, He is a Major Share Holder of companies in Zimbabwe. After my father died,a close friend of my father assisted us in moving the box to a security company in Ghana.The box was deposited in a security and finance firm in Ghana as a family traesure,currently now we are in Ghana as refugees.

    However,we were not comfortable with the box being here in Ghana.We need a conducive environment for investment and for security reasons.My mother now contacted her friend in Dubai to receive the box on our behalf so that we can join her over there for safety and investement as planned.Arrangements were made with an attorney,the box was released and flown to Dubai were it is now.

    However,on the arrival of the box in Dubai,my mothere`s friend became greedy and maintained that she will open the box and have 80% percent of the total content of the box.She meant it and was threatning my mother on the phone,believing that she is with the box since the diplomat have called her as the beneficiary and for the receipt of the box,this is mere greed and we have to stop the delivery from the security firm here that the box was dispatched.

    We are in dare need aof a relaible and honest person who wil aid us receive the box in Dubai or arrange for the delivery of the box from Dubal to his/her destination.When we come over to his/her destination we will amicably share the content.Please,we are in difficult situation now,my mother is very sick because of tension,we need your assisttance please.On your response we will forward to you the Orogonal Deposit Certificate of the box,A copy of the Airway bill(from Ghana to Holand)for your confirmation.Other important informations will be communicated to you in the course of the delivery.We are waiting for your reply.
    Thanks,
    Yours Faithfully
    Prince Kweasi(For the family )

    ReplyDelete
  3. FRAUD ALERT FROM JPI:

    Sent from Mr. David Stanley Karlsson [zhicxxk@zhuhai.gov.cn]

    HELLO FRIEND,

    PLEASE BEAR WITH ME FOR NOW AND DO NOT ASK MY NAME. WHAT I HAVE MAY BE OF INTEREST TO YOU. IT IS A BUSINESS PROPOSAL THAT WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO YOU AND I.

    I LIVE IN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM. I AM 53 YEARS OLD AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING IN A BANK IN LONDON FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS WHERE I AM PRESENTLY AN ACCOUNTS MANAGER. I WILL GIVE YOU MY FULL DETAILS ON YOUR REPLY TO THIS LETTER. MY AIM OF CONTACTING YOU IS TO SOLICIT YOUR CO-OPERATION AND ASSISTANCE BASED ON ONE OF THE ACCOUNTS UNDER MY MANAGEMENT CONTAINING $18.5MILLION (EIGHTEEN MILLION & FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS) WHICH HAS REMAINED DORMANT FOR THE LAST TWELVE YEARS. THIS ACCOUNT WAS OWNED BY THE LATE MRS. LAUREN BAKER AND FOLLOWING MY INVESTIGATION, I FOUND OUT THAT SHE DIED ON MAY 1992 VIA A CAR CRASH IN THE BAHAMAS AND SHE LEFT NO CHILDREN OR NEXT OF KIN.
    I WILL INFORM YOU MORE ON HOW WE CAN GET THE MONEY IN HER ACCOUNT TRANSFERED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT IF YOU AGREE TO CO-OPERATE WITH ME ON THIS ON YOUR REPLY TO THIS MAIL.

    I WILL ALSO GIVE YOU MORE PERSONAL DETAILS OF ME AND THE TRANSACTION ON YOUR REPLY.
    PLEASE TREAT THIS AS CONFIDENTIAL, URGENT AND OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE.

    PLEASE RESPOND ONLY VIA:dskarlsson@live.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  4. JP Investigative Group, Inc. SCAM ALERT!

    Email from: memberservice@suntrust-online.com

    Dear customer

    We regret to inform you that your Suntrust Online Account has been temporarily suspended.
    Your account has been suspended after too many failed login attempts have been made. This is most likely an attempt to gain unauthorized access to your account and/or personal information.

    To resolve this problem we have attached a form to this email. Please download the form, open it and follow the instructions on your screen.

    Suntrust , Member FDIC ©2009 Suntrust Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SCAM ALERT FROM JP Investigative Group, Inc.

    CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE WON US $2.7 MILLION !!! REPLY IMMEDIATELY

    POWERBALL LOTTERY:

    Operators of The Deaf Financial Bank Lotto.(DFBL) 3b Olympic Way, Sefton Business Park, Olathe, Kansas , 66062.
    http://www.powerball.com/

    Dear Winner,

    The United States Bank Of America Deaf Lottery wishes to inform you that the results of the Deaf Assistance Promo is out and you are been chosen as the second winner for the programme by the Power ball Lottery held on the 23th of Sep 2009. Your Email has been picked as a winner of a lump sum pay out of Two Million & Seven Hundred Thousand US Dollars (US $2.7 Million Dollars) and job offering if you have no job yet.The Deaf Financial Bank Lotto.(DFBL) draws was conducted from an exclusive list of 3 lucky names of individual and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the Social Security Office. No tickets were sold.

    CONGRATULATIONS!!!

    After this automated Social Security Department ballot, your name has been emerged as a winner in the category "DFBL: 3" with the following numbers attached Ref Number: SS 2290 ES 8474, Batch Number: 734857681585-US/2009 and Ticket draw Number: 78,12,6,23,82, You are therefore to receive a cash prize of US $2.7 Million Dollars (Two Million & Seven Hundred Thousand US Dollars) from the total payout. This promotion is this year's Social Security Deaf Lottery in conjunction with Bank of America bonanza. All winning must be claimed not later than 5 working days from this notification.

    After this time all unclaimed funds will be returned to Social Security Union Treasury Department as unclaimed.

    PLEASE NOTE: in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications please remember to quote your reference number in all correspondence.

    To file in for the processing of your prize winnings prize, you are advised to contact our trusted,appointed accredited claims agent below for immediate processing of your winning with the information below:
    --------------------
    Names:
    Address:
    City:
    Zipcode:
    State:
    Country:
    Telephone/Fax number:
    Nationality:
    Age:
    Sex:
    Occupation:
    E-mail:
    --------------------------------------------------------
    Senior Claims Agent:-
    Miss Linda Waltkins
    Email: lindawaltkins96@aol.com


    ---------------------------------------------------------
    (This is important as a case of double claims will not be entertained).Members of the affiliate agencies are automatically not allowed to participate in this program. Furthermore, should there be any change of address do inform our agent as soon as possible. Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for being part of our promotional program.

    Yours Faithfully,
    Sir Martins George Jr.
    Online Lottery Coordinator.
    Thank you and congratulations!!!

    This email may contain information which is confidential and/or privileged. The information is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure,copying,distribution or use of the contents is prohibited. If you have received this electronic transmission in error,please notify the sender by telephone or return email and delete the material from your computer.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JP Investigative Group, Inc. Scam Alert!
    Bank of America Scam Alert from JP Investigative Group, Inc.

    EMAIL RECEIVED FROM: Bank of America [secured@boa.com]

    Tue 10/13/2009 10:23 AM

    Dear Bank of America Customer,

    As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the Bank of America system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account.


    We requested information from you for the following reason:


    We recently received a report of unauthorized credit card use associated with this account. As a precaution, we have limited access to your Bank of America account in order to protect against future unauthorized transactions.

    Case ID Number: BOA-581-472-569

    This is a reminder to restore your account as soon as possible.


    Please download the form attached to this email and open it in a web browser. Once opened, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account safety.


    In accordance with Bank of America's Customer Agreement, your account access will remain limited until the issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, if access to your account remains limited for an extended period of time, it may result in further limitations or eventual account closure. We encourage you to restore your Bank of America account as soon as possible to help avoid this. We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We apologize for any inconvenience.

    Sincerely,
    Bank of America Security Center

    THIS IS A SCAM TO GET YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. REPORT IT.

    ReplyDelete
  7. In car leasing, you just use the vehicle and must return it at the end of the lease unless you choose to buy it. Leasing allow the consumer to simply return a car and select a new model when the lease expires, allowing them to drive a new vehicle every few years without responsibility of selling the old one. Monthly lease payments are usually lower than payments on a car loan.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Buy used car and get a used car assessment report before buying. This is very important because used cars are a risk to buy and invest money on.

    ReplyDelete