It can be fun to dress up and pretend to be someone else for Halloween, a costume party or for Vestey days. However, being taken by a person cloaking themselves behind a mask of impostership is anything but amusing, it is offensive and criminal. Imposters hide behind their veils of phones, emails, falsified documents and revolving bank accounts. They pose as an authority, an acquaintance and even use the voice of someone familiar. They can be friendly, commanding and down-right nasty.
To seem credible to their victim, persuasion is their plot to thievery. Their ultimate goal is quite simple. They want two things: personal information and money. When these are surrendered by their victims, the con artists are not concerned with the wake of financial harm, emotional distress and humiliation they cause.
Below are true stories from individuals in Superior who were willing to share their disturbing experiences with tricksters in hopes it helps to enlighten and protect our tight-knit communities against scammers. All names in the stories have been changed for confidentiality.
Imposter phone calls, or vishing
Vishing or voice phishing is where the imposter is vexing the caller to get personal information.
She received a voicemail on her cell phone causing fear and panic for the whole day. The female voice message said she had papers to serve and if there were any questions about it to call the number left on the message. This raised immediate concern for Rose, so she called the phone number given. A different woman, Tanith, claimed to work for an attorney’s office representing her credit card company. Tanith knew Rose’s name, birthdate, last four digits of her social security number, name of her credit card, the timeline of when she opened her account and of her last payment. It all sounded legitimate. Tanith continued to say Rose had an unpaid balance. “Well, I thought I paid…wait maybe I am mistaken,” Rose thought to herself. Rose was taken by surprise. An event a from a few years prior did occur when she went through a rough spell, but she was sure her creditor was paid off, but quickly became unsure.
Tanith proceeded to ask Rose, “Are you interested in paying a one-time settlement in the amount of $928.00 or $260.00 per month for the next six months?” It didn’t strike Rose that the $260 per month for six months is $632 greater than the $928 and nothing was mentioned of an interest fee in the conversation. The payment due would be outstanding if it was not paid by noon that day. If payment was not received, Rose would be served papers either at her home or place of employment, by an employee from their office. Tanith also warned that at the time of serving, Rose would need to provide two forms of identification.
Suddenly Rose panicked. It was important to her to keep her credit in good standing. At this point Rose would have paid, but didn’t have an extra $1,000. Rose explained to Tanith she would have to borrow the money. Tanith, likely holding back her exhilaration of the prospect of being paid, asked Rose for a credit card. It was fortunate for Rose she did not have one to use and said she would have to call her back when she borrowed the money. Tanith, reluctant to hang up with Rose without payment, but agreed. Trying to not lose control of this deal, Tanith called Rose back repeatedly over the next few hours.
Rose’s usual morning routine was rapidly coming apart. She was late to work. She was nervous all day that an unknown person could show up at her job to serve her mysterious papers. In hearing the story, the boss and coworkers were in agreement that it sounded like a scam, but to Rose it was a real threat. “It scared me so bad. It was so believable because of all the personal information she knew about me.” It was an added interruption to her day to contact the Nuckolls County Sheriff’s Department to file a report. The personal there explained the common scheme. The Sheriff’s department is the only one who serves papers and they never ask for two forms of identification. Additionally, they reassured Rose, they didn’t have any paperwork allocated for her. Even so, Rose felt anxious thinking she was in some kind of trouble. She intently watched the clock throughout the day thinking someone was really going to show up at her place of employment.
It was all a ploy. The employee from supposed attorney’s office was a no-show. The scammer had plenty of information about Rose, but didn’t get any more that would fulfill the sham. Relieved that day was over, Rose said, “I felt violated that someone could get that information from me.”
Scammers are skilled at evoking emotions and flustering their victims as they attack in diverse directions causing turmoil hoping the impact will have a payoff for them.
