Martha Roby: Staying alert against fraudulent scams
Every day we consume information in a variety of ways from our cell phone screens to our computers. With having several types of options available, the amount of content can be overwhelming and easily inundate even the most avid consumer. The ability to understand if information is fraudulent or real is becoming ever more difficult to immediately recognize. This month is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and there are so many fraudulent scams that we all must stay alert against. Have you ever clicked on a suggested ad on Instagram, liked a normal looking product for sale on Facebook or clicked on a link from an unsolicited email? If so, you most likely have been viewing deceitful companies at least a few times. According to a recent Better Business Bureau’s report on those who documented a scam, 91 percent directly engaged with the fake company and 53 percent of those ended up losing money. These types of companies do all they can to appear legitimate from a professional website to consumer reviews and proper looking forms to enter in your credit card information. When scrolling down your own social media page or that of a friend’s you feel safe and secure, but it is the sense of regularity that can invite normal-looking fake products and websites to appear welcoming. I invite everyone to utilize the tools from the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org to review questionable product advertisements and websites. Additionally, if you do unfortunately fall victim to an online scam, you can easily report that information here as well. Everyone should practice the same amount, if not more, awareness online for products and companies as you would if you walked into a store to buy a product. While scams and fraudulent activity online remain the most likely avenue of interaction with consumers, bad actors continue to use unsolicited calls to cell phones as well. In fact, just this past week, I received numerous calls to my cell phone from people who identified themselves as being from the Social Security Administration. These calls claimed criminal activity was pending against me, and I must call them back immediately with my Social Security number to rectify the situation. Most of these type calls can easily be determined to be fake on the onset, however, every situation for each person is different. Think of the person who had recently interacted with the actual Social Security Administration or had indeed just participated in some sort of court case. With online fraudulent activity receiving the most oversight and awareness, I want to remind everyone that those claiming to be actual government agencies continue to exist over the phone. While it can be alarming to get a call like this, it is important to protect yourself and your identity. First, it is very important to know that you should never give out any personal information on these types of calls. It is best to hang up and immediately report the phone call directly to the actual government agency. In the case of the Social Security Administration there are two ways you can report the call, by phone at 1-800-269-0271 or online at oig.ssa.gov. There have been safeguards implemented on social media platforms and unsolicited phone calls have decreased over the years, but the ability to protect your identity and defend yourself from getting scammed continues to get more difficult as corrupt individuals adapt to the consumer. At the end of the day, you ultimately are in control by what ads you click on, websites to visit, or phone calls to call-back. Asking questions and always double-checking the legitimacy of any new online interaction or entity is the best practice to follow. Martha Roby represents Alabama’s Second Congressional District. She lives in Montgomery, Alabama, with her husband Riley and their two children.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testifies in fraud trial of Birmingham attorney
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a jury Wednesday that she rejected a suggestion that she serve on the board of a company associated with two men on trial in an investment fraud case. Donald V. Watkins Sr., of Atlanta, and Donald V. Watkins Jr., of Birmingham, each face multiple counts of wire and bank fraud and one count of conspiracy. Rice was the first witness called in the trial — in which each man is representing himself. Prosecutors said Watkins Sr. told investors that Rice, an Alabama native, was considering investing in one of his companies, known as Masada. Al.com reports Rice met Watkins Sr. through friends who said she should look into Masada. Rice said she met twice in person and had two phone calls with him. But when he suggested she serve on Masada’s board of directors, Rice said she wasn’t interested. “I told him at that time I was just out of government, and I was looking at a lot of different possibilities,” she said. “I (was) unlikely to join boards.” Watkins Sr. then suggested a strategic advising position, Rice said. At one point he sent out a press release announcing her involvement. Rice said she emailed Watkins Sr. and told him she was not in a position to accept the role. “I couldn’t accept, and I couldn’t most certainly do a press release at that time,” she said. Rice said she hadn’t showed the proposed agreement to her lawyer or financial adviser, and liked to take ample time to agree to business ventures. “I was just uncomfortable with the fact that this seemed so urgent,” she said. “I didn’t think I could meet Mr. Watkins’ time-frame.” She also said she wanted no role when Watkins began talking about a venture involving purchase of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. “Please do not associate it with me in any way,” Rice told him via email. Emails displayed in court show in March 2009, Watkins Sr. wrote to others about job assignments he had planned for Rice. Rice said she has no recollection of ever being told about the assignments and she never authorized him to share her name and possible involvement in talks with others. Watkins Sr. asked Rice about their meeting at a Palo Alto, California restaurant. Watkins Sr. asked about the length of the meeting and if it lasted several hours. Rice replied, “Mr. Watkins I didn’t have two hours to spend with people at that time. Mr. Watkins, you were clearly recruiting me.” After June of that year, Rice said she never talked to Watkins Sr. about Masada again. Rice said she never met Watkins Jr. or directly communicated with him. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
