We have noticed an uptick in scams lately, right here in Brevard, targeting family, friends, and clients. Friends at the Sheriff’s office, local police, and other senior industry professionals are noticing this trend as well. Here are a few local scams, from bothersome to extremely worrisome.
Joann’s Bankruptcy
As a quilter, my mom is a Joann’s fanatic. While playing a game on her phone she had a pop-up ad about their bankruptcy and offering great sales. Woo-hoo! She was ordering away when I happened to stop over. It almost looked too good to be true, so went directly to Joann’s website. There are sales, but not nearly the prices advertised on what we now know is a fake site. The fake site is a scam, but it looks legitimate. The same logos, the merchandise, and the “URL” (website address) is very close. There were slight differences. The moral of the story: do NOT click on pop up ads from any social media. Go directly to the advertised store website and see if that sale is legit. If it isn’t a site you have heard of before, run the site through a platform like Trust Pilot (https://www.trustpilot.com/) to see if the online store is legitimate.
“Contactless” Financial Fraud
I attended a West Melbourne SALT meeting this morning and they relayed this new tweak to a financial scam happening here locally. You will get a call, text, or email notifying you of fraud on your bank account. (This is when you should hang up and call the bank directly.) Unfortunately, a local senior continued the call and was directed to take all of her money out of her account, was given a “new account number” to put the money into via ATM. Of course, the money was deposited into the scammers account which they withdrew immediately.
Space Coast Credit Union
West Melbourne PD also mentioned that scammers are targeting Space Coast Credit Union lately. For whatever reason, their customers are getting fraud alerts, and the scammers are trying to either get the money through “contactless” means as above or send someone to the house to pick up the cash to redeposit it on your behalf. There has been one arrest already with this particular scam, but police do not believe he was working alone.
Please remind friends and family to never give out personal information over the phone. When in doubt, don’t answer the phone! If it is important, they will leave a message. Always call the bank, credit card, or your grandson directly!