Caller ID spoofing
A fake number, appears on the caller ID to be a local call. In reality, it is really just a mask over the real number they are calling from. This complicates matters when people depend on the caller ID to help them monitor incoming calls before answering it. “I don’t answer my phone anymore. I can’t trust the caller ID. If a telemarketer is brave enough to leave a message, I’ve noticed the phone number they leave doesn’t match the phone number represented on my cell phone caller ID,” said Sharon. “It is annoying and a waste of my time,” Sharon continued, “that I have to listen to part of the voicemail just in case it is someone legitimately trying to reach me. It’s also quite hilarious to hear. Apparently, I have been ‘pre-approved’ for a $35,000 loan and now it’s up to $48,000. I wonder, if I were to return their call, how much money they would ask me to send them so I could get this fictitious loan. I don’t bother calling them. I do block their numbers, but they use another one.”
Scammer telemarketers seek to find the right persons who is in financial distress and who will fall prey to their financial assistance scheme. Remember, no one is obliged to return their calls. If individuals need financial relief, it is better for them to initiate a call to known, trusted loan officers.
Medicare and health
insurance scams
Loralei, who spoke English clearly without an accent, had phoned Sarah to ask if she had received her plastic Medicare card yet. Sarah responded she hadn’t. Loralei said she would mail one to her. Loralei had yet to identify what organization she was with. To make sure she was speaking to the right person, Loralei asked Sarah to verify the issue date on her card; Sarah did so without thinking this could become detrimental. Next, Loralei tested Sarah one step further and asked her to read the Medicare number on the card to her. At that moment, Sarah realized the caller was a fraud and said to the so-called Loralei, “ ‘I am not interested.’ I didn’t give her an opportunity to respond. I just hung up,” said Sarah.
Nebraska Senior Health Insurance Program, or SHIP, emphasize this direction with these callers - “Hang up! It’s shrewed to be rude.” Nobody needs to continue a conversation or owes a potential scammer an explanation to disconnect a call. Senior Medicare patrol, Carol Harrah, with SHIP recommends reporting, “It’s better to report than to remain silent.” SHIP can be reached at
1-877-839-2675. Investigations are thorough and victims will receive a follow up report even if it takes a couple of years. Medicare accepts reporting as well: 1-800-633-4227.
There are callers who misrepresent themselves as health insurance agents. Their main target are senior citizens. Their strategy is to appear helpful in assisting people in obtaining coverage especially during open enrollment periods. They know individuals would be renewing their benefits or searching for a new plan. The fraudster will ask for personal information in attempt to commit health insurance fraud in your name and-or collect payment for a coverage that does not exist by the scammer.
An important key here is Medicare or other insurance carriers will not call to renew plans. If, for some rare reason they do, hang up with them and call the carrier using the phone number on the back of your card or from a statement and not the phone number the caller gives you. Note, health insurance carriers, already have your personal information and would not need to ask for it. Simply hang up.
Harrah also draws attention to the importance of reviewing quarterly summary notes mailed from Medicare. First, Harrah suggests keeping a calendar of medical and imaging appointments, prescriptions and medical supplies. When the summary note arrives in the mail read it over comparing to the notes on your calendar. Are they charges for products, medication and services you did not receive? These lined items can be mixed in with your fees. Make notations of what is not yours and call SHIP and Medicare for assistance. “Nebraska is No. 6 for reporting fraud. So don’t be embarrassed if you are the victim. If you call us, we can help you,” said Harrah.
The grandparent scam and elder financial exploitation
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau declares elder financial exploitation “is the most common form of elder abuse.” This type of abuse can be done by “strangers who gain the trust of older adults, but can also be family members or friends.” These seniors often lose money and possessions from this manner of fraud and can be devastating to them. For more information see http://www.consumerfinan
cialprotectionbureau.gov.
Abigail and her sister call their senior parents daily. One evening, Anna, Abigail’s mother, quietly mentioned that their grandson, Alex, was coming for a visit the next day. Curious, Abigail asked how she knew that. “He called and said he needed some money because he didn’t have enough to get here,” said Anna. She then whispers “but it’s a secret. I am not supposed to tell anyone.”
