Additional menu

Terry Ambrose

Home of Mysteries with Character

Scams & Cons

You are here: Home / Archives for Scams & Cons

Fiserv is the latest corporate target of fraudulent emails

By

It seems that lately there’s been an increase in the number of “financial company” emails advising me that my invoice has gone unpaid or that I need to fill out a form to complete some other financial transaction I never initiated. Here’s the latest email and, oddly enough, this one even has correct contact information […]

Tell a Friend

If you liked this post, please be sure to share it with a friend! Send an email or share with Facebook, X, or LinkedIn.

Scammers use the telephone, too

By

It happened again on Saturday. I was talking to someone at a meeting and mentioned that I’m trying to help educate people about how to avoid scams and cons. I handed her a card with my “Seven Tips to Stay Ahead of the Con” and she started telling me her mother. Recently, she walked into […]

Tell a Friend

If you liked this post, please be sure to share it with a friend! Send an email or share with Facebook, X, or LinkedIn.

What’s in a name?

By

National Collector’s Mint. The company name sounds very official, almost as though the company were somehow related to the US Mint. As it turns out, nothing could be further from the truth. The Federal Trade Commission just settled with National Collector’s Mint to avoid a lawsuit based on it’s practices in selling none other than […]

Tell a Friend

If you liked this post, please be sure to share it with a friend! Send an email or share with Facebook, X, or LinkedIn.

Social media can be dangerous as well as fun

By

Social media has become a normal part of our everyday lives. But, it’s also an opportunity for scammers to do their worst. There are different ways in which your personal information could be compromised, however these options rely on luring your to a fraudulent website. One possible way for scammers to bring you to their […]

Tell a Friend

If you liked this post, please be sure to share it with a friend! Send an email or share with Facebook, X, or LinkedIn.

Check to make sure prescriptions are the best alternative

By

I recently ran a story in my Crime & Courts column on Examiner.com, Pharmaceutical firm caught in kickback scheme, that talked about Victory Pharma Inc. and it’s payments to doctors that ensured the prescription of their medications. While this practice is illegal, companies still attempt to engage in this practice of offering inducements to doctors. […]

Tell a Friend

If you liked this post, please be sure to share it with a friend! Send an email or share with Facebook, X, or LinkedIn.

The Nigerian 419 scam is back

By

Earlier this week, I spoke to the Kiwanis Club of Lake San Marcos about how to stay safe from scams and cons. In that talk, we went over some of the different types of scams and, at one point, I talked briefly about what’s now called the Nigerian 419 scam (the name is derived from […]

Tell a Friend

If you liked this post, please be sure to share it with a friend! Send an email or share with Facebook, X, or LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Email Scam

By

I just fell for this one because I saw a name I recognized as well as the formatting was nearly perfect. I didn’t notice that the message came into the wrong email address, but today there’s an email scam that supposedly is coming from LinkedIn to tell you about messages in your inbox. If you […]

Tell a Friend

If you liked this post, please be sure to share it with a friend! Send an email or share with Facebook, X, or LinkedIn.

ADP latest corporate victim of email scams

By

On Nov. 15, an email scam resurfaced that was first reported earlier this year. The email was supposedly from ADP, a business-to-business solution provider and references “ADP Funding Notification – Debit Draft.” The version of the email received on Nov. 15 reads: “Your Transaction Report(s) have been uploaded to the web site.” It then lists […]

Tell a Friend

If you liked this post, please be sure to share it with a friend! Send an email or share with Facebook, X, or LinkedIn.

FBI warns those looking for love online that they are targets

By

On October 23, the FBI issued an alert about a dating extortion scam via the Internet Crime Complain Center (IC3). According to the alert, the scam “baits individuals into intimate online conversations” and extorts money through blackmail. Online dating scams are certainly nothing new, however the October 23rd FBI alert indicates that there has been […]

Tell a Friend

If you liked this post, please be sure to share it with a friend! Send an email or share with Facebook, X, or LinkedIn.

A British target, a US domain, and a Kazakstan email service

By

I wrote this article for my Crime and Courts column on Examiner.com earlier today. Included here is an image of the email received. In one sense, this is a testament to the interconnectedness of the Internet. There are three different countries involved in this scam, but the bottom line is that it’s still just plain […]

Tell a Friend

If you liked this post, please be sure to share it with a friend! Send an email or share with Facebook, X, or LinkedIn.