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By: Dorothy Riggs, CFE On September 7, 2017 news outlets began reporting that Equifax, one of the three major consumer credit-reporting agencies, had been the target of a major data breach.  Based on Equifax’s investigation, cyber criminals gained unauthorized access to data from mid-May through July 2017. Equifax confirmed that exposed data includes credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 people and personal identifying information (PII) for about 182,000 people involved in credit report disputes.  PII includes sensitive information such as social security numbers, names, birth dates, driver licenses and addresses. According to reports,  143 million people could be affected by this breach . That being the case, you could absolutely be affected. To find out if your data was compromised Equifax has set up a  ‘Check Potential Impact’  site where you are asked to enter your last name and the last 6 digits of your social.  After doing so, you’ll receive a message lett

By: Dorothy Riggs, CFE Catastrophic events like hurricanes Harvey and Irma tend to primarily bring out the best elements of humanity such as love, charity and compassion. However, we must sadly acknowledge that calamity also brings out the worst elements of society. The lure of financial gain leads some people to take advantage of others through the implementation of criminality and deceptive schemes.  Avoid being taken advantage of by being on the lookout for the following: Water-logged Cars According to Consumer Reports approximately 500,000 automobiles were damaged throughout Texas during hurricane Harvey. Several more vehicles were destroyed by the effects of Irma. Most of these car owners will be in the market to replace damaged cars.  It would be even more devastating if hurricane victims or any other used car buyer purchased one of the flooded cars.  Here are some things you should know before you buy: ·          Sellers often advertise flood-damaged a

5 Tips to help you pinpoint fraudsters By Dorothy Riggs, CFE What is fraud? According to the legal dictionary, fraud is typically understood as dishonesty enacted for unwarranted advantage. The legal definition is  A false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that deceives and is intended to deceive another so that the individual will act upon it to her or his legal injury. What kind of people commit fraud? Although fraud is a criminal offense in most cases, offenders don’t always gel into the stereotypical molds that are commonly reserved for delinquents. Fraudsters are often those who are least expected. The aptitude to commit fraud is not relegated to any specific group of people based on social status, intelligence, race, age or gender. Offenders can look like you and me.  Many are friends, family, rich, poor, parents, grandparents, employed, unemploy

Remote Access Fraud

R emote access is the ability to gain entrance to a computer or network from a remote location. Fraudsters frequently use this technique to swindle unsuspecting individuals financially.     Recent Remote Access Scam Incidents: Online Banking Last week one of my clients received a phone call from someone identifying himself as a representative of a company that she is familiar with and has had an ongoing monthly service contract with for a few years.   The caller informed my client that a review of her contract revealed that she had overpaid $300.   The caller then instructed my client to log into her online banking account and after doing so, to allow him remote access to her computer because he wanted to transfer the $300.00 overpayment into her account.   She complied.   She checked her account activity the next morning and sure enough funds were transferred into her account.   However, the transfer amount was $3000.00 instead of $300.00. A few moments after

As stated in my March 14th blog this year, impostor scams was named the # 1 type of fraud in 2016, according to  the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel project . Fraudsters have become more partial to these type schemes because they take minimal effort, the likelihood of getting caught is marginal and they are extremely lucrative. The video below details the scenario of a case I worked on last year involving an email account compromise. FraudSense with Dorothy video segment 5:   Scammed: I sent the down payment for my new house to a crook The couple in the video were unable to close on their house because due to an email impostor scam, they wired their $25,000 down payment to a crook. Bad actors are extremely clever.  Equipped with enough background information on their victims, they skillfully orchestrate believable email messages sent from the hacked or spoofed email accounts of the victim's true acquaintances.  They target businesses and individuals ali

Top 3 Employment Scam Indicators (Click to play FraudSense with Dorothy video) Whether you’re a college student looking for a job with flexible work hours, a new graduate interested in entering the workforce fulltime, a stay-at-home parent with small children, a retiree or a disabled person wanting to stay active or a fulltime worker seeking a way to supplement your current income, there are scores of people searching for employment.   Since we live in an age of digital technology most job searches involve the Internet.   While legitimate employers post ads on the Internet, so do fraudsters.   Thus, it’s vitally important that job seekers are aware that employment scams exist and learn how to recognize them.   Employment fraud is currently so prevalent that on January 28, 2017 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a Public Service Announcement alerting citizens about the overwhelming amount of college students being specifically targeted by this type of scam.  

