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This scam starts with consumers receiving a phone call with news that they have been selected by a government agency to receive a free grant of thousands of dollars that does not have to be repaid. The caller then asks for the consumer’s bank account information so the money can be transferred into the account. Fortunately, most of those reporting to us say they refused and hung up on the caller, but some complied and their bank accounts were wiped out.
For more tips, FAQs, helpful links, and contact info, visit our consumer Web site: www.vaag.com/consumer.
Contact our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-451-1525 or complete our contact form.
2. Telemarketing/Telephone Scams
Most consumers know the routine: you sit down to dinner and the telephone rings. You answer it. There is a pleasant voice trying to sell you something. If you are tempted by the offer, you had better get the facts before a potential fraud gets you. Although most telephone sales pitches are made on behalf of legitimate organizations offering bona fide products and services, there are many unscrupulous companies involved in telemarketing fraud. Fraudulent telemarketers use phony prizes, cheap products and high-pressure sales tactics to defraud consumers. It is estimated that telemarketing fraud robs consumers of more than $40 billion each year.
Alarmingly, seniors are three times as likely to become victims of telemarketing fraud. Fraudulent telemarketers try to take advantage of seniors on the theory that they may be more trusting and polite toward strangers. Older women living alone are particularly targeted.
For more tips, FAQs, helpful links, and contact info, visit our consumer Web site: www.vaag.com/consumer.
Contact our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-451-1525 or complete our contact form.
Scam operators — often based in Canada — are using the telephone and direct mail to entice U.S. consumers to buy chances in high-stakes foreign lotteries from as far away as Australia and Europe. These lottery solicitations violate U.S. law, which prohibits the cross-border sale or purchase of lottery tickets by phone or mail.
Still, federal law enforcement authorities are intercepting and destroying millions of foreign lottery mailings sent or delivered by the truckload into the U.S. And consumers, lured by prospects of instant wealth, are responding to the solicitations that do get through — to the tune of $120 million a year, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
For more tips, FAQs, helpful links, and contact info, visit our consumer Web site: www.vaag.com/consumer.
Contact our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-451-1525 or complete our contact form.
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. In 2005, identity theft complaints made up thirty seven percent (37 percent) of all fraud complaints in the United States. Currently, Virginia ranks 17th in the nation in the total number of known victims of identity theft. Technological advances have created an information revolution that has transformed government, business, commerce, education and communication. Unfortunately, the increased use of computers has also increased opportunities for criminal activity. Our Computer Crime Section receives reports about identity thieves and con artists every day who use technology as a tool to perpetrate crimes.
In Virginia, identity theft is a serious crime. Currently, an identity thief whose crime results in financial loss up to $200 faces a misdemeanor conviction and confinement for not more than 12 months and/or a maximum fine of $2,500. An identity thief whose crime results in financial loss greater than $200, faces a felony conviction and a term of imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than five years.
For more tips, FAQs, helpful links, and contact info, visit our consumer Web site: www.vaag.com/consumer.
Contact our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-451-1525 or complete our contact form.
Under the Virginia Prizes and Gifts Act, if you are told that you have won a prize or gift, you do not have to submit to a sales pitch or pay any money in order to receive your prize or gift. You must be given your prize or gift within ten days, without any obligation. If you receive a notice that you are eligible to win or receive a prize, Virginia law requires that you be told what the prize is worth. Your prize notification is also required to contain information that reveals the retail value of each prize, the odds of winning each prize, the exact number of prizes to be awarded and what conditions must be met to receive the prize. Shipping charges for the gift or prize cannot exceed the cost of postage or delivery service, and the handling charges cannot exceed the lesser of the cost of handling or $5.
For more tips, FAQs, helpful links, and contact info, visit our consumer Web site: www.vaag.com/consumer.
Contact our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-451-1525 or complete our contact form.
The most visible form of advance fee fraud today is the Nigerian Letter or 419 fraud, named after the section of the Nigerian criminal code that it violates. These scams have come to be associated with Nigeria due to the massive proliferation of such confidence tricks from that country since the early 1990s, as well as the reputation of the country for corruption. Originally, the schemers contacted mainly heads of companies and church officials, often by fax or postal mail. However, the use of e-mail spam and instant messaging for the initial contacts has led to many private citizens also being targeted, as the cost to the scammers to make contact is much lower. A typical letter claims to come from a person needing to transfer large sums of money out of the country or from a lottery company.
For more tips, FAQs, helpful links, and contact info, visit our consumer Web site: www.vaag.com/consumer.
Contact our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-451-1525 or complete our contact form.
Most Medicare payment errors are simple mistakes and are not the result of physicians, providers, or suppliers trying to take advantage of the Medicare system. If you have a question or concern regarding a Medicare claim submitted on your behalf, you should discuss it directly with your physician, provider, or supplier that provided the service.
The vast majority of physicians, providers, and suppliers who serve people with Medicare are committed to providing high quality care to their patients and to billing the program only for the payments they have earned.
However, there are a few individuals who are intent on abusing or defrauding Medicare, cheating the program (and in some cases the people with Medicare who are liable for co-payments) out of millions of dollars annually. Medicare fraud takes a lot of money every year from the Medicare program.
For more tips, FAQs, helpful links, and contact info, visit our consumer Web site: www.vaag.com/consumer.
Contact our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-451-1525 or complete our contact form.
“Phishing” (also called “spoofing”) occurs when thieves send an e-mail that appears to have been sent from the domain of a legitimate retailer, bank, credit card or insurance agency. In recent months, fraudsters have spoofed customers of Citibank, BestBuy, Earthlink, eBay, PayPal and even the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Thieves send emails to millions of internet users that ask them to update their account information for banks, credit cards, online payment services or popular shopping sites. Frequently, the email claims that the recipient’s account information has expired or has been lost and the account holder needs to immediately resend it to the company.
For more tips, FAQs, helpful links, and contact info, visit our consumer Web site: www.vaag.com/consumer.
Contact our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-451-1525 or complete our contact form.
The ease and convenience of shopping online has led an increasing number of consumers to purchase goods and services on the Internet. In the process, customers transmit personal information such as their Social Security Numbers, and credit card numbers through cyberspace. While some of these web sites are safe and serve their purpose well, others either do not have the proper security measures or present a fraudulent front with the sole purpose of gaining personal information.
In 2002, nearly one in four Virginians reported that they were a victim of a fraudulent act. The most common forms of Internet fraud are credit card fraud and Internet auction fraud.
- Unauthorized charges.
- Charges that list the wrong amount.
- Charges for goods which were not delivered as agreed.
For more tips, FAQs, helpful links, and contact info, visit our consumer Web site: www.vaag.com/consumer.
Contact our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-451-1525 or complete our contact form.
For many Virginians, their home is their most valuable financial asset. For this reason, it is important to be cautious when hiring someone to do home improvements. Home improvement scams ensnare many unwary consumers, especially during tough economic times. Bogus and substandard services and products for the home are among the leading causes of consumer complaints nationwide. Seniors are especially vulnerable to this form of consumer fraud.
For more tips, FAQs, helpful links, and contact info, visit our consumer Web site: www.vaag.com/consumer.
Contact our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-451-1525 or complete our contact form.