"Brushing Scams" Are Becoming Rampant Again

There is a scam this season that targets victims who are usually gathering last-minute holiday packages arriving at their doorsteps. One advice: be careful about any that you didn't order or ones that don't have a return address and want you to scan a QR code: it could be a scam.

These so-called brushing scams have been around for a few years and there's a few varieties. They can range from a "victimless" crime to one that involves scanning a QR code to find out who the package is from.

Counterfeit iPhone Repair Scammers Found And Jailed

After the release of iPhone 16, scammers all over the world are talking advantage of the gadget's popularity to make some quick money. This was evident in the case of two Chinese nationals living in Maryland who are heading to prison after the Justice Department said they conducted a yearslong iPhone repair scheme that cost Apple US$ 2.5 million.

Haotian Sun and Pengfei Xue abused the Apple's iPhone repair process by sending more than 6,000 counterfeit phones to the manufacturer that couldn't be repaired, in order to induce the company to replace the counterfeits with genuine iPhones, federal prosecutors said this week. Sun and Xue were each sentenced to at least four years in prison.

Social Security Scams Are Becoming More Rampant

Scammers will not stop. They will keep on evolving and adjusting their strategy every day, especially if it involves the Socail Security system.

"I received this email (displayed below) yesterday. I did not open the attachment. I hovered my mouse over the name of the Sender and immediately saw it as a lie," Jeanne from Hackensack, New Jersey, said after she forwarded a new scame to warn everyone.

A Coinbase User Got Scammed for US$ 100k

For several years now, the crypto market was heating up. Fred, who is in his 60s and lives in Connecticut, figured it was a good time to shift some of the positions he held in his Coinbase account. After encountering some difficulties with the website, Fred decided to call the company. He searched for Coinbase on Google and, at top of the page, he saw an ad that prominently displayed a customer service phone number. Upon calling it, a representative informed Fred that he had "one of the older accounts" but required updating.

That's when the trouble began.

Is There A Hobby Lobby Pricing Scam?

For several years now, Hobby Lobby has been considered the ultimate crafts corner, offering everything from fabric scissors to miniature dollhouse essentials to life-sized home decor. However, some controversy has stirred the hornet's nest recenty.

When one shopper heard a rumor that the products placed at the very front of the shelves were more expensive than the (completely identical) ones behind them, she went to her closest location to suss out the situation. What she found out, is unreal. The rumors are actually true.

Possible AI-Powered Scams To Watch Out For

The last few years have seen a huge uptick not just in the quality of generated media, from text to audio to images and video, but also in how cheaply and easily that media can be created. The same type of tool that helps a concept artist cook up some fantasy monsters or spaceships, or lets a non-native speaker improve their business English, can be put to malicious use as well.

Don't expect the Terminator to knock on your door and sell you on a Ponzi scheme — these are the same old scams we've been facing for years, but with a generative AI twist that makes them easier, cheaper, or more convincing.

Beware Of Alan Baltes' "Crazy Rich Asians" Sequels Scam

The director of the hit romantic comedy "Crazy Rich Asians" are warning everyone that he and producers are not currently casting for "new lead roles." Jon M. Chu said this after finding out about phony press release and social media post, which have since been taken down.

Chu took to his Twitter account to express his dismay and disgust after a user named Alan Baltes — claiming to be an actor and casting associate — posted a notice saying that the supposed "Crazy Rich Asians" sequels, "China Rich Girlfriend" and "Rich People Problems," were casting Asian actors, ages 20s through 40s, for lead roles via "live Zoom auditions."

The Coronavirus Robocall Scams Are Here

Transaction Network Services, which provides robocall detection services to major phone networks, just told Yahoo Finance that it has begun to see reports of robocalls using coronavirus as its targeting method.

In the past, scam calls have used fears about the IRS and Social Security benefits to take advantage of people, often pretending to be representatives from those government agencies. Recently, scammers have been employing a FedEx scam. But true to form, scammers once again adapt to leverage the news to their benefit — employing coronavirus concerns.

Sextortion Email Scams Increasing in Canada

It was reported recently that Canadians are receiving "sextortion" emails demanding cryptocurrency and threatening the release of explicit videos, and two victims say more education and outreach is needed.

Last 13 February, Kiran Bains was sifting through her junk mail when she noticed an email titled "I Know."

