Next week’s topic is business related scams reported by Wyoming citizens.

Extortion Phone Scam:

A Big Horn citizen reported an extortion phone call from Mr. Jason Hunt. It said he had been retained for mediation and multiple infractions had been reported with this citizen’s name and social security number. It also said there was a pending summons to be delivered to her home and employer. The Big Horn citizen said they got her name wrong, which clued her into this being a scam. CyberWyoming Note: If you are worried about a phone call like this, call you’re the AARP Fraud Watch Helpline at 877-908-3360 or your local nonemergency number for the police department to discuss.

Amazon Fake Shipping Email:

A Laramie citizen reported an email from prateek5448agrawal@gmail.com spoofed as Order Update with the subject line of “Purchase Status.” The email was addressed to “Dear User” and claimed the citizen had ordered a Dell laptop for almost $3000. CyberWyoming Note: Never click on the links in these emails, instead go directly to the orders section on your Amazon account.

Federal Bank of Reserve of CA Is Not Offering You Scam Victim Recompense:

A Sheridan citizen reported a scam email from fedreservebank@gmail.com and sales@g-link.com.hk (Chairman George D Jones) with the subject line of “Federal Reserve Bank of California.” The email claims that, as a scam victim, you are shortlisted to receive compensation via a wire transfer, but first you have to provide your personal information and purchase a $100 gift card from OffGamers, Sephora, Walmart, eBay, or Nike.

Vaccine Survey Scam Email:

A Laramie citizen reported a scam email saying he had been selected for a vaccine survey. The email was from mjsiaulh@mjsiaulh.21281137.mjsiaulh.wa.gov.au spoofed as Covid-19 Vaccine and the subject name was “[Your name], your vaccine survey-81345”. The links were identified by the email provider as being malicious.

County 17 News Reports 2 Scams in Gillette:

1. A 61-year-old Gillette citizen lost $1,600 to an international scamming operation. She received a phone call and was told her identity had been compromised. The scammers convinced her to install a remote desktop application and gained access to her computer and stole money from her bank and PayPal accounts.
2. A 69-year-old Gillette citizen lost $1000 to a tech support scam where the fraudsters claimed to be from Apple calling about a disputed iTunes charge. The citizen was asked to purchase gift cards to pay for the tech support.

Advice from CyberWyoming: Before you stress about a phone call, text or email that you receive call the AARP Fraud Watch Network (any age welcome) Helpline 877-908-3360. Also whenever anyone asks for gift cards, to view a check via a webcam or phone cam, or a wire transfer, it is a sure indication that this is fraud.

Norton Internet Security Expired Scam:

A Laramie citizen reported an email with the subject line of “ATT [Name] Last Reminder: Your membership has expired” supposedly from Norton (an antivirus product), but really from 60165342951000.5333314@sjshire.wa.gov.au. The button to renew makes the email seem more innocuous by saying “Start Questionaire Now” (yes questionnaire is spelled wrong on the button.) This email had very convincing graphics.

McAfee Antivirus Protection Scam:

A Laramie citizen reported an email scam with the subject line of “Your McAfee Sub scription Has Expired” (yes, they left a space in subscription) from 03404825125.0677@sjshire.wa.gov.au. This email had very convincing graphics and wording, even claiming to have a 5-star rating from Trust Pilot.

Watchtrack Email Scam:

A Laramie citizen reported an email scam with the subject line of “Congratulations! [Name], Exclusive Gadgets to Try in 2021” from tz6v1o57o@sjshire.wa.gov.au spoofed as Watchtrack. Watchtrack claims to be the next fitness watch, and although Watchtrack is a real product, the email is a scam. The graphics on this email were very convincing.

UPS Fake Delivery Notice:

A Laramie citizen reported an email scam claiming to be from UPS but really from kwry2syze@sjshire.wa.gov.au with the subject line of “URGENT Notice in 2021: UPS expiring soon!” This email was sent with a high importance level and offered the citizen an ‘exclusive reward’ to take a survey. The graphics on this email were very convincing, but be sure not to click on any links.

Scambusters.org Vaccination Card Picture Alert:

If you get vaccinated and want to tell everyone, go ahead but DO NOT hold up your vaccination card in your picture. Remember it has your name and date of birth and with your picture, that is enough information to start a criminal down the path to stealing your identity.

MS-ISAC Patch Now Alert:

The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) has published a patch now (update your software) alert for Mozilla’s Firefox browser and Thunderbird products, Google’s Chrome Browser, and SonicWall SMA 100 Series products. If you use these products, make sure the software (or firmware) updated.

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• Please report your scam to phishing@cyberwyoming.org to alert your friends and neighbors.

Other ways to report a scam:

• Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker: bbb.org/scamtracker/us/reportscam
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at ftccomplaintassistant.gov
• Report your scam to the FBI at www.ic3.gov/complaint
• Reported unwanted calls to the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call Registration. Online at donotcall.gov/report.html or call 1-888-382-1222, option 3
• Office of the Inspector General: oig.ssa.gov
• AARP Fraud Watch Network (any age welcome) Helpline 877-908-3360
• IRS: report email scams impersonating the IRS to phishing@irs.gov
• Call the Wyoming Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) for assistance with potential Medicare fraud, abuse, or errors at 1 800 856-4398

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