Abigail had read the newspaper a short time earlier and learned about this type of scam. She told her mother she believed this is what had happened. Anna insisted it was his voice. After disconnecting with her mother, Abigail called family to see if the planned visit was true. Alex confirmed he was not going there for a visit and proceeded to call the grandparents to tell them so. However, earlier that day, Abigail’s parents had driven about 20 miles into town to their bank and had $1,000.00 electronically given to whom they thought was their grandson. The bank officials tried to talk them out of the transaction, but they insisted because it was so real to them. The money was not recouped. “If we didn’t talk to them every day, I am convinced my parents would have lost a lot more,” said Abigail.
Imposters can also impersonate a familiar voice. They can obtain the voices by videos posted online, or from a phone call. Again, if they are asking for personal information or money, it is okay to doubt if you are really talking to the right person. If it is sincerely a family member or a friend then you can call them back on the phone number you already have for them.
Another grandparent scam is a phony who makes random calls until they connect with a senior citizen. They allege to the elderly that their grandchild, or relative, is in an emergency situation and needs money. The FBI Public Service Announcement in Nov. 2023 reported that in nine months’ time they received 195 victim complaints from this type of scam. It resulted in a minimum of “$1.9 million dollars in victim losses.” The scammer’s have well-constructed lies that seem inconspicuous. Often a few players are involved in this charade.
The first call is to shock. They report a family member is in jail from causing an accident involving a “diplomat or pregnant woman.” The second caller poses as the relative’s attorney and “requests payment for legal fees, bond money or medical expenses” for the injured. Additional calls give orders to maintain secrecy, which can be referred to as a “judge-imposed gag order” and if the grandparent victim breaks the secret the relative will incur more fines and jail time. The final act is to ask for payment. The victims are asked to send a wire transfer, mail cash stuffed inside reading material or to hand money over to a courier, also a part of the deceptive drama. The FBI tips are, if you receive an unsolicited call “urgently requesting money, hang up. Verify the story with your family member by calling them directly.” Victims may report to http://www.fbi.gov or http://www.tips.fbi.gov or 202-324-3000.
Email imposters or
phishing scammers
The business email imposter also uses a multi-layered approach to accomplish robbery. They start with “spoofing” which is what fraudsters do in creating an email to disguise themselves as a trusted company. Their fake emails are an attempt to trick the reader into calling them for some necessary reason. They continue the trickery so they can obtain more personal information or a payment through wire transfer or on a debit or credit card.
Connie received an email from, what appeared to be, a well-known antivirus software company she uses. The subject line read “Thank you for your order.” Knowing she hadn’t ordered anything she felt pressured to see what has been charged to her account. The email pronounced “Your order for McAfee protection package has been successfully renewed.” Further down the page it said “Your subscription is about to renew and $489.99 will be taken out of your account.” An interesting conflict looms with the email giving two different messages: thanking her for a paid order and it’s about to renew-which is it? She knew she hadn’t ordered anything and wondered why the renewal would be so costly for her personal computer. Puzzled, Connie called the 800-contact number listed in the email and spoke with Jacob.
It had only been a few days since Connie had endured medical challenges making it difficult to think or concentrate clearly, but she was doing her best to resolve the situation. Connie told Jacob she didn’t want that plan. He performed as accommodating. While on the phone with her, Jacob asked to have access to her computer and he would refund her the $500. She agreed to every step of the process including giving him access to her bank accounts, so he could make the deposit. Abruptly, her computer screen went black and the only thing she could see was the cursor moving around quickly. Jacob had hijacked her computer. Connie challenged Jacob on what he was doing telling him he needed to stop. It seemed to Connie, that there was more than one person involved on the other side of her computer screen. Then the screen scrolled through various pages. Finally, Jacob instructed Connie to type $500.00, which she followed. During the process, Jacob would tell Connie to not disconnect her computer or internet. All of a sudden, she could see what appeared to be her bank account online. Instead of being $500.00 deposited the screen showed $10,500. Menacing, Jacob freaked out with a quiver in his voice saying he would get fired because he deposited too much money.