State Rep. Micky Hammon pleads guilty to mail fraud involving campaign funds
Longtime Alabama lawmaker, Decatur-Republican State Rep. Micky Ray Hammon, pleaded guilty on felony charges Monday to devising a scheme to commit mail fraud involving his campaign funds. United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin Sr. confirmed the news Tuesday morning. As a result of pleading guilty to a felony, Hammon was automatically removed from his House seat. Governor Kay Ivey has yet to set a date for a special election to replace him. According to court documents, Hammon, who has represented the 4th district in the Alabama House since 2002 and served as the House of Representative’s majority leader until earlier this year, used campaign money to pay his own personal expenses as part of the scheme. In 2013, he created a principal campaign committee through the Secretary of States Office allowing him to raise funds for his reelection campaign. He was writing checks from his campaign committee account and then depositing them into his personal account. He later used the funds to pay for personal expenses, which is strictly prohibited by Alabama campaign finance rules. “Self-dealing by elected officials erodes society’s confidence in its governmental institutions,” said Franklin Sr. “Self-dealing is precisely what occurred here. Those who donated to Representative Hammon’s campaign expected that the campaign would use those resources lawfully and to foster an informative public debate. Instead, Representative Hammon placed those funds into his own personal piggy bank. “I am proud of my office’s efforts to root out this corruption and I am most grateful for the tireless work of the United States Postal Inspection Service, which investigated this case. I hope that this prosecution will, in some small way, restore Alabamians’ trust in their state legislature.” United States District Attorney Myron H. Thompson will sentence Hammon in the months ahead. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Florida woman guilty of Alabama credit card skimming
A Florida woman was found guilty of helping to orchestrate a multi-state scheme to use skimming devices on gas pumps to steal credit and debit card numbers, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Tuesday. Eunises Llorca-Menses, 30, of Naples, Fla. was found guilty by a federal jury Friday on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft in January. She faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. “This conviction should send a strong message to debit card skimmers seeking to target unsuspecting Alabamians: you will be caught and brought to justice,” Marshall said in a statement. On February 15, 2017, Llorca Menses and her co-defendant Reiner Perez-Rives were charged. Perez-Rives pled guilty in July to conspiracy and identity theft charges. As part of the scheme, Llorca-Menses and Perez-Rives, would rent vehicles and travel between Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Virginia. During their travels, they would visit several gas stations and install a skimming device inside gas pumps. Through the skimming device, they collected gas station customers’ credit/debit card information and used that information to activate or reactivate credit, debit, or gift cards, and make unauthorized ATM cash withdrawals at gas stations and purchases at several places around the Southeast. Law enforcement officials uncovered the elaborate scheme following multiple reports from victims concerning the unauthorized use of their debit cards. Working with financial institutions, the Ozark Police Department, along with state and federal partners, discovered that many of the victims had used their cards at the same gas station in Ozark, Ala. At this station, they found a skimming device with Bluetooth capability installed on a gas pump. The Bluetooth technology allowed the defendants to collect a gas customer’s credit/debit information while sitting up to thirty-feet away from the gas pump. At the time of their arrest on December 21, 2016, Llorca-Meneses and Peres-Rives were found to be in possession of thirty-nine credit/debit cards that had been re-encoded with stolen credit/debit card numbers, along with an additional 317 gift cards. A Wal-Mart gift card that contained the stolen account information from a victim’s Capital One credit card and a key used to gain access to the inside of a gas pump was found in Llorca-Meneses’ purse. Law enforcement also found a homemade device with connectors that matched the connections on the skimming device found in the gas pump in Ozark in their luggage. “It is incredibly difficult for the average person to determine if a gas pump has a skimmer,” stated Acting U.S for the Middle District of Alabama A. Clark Morris. “This is because many are placed inside the gas pump with no visible evidence of tampering. While the crooks may be getting smarter, law enforcement continues to work hard to stay a step ahead. This conviction shows that our office will continue to work with our partners to identify criminals that seek to victimize our citizens.” To avoid becoming a victim of this type of fraud, customers should pay inside the store or use pumps that are visible to store employees and video surveillance cameras. Criminals commonly target pumps that allow them to install skimming devices undetected. This case was a joint investigation involving the Ozark Police Department, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, the United States Secret Service, and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Denise O. Simpson and Assistant United States Attorney Steven Lee prosecuted this case.
