BEWARE OF FRAUD

IT’S all too familiar: that sinking feeling you get when you lose money either carelessly or as the victim of theft.
But what about the person who actually pays over the money on the on the promise of even more lucrative return or some product or service that fails to materialise knowing that they have been bamboozled or scammed.
The more technical term, of course, is defrauded, and the experts say that often the embarrassment factor, the idea of being conned, keeps many from officially reporting their loss.
“This loss is accompanied by a feeling of social and personal shame that would actually deter the individual from reporting the crime, and this psychological aspect is what partially differentiates fraud from other crimes,” says Raymond Pryce, director of research, information and communication at the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC).
But official figures show that fraudulent activity is by no means abating, and increasingly consumer agencies are urging persons to stay alert and ahead of ingenuous crooks.
Fraud, says Lynford McDonald, complaints officer at the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) is “a calculated plan to fleece people of their money.”
But Pryce, avoids a precise label, preferring to refer to it as “a funny crime because there’s no obvious victim nor obvious criminal as in the case of the robbery of an elderly woman.”
This is so because, the victim’s co-operation, at least initially, is necessary for fraud to be perpetrated.
For example the person who gives his credit card number his credit card number to the individual whom he thinks is conducting legitimate business, would be described as “a willing (but unknowing victim) victim.” said pryce.
Within the first six months of this fiscal year, April to September, the police have recorded 108 fraud cases, pretty much the standard, said a fraud squad official.
“There is no noted increase in reported fraud cases over the last five years or decade, but their visibility has increased, partially due to the few high profile cases,” said deputy superintendent Fitz Bailey, second in charge of the fraud squad official.
In the 108 cases, the amount defrauded was $51.9 million. In 2003, more than half a billion was stolen, in 258 cases,
“Last year’s fraud count translated to a money figure, exceeds $530-m and this was significantly beefed up by the Danhai Williams case,” said Bailey.
Theft from employers and forgery are popular crimes. Credit card fraud only had two counts on the police’s register. But the CAC and FTC have more experience and reports on scams pulled on consumers.
Pryce reports an increase in Internet and overseas-related scams, while McDonald names misleading advertising and the refusal to honour warranty among the bulk of the fraud-related complaints to the FTC.
Pryce said he has got 18 reports since January, the majority, 16 of which had direct overseas link.
“Visa/work permits, US employment and scholarships/overseas study and those link with remittances are the more common ones. And this tells us that there is an international perception that Jamaicans are anxious to leave the country,” he says.
And the fraudsters are becoming increasingly more sophisticated.
Bailey warns persons to be on the lookout for a Jamaican man who changes his name and an accent at whim.
“He’s already fleeced a UWI professor of $500,000 and sent forged cheques to charity groups collecting money for Portland flood victims and the street people in the Montego Bay debacle,” said the policeman.
“And although he’s been arrested more than once, he’s free again. Those collecting funds for Ivan victims should be very alert.”
Another tip offered to consumers by Pryce is that persons should be on the alert for emails and other contacts that offer remittance assistance.
He related the story of a Kingstonian who in March received a phone call that informed him of winnings. In order to get the money however, he was asked to give his bank account number and pay a processing fee of US$100. wooed by the prospect of a lump sum, although he had not entered any competition, he gave them both the money and the account number.
He also sited the case of another man who got a letter that promised Canadian employment and a salary of US$6,000 pay, providing he gave them information about himself and US$400.
“A relative who lives in Canada who was willing to give him the US$400 went to the location, but there was no such company, only empty land said Pryce.
Last week a foreigner wrote to the Observer claiming to have been tricked by two Jamaicans. The woman said she was informed via telephone that she won us$2.5-m in the lottery and was convinced to send US$2,750 to a company in Jamaica. She was not contacted after she sent the money, nor did she receive the lottery jackpot.
“On their return home, tourists sometimes call the CAC and complain that the jewellery which they were told was gold was actually gold-plated,” adds Pryce. He however consoles Internationally fraud victims with the fact that the Consumer Protection Act, now before the senate will provide for recourse for victims defrauded by foreigners.

SUNDAY FINANCE, using the expertise of the FTC, Fraud Squad and the CAC has complied the following guidelines for our readers on how to guard against becoming a target of scam artist:

• When a document or notice regarding promotion or sales reaches you, check for the legitimacy of the source; ask the company for proof of incorporation.
• Check the registrar of companies to see if the business is registered, and if you suspect fraud simply walk away.
• Document transaction and keep receipts for the reasonable period.
• Do not dispose of your documentation until you get all that you pay for.
• The telephone is not entirely safe for conducting banking business.
• It is unwise to take cheques when selling vehicles.
• Be careful of emails and solicit funds for people; they sometimes have viruses attached that steal information from your computer.
• Do not use you debit or credit card too loosely.
• You cannot be a winner in a contest you never entered.
• Be wary of free offers, especially those sent by spam mails, they usually have strings attached.

Be wary of ‘phishers,’bank association warns

The Jamaican Bankers Association (JBA) last week issued a local public warning about a new type of fraud called “phishers,” a term that describes email which appears to be from a legitimate source or company, such as a bank.
The association which represents 10 commercial and merchants banks operating in Jamaica, did not say why it was sounding the warning locally, and at this time.
But similar advisories have been issued internationally over the past several months.
In fact, a survey by the Ponemon Institute in the United States found that American consumers and businesses had lost US$500 million ($30-b) so far to scams, and those incidents of phishing were found to be growing.
The ‘phishing’ e-mail contains links to fraudulent, look-alike websites that ‘fish’ for personal information such as account numbers, passwords or other such numbered identification.
This information if obtained, can be used to commit identity theft or credit/debit card fraud, said the JBA.
Typically, recipients are asked to update their personal information, confirm their account status, or try a new online banking feature.
An embedded link within the e-mail send to a bogus website that often looks similar to an actual online banking site. In addition to other sensitive data, users are asked to enter account users name and password under the guise of verifying who they are, but this information can be used to gain access to real accounts online.
“The scams have been imitating well-established banks all over the world,” said the JBA.
The association is advising locals however that those legitimate banks that offer online services do not asked for passwords, credit card numbers or other sensitive information via e-mails.