MPD5 and MPD 2 Elderly Scam Alert

Subject: Fwd: SCAM ALERT for our elderly neighbors

COPY/FYI,

 

The following are some of the most common scams that the FBI investigates and tips to help prevent you from being victimized.

Telemarketing Fraud

When you send money to people you do not know personally or give personal or financial information to unknown callers, you increase your chances of becoming a victim of telemarketing fraud.

Here are some warning signs of telemarketing fraud—what a caller may tell you:

• “You must act ‘now’ or the offer won’t be good.”
• “You’ve won a ‘free’ gift, vacation, or prize.” But you have to pay for “postage and handling” or other charges.
• “You must send money, give a credit card or bank account number, or have a check picked up by courier.” You may hear this before you have had a chance to consider the offer carefully.
• “You don’t need to check out the company with anyone.” The callers say you do not need to speak to anyone including your family, lawyer, accountant, local Better Business Bureau, or consumer protection agency.
• “You don’t need any written information about their company or their references.”
• “You can’t afford to miss this ‘high-profit, no-risk’ offer.”

If you hear these or similar “lines” from a telephone salesperson, just say “no thank you” and hang up the telephone.

 

Tips for Avoiding Telemarketing Fraud:

 

It’s very difficult to get your money back if you’ve been cheated over the telephone. Before you buy anything by telephone, remember:

• Don’t buy from an unfamiliar company. Legitimate businesses understand that you want more information about their company and are happy to comply.
• Always ask for and wait until you receive written material about any offer or charity. If you get brochures about costly investments, ask someone whose financial advice you trust to review them. But, unfortunately, beware—not everything written down is true.
• Always check out unfamiliar companies with your local consumer protection agency, Better Business Bureau, state attorney general, the National Fraud Information Center, or other watchdog groups. Unfortunately, not all bad businesses can be identified through these organizations.
• Obtain a salesperson’s name, business identity, telephone number, street address, mailing address, and business license number before you transact business. Some con artists give out false names, telephone numbers, addresses, and business license numbers. Verify the accuracy of these items.
• Before you give money to a charity or make an investment, find out what percentage of the money is paid in commissions and what percentage actually goes to the charity or investment.
• Before you send money, ask yourself a simple question. “What guarantee do I really have that this solicitor will use my money in the manner we agreed upon?”
• Don’t pay in advance for services. Pay services only after they are delivered.
• Be wary of companies that want to send a messenger to your home to pick up money, claiming it is part of their service to you. In reality, they are taking your money without leaving any trace of who they are or where they can be reached.
• Always take your time making a decision. Legitimate companies won’t pressure you to make a snap decision.
• Don’t pay for a “free prize.” If a caller tells you the payment is for taxes, he or she is violating federal law.
• Before you receive your next sales pitch, decide what your limits are—the kinds of financial information you will and won’t give out on the telephone.
• Be sure to talk over big investments offered by telephone salespeople with a trusted friend, family member, or financial advisor. It’s never rude to wait and think about an offer.
• Never respond to an offer you don’t understand thoroughly.
• Never send money or give out personal information such as credit card numbers and expiration dates, bank account numbers, dates of birth, or social security numbers to unfamiliar companies or unknown persons.
• Be aware that your personal information is often brokered to telemarketers through third parties.
• If you have been victimized once, be wary of persons who call offering to help you recover your losses for a fee paid in advance.
• If you have information about a fraud, report it to state, local, or federal law enforcement agencies

 

http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud

 

 

 

**SPANISH VERSION**

 

Las siguientes son algunas de las estafas más comunes que el FBI investiga y consejos para ayudar a evitar que sean víctimas.

Fraude de Tele mercadeo

Al enviar dinero a personas que no conoces personalmente o dar información personal o financiera a personas desconocidas, va a maximizar sus posibilidades de convertirse en una víctima de fraude de telemercadeo.

Estas son algunas señales de advertencia de telé marketing fraude lo que la persona que llama puede decir que:

· " Usted debe actuar " ahora " o la oferta no va a ser buena. "
· " Usted ha ganado un regalo " gratis ", premio o unas vacaciones. " Pero usted tiene que pagar por " gastos de envío " u otros cargos.
· " Usted debe enviar el dinero, dar una tarjeta de crédito o número de cuenta bancaria, o entregue un cheque a un mensajero. " Es posible que escuche esto antes de haber tenido la oportunidad de considerar la oferta con cuidado.
· " Usted no tiene que echa un vistazo a la empresa con nadie. " Las personas que llaman dicen que no es necesario hablar con nadie, incluyendo su familia, abogado, contador, Better Business Bureau local o agencia de protección del consumidor.
· " Usted no necesita ninguna información por escrito acerca de su empresa o de sus referencias. "
· " No puede permitirse el lujo de perder esta oferta " de alta rentabilidad, sin riesgo"

Si oye estas "líneas" o similares de un vendedor de teléfono, simplemente decir "no gracias" y cuelgue el teléfono.

