Slippery slope
If you're heading to the snow this season, make sure you buy your ski and snowboard passes from legitimate sources. A South Carolina woman recently admitted to taking part in a multi-year ski and snowboard pass scam in Utah. The U.S. Attorney's office explained that, working with others, Jamilla Greene fraudulently sold “discounted” Ikon and Epic ski and snowboard passes, as well as individual resort passes. The passes offer access to various resorts around the world. The U.S. Attorney in this case explained that the scheme's perpetrators advertised “discounted” passes through targeted online postings in areas where ski resorts are located. When individuals responded to advertisements, Greene communicated with them online and via text to gather necessary information, including names and addresses, for the purchase of ski passes. Once personal information was collected, the U.S. Attorney continues, Greene would use someone else's stolen bank card information to purchase ski passes at full price. Greene would then ask the "discounted pass" purchasers to pay for the passes using peer-to-peer platforms, like Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, and Apple Pay. (Which reminds us: Remember what we said about using mobile payment apps only to pay people you know and trust?) Greene, of course, then took the proceeds from the pass sales and deposited them in her and her coconspirators’ accounts. Melissa Holyoak, U.S. Attorney for the Utah District, emphasized that the scheme not only victimized Utah ski resorts, skiers, snowboarders and consumers whose bank cards were used for the fraudulent purchases, it could also impact the trust of snow enthusiasts who seek passes annually to visit Utah resorts. This scammer out of commission—Greene is scheduled to be sentenced in February—is good news for consumers in search of a winter wonderland this season.
Messenger to blame
We all get the "spam likely" alerts on our phones and maybe take just a wee bit of comfort in knowing that at least some sort of effort is being made to prevent suspicious calls from getting through to us. But if you've been wondering whether anything else might be done to deter these spam robocallers, we've got some good news for you—straight from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In early December, the federal agency announced that it will be holding voice provider SK Teleco accountable if it continues to transmit scam robocalls on its network. The FCC explained in a press release that it demanded that SK Teleco stop transmitting robocalls in which an artificial voice identifies itself as “Emma” or “Carl” and purports to be calling from Walmart. The AI voice tells the consumer about a preauthorized $919.45 purchase of a special edition PlayStation 5 made through their Walmart account. The voice also adds, "To cancel your order or to connect with one of our customer support representatives, please press 1.” Call recipients who press 1 or call back, the FCC explains, are connected to live operators who request personally identifiable information, including Social Security numbers. In a statement, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said, “Scammers and thieves using our phone networks to defraud consumers or steal personal data is illegal and voice service providers must be part of the solution. While most providers understand this responsibility, we won’t tolerate those that turn a blind eye and allow shady robocallers on their networks.” The FCC provided SK Teleco 48 hours to mitigate the illegal traffic and 14 days to take steps to prevent a reoccurrence of such traffic on their network. We're glad to see the FCC take these pro-consumer steps, and admire the watchdog agency's teeth.
Crackdown on crooks by Long Island-area DA
Gift's in the mail. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced last week that postal worker Jovanni Jamison-Lewis was arrested and arraigned for allegedly stealing items from envelopes placed in the mail at a local post office. According to the investigation, a DA's office press release explained, Jamison-Lewis took two sealed envelopes from an outgoing mail bin while working as a clerk and removed a T.J. Maxx gift card from one of the envelopes and three New York State Lottery scratch-off tickets from the second envelope. The worker then placed the envelopes back in the mail bin—greeting card intact, but without the gift. Then, the following day, surveillance video captured Jamison-Lewis using the gift card at a T.J. Maxx store. The Suffolk County DA's Office is asking anyone in the Oakdale Postal area who suspects they may be a victim of similar theft to contact them. If you're in another part of the country and suspect a similar crime, we'd recommend contacting your local district attorney's office and the United States Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG). Matthew Modafferi, USPS-OIG Special Agent in Charge, described the case as an excellent example of successful collaboration between USPS OIG and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. We can't argue with that, and we're glad to know that those of us awaiting gift cards in the mail this holiday season can breathe just a little easier.
