“All phishing scams aim to collect your personal data, but the ‘Gameover’ scam goes straight for your banking accounts,” said Sandy Chalmers, Division Administrator for Trade and Consumer Protection. “Falling prey to this scam can do a tremendous amount of damage to your finances.”

Here’s how the scam works:

1. You receive an unsolicited and fraudulent email claiming to be from the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), Federal Reserve Bank or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
2. The email will note that there is a problem with your banking accounts or with a recent transaction.
3. You will be asked to click a link to correct the information.
4. By clicking the link, you will be taken to a phony website where you will inadvertently download the Gameover malware. The malware promptly infects your computer and steals your banking information.

Here’s how to protect yourself from this scam:

• Do not open an email from any of the agencies listed above. Delete it immediately!
• If you wish to confirm if there is a problem with your account or a recent transaction, contact your financial institution directly.
• Make certain your computer anti-virus protection is up to date.
• Never click on links in unsolicited emails.

Belcher worked as a recruiter for Healthcare 1 LLC, Medical 1 Patient Services LLC and Lifeline Healthcare Services Inc., from 2004 to 2009. Belcher recruited Medicare beneficiaries to attend “health fairs” that he organized at churches and other locations in the beneficiaries’ communities.  At these fairs, he obtained information from the beneficiaries and paid a doctor to prescribe medically unnecessary DME for the beneficiaries.  Belcher then sold these prescriptions so they could be billed to Medicare by Healthcare 1 LLC, Medical 1 Patient Services LLC and Lifeline Healthcare Services Inc. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Read more about his case here.

Here are a few tips to follow when dealing with someone on the phone.

1. Never volunteer personal information such as date of birth or social security numbers.
2. Hang up immediately if uncomfortable with the phone call and the content.
3. Never give payment in advance for a product, service or award.
4. Contact the National Do Not Call Registry at 1-888-382-1222 to have a phone number removed from call lists.

In a second case from Miami, an area nurse has pleaded guilty to participating in a $25 million home health Medicare fraud scheme. Jorge Pineiro, 42, was charged in February 2011 with conspiracy to commit fraud. Pineiro worked for two Miami area home health care agencies, ABC Home Health Care Inc. and Florida Home Health Care Providers Inc. Pineiro and others billed Medicare for unnecessary services or services that were never provided. Dr. Jose Nunez is a co-defendant in the case. He’s charged with prescribing medically unnecessary services.  Both were charged after it was discovered they had falsified patient files for Medicare beneficiaries to make it appear that they qualified for home health care and therapy services. Pineiro also solicited and received kickbacks and bribes from the owners and operators of Florida Home Health in return for allowing the agency to bill Medicare on behalf of the patients he recruited even though they didn’t qualify.There are 18 total co-defendants in this case. In addition to potentially spending 10 years in prison, defendants also face fines and supervised release, as well as forfeiture of any property or proceeds derived from criminal activities.

To read more about either of these cases, click here.

Read more about the indictments here.

Find more details about this case here.

Read more about the case here.

If you are a senior or help care for someone in this group, read through the following points to help educate yourself and others about the potential for fraud and scams on the basis of age.  Or visit the wepage for even more information.

• Senior citizens are most likely to have a “nest egg,” to own their home, and/or to have excellent credit—all of which make them attractive to con artists.
• People who grew up in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s were generally raised to be polite and trusting. Con artists exploit these traits, knowing that it is difficult or impossible for these individuals to say “no” or just hang up the telephone.
• Older Americans are less likely to report a fraud because they don’t know who to report it to, are too ashamed at having been scammed, or don’t know they have been scammed. Elderly victims may not report crimes, for example, because they are concerned that relatives may think the victims no longer have the mental capacity to take care of their own financial affairs.
• When an elderly victim does report the crime, they often make poor witnesses. Con artists know the effects of age on memory, and they are counting on elderly victims not being able to supply enough detailed information to investigators. In addition, the victims’ realization that they have been swindled may take weeks—or more likely, months—after contact with the fraudster. This extended time frame makes it even more difficult to remember details from the events.
• Senior citizens are more interested in and susceptible to products promising increased cognitive function, virility, physical conditioning, anti-cancer properties, and so on. In a country where new cures and vaccinations for old diseases have given every American hope for a long and fruitful life, it is not so unbelievable that the con artists’ products can do what they claim.

If you know of a cyber crime, one that happens online, you can contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Click here to find the BBB’s list.

Click here to read the full article.