 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
||
 -Published: Friday, November 29, 2019- Alert issued about phone
scams
during holidays By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The holiday season increases the number of fraud cases, especially telephone scams, say the experts of the Judicial Investigation Organization. According to the agents, there are several signs that people can identify in order not to fall victim to the fraudulent phone calls. Among the typical characteristics of these crooked calls are: - Calls are generated from private or unknown phone numbers. - The caller offers prizes in exchange for bank deposits. - Another pretext of the call is to help in a process related to banks, or public institutions even when the victim never asked to be called by any bank agent or other institution. - Those who makes the call asks for sensitive data such as personal information, bank codes, access codes to smartphones or computers. - The scammer can also request the email address of the victim, and send a message that includes a suspicious link. Usually in that link, is sophisticated program or virus that steal information from computers or other devices. - Another type of scam is text messages, where the sender requests a call back to an unknown phone number. "Many of these fraudulent calls are generated from prisons," agents said. According to the statistics of the Judicial Investigation Organization, during the first half of this year, from January to June, were filed more than 1,511 telephone scam reports. By the end of this year, losses from phone call scams could be more than $ 9.7 million, judicial agents said. To alert the public to avoid being victims of scams through fraudulent calls, specialists give the following list of advice: - Never give personal information over the phone.A legitimate company, bank or public institution never makes calls to customers to request personal data. - If you receive a call, from an alleged bank representative or other institution, you must hang up and call that institution directly, using the official telephone number, to verify if it is true that they make calls to the public. - In the event that personal information is requested by means of a call, never give the information. It is safer to go to bank, company or institution offices and give the data to an official agent, in person. - Periodically change passwords for access to banks, computers or other devices. - Keep the debit or credit card always with you. - Check that in stores clerks use official dataphones or payment terminals. - If you are going to make purchases online, check the credibility and security of the sites where you make purchases, especially if you have to pay online for an affiliations or subscription. - Always enter a bank's web address writing the full URL address. Never access your bank account from links provided in emails, in text messages, or in search engines. - Always verify that the bank site shows the logo of a closed security lock. Usually, that logo is displayed before the URL address. - Remember that banks, companies or public institutions never call customers to request bank account information. The authorities have enabled the toll-free line 800-3368-6243, to report complaints of false calls and also to provide advice on how to avoid scam's phone calls. Due to the allegations of scams generated through calls from prisons, Pablo Bertozzi, director of the Penitentiary Police said that security measures have already been increased in prisons to prevent criminal gangs from making calls. In case of being a victim of fraud, specialists advise filing a complaint immediately with the bank and the Judicial Investigation Organization. With respect to recent complaints of telephone scam calls generated from jail, a reader ventured his case, with the goal of helping others avoid such scams.  On Nov 26, an ex-pat surnamed Blount, who lives in Guanacaste, shared his story of being scammed from a fake call made by a prisoner right from the jail. According to Blount's account, in October 2018, he was scammed by a man who was "actually in jail and I lost a little over $3,000." When the victim reported the scam to the agents of the Judicial Investigation Organization, they told him other people, had been scammed as well, he said. "There were at least 11 of us in my area at the time. Two lost amounts of $60,000 and $ 130.000. These people are getting rich while sitting in jail," said Blount. According to Blount, after the electronic theft, the scammers continued with the calls. "Since this happened last year the same man has called me at least three times. On one of those calls, I got him to talk for a while. I told him I knew he was trying to scam me again. I thought he would hang up, but instead, he told me he was in jail," said Blount in his account. According to the victim, communication with the alleged scammer continued for a while. "I asked why he did this to me and he said he needed the money. The next time he called I told him to lose my number. Then the other day he called again! But this time he called a different cell phone that is in my name. I listened to his pitch for a little bit, got his name again and told him I knew what he was doing and hung up," said the victim. "The last call was on 9 Aug 2019." According to Blount, the stolen money could not be recovered through the bank. "My Costa Rica bank did not cover my losses. Their excuse was that