Do you know what you are sleeping on?

While I was at Scam Jam in Portland Oregon, I was in a presentation by Chuck Whitlock. He has done a lot of investigative reporting over the years, and one of the stories that he shared with us was about a mattress scam.

Stores were purchasing old mattresses that people collected out of dumpsters and paying them cash for them. Then they would take the mattress inside their building and cover it with new foam and new fabric . . . right over the old, dirty mattress! These mattresses were then being sold as new to unknowing customers. I believe that the investigators purchased 7 different mattresses at 7 different locations and when they cut them open to look inside of them they found old, dirty mattresses inside 4 of them!

Kind of makes you want to go and check your own mattress out.

Shawn Mosch
Co-Founder of ScamVictimsUnited.com
There is strength in numbers!

Find us on Twitter, Facebook and more through
http://www.retaggr.com/page/ShawnMosch

Support Scam Victims United by shopping at
http://shopittous.blogspot.com/

MoneyGram International Reaches Agreement with FTC

This press release can be found at http://www.moneygram.com/MGICorp/InvestorRelations/News/index.htm

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 20, 2009-- MoneyGram International (NYSE:MGI), a global leader in the payment services industry, today entered into an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to make certain enhancements to its consumer anti-fraud program to further combat consumer fraud perpetrated by criminals who use MoneyGram’s services illegally.

“At MoneyGram, we take the issue of consumer fraud very seriously. Our ability to provide safe and reliable money transfer services for our consumers is critically important,” said Pamela H. Patsley, MoneyGram chairman and CEO. “MoneyGram has committed extraordinary resources to building a state-of-the-art consumer anti-fraud program.”

The company has begun implementing new systems and processes to further bolster consumer protection, which have been effective at stopping millions of dollars in fraudulent transactions every year.

“While we don’t agree with the FTC’s allegations regarding our fraud prevention in the past, we can agree on fraud prevention today and in the future,” said Patsley. “We don’t want our customers being victimized by third-party fraud. What we are announcing today with the FTC is our commitment to enhance our already comprehensive efforts to combat fraud and ensure our customers can continue to rely on MoneyGram for safe, reliable money transfer services.”

MoneyGram provides consumer warnings about the latest scams on its website and money transfer send-forms, and through its 24-hour customer service center. The company also works closely with local, state, federal and international law enforcement to combat this global criminal activity.

“We are committed to be vigilant in our efforts in protecting our customers from fraudulent activity,” said Patsley. “Ensuring safe and reliable money transfers for our customers all over the world is at the forefront of all we do.”

As part of its agreement with the FTC, the company has also agreed to pay $18 million into an FTC-administered fund to refund consumers who have been victimized through third-party fraud.

There is also an article about this topic at
http://www.examiner.com/x-1893-News-You-Can-Use-Examiner~y2009m10d20-A-medium-for-fraud-MoneyGram-to-pay-millions

Brought to you by www.ScamVictimsUnited.com

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ATM Scam

This is one of the videos that Chuck Whitlock showed at Scam Jam over the weekend. This shows how people are willing to trust a man in a security uniform with their bank account information.

Scam Jam

I am home from Scam Jam in Portland Oregon. Even though the weather did not cooperate with us, I think that a lot of people received a lot of great information and learned something about how to protect themselves from scams and fraud.

There is a great article about the event here http://www.kgw.com/business/stories/kgw_101609_con_scam_jam.222e84c6a.html

There were reporters from the local television stations that all shared an investigative reporting or consumer protection segment that they have done. There were workshops all day on the top local scams, Identity Theft, protecting your data, senior fraud, mortgage fraud and more.

Shawn Mosch
Co-Founder of ScamVictimsUnited.com
There is strength in numbers!

Find us on Twitter, Facebook and more through
http://www.retaggr.com/page/ShawnMosch

Support Scam Victims United by shopping at
http://shopittous.blogspot.com/

Romance Scams

Romance Scams, also referred to at Sweetheart Scams, Dating Scams or Love Scams, usually begin on a legitimate dating website or throughonline classified ads looking to meet people. In theses scams, the scammer plays on the target's emotions. They know that they are looking for love or a strong relationship, so they use all of the right words to convince the target that they truly care for them. Many of the scammers will use pictures found on others profiles or even modeling sites as their profile. They will also use a variety of fake names, and some scammers could be operating several "profiles" and names at once. This is why the name of the person or what they look like is not a good way to determine if they are a scammer or not. It is the situation, not the name that matters.

Once they believe that the target is emotionally connected to them, they will tell them that they need money for some reason . . . they were in an accident and have medical and legal fees to pay or simply to pay for a plane ticket so that they finally meet in person. The scammer will ask the target to wire them money, and sometimes will even promise to pay it back as soon as possible. Since the target is emotionallyinvested in this relationship they want to do whatever they can to helpout this person that they love.

The websites Cyber Love Illusions and CyberPaths tell the stories of these scams.

You can also read more at http://scamvictimsunited.com/Romance.htm

Phishing Scam Email

Here is a Phishing Scam email that got into my inbox. This is a classic example of how a scammer will try to get your account information, by saying that it is an urgent matter and providing a link for you.

----------------------------------------------

Dear Member,
Your Yahoo Marketing account has expired. You must renew it immediately or your account will be closed. If you intend to use this service in the future, you must take action at once!

To continue click here, login to your Yahoo Marketing account and follow the steps.Thank you for using Yahoo Marketing!
Yahoo Marketing Services DEP.

Please do not reply to this email.
This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a respons.

--------------------------------------

Not only are their spelling errors, but if you were to hover over the link they provided (which I removed) you would find that it does not go to yahoo, but to a site that they created which has yahoo in it

marketingservicesweb.yahoo.duebymatteo

Seven years

Seven years ago this month my husband and I became victims of a counterfeit cashier's check scam while selling his 1961 Buick Special online. So much has happened in those seven years.

We found that we were not alone, and that this was happening to others.
We started our website Scam Victims United to share our story with others.
We spoke out in the news about this issue.
We have worked with Consumer Protection Agencies to help spread the word about scams.
In the first two years of our site being operational, we helped to stop over 2 million dollars from going into the hands of scammers.

We have come a long way, but we still have so far to go. The Consumer Federation of America released the results of a survey in May 2009 which relates directly to information we at Scam Victims United work to educate people about. They found that fifty-nine percent of the respondents incorrectly believe that when you deposit a check or money order, your bank confirms that it is good before allowing you to withdraw the money. The number goes up to 70 percent among young adults age 18-24, and 71 percent of people with incomes under $25,000 and who did not complete high school. More than 40 percent of those surveyed do not know that they are liable if the checks or money orders they deposit or cash are counterfeit. Fifty-two percent age 18-24 and half of Hispanics incorrectly said the person who gave you the check must pay the bank back. This is precisely the type of information that we at Scam Victims United work to educate people about.

As you can see by the results of this survey, there is a great need for education in the area of banking terminology and the check clearing process. One of the major reasons that counterfeit cashier's checkscams work so well is that when a bank customer hears the terms "the check is clear" or that it will be "verified in 24 hours" it gives them a false sense of security that the check is legitimate and that they can use the money with no repercussions.

And that is our mission.

Shawn Mosch
Co-Founder of ScamVictimsUnited.com
There is strength in numbers!

Find us on Twitter, Facebook and more through
http://www.retaggr.com/page/ShawnMosch