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 Currently, scammers access social media which makes it even easier for them to commit crimes due to the fact that they do not have face-to-face contact with their victims. - Photo for illustration purposes only - |
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Published on
Monday, August 2, 2021
Costa Ricans are trusted or naive people by nature, which is a trait that scammers take advantage of, according to Esteban Aguilar-Vargas, Fraud and Cybercrime Prosecutor. During a conference organized by the Public Ministry, the specialist explained that currently, scammers access social media which makes it even easier for them to commit crimes due to the fact that they do not have face-to-face contact with their victims. "Now people spend more time on their devices and this makes their information and data easier for crooks to access them, leaving victims in a more vulnerable situation," Aguilar said. According to Aguilar, in the Prosecutor's Office, they have detected three principal types of scams in Costa Rica. The first is the so-called computer scam. Some of the frauds were detected when people made purchases on the popular Facebook Marketplace page. To avoid scams on the Marketplace, people should be alert to signs of a possible scam. One of these signs is when the item for sale price is way too cheaper than the real cost of that object in a store. Another sign of a possible scam is when the person pretending to be a buyer does not ask to see the item in person. In other words, the scammer avoids having any kind of personal contact with the victim. The third sign is when the scammer prefers to make the payment at a bank and avoids making the payment directly to the victim. In this case, the scammer manages to make a fake proof of payment, which is then sent to the victim. When the victim thinks the device was sold, the scammer sends a messenger to pick up the item that was supposedly paid for. For the fraud to be complete, the victim omits to check the bank account to verify if the money was deposited. Regarding scams for the sale of vehicles, the victim, who is selling the vehicle also omits to verify that the payment has been satisfactorily received in the bank account. Another scam happens when a fake lawyer manages to obtain the vehicle owner's signature on a vehicle transfer document. The specialist said to avoid car sale scams, hire a trustworthy lawyer to aid in the vehicle sales legal procedure. The lawyer can also help to verify the vehicle registration owner, which is obtained with the number of plates in the National Property Registry. This step is essential to know who is the real owner of the vehicle, as well as knowing if the vehicle is free of impediments and meets all the requirements of the law to be used, such as payment of taxes or fines. The third most common type of fraud, according to the specialist, is property notarial fraud. This happens when the property owner does not realize that a third party falsified legal documents and carried out an illegal transfer of the property. One way to prevent this from happening is to carry periodic reviews of the legal property records in the National Property Registry. In this way, it could be detected if someone is trying to request a transfer of property with fake documents. In case of suspicion of property fraud, the owner must go immediately to file a complaint with the Judicial Investigation Organization, the Bar Association and the Public Ministry. ------------------------ What have you heard of an expat being scammed on Facebook? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com  Professional's
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