Latest / Challenges of Faith Radio Program / Have U reported the scammer yet? Ep 3398

Transcript

Have U reported the scammer yet? Ep 3398 · Challenges of Faith Radio Program

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Challenges of Faith Radio Program. I'm Gary McCance.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Thank you for joining. So the question today, you know
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: I'm going to have one. Are you supporting those who
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: are deceiving you? Well, are you? Here on episode 3,398,
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  Speaker 1: the Federal Trade Commission's BCP staff They put out a
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  Speaker 1: warning that when donating, support those in need, not a scammer.
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  Speaker 1: They said that it seems like every day a major
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  Speaker 1: weather emergency or natural disaster happens somewhere in the world.
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  Speaker 1: And to help people affected by disasters like hurricanes and
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  Speaker 1: the recent flooding in Nepal and Tibet, or the recent
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  Speaker 1: earthquakes in Venezuela and Japan and Colombia, that you might
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  Speaker 1: want to donate money to help. Well, guess who else
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  Speaker 1: knows that? You guessed right, scammers. They know that and
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  Speaker 1: they hope to steal money from you that's intended for
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  Speaker 1: disaster relief. But here's what to know. To take advantage
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  Speaker 1: of your generosity, the scammers, the deceivers, might create fake
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  Speaker 1: charities that seem... They claim to help people affected by
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  Speaker 1: the weather, emergencies, or natural disasters. And they also might
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  Speaker 1: impersonate well-known charity organizations, hoping that the familiar name will
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  Speaker 1: draw your donations. You know they do. Either way, if
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  Speaker 1: you donate to these fakes, deceivers, your money goes to
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  Speaker 1: the scammer, not the people in need. So the question
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  Speaker 1: you got to ask and answer, especially when you have
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  Speaker 1: that desire to, you know, donate. How can you support
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  Speaker 1: impacted people without accidentally paying a deceiver? Well, first of all,
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  Speaker 1: do your research. Have you? Have you started? Have you
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  Speaker 1: searched online for the cause you care about using terms
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  Speaker 1: like hurricane relief or wildfire recovery? And if you receive
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  Speaker 1: a request to donate to a cause on social media,
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  Speaker 1: research that too. Don't assume it's legitimate because a friend
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  Speaker 1: posted it. And look charities up on CharityWatch or Give.org
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  Speaker 1: to see if it's an established organization, not one that
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  Speaker 1: just showed up overnight without a real way to help
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  Speaker 1: those in need. And then, most importantly, don't you want
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  Speaker 1: to find out exactly how much of your donation goes
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  Speaker 1: directly to the people involved The charity claims it's helping.
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  Speaker 1: Have you confirmed the number if somebody asks you to
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  Speaker 1: donate by text? Have you checked the charity's website first?
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  Speaker 1: Is it the right number? Because I know you're not
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  Speaker 1: just going to donate to anybody who says that you
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  Speaker 1: can only pay by cash, gift card, wiring money, or cryptocurrency.
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  Speaker 1: Because guess what? Legitimate charities will accept donations in many
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  Speaker 1: different ways. So why don't you take a moment and
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  Speaker 1: learn about donating safely at the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov
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  Speaker 1: slash charity. And since we're on the topic of scammers,
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  Speaker 1: are you aware that scammers are spoofing car dealership websites?
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  Speaker 1: Are you aware of that? You already know that that
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  Speaker 1: car you're trying to buy, it can be stressful just
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  Speaker 1: going through the process, whether you're doing it online or
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  Speaker 1: in person. And the thought of driving off the dealer's
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  Speaker 1: lot with that ride you've had your eyes on, you know,
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  Speaker 1: it can be exciting. But can you imagine showing up
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  Speaker 1: at the dealership and finding out that the dealer has
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  Speaker 1: no record of your order or your payment? And that
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  Speaker 1: there's no shiny car waiting for you? Think about it.
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  Speaker 1: I know you're going to think. That's what's happening to
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  Speaker 1: the unwitting car buyers who've been duped by deceivers, oops,
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  Speaker 1: scammers impersonating a car dealership. So don't you want to
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  Speaker 1: step back for a moment and recognize how that scam works?
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  Speaker 1: Think about it. The scammers set up bogus car dealership
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  Speaker 1: websites to trick you into paying up front now for
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  Speaker 1: a car you're not going to ever lay your hands on.
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  Speaker 1: And what they end up doing is cloning a real
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  Speaker 1: auto dealer's website and often using AI to do so. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: your favorite friend, AI. And what they're doing is copying
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  Speaker 1: the brand logos, vehicle listings, and photos right down to
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  Speaker 1: the last detail. Think about it. Some websites even include
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  Speaker 1: fake customer testimonials. And they might advertise rare muscle cars
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  Speaker 1: or hard-to-find classics just to lure you in. They describe
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  Speaker 1: the buying process in detail and offer flexible return policies
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  Speaker 1: to put you at ease. Now, you already know you
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  Speaker 1: can avoid that scam, that deceiver. You know you can
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  Speaker 1: if you want to. But the question is, how are
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  Speaker 1: you going to protect yourself from that scammer that also
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  Speaker 1: has cloned auto dealership websites? Well, have you searched online
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  Speaker 1: for the dealer's name with words like scam, review, or complaint?
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  Speaker 1: Did you receive any negative hits that come up? Because
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  Speaker 1: you know that's a red flag. And are you keeping
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  Speaker 1: in mind that if the scammers, you know, that the
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  Speaker 1: deceivers are impersonating a real dealership, that they might find
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  Speaker 1: glowing reviews? So why don't you go ahead and take
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  Speaker 1: the extra mile, you know, like you do in your relationships.
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  Speaker 1: Go ahead and take that extra mile to see the
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  Speaker 1: car and the dealership in person. And if they won't
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  Speaker 1: let you see it, you already know what to do.
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  Speaker 1: Put your foot on the brakes. And if the car
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  Speaker 1: is too far for you to visit in person, tell
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  Speaker 1: the dealer you want to hire a mobile inspection service
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  Speaker 1: to check out the car. Now, if they don't let you,
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  Speaker 1: you might want to take your business somewhere else. And
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  Speaker 1: while you're doing that, go ahead and report that scam.
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  Speaker 1: Because you've got to remember, now, walking away, if the
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  Speaker 1: dealer insists on an upfront payment by wire transfer only,
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  Speaker 1: go ahead and report them at reportfraud.ftc. Have you reported
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  Speaker 1: them yet? But what are you waiting for?