That's the advice authorities gave Tuesday to avoid getting scammed in mass-marketing fraud schemes proliferating throughout the globe.
The warning was issued by the FBI in Los Angeles in partnership with various other federal agencies and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as part of a "Multi-National Day of Action" aimed at mass-marketing fraud.
Authorities in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are also raising awareness about the problem this week.
The schemes, which often prey on the elderly and originate in foreign countries, involve variations of fake prize promotions, advance-fee loan rip-offs, fake lotteries, and credit card or loan scams.
Typically, people with poor or nonexistent credit are offered credit cards or loans for an advance fee.
One common scam known as the mystery shopper involves sending victims fake checks and asking them to deposit the money and then wire the funds to the scammer to evaluate money transfer services. The victims were ultimately sending their own money because while banks are required to make funds available within days, it can take several weeks before a check bounces.
"It's a scam a month," said Steven Martinez, FBI Assistant Director in Charge. "They cast their net widely and over a matter of years."
In the last six months, a federal task force along with other foreign law enforcement agencies have indicted 15 defendants from Canada and Riverside. In about the same time, the Department of Justice has brought charges against 80 defendants in 53 mass-marketing fraud cases across the nation, totaling about $500 million in losses.
Annually, the losses are estimated to be in the billions, according to the FBI.
"Fraud cannot be eradicated as long as there are greedy people," said Andre Birotte Jr., U.S. attorney for Los Angeles. "The persistent problem is fraud schemes that target the most vulnerable members of our society."
Frank Villela, who lives in the San Fernando Valley, fell victim to the lottery scam.
As is common in the scam, Villela received a call from someone pretending to be with a legitimate foreign lottery. He had won the prize, but in order to claim it, he would first need to send in $24.95 for a processing fee. After he sent that in, he then had to send in various amounts for customs fees or taxes.
When he questioned the scheme and threatened to call the FBI, the scammer even gave Villela the FBI's number, which turned out to be fake. The "agent" who answered told Villela that the scheme was legitimate and even provided him with a fake badge number.
Villela was about to wire $5,000 when a clerk at Western Union told Villela that the man he was wiring money to someone in the Philippines who was wanted by police.
"I don't know how I got fooled," said Villela, 78, who had been hoping to use the money to support his wife and three children. "I feel dumb. After sending so much money already, I thought I might as well send more."
By then, Villela had sent about $18,000.
Kathryn Wooten, 54, of Inglewood, lost about $11,000 in the same scheme. But she lost several thousand more when the bank froze her assets when she and her husband unknowingly tried to cash a fake check that the scammer had sent, telling her to send back the difference.
"My husband wanted to give up on life because he felt like he let me down and he let God down," Wooten said. "We were just normal working people, waiting for retirement."
Credits: Yahoo Online - By: C.J. Lin, Staff Writer
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