Be aware of these common scams/robberies

Here is a list I comprised of scams/robberies I have thwarted/seen/heard. The purpose of this article is to keep as many people informed as possible. Especially our lovely senior citizens who can be taken advantage of and their only crime is being a sweet, wonderful person. I hope this list helps. If you have any suggestions or scams you would like me to add in the next installment, please email me at Noahg76@gmail.com. I plan to make more of these articles as I hear of more robberies/scams

1. FAKE JEHOVAS WITNESS = Someone comes to your house claiming to be a jehovas witness and asks if you have a minute for jesus.  If you say yes, they spend a few minutes talking to you about GOD.  If you say no, they ask if they can atleast pray

2. $100.00 IN CHANGE - This one is mostly for retail/grocery cashiers and is an easy way for scammers to leave with an extra $100.00 from the register without you realizing that they did it. I worked at a retail store as a cashier and I was able to stop this scam as the man was trying to pull it off on my. Luckily, earlier that day, my friend who works in Assets protection was telling me about this scam and how it was happening at a different store that she worked at.

A guy hands you a $100.00 bill and asks you if you can give him change in $20 bills, he specifically requests that you count the bills out loud and right in front of him. "20,40,60,80,100".... then he changes his mind and says he would like it partly in ten dollar bills, partly in 5 dollar bills, partly in ones. Again, he requests that you count out loud directly in front of him. He holds on to the previous change that you gave him while you count the new change you are about to give him. He says "nevermind, this is taking too long, i'll just take my 100 dollar bill back" You put the second change back in the drawer, give him back his $100.00 bill as he sneaks the first change into his pocket. By then you have counted so many bills and he tries to keep you confused with odd requests that you forget he already had the initial $100..00 in change. Might sound easy, but this guy was a master manipulator and knew exactly how to confuse me. The only reason I was able to stop it was because my friend had warned me earlier that day of the scam and I was ready for it as soon as he asked. I thought "oh wow, here we go" lol

3. CHIHUAHUA DOG SCAM - Who thinks of this stuff? lol When this was first discovered, the scammer/thief used a Chihuahua dog to pull this off. This does not mean that it is specific to that breed, they may use a different breed or animal.

How it works = Someone comes to your house and says they are from the gas commpany and would just like to check on the meter since there seems to be an issue that needs to be repaired (or other excuse for why they have to come into your house). They say they have a chihuahua dog that they were unable to find a sitter for and they had to bring it to work with them. They ask if it's ok that they keep the chihuahua dog, in its cage, if they could leave it by the door and it won't bother anyone or get out. Most owners would be ok as long as the dog is secured in a carrying cage and cannot get out. Plus they are probably tiny and cute. They say they have to go to their truck to get some tools and they will be right back. If you could just "keep an eye on dog, they shouldn't be a problem in the mobile carrier/cage" They steal items from your house and head to their vehicle where they leave and never come back. The homeowner at first thinks its a bit odd that they left but they figured they will surely come back to get their dog. The trick here is that the dog was never theirs and just used as a distraction to stall the homeowner from catching on to this robbery/scam. It will buy them some extra time and most people would keep thinking, "well they have to come back for their dog......right?"

4. BOX OF BRICKS - This happened to a friends dad.

A guy drives around selling merchandise from his vehicle (dead giveaway I know lol) He offers to sell you electronics at a great deal. He shows you a display version so you can plug it in, see for yourself that it is a fine quality product, and it is. After seeing it work, you've convinced yourself that you would like to buy to it. The guy gives you a box with the electronic in it, you pay him, he drives off. You open the box to see that it is just a box with rocks in it, so it weighs the same as the electronic would have. It's not hard to learn a few sleight of hand tricks to make it seem like he showed you the box with the electronic in it and switch it out without you noticing. It's magician stuff, those guys are good smdh

5. YOUR RELATIVE IS IN TROUBLE - I had an aunt who received this very type of phone call.
This scam is very popular among people who have relatives living in other countries. A caller says a relative of yours has been in a horrible car accident and they need immediate life saving surgery within the next 30 - 60 minutes or they will die. Insurance isn't covering this procedure and you need to act now. They usually request you send money order or some form of electronic payment to a certain location to a certain name. Once you send it and they pick up the money order, you will never get to see who scammed you. They use fake names to pick it up. This may be less common if your relative lives in the U.S. because it's the law to provide minimal medical care for anyone who needs it. How do they get your relatives info? Facebook, stolen identity etc.

6. YOUR MONEY IS FAKE! - This scenario is pretty easy to follow as it only has one step. You go to pay with a $100.00 bill and the cashier checks it with a marker only to find out that the bill is fake. "We cannot accept this bill, it is a fake". They can threaten to call law enforcement if you simply leave. What happened? Well if they are great with the sleight of hand, they sometimes have a fake $100.00 bill near the register and distract you using small talk or whatever clever shenanigans they think of. They swap the bills right in front of you and if you even turn around to look at people in line behind you or you get distracted, that's when the swap happens. You can be looking the entire time and still not catch it. One way to avoid this scam is to check the serial number on the bill before handing it over just to make sure it's the same bill. Or take a picture of it before you hand it over. It may sound extreme but it is the lengths people go through to scam you smh. Unfortunately you have to be just as alert as they are.

6. YOU JUST GOT REAR ENDED - This happens on the road, when a vehicle rear ends you from behind. They may have a passenger you are unable to see, when you get out of your car to investigate, their passenger gets in your car and steals it. You are so busy chasing them that you take your eyes off the car that hit you so they get in their car and speed away as well. How do you avoid it? Please remember to take your keys with you if you get out to investigate damage.

7. JUST FOLLOW ME TO THE POLICE STATION - If you are rear ended on the road and you are about to get out of the car to investigate, the driver might say "Lets just drive to the police station to fill out a report, there's one nearby just follow me". You feel comfortable knowing you are going directly to the police and you don't take the time to write down their plates because what's the point, you are going to the police station right? Well that's when they do a u turn and as you follow, they speed off and lose you. Remember, they are the ones who hit YOU, they are known for reckless driving. Please remember to take a picture of the plates and damage if possible.


8. YOU OWE MONEY IN THE FORM OF GIFT CARDS = Someone calls you claiming to be a relative/IRS/collection agency.  While this may sound like an obvious scam to many people, It's one of the most common ones people fall for.  Anyone calling to collect money will never prefer gift cards over direct cash or credit. 
THINGS THE IRS WILL NEVER DO

- Call to demand immediate payment, nor will they call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill..

- Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.

- Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.

- Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

- Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
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If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, here’s what you should do:

If you know you owe taxes or think you might owe, call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040. The IRS workers can help you with a payment issue.

If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to believe that you do, report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1.800.366.4484 or at www.tigta.gov.


Remember, too, the IRS does not use unsolicited email, text messages or any social media to discuss your personal tax issue. For more information on reporting tax scams, go to www.irs.gov and type “scam” in the search box.

I hope this article helped. Feel free to send me some if you know of more. Thanks and keep having a safe day!