Authorities brace for wave of hurricane-related fraud
As high water spreads from Houston through Texas and Louisiana, authorities are bracing for an inevitable wave of fraud and other criminal activity set into motion by Harvey’s punishing rains. In a warning to those who would seek to defraud the government and people wanting to help or seeking assistance, a dozen federal and state agencies were banding together to investigate and prosecute wrongdoers. Federal and state officials are warning residents, volunteers and officials in flood zones in Texas and Louisiana they could be targeted by storm-related scams, contract corruption, document fraud, identify theft and other crimes. They emphasize that the easy availability of personal information and documents on the internet has widened criminal activities and potential victims to anywhere in the U.S. “Protect yourself and your wallet from unscrupulous operators,” warned a new flyer by the Texas attorney general, whose office had received nearly 700 complaints by late Wednesday. Most alleged price gouging but a few reported fraud, said Kayleigh Lovvorn, a spokeswoman for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. A disaster-related task force headed by Justice Department officials and other authorities has operated since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It has arrested and prosecuted defendants for disaster-related crimes, including more than 1,460 in connection with crimes associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Those prosecutions, between 2005 and 2011, targeted defendants in 49 federal districts across the country – a clear indication that criminal activities spawned by Harvey could originate anywhere. “We recognize that much of the fraud may occur in areas far removed from the disaster,” said Corey R. Amundson, the acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana. Amundson is also the executive director of the National Center for Disaster Fraud, the Baton Rouge-based federal task force. In a sign of the magnitude of fraud anticipated in Harvey’s wake, federal and state law enforcement officials formed a working group to investigate and prosecute illegal activity stemming from the hurricane. Houston-based Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez said storm victims had already suffered devastation and “the last thing that victims of the damage need is to be victimized again.” The relationship, if any, between the new working group and the existing task force wasn’t clear. After Katrina, many of the task force’s early criminal prosecutions targeted those accused of fraudulently obtaining emergency assistance funds intended to help storm and flood victims. The unit’s scrutiny broadened to people and companies that filed fraudulent home repair and disaster loan applications and also to contract and kickback schemes involving corrupt public officials. Among officials investigated by the task force were Benjamin L. Edwards Sr., a former New Orleans city sewerage director who pleaded guilty in 2010 to wire fraud and tax evasion for soliciting more than $750,000 in payoffs from hurricane cleanup contractors – and Gregory Brent Warr, the former mayor of Gulfport, Mississippi, who admitted guilt in 2009 for improperly receiving federal disaster funds. The U.S. Government Accountability Office criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies for loose scrutiny of disaster relief and recovery spending after Katrina. Walt Green, a Baton Rouge lawyer and former U.S. attorney in Baton Rouge, said FEMA and other federal agencies have tightened oversight during recent disasters, but are still overrun after each new disaster with fraudulent addresses, personal information and other spurious documentation. “Identify fraud is the newest angle,” said Green. “You can find long lists of social security numbers of the dark web and people are purchasing them to use after disasters.” Green, who led the federal disaster task force between 2013 and last March, said some criminal activity likely spiked even before Harvey’s landfall last week. Green said hurricane-related internet addresses – often with wording stressing storm charity and relief – are quickly purchased in the hours before a hurricane’s landfall. Some web addresses later surface in charity scams that bilk unsuspecting donors or lure viewers to virus-infected sites. “Without a doubt, charity fraud is going on right now,” Green said. On Wednesday, the government-funded Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center reported more than 500 domain names associated with Harvey had been registered over the preceding week. The majority of those names, the center reported, used words associated with philanthropy and aid, including “help,” ”relief,” ”donate” and “victims.” The center warned of “the potential for misinformation” and that “malicious actors are also using social media to post false information