Sneaker Pawn Shop is a Sham?

Last year, everyone in the business community was astounded when then-16-year-old Chase Reed took his love for sneakers to the next level by selling his personal 200-pair collection to open a sneaker pawn shop. It was thought to be a sound investment for someone so young and eager to start their own business.

However, what was thought to be an astounding accomplishment for a teenager was allegedly a marketing scheme to create buzz around the business. It was not considered a viable option taken by a newbies, but a clever marketing plan orchestrated by adults with profit in mind.

Amalilio Freed and Can Stay in Malaysia

Can anybody still remember the man behind the PhP 12 Billion scheme perpetuated the Aman Futures Group Philippine Inc? His name is Manuel Amalilio. He was captured in Malaysia, but now he is free, unless Philippine authorities managed to get him back to the country.

The Borneo Post reported that Amalilio, whose Malaysian name is Mohammad Kamal Said, was released by Judge Ainul Shahrin Mohammad "after a representation made by the family of Amalilio ... to the Minister of Home Affairs under Section 47 of the Extradition Act 1992 was granted."

Did a Bar in Iloilo Overcharged American Client?

Can you and your friend really spend about twelve thousand pesos in drinks and room use inside a bar in Iloilo?

This is something that bothered many online readers when they saw a report recently tagging an American named Courtney Davis as the one who started all the trouble when he was presented with a bill amounting to PhP 12,040.

Abusive Yellow Taxis of NAIA

I am posting here an email I received a couple of days ago about the new modus operandi of several dishonest yellow taxis serving the arriving passengers of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). I am not sure if this actually happened or has a semblance of truth to it, but it may be worth noting that there are unscrupulous drivers who will try to dupe you into paying more for their service. It also helps to be more vigilant next time and to report any incidence of abuse to the proper authorities.

NANGYARI NA BA ITO SA INYO?

I always take the yellow airport taxi sa airport when I arrive from a trip. So yun uli ang ginawa ko when we arrived from China. Me and the rest of the Fellas lined up to get our own cabs that would take us home.

Dubious Cargo Forwarders

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) can already smell the "Spirit of Christmas" this early and many will feel homesick just by thinking about how Filipinos celebrate the Holiday season. And even if it is hard to earn money abroad, OFW will still continue to entertain request for gifts from their families back home.

However, sending precious gifts using their hard-earned money will not be as smooth a process as OFW would like it to be. There are several reports about an increasing number of delinquent sea freight forwarding companies responsible in causing delivery delay and non-delivery of Balikbayan boxes and pilferage, over-charging, and loss and damaged cargoes.

Warning on Defective Land Titles

Are you familiar with the recent land fiasco in Cebu? If you haven't heard the news about it, then you better heed the warning of the Consumers Union of the Philippines (CUP). They are asking all land buyers and investors to protect themselves against flawed titles by at least verifying the location of the titled land being sold.

The Cebu provincial government was recently reported as having bought a 25-hectare property in Naga, Cebu, some 20 hectares of which the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) found to be timberlands partly submerged at sea, and for which reversion and title cancellation proceedings are reportedly being pursued.

E-Mail Scams Targeting Jobseekers

It was reported last January by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that they uncovered an "evolving" email scam targeting prospective overseas Filipino workers heading for Berlin, Germany.

The DFA said the scam appeared to be a variation of the one involving Markel Power International. But a check showed Maleko Power International does not exist in Hamburg, while its address showed a wrong postal code. It also has no phone and fax numbers, and its website was purely in English.

Barrage of Scams After MJ's Death

It was reported by The Associated Press (AP), that minutes after any big celebrity dies, Internet swindlers get to work. They pump out specially created spam e-mails and throw up malicious Web sites to infect victims' computers, hoping to capitalize on the sudden high demand for information.

Michael Jackson's death was no different, and security experts say the fraud artists are just getting started.

RedBull Scam

Unscrupulous traders, beware!

This was the stern warning of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), in a report by Hector Lawas of Journal Online, after they had uncovered a multimillion-peso scam linking a Taytay, Rizal distributing firm to the mislabeling and violation of the intellectual property code of popular energy drink Red Bull.

NBI agents swooped down on the warehouse of Maryland Distributors Inc. on Ortigas Avenue, Taytay, recently and seized Red Bull products with labels indicating these were brought into the country and marketed nationwide under questionable circumstances.