14 DAY TRIAL // Bogus mails have hit the mailboxes in California, claiming to deliver bills, renewal notifications, and invoices for local newspaper subscriptions.
The scam is not new, but related incidents started to grow in frequency, which sparked an alert from the California Attorney General Office.
On Friday, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris raised the alarm about these incidents, describing the main characteristics of the deceit and urging citizens to pay close attention to the details on the envelope as clues revealing the fraud exist.
There are several clues to spot the deceit
“The mailings may appear to be legitimate renewal notices from a local newspaper, but they are most likely a scam and should be ignored and reported. Seniors should be especially wary, as they are frequently targeted by scams of this nature,” the advisory reports.
According to the alert, there are numerous signs of deceit and the first ones are noticeable from the get-go, in the subject of the mail, which often reads “Notice of Renewal” or “New Order.”
In many cases there is a number for the subscription that looks legitimate; but this could be anything, since the recipient cannot run a check on it.
Furthermore, the fake subscription contains a discount incentive to lure the victim, promising “low rates.”
Despite all these clues, there is another, clearer one, that should make the recipients suspicious of the validity of the communication: in small print on the back of the invoice, it is written that it was issued by a different entity than the publisher.
This alone should be sufficient to spot the scam, but unfortunately, older individuals may miss the text and fall for the trick.
Consumers should report the fraud attempt
The advisory from the Attorney General also mentions that there have been plenty of cases where the cost for a new subscription or for renewing it was inflated to almost twice the real price.
Mail of this sort should be disregarded if a subscription has already been paid or if it does not occur during regular billing periods.
One way to make sure that such emails are not fraudulent is to contact the newspaper publisher directly, as its representatives will be able to provide all information about the expiry date of the subscription and renewal procedures.
Consumers that have been delivered fraudulent notifications are advised to report the incident to the newspaper, as well as file a complaint with the US Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The California Office of the Attorney General can also be contacted for complaints, accompanied by a copy of the fake notification.