Scams: Anyone Can Be A Victim
The sooner a scam is reported, the more chance there is of recovering assets and bringing the scammer to justice
By Denise Rivette
Above: The International Lunar Lands Registry (ILLR) charges fees for “registering” claims but does not suggest that those claims will be considered legal in any jurisdiction. They state: “Please note that we do not purport to be the “owner” of the Moon as the novelty Moon deed companies falsely claim. We merely offer a standardized process for registering ownership claims to a limited number of prime locations on the Moon. While you may receive a pretty piece of paper from one of these many novelty companies, your actual ownership of land on the Moon from them has no legal standing and is essentially worthless.” ILLR makes no claim that the thousands of dollars paid for their pretty piece of paper guarantees any more legal standing than those of the novelty companies.
There are an ever increasing number of scams occurring on line, over the phone and in person that continue to find victims in our county, state and across the country. Scammers target people of all ages, backgrounds and economic status. The situation is only getting worse with AI generated and assisted communications and computations.
The primary pressure points that scammers use to catch people off guard are time pressure, threats of prosecution and danger to a loved one. Government entities are rarely going to have a deadline less than ten business days from a notice, and that notice will be delivered in person or via United States Postal Service. If delivered by USPS, you still must make sure the return address and other details are authentic. If you get a call from a loved one telling you they need money desperately and immediately sent to them in the form of cash, crypto currency or gift cards, STOP and take a breath. Look at the phone number: Is it the number of your loved one? Is there someone you can call to verify your loved one’s situation? Is there a more secure way to provide the relief needed, like purchasing what they need with a credit card? If they are in imminent danger, call 911.
If anyone contacts you to pressure you into providing money in any form, stop communicating with them immediately and contact law enforcement on their non-emergency line. In Carbon County, call the business line of the Sheriff’s Office at (406) 446-1234 to report suspected scams or suspicious activity at any time of the day or night.
Things to Know
Law enforcement will never call or text to collect money from you or inform you of a pending arrest or legal action.
Government entities will never accept gift cards as payment.
Never give any personal information, especially financial or medical information, to someone you did not initiate contact with.
If you receive a demand for money, STOP, take a deep breath, and then:
From a trusted source, obtain the phone number for the entity that is demanding the money and call that number to verify that the communication you received is from them; and, if you suspect you may be the target or victim of a scam,
Call the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office business line at (406) 446-1234 to discuss next steps.
Above is a text I received, that shows some classic signs of a scam.
It’s a text from a government entity. Governments communicate by letter sent via the United States Postal Service or documents delivered in person.
The phone number begins with a number other than 1. Regardless of what happens with the economy or foreign affairs, the United States will always be number 1 when it comes to international phone numbers. 63 is the international dialing code for the Philippines.
In Montana it’s called the Montana Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) not the Montana Department of Vehicles (DMV).
I don’t recall getting an earlier notice and don’t recall receiving a traffic ticket.
Penalties begin in two days if fines not paid in one day and this text was received on a Sunday. The timeframe is unreasonable and designed to induce panic. It is delivered on a day that no MVD office is open to receive payment or answer questions.
In Montana it’s the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) not the Montana State Administrative Code.
One of the actions threatened is “Transfer to a toll booth and charge a 35% service fee.” There are no toll booths in Montana. Transfer what and charge of service fee of 35% of what?
Prosecution and damage to credit score are presented as equally dire consequences.
The demand to PAY NOW, on a Sunday when MVD offices are not open, by going to a website that, while it contains the sequence “.gov”, it does not end with .gov, but rather .gov-cmgr.icu.
These scams are still out there because they work. The above is an example of a poorly executed scam; however, there will be some people who are distracted or distraught enough to contact the website, and that’s all the scammer needs. Almost anyone can fall victim to a scam in a vulnerable moment. Some scammers are out there assessing your data and targeting their approach; but still more are just taking a scattershot approach in hopes of profitting off the percentages. There is no reason, or time, to be ashamed if a scam happens to you. The important thing is to report it immediately so there is a chance of getting your money back, of apprehending the scammer and of preventing the scam from happening to others.