I assisted this man. That is insane, but the bank got away with it, so I feel like I was robbed all over again." The theft could be achieved because the victim was in the process of installing a program to make electronic invoices. According to the victim, the thief pretended to be a bank employee who was helping him to go through that process. "Like so many people I was very worried about understanding the new electronic invoicing system when this man got me. It gave him (and fellow prisoners) an easy way to scam me and many others," said Blount. According to the victim, he did not suspect that he was being scammed because the thief knew a lot of sensitive information. "I use to think people who fell for scams were not careful enough and gave out to much information. But I didn't have to give this man information. He already knew a lot about me. Scary thought that a man in jail can get so much information about someone like this. He even used my ID number and other information (date of birth, etc) to convince me he was with the Hacienda," said the victim, citing the name of the financial ministry. In August, the Ministry of Justice had reported 1,918 various types of electronic equipment, such as cell phones, that have been confiscated from all of the prisoners in the country. That month social networks distributed a video of a group of prisoners who were in La Reforma jail, in Alajuela using cell phones to call people and scam them. According to the ministry statement in about that video, the Penitentiary Police identified all the people who appear in the video and also the person who made the recording. Those prisoners are in jail for crimes such as homicide, theft, rape, and drug dealers. "Some of them were transferred to other prisons. The authorities estimate that the video was filmed months ago," said the ministry in its statement. The video of several prisoners making calls to third parties can be still seen on the Facebook page of Programa Horizontes. April 2020, is the deadline for telecommunications service operators to implement the technological solutions necessary to block the cellular signal in the country's penal centers. In June the specialist from the ministry made the first inspection to start blocking cell phone signals in prisons. In August 2018 law No.9597 was approved for the blocking of cellular signals inside the prisons. The goal is to block scams that the prisoners run from the jails. Prisoners can continue to communicate with their contacts through the authorized public monitored phones available in the facilities, said authorities. ------------------------ Should telecom companies speed up the process of blocking cell phone signals inside jails? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
  |
|
 |
Relocation
Tours
(paid
category)
Immigration
Attorneys
(paid category)
|
|||||||||||
|
Residency Experts
|
|||||||||||
 |
The Relocation /
Retirement tour with the *HIGHEST SUCCESS RATE OF RELOCATION* (as reported by the moving companies) Visit many rental options to actually experience the price/amenity options available in more of the areas chosen by Expats for security, comfort, and quality of life. Meet many Expats who are willing to share their experiences and how the tour has value long after the “lust” wears off. See how to choose a Retirement tour video by past guest! HERE! |
Ask the others what you get for your money, and then compare the quality of accommodations, quality, quantity and variety of food and drink to measure the best value for your money. Learn how others “talk the talk” and learn who really can “walk the walk” Please visit my Web site to contact my references. George Lundquist, Retirement, Relocation, and Lifestyle Guide. Email : lundquistgeorge@gmail.com |
|||||||||
|
U.S. Income Tax & Accounting
(paid category)
|
|||||||||||
 |
James
Brohl, C.P.A. & M.B.A.
US Income Tax, U.S. GAAP Accounting & Business Consulting Specializing in all matters of concern to U.S. taxpayers residing abroad including: •
IRS filing requirements of foreign income tax
exclusion (up to $104,100 for 2018).
• Past-due tax returns: Taxpayers filing
before an IRS notice do not face criminal
sanctions.
|
•
Reporting foreign financial assets: FBAR and
foreign corporations.
• Up-to-date FATCA news.
• All US Tax return preparation:
individual, business, estate and trust.
• eFile returns: secure with faster refunds.
• Business
consulting to facilitate working in Costa Rica
|
|||||||||
Real
Estate Agents & Services
(paid
category)
|
|||||||||||
 |
Exclusive
Source for
Costa Rica Real Estate We
are an award-winning Team of Professional Agents
working with Costa Rica’s #1 Selling Real Estate
Agency RE/MAX Prestige Ocean Properties. Get to
KNOW, LIKE & TRUST us and let us help you
find YOUR Pura Vida! We have over 30 years of
experience to educate our buyers and sellers in
all aspects of Real Estate. For
Information on condos, homes, lots, farms,
ranches, commercial or development property.
CONTACT US TODAY with NO OBLIGATION whatsoever.
|
Link
to Playas del Coco listings page HERE
Link to Playa Panama listings page HERE Link to Playa Hermosa listings page HERE Link to Peninsula Papagayo listings page HERE Link to Playa Matapalo listings page HERE Free tour to A.M. Costa
Rica's readers
CR office phone: 506 - 2672-0707 CR cell phone: 506-8867-6929 Toll Free 1-877-293-1456 Email: michael@costarica-realestate.com Code:9174-020719 |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||