Jacob’s superficial helpfulness changed quickly to being demanding to get that money back. Connie was feeling stressed to help him. He insisted that she wire him the money and asked for her driver’s license number. With clearness, Connie knew something wasn’t right and didn’t give him what he requested. She quickly disconnected the computer and her internet service all the while Jacob is still on the phone with her and his accommodating customer service became nasty. He no longer had control of her computer and wanted money he didn’t actually deposit.
What Connie was actually seeing on her computer was a JavaScript image of her account that had been altered by Jacob, and perhaps fellow felons, to show the large amount of money. It was an image covering the real view of her account. While Jacob worked behind the scenes viewing her real banking balance. Like most people, she was unaware of what was happening or to know that a simple refresh of the page would have wiped out what Jacob had done and she would see her real online bank account revealing her correct balance.
However, Connie believed an honest mistake had occurred and proceeded to initiate the wire transfer to return money she thought didn’t belong to her. Reviewing the situation over the next half a day, Connie realized it was a con. Immediately she called her credit union who made attempts to capture the wire and recall the ACH swift transfer, but it was too late. The receiving institution rejected the request of intervention or information as the money was received and the account had closed.
It was that fast. The money was deposited and moved elsewhere making it hard to track down. Keep in mind that wire transfers are quick, usually completing within 10 minutes to two hours, but less than 24 hours. Once a banking customer authorizes an ACH wire and the money goes through, it is no longer the bank’s responsibility and becomes the customer’s loss. This scoundrel, “Jacob,” swindled $10,000! Distressed and in disbelief that she succumbed to the scam, Connie had to close accounts, reopen new ones, replace her debit card and change all passwords. Her computer was compromised, so she took it to a technician out of town. She made several phone calls to report the incident including to the Sheriff’s office, social security, all accounts that she had autopay set up, the FBI, Nebraska’s attorney general and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency who would not help with her complaint, stating in a letter that she was not the “account holder or signer on the other account”- held by the scammer. In tears, Connie, was bewildered with being taken advantage and during a time when she was doing her best to take care of herself and being responsible to handle financial matters.
It is common for senior citizens and those cognitively struggling, respectively, for whatever the reason to be manipulated and easily confused. Scammers demand the person to stay on the phone, tell them to not hang up and to not talk to anyone. This is abuse over the phone and can be reported to the agencies listed in Connie’s story and to the Federal Trade Commission, FTC, at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
The Nuckolls County Senior Center has hosted speakers on the matter of scammers at the Vestey Center. Superior’s bank representatives have addressed this topic to inform the community of what to look out for with scammers and steps they can take to protect themselves. Check with Brenda to see when the next guest speaker gets scheduled.
Banking
Lineysha received a call from the fraud department of her credit union asking if she authorized a $30 transaction and was informed of a $2.00 one as well. Many times, criminals will use stolen card numbers and make small charges to see if it goes through then jump up to larger amounts of money. Even though the fraud department of her credit union called her, Lineysha finished the call with them, hung up then called her local branch to verify the notification was legitimate. It was valid and she disputed authorization of those transactions. However, the credit union would not refund her money as the charges came through as “preapproved.” Lineysha insisted it was fraudulent. The credit union had the phone number linked to the charges and told Lineysha that she could call the number herself to get the money back. Quite taken back by the suggestion, she refuted, telling the representative she would not call a scammer where they could get her phone number or attempt to get any other information from her. This “preapproved” method requires further investigation.
Typically, credit unions and banks support their members as much as they can in prevention of fraudulent activity and in cases of pilfering. To keep track of transactions, Superior banks have recommended frequent monitoring of your accounts for suspicious activity and notify the bank immediately if there is a dispute. Check monthly statements or with online banking weekly, daily checks can be done. Banking customers can elect to have restrictions and alerts on their accounts. For example, one can be notified for every transaction that goes through their account. On bank’s websites they have fraud information available and transaction notifications can be set up there as well. If a person is not computer or internet savvy, branch offices have written materials and welcome face-to-face support to answer questions and concerns about safeguarding your identity and money. If they are cautioning you from placing a wire transfer, stop and listen. Make sure what you are about to send is exactly whom you want to send money to.
