SCAMS THAT ARE ON THE RISE

Shawn Dyer, Senior Fraud Specialist from Montecito Bank & Trust, shares the scams they're seeing more often. Here is a brief description of them: You are asked to verify a purchase. (Often, the purchase in question is said to be from Amazon or Paypal. People often panic when they think that they've been charged for a large purchase they didn't make. But BEWARE! Instead of corresponding with Amazon or Pay Pal, you may be speaking to a scammer who is trying to get your banking information. Shawn reports that the Utility Scam is still rearing its ugly heard. Someone will contact you, pretending to be from your utiility copany, threatening to shut off your services unless you immediately pay up! While scammers previously asked for payment by Gift Cards, (always a scam), more recently the scammer is likely to request payment with a p to p app such as Zelle of Venmo. (That's because the money is transferred to the scammer quickly!) Don't Fall For It! Companies are NOT going to ask you to pay this way. Lastly, people are getting calls from scammers who say you were overcharged and they want to give you a refund. Then they say that they mistakenly sent too much money, eliciting sympathy from the victim by telling them they're afraid they'll be fired if they don't get the overpayment back. (For example, the scammer said they were sending $350, but accidentally sent $35,000.) The scammer begs the victim to wire back the overpayment. Many people would not fall for this scam. But the particular woman that Shawn spoke of was elderly and very vulnerable. Even though the bank refused to make the wire transfer because they were suspicious, this elderly woman is now on the Scammer's Sucker List and it's likely they will continue to harass her with other scams. If you are caring for an elderly person who is vulnerable to these types of scams, ask them to use an answering machine or voice mail and to NEVER answer calls if they don't recognize the name on the caller ID. If you'd like to report a scam, please call the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office Fraud Hotline at 805-568-2442.