Have U reported the scammer yet? Ep 3398

0:00Welcome back to Challenges of Faith Radio Program. I'm Gary McCann. Thank you for joining me. So the question today, you know I'm going to have one, are you supporting those who are deceiving you? Well, are you? Here on episode 3398, the Federal Trade Commission's BCP staff. They put out a warning that when donating, support those in need, not a scammer. They said that it seems like every day a major weather emergency or natural disaster happens somewhere in the world. And to help people affected by disasters like hurricanes and those recent flooding in Nepal and Tibet, or the recent earthquakes in Venezuela and Japan and Colombia, that

1:00you might want to donate money to help. Well, guess who else knows that? You guess right? Scammers, they know that and they hope to still money from you that's intended for disaster relief. But here's what to know. To take advantage of your generosity, the scammers and deceivers might create fake charities that seem official. They claim to help people affected by the weather, emergency or natural disasters and they also might impersonate well-known charity organizations hoping that the familiar name would draw your donations, you know they do. Either way, if you donate to these fake deceivers, your money goes to the scammer, not the people in need. So the question got to ask an answer, especially when you have the desire to donate.

2:01How can you support impact the people without accidentally paying a deceiver? Well, first of all, do your research. Have you started? Have you searched online for the cause you care about using turns like Hurricane Relief or Wildfire Recovery? And if you receive a request to donate to a cause on social media, research that too. Don't assume it's legitimate because a friend posted it. And look charities up on charitywatchergift.org to see if it's an established organization, not one that just showed up overnight without a real way to help those in need. And then most importantly, don't you want to find out exactly how much your donation goes directly to the people. The charity claims it's helping. Have you confirmed the number of somebody asked you to donate by text? Have you checked the charity's website first? Is it the right number?

3:01Because I know you're not just going to donate to anybody who said that you can only pay by cash, gift card, wiring money or crypto currency because guess why? The legitimate charities will accept donations in many different ways. So won't you take a moment and learn about donating safely at the Federal Trade Commission but at ftc.gov slash charity. And since we own the topic of scammers, are you aware the scammers are a spoofing car dealership websites? Or are you aware of that? You already know that that car you're trying to buy, it can be stressful just going through the process whether you're doing it online or in person. And the thought of driving off the dealers lot with that ride, you've had your eyes on, you know, it can be exciting. But can you imagine showing up at the dealership and finding out that the dealer has no record of your order or your payment?

4:02And that there's no shiny car waiting for you? Think about it. I know you're going to think. That's what's happening to the unwitting car buyers have been duped by deceivers, upscammers impersonating a car dealership. So don't you want to step back for a moment and recognize how that scam works? Think about the scammer set up bogus car dealership websites to trick you into paying up front up front now for a car. You're not going to ever lay your hands on. And what they end up doing is cloning a real all of dealers' websites. And often you then AI to do so. Yes, your favorite friend AI. And what they're doing is copying the brand logo, vehicle listings and photos right down to the last details. Think about some websites even include fake customer testimonials. They might advertise rare muscle cars or hard to find classics just to lure you in.

5:06They describe the buying process in detail and offer flexible return policies to put you at ease. Now, you already know you can avoid that scam that deceiver. You know you can if you want to. But the question is, how are you going to protect yourself from that scammer that also has cloned all of dealership websites? Well, have you searched online for the dealer's name? Words like scam review or complaint? Did you receive any negative hits that come up? Because you know that's a red flag. And are you keeping in mind that if the scammers, you know that the severs are impersonating a real dealership that they might find glowing reviews? So once you go ahead and take the extra amount, you know like you do in your relationships, go and take the extra amount to see the car and the dealership in person. And if they want to let you see it, you already know what to do. Put your foot on the brakes. And if the car is too far for you to visit in person, tell the dealer you want to hire

6:11a mobile inspection service to check out the car. Now if they don't let you, you might want to take your business somewhere else. And while you're doing that, go ahead and report that scam because you got to remember when they're walking away. If the dealer insists on an upfront payment by wire transfer only, go ahead and report them at reportthraw.ftc.gov. Have you reported them yet? But what are you waiting for?