In the Wild West of internet scammers, the cavalry’s not coming to the rescue.
“We generally don’t have the resources to follow up on these cases,” said Sgt. Jeremy Pittman, head of the Grosse Pointe Park public safety detective bureau. “Most are from outside the country. We’re not going to get cooperation from foreign governments on this. Generally, we hit a brick wall.”
“The difficulty comes from a lot of it being overseas,” said Raphael Washington, Wayne County sheriff. “They’re very trained in what they do. They’re scamming seniors and others out of their life savings.”
He said the most effective way to thwart scammers is educating people how to protect themselves.
“One of the best things we can do is make sure people know what a scammer is and what not to do when that happens,” Washington said.
The first safeguard is being skeptical.
“We have to trust our intuition,” Washington said. “If it doesn’t seem right, it’s probably not right.”
Fake utility sites
A recent trend in scammerdom is impersonating utility companies with fake but official-looking company advertisements on the internet.
“When customers are looking to start service or pay their bills, they are clicking on fraudulent sponsored ads and unknowingly dialing scammers,” said Katie Susko, a DTE Energy spokesperson. “These scams picked up a little in the last week. We don’t want to see anyone falling for these.”
Ads appear on legitimate search engines, such as Google and Bing, on which are listed among thousands of authentic sites on the internet labeled “Sponsored.” Some of the fraudulent ones targeting DTE customers are titled, “Billing Department” or “Energy Billing Department.” They come complete with a normal-looking website address and supposedly official and enticing toll-free telephone number. Fake and fake.
Most of the sites pop up when the user is searching the internet on a mobile phone.
“That’s why when they click on the ad, their phone immediately dials the scammer,” Susko said.
Once on the phone, fraudsters identify themselves as utility company employees.
“They seek personal identification information,” Susko said. “They’ll ask for names, a DTE account number and address, Social Security number and also payment information.”
She said utility officials started noticing the trend in December.
“It’s not only affecting DTE customers,” Susko said. “It’s happening around the country to other utilities.”
Phone spoofing
“The other scam we’re seeing is phone spoofing, where you’ll get a call on your phone and its listed as coming from DTE Energy,” Susko said.
Phone spoofing is falsifying the true source of a telephone call to make it look like it’s coming from somewhere or someone else.
“Scammers are able to spoof our number,” Susko said. “They’ll call and be very forceful in saying you owe money on your account. They’ll say your power is going to be shut off immediately if you don’t pay right now or within the next few minutes.”
That’s a big tipoff.
“We would not threaten anyone or be aggressive,” Susko said. “We would never shut off your power within a matter of minutes for not paying.”
The best defense
Images courtesy of DTE Energy
Screenshots of actual fake ads on internet search engines trying to lure trusting customers into revealing personal and financial information.
“You should hang up the phone,” Washington said.
“Generally, all of these scams are the same,” Pittman said. “If they call claiming to be somebody that is your internet service provider, or power or gas company, and they threaten that if you don’t pay your current bill they’re going to shut your power off, that should be a red flag right away. No company is going to call and threaten to shut off your power immediately.”
“When the call says it’s coming from DTE Energy, how are you to think any differently?” Susko said. “Scammers are getting really tech savvy. It’s easy to fall for this stuff if you’re not paying close attention.”
“If people get a call like that and have concerns about it, look up the company’s contact information and call them right back and make arrangements,” Pittman said. “That will take out the scammers.”
“We always suggest that if you think something is wrong, hang up and call us at (800) 477-4747,” Susko said. “Our call center reps can tell you if you owe money on your account. Always hang up the call and initiate the call yourself.”
Terminating utility service is a long process.
“If a customer is behind on their bill, they will receive several letters and emails (about) setting up a payment plan or assistance,” Susko said. “They will receive several communications. That could include phone calls.”
Regarding the search engine scam, she encouraged customers seeking to start service or pay bills to visit dteenergy.com.
Another red flag is demanding payment in odd ways, such as by gift cards.
“If they require you to go to a store, buy a $500 gift card and read them the numbers so they can get paid right away, don’t do that,” Pittman said. “Another thing we’ve had recently is people getting hooked up with people they meet online who pull a scam: ‘I’m having trouble getting cash. I’m going to send you a $30,000 check. Could you deposit it and take $30,000 out in gift cards, take screenshots of them and send them to me?’
“They do that and three days later, the check doesn’t clear and they’re out the money.”
Tyler Fields is your internet guru, delving into the latest trends, developments, and issues shaping the online world. With a focus on internet culture, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, Tyler keeps readers informed about the dynamic landscape of the internet and its impact on our digital lives.