Cracked phone case (the case, not the phone). A video, "Porch Pirates Busted," posted on the Suffolk County District Attorney's Facebook page features footage of several "busted" porch pirates. One scene, in Deer Park, New York, depicts two men who approach a FedEx worker in a crosswalk and steal a package he was seemingly on the way to deliver. In another scene, in Brentwood, a camera records a thief walking up to a porch to steal a package. Then, on the same day, the thief reappears in another security camera recording in Central Islip, making off with yet another package. Similar thefts are captured by security cameras in Shirley and in the Bronx, where a group of four men are recorded apparently loading stolen goods into a car. District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced in late November that the porch pirate leader and 13 other defendants were indicted for allegedly operating a crime ring that stole FedEx packages containing cellphones and electronic devices throughout the county. The DA's office explained that the Bronx-based leader hired “runners,” who received FedEx tracking information from insiders, including recipient names, addresses, device types, and tracking numbers for Verizon and AT&T packages shipped to Suffolk County. The packages stolen by runners were ultimately sold in bulk to wholesalers, who redistributed them domestically and internationally. The defendants, the DA's Facebook page explains, face 50 felony charges that stem from a two-year investigation into thefts occurring between October 2023 and February 2025. That's two reasons the Suffolk County DA has given us to have just a little more hope about the safe arrival of our parcels and correspondence this winter. But, just in case, check out the “Tips” section below for advice on stopping porch pirates.
Tips
Big box under the tree. Do your eyes open wide every time you walk into a big-box store with huge-screen TVs on display? Are you thinking that you'll finally splurge on one this winter, as some reports say prices are dropping? If so, or if you recently purchased one, now is a good time to review just how our smart TVs can watch us and the security risks they may pose. PCMag wrote in a recent article that, because smart TVs are always connected to the internet, bad actors can potentially hack into them to "change channels, adjust volume levels, show inappropriate content to children, or use the camera and microphone to spy on you or listen to your conversations." At worst, PCMag continues, hackers who gain access to our networks through the television can get into our routers and hack the rest of our connected smart home. PCMag walks through a list of tips to help ensure our security and privacy, including advice from the FBI and from several industry experts. One expert downplayed the risk of hackers getting into our devices but emphasized the risk of our data being misused. Burton Kelso, chief technology expert at IT support services company Integral, told PCMag that, in the event of a data breach, our information can wind up on the dark web and be traded and sold by criminals. The article also discusses "automatic content recognition" (ACR) technology that's used to monitor what we watch and do on our TVs in order to send us targeted ads. Toby Lewis, global head of threat analysis at cybersecurity firm Darktrace, told PCMag that, theoretically, ACR can create an up-to-date profile of a user that can be used to carry out targeted phishing campaigns and other threats. Check out the PCMag story for lots of great advice. And for a quick set of tips for turning off ACR on different TV brands, see Consumer Reports' "How to Turn Off Smart TV Snooping Features," here. (Also, for some early predictions of how AI was expected to supercharge ACR, check out this piece by researchers at the University of California, Davis.)
Fed up with fake reviews. If you're starting to feel like online product reviews can't be trusted, you're certainly onto something. In a recent article, The Guardian puts it plainly and simply: "Over-the-top praise for an item should ring alarm bells." Citing the UK's consumer protection and enforcement body, National Trading Standards (NTS), the article explains that fake feedback generated by AI, bots and humans is happening on a mass scale. Crooks are even creating entire fake review websites, the story continues, linked to high-demand products like air fryers and vacuum cleaners. To help consumers distinguish fake reviews from real ones, The Guardian includes this handy advice from NTS: "Genuine reviews will often be personal and specific to the individual’s experience of using the item, while a fake is more likely to be vague, using generic words and phrases such as ‘amazing’, ‘awesome’, and ‘buy this product’.” The article also includes a novel tip offered by the UK consumer organization Which?: To get a more balanced view of a product and, likely, more honest opinions, "ignore the five-star reviews...check the four, three and two stars" reviews. An excellent tip we'll try today!