Are you single and looking? If so, avoid being catfished by viewing this video segment of my Top 5 Romance Scam Red Flags.

Video segment 2 of FraudSense with Dorothy, my YouTube Channel

Watch the video linked below to learn basic fraud education & prevention tips about sweepstakes scams. FraudSense with Dorothy YouTube Video

By Dorothy Riggs, CFE During my years in customer service and as a fraud investigator I’ve conducted quite a few interviews.  From those interactions I’ve gathered some significant takeaways that alone prove neither guilt nor innocence.  However, they’ve proven to be helpful hints of guidance in the right direction regarding an individual’s involvement in questionable activity.

By Dorothy Riggs, CFE Reportedly, the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel project tallied 3 million consumer complaints received in 2016.   Regarding consumer fraud, identity theft has lost its #1 position.   Impostor fraud has taken the lead.   Last year victims lost $744.5 million collectively to impostor fraud schemes. What is Impostor Fraud? Impostor fraud involves fraudsters impersonating someone else in order to carry out a fraud scheme.   They often contact consumers pretending to be family members, law enforcement, representatives of government agencies, bill collectors and so on.

By:  Dorothy Riggs, CFE Being one of the people who still have a landline, upon arriving home one evening last week I listened to messages left on my answering machine and heard an unfamiliar voice asking “Can you hear me okay?” a few times before hanging up.  I thought it was strange.  Then I remembered a recent news story warning viewers about an old phone scam with a new twist where fraudsters phone you, begin talking, then suddenly ask, Can you hear me?  If you answer ‘yes’ your response is recorded and used to make unauthorized charges on a utility or phone bill. In some cases, your recorded acknowledgement is all it takes to make you liable not only for charges on phone and utilities, but items like cruises, office supplies and business services also.  So, when answering work and personal calls beware if you don’t want to receive unwanted products and invoices to contend with.

By:  Dorothy Riggs, CFE According to a report from a fraud-fighting colleague, Lycamobile customers are being targeted by scammers.  Lycamobile is a  mobile network operator company with competitive price offerings to consumers in 21 countries worldwide.  Don’t think the information in this post doesn’t apply to you because you use a different mobile network. Fraudsters show no partiality to one group over another. This time it’s Lycamobile customers who are being targeted. The next time it could be you. The Lyca Lottery scam works as follows: Perpetrators cold call Lycamobile customers, promising a £50k lottery win, once a £500 admin fee is paid.  Of course, once the £500 fee is paid the victim’s don’t receive a penny of the supposed lottery winnings.  To give the scheme an air of legitimacy, the crooks have set up a this sham website:   www.lycamobilewinners.com

I hope 2017 is off to an amazing start for everyone.  I have so many things I want to accomplish this year, so I've been busy planning.  Among my plans for fraud sense this year is GIVEAWAYS! I'm sure you have big dreams and goals to realize also.  So, I'm thrilled to announce our first GIVEAWAY! One of my subscribers will receive a Happy Planner kit to help chart the way to success this year! If I'm not mistaken, it was Benjamin Franklin who said "Failing to plan is planning to fail."  The graphic below contains the prize contents and entry rules.  Good luck!

By:   Dorothy Riggs, CFE Fraud activity is ever increasing and diverse in the methods in which it is executed.   Several really interesting fraud cases came to light in 2016.   Some of the top headlines included a designer handbag scam , BEC (Business Email Compromises) , EAC (Email Account Compromises) , romance schemes , card data breaches and hacking . As you can tell from these articles, any industry or aspect of life can be affected by trickery and deceit…fashion & beauty, romantic relationships, meals, daily business and even a country’s presidential election.