{"id":66336,"date":"2024-07-30T12:22:55","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T19:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=66336"},"modified":"2024-07-30T12:23:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T19:23:15","slug":"these-numbers-are-off-the-charts-38-million-lost-to-scams-in-mississippi-last-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=66336","title":{"rendered":"\u2018These Numbers Are Off the Charts\u2019 \u2014 $38 Million Lost to Scams in Mississippi Last Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Peter Schurmann<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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At a roundtable in Jackson, Mississippi representatives from the FTC connected with local media to discuss the alarming rise in the number and sophistication of scams impacting communities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Juana Mollinada is a volunteer with St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Carthage, Mississippi. Last year she got caught in a scam that cost the church $4000. (Credit: Peter Schurmann)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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When she got a call asking for money from someone claiming to be a priest with the local diocese in Jackson, Mississippi, Juana Mollinada knew something was off. But the demands were so persistent, and the details so precise, that she ultimately relented.<\/p>\n

St. Anne\u2019s Catholic Church, where Mollinada is a volunteer, would lose $4000 in what the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says is a growing epidemic of scams nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt terrible that I was the one to fall into this trap,\u201d recalled Mollinada, speaking during a recent media roundtable organized by Ethnic Media Services and the FTC in Jackson, Mississippi.<\/p>\n

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Ethnic and mainstream media from Mississippi and Alabama gathered for a July 23rd roundtable with the FTC on scams impacting local communities. (Credit: Peter Schurmann)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Scams and various types of fraud cost U.S. consumers more than $10 billion in 2023, according to Lois Greisman, an attorney with the FTC\u2019s Bureau of Consumer Protection.<\/p>\n

Greisman, speaking at the July 23 event, added that the most common types of scams in Mississippi and nationally involve government or business impersonation, where scammers pretend to be either government officials or business representatives. The FTC received 850,000 reports involving these types of scams last year, leading to some $2.7 billion in losses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese numbers are off the charts, and they are continuing,\u201d said Greisman, noting that scams impact communities differently. The Black and Latino community, for example, report scams involving cash transfers, crypto currency or gift cards at higher rates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy does that matter? Protections afforded under the law are virtually non-existent with crypto, and much weaker with debit cards,\u201d noted Greisman. She added that, as a law enforcement agency, the FTC \u201cinvestigates fraud and scams. We sue people. Ideally, we will be able to free some money and return it to consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

She urged consumers to be on guard for signs of potential fraud. \u201cKnow red flags. Red flags involved in what kinds of payment is being requested. No one legitimate is asking you to pay by gift card or crypto or wire transfer. Those are real red flags.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greisman also warned consumers not to trust caller ID. \u201cGo directly to the source,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Harold Kirtz is a senior litigator with the FTC based out of Atlanta. \u201cIn Mississippi in 2023, there were almost 13,000 complaints about fraud. About $38 million was taken from Mississippians from these complaints.\u201d (Credit: Peter Schurmann)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Mississippi is among the poorest states in the US, with a median income of just over $28,000. Scams here cost residents about $38 million last year, with the average consumer losing some $400, a painful sum for someone worried about making rent or putting food on the table.<\/p>\n

According to Harold Kirtz, a senior litigator with the FTC\u2019s Atlanta division, some of the more common scams seen in Mississippi include things like work from home opportunities, or those where the perpetrators will claim prize money is available and can be sent once a small payment is made.<\/p>\n

In one case, Kirtz described an intricate scheme to get people to pay $1000 to become members in an investment circle that promised lucrative payouts. \u201c95% of consumers lost their entire investment,\u201d said Kirtz. Among those who did make money were individuals creating video content for social media urging people to buy into the scheme.<\/p>\n

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Sam Buchanan of Mississippi Center for Legal Services stressed the need for more and greater information sharing especially among the state\u2019s low income communities around the risk of scams. (Credit: Peter Schurmann)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

According to Kirtz, the FTC sued both the owners of the company and the influencers peddling the scheme on social media. \u201cWe were able to send some money back to consumers who were scammed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Addressing the reporters in the room, Greisman emphasized the FTC\u2019s efforts to connect with communities in places like Mississippi. \u201cIt is critical for the FTC to know what is going on in these communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

But making that connection isn\u2019t always easy.<\/p>\n

Adrienne Reynolds is a lawyer with North Mississippi Rural Legal Services, a non-profit that provides free legal aid to low-income residents across 39 counties in the state. \u201cA lot of people do not contact us about scams. Mostly because they are ashamed, or they don\u2019t think they can get their money back. So, they just do not tell anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Adrienne Reynolds, a lawyer with North Mississippi Rural Legal Services, says shame and the feeling that they won\u2019t get their money back keep many victims of scams from coming forward. (Credit: Peter Schurmann)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Victims of scams also become less trusting of messages they receive, especially if they come via text or email. \u201cI send formal letters, and they are more trusting in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reynolds described a recent scam where homeowners were approached by a local contractor who told them to file a claim with their insurance companies for a supposed hole in their roofs. The contractor requested that the claim check be sent directly to him, at which point he would repair the damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat really raised red flags for me was the homeowners did not know how much their insurance would pay. It could have been $1,000 or $40,000. This was a mobile home. If you get $1,000 that won\u2019t cover the materials. If you get a claim for $40,000 that is way more than you need.\u201d Reynolds says she got involved before the claim was finalized.<\/p>\n

The proliferation of social media presents additional risks, she explained. \u201cSpecifically in the communities where I live, we were seeing scams with messages saying, \u2018If you send me $100, I can flip that and send you $1000. People knew details of the individuals being targeted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reynolds reminded consumers to be mindful of what they post on their social media accounts. \u201cWhat people don\u2019t understand is the more information you put out the more scammers have to know you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Father Marcos of St. Anne\u2019s Catholic Church in Carthage, Mississippi speaks with a reporter during the June 23rd media roundtable. (Credit: Peter Schurmann)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Mollinedo\u2019s case, the caller knew intimate details \u2013 including the precise location where cash was kept in St. Anne\u2019s church, located in Carthage, an hour northeast of Jackson. Pretending to be a priest with the diocese in Jackson, the individual claimed that a shipment of books was arriving at the church and that Mollinedo had to pay FedEx for the delivery.<\/p>\n

Suspicious, Mollinada tried to push back, insisting that she had to check with superiors at the church. \u201cThey even called my cell phone, and I wanted to block them\u2026 they insisted and insisted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mollinada joined the media roundtable to share her experience. It was the first time she\u2019d recounted what happened to anyone besides her husband since falling victim last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt shame,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I also felt that I have to share this to help other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is the victim of a scam, report it to\u00a0reportfraud.ftc.gov<\/a>. The site is available in multiple languages. The FTC also has translators available for those with limited English proficiency.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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