or links to malicious websites.” Four domain names referencing Harvey and the words “relief,” ”fund” and “recovery” were listed for auction on eBay.com earlier this week, starting at $5,000 each. James Streigel, a northern California man who acknowledged offering them for sale, said he had no malicious intent and intended to sell them to the highest bidder. Streigel said his listings also carried notices saying he would donate 20 percent of his earnings to the American Red Cross. He acknowledged to The Associated Press that he had no way of preventing prospective buyers from using the domain names for criminal activity. “We can’t be sure of anything these days,” Streigel said. Hours later, an eBay spokesman, Ryan Moore, said the listings had been removed from eBay’s site. “We’ve issued a warning to this seller that these listings violate eBay policy,” Moore said. The site’s “offensive material policy” prohibits listings that “attempt to profit from human tragedy or suffering, or that are insensitive to victims of such events.” Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz fires IT staffer following fraud arrest
Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has fired an information technology staffer following his arrest on a bank fraud charge at a Virginia airport where he was attempting to fly to Pakistan. Wasserman Schultz spokesman David Damron says Imran Awan was fired by the Florida lawmaker on Tuesday. Awan’s attorney, Chris Gowen, confirmed that his client was arrested at Dulles Airport on Monday. He says Awan was cleared to travel and had informed the House of his plans to visit his family before the scheduled trip. The 37-year-old Awan of Lorton, Virginia, was arraigned Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on one count of bank fraud. He pleaded not guilty and was released pursuant to a high-intensity supervision program, including the restriction that he not travel beyond a 50-mile radius of his home, according to the court. An affidavit filed with the criminal complaint states there is probable cause to believe that Awan and his wife, Hina Alvi, engaged in a scheme to defraud Congressional Federal Credit Union based on misrepresentations made to obtain a loan. FBI Special Agent Brandon Merriman said in the affidavit that the misrepresentations revolved around written assurances that the home serving as collateral for the loan was a “principal residence.” Merriman said that the credit union normally does not provide home equity lines of credit when the home used to secure the loan is a rental. That’s because they are riskier forms of collateral. The investigation, which included physical surveillance and interviews, determined that the couple did not reside at the property used to secure the loan. The agent also attested that bank records show $283,000 was wired to two individuals in Pakistan. He stated that agents followed Alvi in March to Dulles International Airport and that she was allowed to board a flight. She has not returned. She has a return flight for September 2017, but the agent said that he believes Alvi has no intention of returning to the United States. The FBI agent also stated Awan purchased a flight to Doha, Qatar, and then to Lahore, Pakistan. He purchased a return flight for a date in January 2018. Gowen says the federal bank fraud count stems from a “modest real estate matter” and is motivated by anti-Muslim bigotry. He said he’s confident Awan “will soon be able to clear his name and get on with his life.” A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 21, according to Gowen. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Beware of tax-season scam artists
Jan. 19 marked the start of tax season, a time only looked forward to by big spending politicians, bureaucrats and fraudsters. With Tax Day less than three months away, folks across the country are scrambling to get their financial houses in order as they prepare to file with the IRS. Complicating an already stressful process is the increased threat of tax fraud, as a growing number of scammers and sophisticated hackers are hard at work trying to steal from unsuspecting tax filers. There have been 736,000 reports of fraudulent incidents of scammers calling taxpayers falsely claiming to be from the IRS. The phone scams started by targeting seniors and immigrants but have now expanded to targeting everyone in all 50 states. These phone scams have cost victims more than $23 million since 2013. Now scammers are posing as tax-filing services as well. Just this week, it was reported that scammers are sending emails, falsely appearing to be from TurboTax, that aim to steal personal information. If you receive such an email, delete it and don’t reply or forward it. Although some of the most common scam tactics use direct contact like phone and email, there are growing concerns over the use of technology and a lack of online security for taxpayers. Tax fraud