That's Life: Fraud and Scams -- Warning from the DA's office

District Attorney officers  -- Kevin Clark and Paul Hillegass -- came to let us know about the dangers we face from people running scams and trying to defraud us these days.  [I'd thought about calling them the "Fraud Squad", but they are far too serious for such a frivolous title.  Unless, of course, it get folks to listen to their warnings...]

Kevin (an enforcement officer specializing in outreach and Elder Protection) told us most scammers use some type of fear to get us upset enough to go along with their plans.  It could be saying your grandchild is stranded in a foreign country and needs money wired to them; or saying the Sherriff's office has issued a warrent for your arrest but you can avoid  it by paying them; or that an IRS sudit shows you owe back taxes and you haven't responded to the letter yet; or that your computer has a virus that they can fix. Whether this 'warning' comes in an email or a phone call or pops up on your computer screen, DO NOT give them any money nor answer any questions.  DO NOT trust any numbers they give you to call and 'confirm' things.  [If they say they are from your bank, hang up and phone your local bank office to see if there is a problem.]

One good rule is to never give ANY information or pay for anything if THEY CALLED YOU. 

Some scams offer you something for nothing just to get information from you.  Or they may call to 'verify a listing' and slip in a few more questions once you are comfortable talking to them.  This is called phishing [fishing] and usually involves the scammer pretending to be someone else  -- such as faking a local phone number or using a faked eddress that you might trust.   Because technology allows false #s to entered by the savvy scammer, 'Caller ID' is no longer sufficient to really ID a caller!

Paul (with the DA's Criminal Investigations Bureau) related several stories about people who had to pay because they hired an unlicensed contractor who did not have insurance on their employees and the homeowner had to pay the medical bills for a worker claiming injury on their job.  Paul says to always hire a LICENSED contractor and ask to see their Worker's Comp documentation.  Employees should also be sure they are covered by their employers.  He also warned about some companies who hire folks as 'contract workers' when they are actually 'employees' -- in order to avoid paying taxes -- leaving the worker stranded if they ever get hurt on the job.

The DA's "Fraud Hotline" at 1-855-4yoloDA (1-855-496-5632) is available for you to report something you think is wrong.

The good news is that Kevin is available to talk with groups who want to know what to do to protect themselves.

Listen to this broadcast to hear more warnings and suggestions.