No shame in this game. Philadelphia-area public radio station WHYY FM ran a story recently on why, during the holidays, we need to be extra vigilant of scams. It explains why "the pace of the season makes people more vulnerable." One of the experts cited is Chip Kohlweiler, senior vice president of security at Navy Federal. He told WHYY News, “People are shopping at a different pace. There’s a lot going on, and you’re more liable to fall for things while you’re busy and you’re getting a lot done.” Kohlweiler talked about how messages about sales can seem more believable during the holidays, especially when "everybody’s running a Cyber Monday or Black Friday sale, not just on those particular days, but for weeks long at a time." The news story described the case of Dr. Susan Moyer, who was targeted by a scam in the middle of holiday shopping. She'd just finished up a day of pre-Black Friday shopping at the jewelry retailer Pandora when a family member forwarded her a text message about an item being on sale at Pandora. Dr. Moyer thought the ad was legitimate since the company had advertised coming specials. She clicked on the link and attempted to purchase a few items with her debit card but wasn't sure if the payment had gone through. The next morning, she learned that the authentic-looking website she'd visited was fake and that thousands of dollars in charges had been attempted on her card. Fortunately, in Dr. Moyer's case, the purchases were declined, but the story serves as a good example of why we need to keep potential scams top of mind. WHYY News emphasized the importance of not being ashamed when experiencing a scam and the importance of sharing the experiences so that others can learn to protect themselves. Check out the article's long list of practical scam prevention tips here.
Chilling on the porch again. Just last week, CNET published its timely article “7 Tested Home Hacks to Prevent Porch Pirates and Package Theft.” You'll want to check it out to keep your packages safe this holiday season. CNET references one of their surveys, which found that 30% of Americans have either had a package stolen, almost had one stolen, or know someone who's had a package stolen. The article cites the Hyve Security firm, who points to this ironic state of affairs: While getting a notification that a package has arrived is supposed to bring peace of mind, it instead "brings panic," since the recipient can't know if the package will be there when they get home. Fortunately, CNET has plenty of good advice for us. Among the key tips is to use tracking information to quickly retrieve packages after delivery, or to have someone else keep an eye on our doorsteps on the day of delivery. Limiting the time between delivery and retrieval, CNET explains, is a simple, straightforward way to avoid porch piracy. CNET also offers some high-tech solutions, of course, like "mailbox" sensors, but also low-tech solutions as well, like old-school "porch lockboxes." Take a close look at CNET's suggestions. Everyone on your gift list will surely thank you for protecting whatever you may have ordered for them.
Year-end roundup. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office, in Columbus, Ohio, offered a roundup of scams targeting area residents and consumers nationwide, as reported by the Columbus Dispatch. According to the paper, scams are surging across the country and in Ohio, whether by phone call, text message, email or suspicious link. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office alone, the news story explained, receives three to five calls daily from people who believe they've been targeted, according to a new multi-agency public service campaign released by the office. The campaign includes a brief PSA video, posted on the sheriff's YouTube channel, offering practical scam avoidance tips anyone can use. Community educators will want to check out the article for the wide range of scams it covers. In a pinch, you can use the tips to supplement your scam prevention educational work. The tricks and schemes covered include impersonation and warrant scams, where callers pretend to be from law enforcement claiming the target has missed jury duty, has unpaid fines, or has an active warrant for their arrest; jail-release scams, where fraudsters ask targets to pay for an ankle monitor or pay a "bond fee" to secure early release for a loved one; romance scams, real estate scams and, of course, more holiday scams. Stay safe everyone, and season’s greetings!
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