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scams

Watch Out For This New Traffic Light Camera Scam Which Steals Your Identity

By //  by Khaleef Crumbley

I came across an article recently on Yahoo which talked about a new scam. This scam revolves around traffic light cameras, and is designed to steal your identity.

When I began to read this article, I expected to read about some fancy IT person hacking into traffic cameras, and somehow using them to read information off of your EZ-Pass or some other recognizable thing on or in your car. But instead, crooks are using laziness and fear to take advantage of people.

The Red Light Camera Scam

What happens is that the con man will choose a number at random; and once a person answers the phone, they simply tell them that they have an overdue fine for running a red light camera. According to the article, they are then told that “the only way to avoid a significant late fee, mandatory court case, or even jail time is to pay the bill right then and there, over the phone. If you don’t pay up you’re threatened with a warrant for your arrest.”

Of course, when this happens, there’s no bill, no unpaid ticket, no red light camera, and the person who was calling does not work for the police station or the clerk’s office. They are just hoping to use your fear and laziness to get you to automatically make a payment. If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be a police officer (and maybe even giving you a supposed ID number), fear may overtake you and cause you to do whenever that person on the other and says in order to avoid the consequences that he is promising.

Traffic Camera

What’s The Point?

Once you agree to pay the fine, the person on the other end will then ask for your credit card number and security code (that three digit number on the back) in order to process the payment. Once they have that, they can then move forward and ask for your billing address, date of birth, and even your Social Security number – assuring you that all of this data is needed in order to handle your payment.

Of course, you would assume that if the police station was able to get your phone number from whatever information came up on the red light camera, they will also be able to get your address, and at least have the date of birth of the person to whom the car is registered. But again, when the fear of a hefty fine or possibly even jail time overtakes someone, the ability to think clearly and to logically assess a situation is greatly diminished.

You can rest assured that there is no police department in the country that will conduct business in this fashion. They conduct all of their business through snail mail and will not call you and give you the option to make a payment over the telephone. Even if you’re at the point of debt collection, all of this is first handled via mail, and once the phone calls are initiated, you should verify everything in writing before making any types of payments.

Covering Their Tracks

According to the article, the thieves will sometimes place a follow-up phone call and tell you that it was a mistake and then assure you that your card has not been charged. They will even apologize for causing you stress or bothering you in the first place. The purpose of this is to cause you to be so relieved that you aren’t in any type of trouble that you won’t get suspicious, and to also ensure that you will not check your bank account to make sure the payment went through. This should give them enough time to place a number of fraudulent charges before you decide to check your account.

So remember that if you ever receive a phone call stating that you were caught with a red light camera, going through a toll booth without paying, an unpaid parking ticket, or anything else of this sort, you should hang up the phone and call the police station or the clerk’s office yourself and inquire about the matter.

In fact, you should avoid giving out any sensitive financial or personal data through the phone, unless you are the one who initiated the call and you are 100% certain that you were speaking with the correct party.

photo credit: sskennel

Reader Questions

  1. Have you every had anyone call you with a scam to get your information?
  2. Have you ever been the victim or known a victim of this type of fraud?
  3. How would you handle this phone call?

Filed Under: General Tagged With: fraud, identity theft, New Traffic Light, Red Light Camera, red light cameras, Running A Red Light, scam, scams, Steal Your Identity, The Red Light, traffic cameras, Traffic Law, Traffic Light Cameras

Be Careful Of A New DEA Scam

By //  by Khaleef Crumbley

I received a phone call recently from an unknown number. For anyone who doesn’t know me personally, I NEVER answer calls from unknown numbers. I will simply let the call go to voicemail and then look up the number in a search engine to see who was calling (and then look for a voicemail message afterwards).

DEA Scam?

As I searched the number, I came across a couple of forum threads stating that it was used in a DEA scam.

Given the number of people reporting this on these various forums, this must be pretty widespread and successful. Even the DEA has issued a press release to warn the public.

Here is a part of the press release:

The Drug Enforcement Administration is warning the public about criminals posing as DEA special agents or other law enforcement personnel as part of an international extortion scheme.

The criminals call the victims (who in most cases previously purchased drugs over the lnternet or by telephone) and identify themselves as DEA agents or law enforcement officials from other agencies.  The impersonators inform their victims that purchasing drugs over the lnternet or by telephone is illegal, and that enforcement action will be taken against them unless they pay a fine.

In most cases, the impersonators instruct their victims to pay the “fine” via wire transfer to a designated location, usually overseas.  If victims refuse to send money, the impersonators often threaten to arrest them or search their property.  Some victims who purchased their drugs using a credit card also reported fraudulent use of their credit cards.

You should use caution whenever someone calls you claiming to be on a mission to collect a debt or a fine. You should never give out your bank account or credit card information to anyone if you are not 100% sure of their identity.

These DEA scam artists (or any for that matter) know that the fear of jail, further fines, or the seizure of one’s property can cause people to do whatever they think is necessary in order to make the threat go away. This is exactly why you should never make a payment with someone who calls you, claiming to represent a creditor or a law enforcement agency!

They then had this to say regarding this DEA scam:

The public should be aware that no DEA agent will ever contact members of the public by telephone to demand money or any other form of payment.

The IRS, banks, student loan issuers, and other creditors have all released similar statements. Even the Treasury Department has to go through numerous steps before being able to garnish Social Security benefits! Even still, there are always people who get taken advantage of by scams such as this.

Be sure to protect your money and financial accounts at all times. Being overly cautious and skeptical will help you to avoid losing your money in a scam such as this!

Be sure to cancel gym memberships, magazine subscriptions, and anything else that could end up in collections, leaving you an easy target for these types of scams.

Here is the number to call if you receive one of these supposed DEA calls: 1-877-792-2873

photo by chanpipat

Reader Questions

  1. Have you ever been the victim of a scam?
  2. Why do you think they con-artists are so effective?
  3. What would you do if you received a phone call such as this?

Filed Under: Personal Finance Tagged With: advance fee fraud, against, confidence tricks, Credit Cards, crime, dea, dea agent, dea special agent, drug enforcement administration, ethics, government, immediate payment, law enforcement, phone calls, scams, search engines, spamming, steal, voicemail

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