from online tax programs is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. There are literally millions of online accounts that criminals can use to prey on legitimate taxpayers, stealing their identity and pocketing their hard-earned money. Everyone is at risk, especially seniors. In 2013 alone, swindlers succeeded in stealing $5.8 billion in fraudulent refunds on 1 million returns. When filing online, beware of services that do not have security measures to protect your identity. Whistle-blowers from Intuit/TurboTax have spoken out about the lack of security measures for online filers. In 2015, two former TurboTax employees came forward acknowledging that they had “found literally millions of accounts that were 100 percent used only for fraud,” and that TurboTax management “forbade” them from flagging or turning off the fraudulent accounts and refused to implement suggested security measures to stop the rampant fraud. Although tax scams don’t discriminate, unfortunately America’s seniors are among the most vulnerable for falling victim to fraud — having their identity stolen or personal security compromised during tax filing season. On behalf of 60 Plus, I encourage seniors and their loved ones to be on the lookout for unscrupulous individuals and companies who would put them and their personal information at risk.
Bradley Byrne: Fighting fraud, abuse
The federal government is huge. In fact, there are over 275 executive agencies, departments, and boards that employ over two million people. With a bureaucracy this size, it should come as no surprise that fraud and abuse is far too common. Since coming to Washington, one of my top priorities has been to reduce the overall size of the federal government and to cut waste and abuse. I took a step in the right direction earlier this year when I introduced the Sunset Act. My bill, known as the Sunset Inefficient and Unaccountable Government Act, would require all federal agencies to be reviewed and renewed by Congress once every ten years. If an agency failed to be renewed, it would go out of existence. Many in Washington were outraged by my idea because it challenged the status quo. Trust me, there is a lot of resistance when you try to push back against the Washington machine, but I have also heard a lot of positive support for my bill from conservative colleagues and those who support a smaller, more efficient federal government. In addition to pushing for large-scale reforms to the way the federal government operates, I am also committed to looking for targeted changes that will help cut down on abuse and waste. Recently, I saw a local news report on Local 15 News in Mobile about over-income families living in taxpayer funded public housing. After looking into the story, it turns out that 25,226 over-income families nationwide live in public housing. Right here in Alabama, there are 812 cases of over-income residents living in public housing, which ranks fourth highest in the United States. In fact, there is an individual living in public housing in Mobile who makes over $100,000 a year. That is astonishing. So I set out to learn more about how our public housing programs work. It turns out that families living in public housing are already required to go through yearly income verification checks, but those who are found to be over-income are not required to move out of their taxpayer funded homes or apartments. This is unacceptable and a waste of taxpayer money, so I went to work on legislation that would help make this right. A few weeks ago, I introduced H.R. 4133, the Public Housing Accountability Act. My bill would establish that any family found to be over-income must vacate public housing within 30 days. I want to make it clear that I understand the important role public housing plays for many of our nation’s poorest families, but allowing this kind of blatant fraud and abuse is a disservice to those who need truly need public housing. In fact, the Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General found that there are thousands of families across the United States on a wait list for public housing while these individuals take up space. For example, in the New York City Housing Authority, there are at least 10,000 over-income families living in public housing while over 300,000 families are on a waiting list. Tackling abuse in public housing is just a starting point. From food stamps to Medicaid, fraud is far too common in our nation’s welfare programs. I believe we need to entirely rethink the way our welfare programs work to ensure we are actually helping people get out of poverty instead of incentivizing them to stay there. At the end of the day, there is far too much fraud and abuse within the federal government. It is time Congress gets serious about reforming government to ensure it is both efficient and effective. Bradley Byrne is a member of the U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
