Another recent scam has been reported locally in which the scammer sends a text indicating they have accessed your phone and that if you do not pay them, they will make embarrassing photos or texts public.

We have received reports that fraudulent applications are being filed for FEMA relief. If you believe that you are the victim of disaster relief fraud associated with FEMA, please report the fraud directly to the FEMA Fraud Branch

Unfortunately scammers look for opportunities during a crisis to create new scams or revamp existing scams. The Federal Trade Commission is issuing warnings regarding these scams.

On April 3, 2020, Governor Newsom issued a new Executive Order relating to price gouging during the ongoing COVID 19 crisis.  The order extends the price gouging limitations through September 4, 2020 for certain products

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a settlement with the University of Phoenix based on deceptive advertisements that falsely touted their relationships and job opportunities with companies such as AT&T, Yahoo!, Microsoft and other companies. The school did not have relationships with these companies. According to the FTC this is the largest settlement that they have obtained against a for-profit school. $50 million of the $191 settlement will be used to provide consumer refunds and $141 million in debt forgiveness.

Our office has received a report that individuals are going door to door in senior communities and offering a service to help elderly or disabled persons sign up for In-Home Support Services for a flat fee of $500.   

PG&E has established a $100 Million emergency relief fund to help wildfire victims in need of immediate financial assistance to help defer costs for housing, food, medical and other normal living expenses.

A reminder to be aware of rental scams.  We have received reports of new scams involving properties in Sonoma County. In these cases, a person runs an ad usually on Craig’s list advertising a property is for rent and instructs you to drive by.

On May 31, 2019, Governor Newsom extended the Price Gouging protections under Penal Code Section 396 for Sonoma County and other counties affected by wildfires.

The San Diego County Grand jury handed down a criminal indictment which uncovered a statewide financial fraud related to the operation, control and oversight of 19 charter schools including the California Sonoma STEAM II charter school in the Guerneville Elementary School District. 

The FTC announced it has reached a $35 million dollar settlement with Office Depot Inc. and a California-based tech support software provider.  Office Depot which merged with Office Max in 2013 provided a free service “ PC Check Up” to customers to scan their computers using the diagnostic program created by the software company. 

The Federal Trade Commission reports a spike in the number of people receiving fake calls from the Social Security Administration.  Since January 2018, the FTC reports they have received 63,000 reports and losses of $16.6 million

The Federal Trade Commission reports that it received nearly 143,000 reports about Tech Scams last year.  The statistics show that people over 60 are more than five times likely than younger people to lose money on this type of scam even though they are less likely to lose money on other types of scams.

A fraudulent email is circulating offering to sell Art Trails Open Studio 2018 Attendee list for a fee.

The Press Democrat reports that a Sonoma County resident received a phone call with a woman pretending to be his daughter screaming that she was in trouble.

The Federal Trade Commission reports that it had been receiving a number of reports about scams involving social security numbers. The scammers say that your social security number has been linked to a crime and that your number is being blocked and there is a fee to either unblock or get a new number.

Marriott International has announced that its Starwood Guest reservation database was breached which has exposed personal information of its guests.  This includes the names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, passport numbers, dates of birth, gender and reservation information. 

The Price Gouging protections under Penal Code 396 have been extended by the Governor through May 31, 2019.

A new law effective September 21, 2018 allows you to freeze and unfreeze your credit file with the credit reporting agencies for free. 

As many of our prior posts have indicated, scammers frequently use gift cards as a way to obtain payment because they are not traceable and no stop payment can be placed on them. 

The Federal Trade Commission has posted new resources for small businesses to help protect them from cybersecurity threats. 

Many scammers take advantage of our familiarity with well know businesses and their logos so that you think you are receiving an email from a store that you may do business with.

With the many recent disasters that have occurred locally and in the news, it is important to be aware that scammers unfortunately take advantage by exploiting these tragedies. For a helpful list of tips to consider when donating to charities

The Federal Trade Commission announced that it is refunding $505 million dollars to consumers who took out loans between January 2009 and January 2013 from AMG Services and its related companies.

Be aware of fraudulent emails indicating that an order was sent you you’re from eBay and advising to click on a link if you believe this was sent to you in error. These links may be spoofing emails, virus or phishing emails. Do not click on links. Contact ebay directly using their customer service number or email from their official website.   

Be aware of fraudulent emails purporting to be from Fed Ex advising you that they were unable to deliver a package to you and that you need to click a link to update your address or obtain the invoice to pick up a package.

The Federal Trade Commission announced it has filed a lawsuit against a company Amazing Wealth Systems—also known as AWX, FBA Stores and Online Auction Center—which advertised “Get started selling on Amazon and make $5,000-10,000 in next 30 days, even if you’ve never sold anything online before”.

On April 13, 2018, the Governor issued Executive Order B-51-18 which extended the price gouging protections under Penal Code 396 through December 4, 2018.

The Federal Trade Commission has received reports that consumers are receiving calls from individuals pretending to be with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF).

Starting in April 2018, Medicare will begin mailing new cards to recipients of Medicare benefits. The new cards will not have your social security number on them but will have a unique Medicare number.

We have received reports that individuals have been contacted by an individual representing that he is an officer with Health & Human Services that they have received a grant from Health & Human Services and they must first pay a fee with a gift card to receive the grant. This is a scam.

We previously provided information that the Federal Trade Commission had reached a settlement with Western Union to refund money to individuals that scammers had pay money through Western Union as part of the scam.  The time to file a claim for a refund has now been extended to May 31, 2018.

The Federal Trade Commission has charged a student loan debt relief organization with bilking more than $28 million from thousands of consumers by falsely promising that consumer’s monthly payments would go towards paying off their student loans.

A local hospital has reported that several of its patients have received calls advising them that a back brace that has been ordered for them and asking for the patient for their Medicare information for payment when no such device was ordered for the patient.

We have received a recent complaint that an individual who was attempting to sell an item on Craig’s List received a fraudulent email purporting to come from Pay Pal advising them that a payment had been received and to send money for shipping costs in order to receive payment for the item they were attempting to sell.

Fraudulent bills for fire debris removal have been reported by property owners in Mendocino County who are participating in the state-sponsored fire debris removal program.

The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a settlement agreement with Western Union to pay $586 Million dollars to victims of scams that used Western Union to wire money. Many of these scams involved people posing as family members in need of money or requesting money to claim a prize.

Sonoma County and Napa have received complaints of persons identifying themselves as “FEMA inspectors” coming to resident’s homes and asking for personal information. Reports have also been received that false FEMA claims have been filed using resident’s personal information such as social security numbers and when the resident attempts to file for aid they are advised an application has already been filed under their name.

The Governor issued an Executive Order which extends the protections against price gouging under Penal Code Section 396 as discussed below through April 18, 2018.