Common Scams and How To Avoid Being A Victim

A release from Stoneham Safety Officer Joseph Ponzo:

In the past, I have written articles about the different types of scams that criminal use to defraud
people. Criminals use clever schemes to defraud millions of people every year according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). So, how can one prevent becoming a victim? Well, unfortunately there’s no definite answer to this question and I have seen even the most educated and experienced person become victim. However, the single most effective way to not become a victim is to understand how these scams work and recognize the “red flags” of each scam.

The most common and widely used scam we see is the IRS Scam! This scam works in several different ways, but the most common one is where a phone call is made to the suspected victim stating they owe money to the IRS and to avoid being arrested they need to make immediate payment either via the internet or by mailing a check or money order immediately. It’s hard to say how the scam would be worded, because there are so many different ones that are used today, but the single most advice I can give you regarding this style scam involving the IRS is to simply have the knowledge that the IRS will NEVER call you by telephone or email. The IRS will either show up at your front door (which I have seen often) or send you a notification via mail. This is not to say scam artists won’t send you a letter, but it is more uncommon than the phone call. If you do receive a visit at your house, ask for identification and a supervisors phone number that you can track back to the government. If you receive a letter, give the letter to your tax preparation specialist and have them review it to see if it is legitimate.

Another scam, is to call you and notify you that a loved one has been injured out of state or even
arrested and to immediately send bail money or money to help them pay the hospital bills. Many of the people I have spoken to have stated that if they just called their loved one, they would’ve “known this was a scam.” This may sound simple enough, but the scam artists will do extensive research on you and your family via the internet, which in many instances is usually free and easy to find out. Once you hear a relatives name, maybe combined with what they do for work (or go to school), then the scam becomes more legitimate to the victim.

The last and very common scam we see is the scam involving payment either by wiring money or
payment by Apple gift cards. This may sound a bit obvious. But when the scammer is armed with
personal information they make this scam sound believable. This scam is either done by phone or even via email. They can disguise an email to look like it came from a friend, relative or boss and often times the email address is off by just one letter or digit and looks very real. I would suggest reaching out to the person the gift cards are meant for and most importantly, I have never seen anyone legitimately request gift cards for proper payment especially if it is to a well known company like Verizon or Comcast etc. I single these companies out only because I have seen this scam involving both companies and not because they have participated in this scam. Please keep this in mind. With these few tips, I am hoping we can eliminate anyone becoming a victim.

Remember Safety First!