Consejos para evitar el fraude por telemercadeo:

Es muy difícil recuperar su dinero si usted ha sido engañado por teléfono. Antes de comprar algo por teléfono, recuerde:
No compre de una empresa familiar.  Negocios legítimos comprenden que desea obtener más información acerca de su empresa y están dispuestos a cumplir.
Preguntar siempre para y esperar hasta que reciba el material escrito sobre cualquier oferta o de la caridad. Si usted recibe folletos sobre inversiones costosas, pídale a alguien cuyo consejo financiero de confianza para su revisión. Pero, por desgracia, ten cuidado, no todo lo escrito es cierto.
Siempre echa un vistazo a las empresas no familiares con su agencia local de protección del consumidor , Better Business Bureau , fiscal general del estado , el Centro Nacional de Información de Fraude , u otros organismos de control . Por desgracia, no todos los malos negocios se pueden identificar a través de estas organizaciones.
Obtenga el nombre de un vendedor, identidad comercial, número de teléfono, dirección exacta, dirección postal y número de licencia de negocio antes de realizar transacciones de negocios. Algunos estafadores dan nombres falsos, números de teléfono, direcciones, y números de licencia de negocio.  Verifique la exactitud de estos artículos.
Antes de dar dinero a una organización benéfica o de realizar una inversión, usted debería saber qué porcentaje del dinero que se paga en comisiones y qué porcentaje va en realidad a la caridad o la inversión.
Antes de enviar el dinero, haga una pregunta simple. " ¿Qué garantía tengo realmente que esta persona utilizara el dinero de la manera en la que acordamos? "
No pague por adelantado por servicios. Servicios únicamente después de que se entreguen pago.
Tenga cuidado con las empresas que quieran enviar un mensajero a su casa para recoger el dinero, alegando que es parte de su servicio. En realidad, ellos están tomando su dinero sin dejar rastro de quiénes son o de dónde se puede llegar.
Siempre tome su tiempo de tomar una decisión. Las compañías legítimas no lo presionarán para tomar una decisión rápida.
No pague por un " premio gratis. " Si una persona te dice que el pago es por los impuestos, él o ella está violando la ley federal.
Antes de recibir su próximo discurso de ventas, decida cuáles son sus límites, los tipos de información financiera que sé y no dan por teléfono.
Asegúrese de hablar sobre grandes inversiones ofrecidos por vendedores telefónicos con un amigo de confianza, un familiar, o un asesor financiero.

No es ser grosero por esperar y pensar en la oferta que le ofrecen.
Nunca responda a una oferta que usted no entiende completamente.
Nunca envíe dinero o dar información personal, como números de tarjetas de crédito y fechas de vencimiento, números de cuentas bancarias, fechas de nacimiento o números de seguridad social de las empresas no familiares o personas desconocidas.
Tenga en cuenta que la información personal que es a menudo negociado a los tele marketers a través de terceros.
Si usted ha sido víctima de una vez, tenga cuidado con las personas que llaman a ofrecer para ayudarle a recuperar sus pérdidas por una tarifa pagada por adelantado.
Si tiene información acerca de un fraude, repórtelo a las agencias estatales, locales como la Policía o las agencias de la ley federal.

 

http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud

  Respectfully,

 

Community Liaison Officer Jesus Gloria
Milwaukee Police Department \ District Two \ 245 W. Lincoln Avenue.  Milwaukee, WI 53207

(414) 935-7228 (Direct) \ (414) 935-7222 (Station) \ (414) 935-7112 (fax) \ (414) 235-6638 (cell) \ Non-Emergency ph.933-4444 x9 (police operator)

 

Next Crime & Safety meeting is scheduled for

 Thursday, October 17th, 2013 at 5:30pm

 at 245 W. Lincoln Avenue (District Two }

 

A 94 year old woman received an unexpected call early Friday morning. She is a late riser, but received a call at 8am from someone she thought was the Social Security office.
The person on the phone informed her that her Social Security benefits were going up, but that there would be no additional tax due. He then said he needed some required information. At that point, perhaps not being fully awake yet, she gave her Social Security number, checking account information, including bank routing numbers. He informed her that a letter would be coming in the mail about the changes.
Later, realizing what had just happened, she called her cousin stating that she thinks she messed up.
They contacted the bank ASAP and put a hold on her accounts. Luckily, they managed to stop this in time before any money disappeared.
The bank said that this was the 5th one they had heard about last week.

The following excerpt is from the Social Security site:
Recently, we have heard of a number of scams where individuals posing as Social Security employees call and ask for personal information like your name, Social Security number and bank account information. The caller alleges that we need this information so we can issue you additional funds or rebates or they allege that because of a computer glitch your personal information has been lost.

Another scam used an email that was designed to look like it came from Social Security. It provided information about the annual cost-of-living-adjustment and directed readers to a website designed to look like Social Security’s site so people could “update their information” — valuable information to identity thieves and criminals.
In an effort to combat such scams, we want to make one thing perfectly clear: Social Security will not send you an email asking you to give us your personal information, such as your Social Security number, date of birth, or other private information. If someone saying they are from Social Security does email you requesting information, don’t respond to the message. Instead, contact your local Social Security office or call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to see whether we really need any information from you.
Whatever you do, don’t fall victim to a scam. Don’t give out your personal information.

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