Are you buying or selling a home? If so, make sure your money is going to the correct place.
Read more about wire transfer scams in this article published by Forbes: The Shocking New Scam You Need to Know About: Money Transfers
Additional wire transfer scams include:
Utilities: A scammer tells the consumer that their utility (power, water, cable, etc.) will be shut off if they do not send money or gift cards.
Relative in Need: A scammer poses as a consumer’s family member, often a grandchild, and claims that they need money for an emergency.
Lottery or Prize: A scammer tells the consumer that the consumer won a lottery or prize and must send money to claim it.
Debt Collection: A scammer poses as a debt collector and uses threats to make the consumer settle the fake debt.
Employment Related: A scammer poses as an employer, gives a consumer a fake offer of employment, and tells a consumer to send money in connection with the offer of employment.
Online Dating Related: A scammer poses as an online dater, contacts a consumer who is dating online, and asks for money as a gift or to help with an emergency.
Secret Shopper: A scammer sends a consumer a check with a letter telling the consumer to deposit a check. The scammer then tells the consumer to go to various stores and purchase items, to wire money to the scammer, and not to tell the money transmitter why they are wiring money.
Advance Fee Loans: A scammer poses as an online lender and after the consumer submits a loan application, the consumer is directed to wire processing payments to the lender. Once the consumer wires the money, the loan is never received.
Transmitting money through licensees like Western Union or MoneyGram is a secure option for consumers as these companies have anti-fraud materials at each of their locations and online.
Contact Mike Wilson at mikewilson@cwi.edu or 208.562.3193 with questions or for more information, and stay tuned for more tips and information on cybersecurity awareness in future issues of Bert’s Alerts.