If you receive and email that is titled: UPDATE FROM PASADENA-CHAMBER from this email address: Pasadena-chamber <mark@east-ltd.co.uk> DELETE THE EMAIL AND DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
Emails from the Pasadena Chamber and our staff are always from an @pasadena-chamber(dot)org address. We only use MailChimp for mass emails including our e-Bulletin and sponsored emails as well as other special messages.
Someone is using the name of the Pasadena Chamber to send emails through WebCargo with a request that you click to open a document. THIS IS NOT FROM THE PASADENA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Please DO NOT CLICK on the link.
Most of these seem targeted at those with info@ email addresses.
Only open emails sent from an @pasadena-chamber.org return address. We use MailChimp for mass emails.
You amy receive emails purporting to be from the Chamber or our staff asking you to download documents, click links or reply to requests for service or support. Please check the return email addresses if you are at all suspicious of the email. WE NEVER SEND FROM GMAIL OR OTHER GENERAL USE EMAIL ADDRESSES! If you are at all suspicious, email to ask us about the email or call hte office.
Also be aware that we employ the most up-to-date protection software to guard against anyone mining email addresses from our website in bulk.
Here is what the bogus emails look like:
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If you receive one of these please delete it immediately. if you click on the link, please run a thorough anti-virus scan immediately.
I received this unsolicited email last week:
A New File for Pasadena-chamber was Scanned to you, find details below:
File Size : 321 kb
Time-Shared : 04/02/2021
Reception Email: paul@pasadena-chamber.org
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Download Attachment Above |
If you get something similar, please do not click on the link.
Coronavirus related scams:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, scammers are using robocalls, social media posts, and emails to take advantage of fear, anxiety, and confusion about the pandemic. Now that the COVID-19 vaccine is in Los Angeles County, scammers are targeting local residents with new, vaccine-related schemes.
FACTS:
- Covid-19 vaccine is being distributed in a fair and transparent way.
- Covid-19 vaccine will be given to Los Angeles County residents at no cost and regardless of immigration status.
Learn more at covid19.lacounty.gov.
How to Keep Seniors Safe From Scammers (from the Wall Street Journal)
Phone and online fraud targeting older adults is thriving in the pandemic
Scams targeting older adults take many forms, ranging from callers posing as grandchildren in need of financial assistance to emails directing people to fake bank websites where cons collect login credentials. The techniques evolve every year but the outcome is always the same: Many seniors end up losing money.
The isolation many older adults are experiencing during the pandemic has exacerbated the problem. Technology helps seniors stay connected with loved ones during a time of limited social interactions but it also opens new doors to scammers. Online puppy scams and romance scams are on the rise as bad actors seek to take advantage of people’s loneliness, according to the National Adult Protective Services Association.
Scammers initiated contact with older adults online more often than they did by phone for the first time ever in the second quarter of 2020, according to an October report from the Federal Trade Commission. Phone scams, though, still resulted in the highest monetary losses.
Older adults, defined by the FTC as those age 60 and over, were nearly six times as likely as younger ones to report losing money on tech-support scams. In all, older Americans reported fraud losses totaling $388 million through the third quarter of 2020, the latest data available from the FTC, up 23% from the same period a year earlier.
There are ways to safeguard assets and to prevent such scams from occurring in the first place. Here are some tips, based on interviews with several elder-care experts.
In addition to adding a land line or mobile phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry, people also can check with their phone company or mobile provider about call-blocking services. AT& T, T-Mobile and Verizon all offer features for blocking robocalls. People also can block unwanted calls on the mobile phones themselves: Apple devices running iOS 13 or later can silence unknown callers as can Android devices running Android 6.0 and newer. There are also a number of third-party apps that block robocalls, available on the Apple and Google app stores.
If you receive something that looks like junk mail in your inbox, it’s best to mark it as spam so your email service’s spam filter recognizes it next time.
Even if an email looks legitimate, it’s always best to check the email address it came from before opening it or clicking on anything in the message. Emails sent from scammers usually contain various numbers or symbols rather than the simple email address of a legitimate institution. The same goes for web addresses, which also can be spoofed. You can google the name of the bank website where you’ve supposedly been directed to see if it matches.
You can unsubscribe from marketing emails. Cyber safety firm NortonLifeLock shows how to do so on every major email service. When in doubt about an email, ask a trusted loved one, call the Senior Planet tech hotline at 920-666-1959 or call the AARP fraud watch helpline at 877-908-3360.
People also can request not to receive certain kinds of U.S. mail, as well as unwanted commercial email, through a service called DMAchoice. You can opt out of receiving prescreened credit and insurance offers by visiting // www.optoutprescreen.com.
Elder-care experts suggest that people who receive in-home care switch to electronic bank statements or have their mail forwarded to a trusted loved one to avoid having mail containing account information available for caregivers and others to see. While technology has invited new scams, most fraud against seniors is still perpetrated by caregivers and family members, according to the Justice Department.
Seniors can safeguard their money by setting up direct deposits for income from Social Security, pensions and dividends so that physical checks aren’t sent to their home, where a caregiver or others could get a hold of them.
People should also keep an eye on spending activity by asking their bank and credit-card compa- nies to send them—or trusted loved ones—alerts of suspicious activity or charges that exceed a certain amount. Most banks allow customers to create custom alerts.
You can also lower the credit limit on credit cards to reduce the risk of loss, or use only prepaid cards such as a True Link Visa. Some financial institutions recommend an app called Ever Safe, which monitors bank and investment accounts across institutions and uses an algorithm that analyzes an individual’s spending history to detect changes in behavior, such as late bill payments, changes in interest rates and missed deposits. It also monitors real-estate assets for title changes and lien filings. The hard part might be preparing yourself to allow a third party access to so much financial information—or persuading an aging parent to do so. The subscription- based service says it doesn’t store account information or enable money transfers through the app. The app was created by Howard Tischler, a former executive at financial-services and background-check firms whose mother lost her life savings to scammers, and Elizabeth Loewy, former head of the elder-abuse unit in the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Seniors can designate trusted family members, accountants, lawyers and others also to receive alerts without giving them access to account numbers or balances.
Ms. Loewy said it isn’t enough for seniors to monitor their credit reports. “Most cases we saw in the DA’s office did not start in a credit report and, in some cases, the financial abuse never showed up in the credit report,” she said. “For example, if a dormant credit card is stolen and used, that won’t show up in your credit report.”
If your aging parents require in-home care and have cognitive problems—especially if you don’t live close enough to check in on them regularly—it’s a good idea to hire a care manager to oversee all aspects of their care. Care managers are independent of the agency that provides the actual caregiving and act as a liaison between the care recipient, family members and anyone providing help.
If you suspect that you or a loved one has been the victim of fraud, you can call the National Elder Fraud hotline at 833-372-8311 and report it to the FTC by visiting the agency’s website or calling 877-382- 4357.
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