Facebook and Messenger scams
Facebook has been a way for people to connect near and afar and is used a lot by Superior’s community. Scammers will attempt to befriend people on Facebook pages and will ask for a “friend request.” If accepted, they begin to ask questions to obtain the same thing; personal information. Scammers take notes on liabilities, get stories, photos and voices of the Facebook user and their true friends. Furthermore, scammers will send a fake message that “your account will be disabled if you don’t click to verify who you are,” said anchorman of WCNC on their Aug. 15, 2023 YouTube video. The BBB reminds users that Facebook doesn’t send messages in this manner. Theirs are posted in settings. For current Facebook scams can be found on the internet.
IRS scams
Remember, the IRS will not call or email you. That is the same with Social Security and Medicare. It is, though, income tax season and another avenue for thieves to try to steal your money. Chief of police, Young, describes this scam as a poser calling to say they are from the IRS and “there’s a problem with your return. We need to verify you…” and they proceed to ask for personal information. As warned previously, it is best to hang up and not disclose your identity. The IRS would mail a letter, even so, verify the validity of the phone number in the correspondence before calling.
Identity theft
Identity theft has been around for a while, yet is still on the increase. Many homes have shredders now. Shredding papers with personal identifying information is an effective way to decrease the risk of your name and addressed being picked out of your garbage. Creating different passwords for different accounts and not using identifying information like names and birthdates reduces identity theft. Changing passwords frequently is also effective. Thieves can get your information from talking with you on the phone, from the internet, medical records, at public businesses and from family.
Yasmin received calls from a couple of creditors asking for the defaulted payments on the accounts. She was 100 percent confident she did not have credit with them. The representatives were unpleasant and pushy demanding payment which Yasmin refused to make. Yasmin began to ask questions herself to get to the bottom of the matter. Ultimately, the discovery was a family member used her full identity, including signature, to open three credit cards and defaulted on all of them. Distraught and in disbelief Yasmin had to file a police report against a close relative in order to validate that it was not her that opened the accounts. The matter was brought to court with the individual present and facing jail time. The guilty kin was charged with two felonies: identity theft and forgery and received a sentence of several years of probation and no contact directly or indirectly to their relative victim. The guilty had challenges getting employment because of being a felon.
It took months to get Yasmin’s credit cleared. Fraud alert was set up on all three credit bureaus. “I had excellent credit, but every time I applied for credit the credit freeze surfaced to the creditor and I had to prove who I was each time. It was an aggravation and a reminder of the whole stressful situation,” said Yasmin. Like victims of any crime, those who have experience identity theft go through a lot of emotions. “I felt betrayed. I couldn’t believe it was happening. I was deeply hurt and it changed our relationship forever,” said Yasmin.
Conclusion
Be watchful for other areas scammers try to scam: counterfeit checks, gift cards, QR codes, jobs, romance scams and more. Many agree with the ol’ adage, “if it sounds too good to be true, it is.” Chief of police, Young, encourages people to report by calling the Nuckolls County Sheriff’s non-emergency number at 402-225-2831, so the call can be logged with date and time. Messages will be forwarded to him to investigate.
As you can see, thieves go to great lengths to appear authentic and creditable. Let’s uncover their pretenses. They are conniving and calculating to obtain your: money and identity. Perhaps posting a mnemonic near the home phone or in notepad in your cell phone will help to pause when “dealing with high pressured tactics from fraudsters,” said Wayne S. Bell, of Renewed Arts and Housing Foundation Inc. He suggests, S.T.O.P. as defined:
S= “Stop whatever you are doing, and pause immediately without acting.” Give yourself time to think; there’s no rush.
T= “Think and take a deep breath.” Realign yourself to think rationally.
O= “Observe the situation as objectively as possible.” Observe what is happening around you. Ask the caller for their name and number; they usually will hang up.
P= “Proceed” for a scammer caller, to hang up. Report scam to appropriate agencies before deleting an email or text.
Lastly, “Why don’t they, scammers, get a real job?” so many people have asked. Perhaps because we keep paying them.
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