CARLISLE, Pennsylvania (WHTM) – A Carlisle man was arrested after multiple fraud victims came forward saying they paid him to do handyman services and did not show up, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Mike C. Kalinich was arrested for theft and contractor fraud for incidents dating back to 2019. The victims said they paid him for services including repairing roofs and tiles, mowing grass, repairing lawn mowers and cars in Cumberland County, among others. They said he never showed up to do these services.

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The police mentioned that Kalinich had been sued by people in a civil court and sentenced to pay, but refused to do so.

According to police, Kalinich did not have a contractor license and operated small businesses in the area, including RCK Enterprise and K&M.

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Kalinich was arrested and left $ 15,000 on bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 6th.

Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of this scam should call PSP Carlisle at (717) 249-2121.

The post PSP warns residents of handyman scams after a number of victims assist arrest Carlisle scammer appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

A sunny apartment at a price too good to be true. A text message offering a loan to pay off pandemic rental debts. Or a sudden phone call promising a grant to avoid an eviction – for a small up-front fee.

Welcome to the world of home fraud in the age of COVID-19.

In expensive rental markets like the Bay Area, home fraud with low detail and strong pressure to hand over deposits is nothing new. However, recent warnings from financial watchdogs and data on rental housing systems point to a rapidly changing landscape for California renters trying to navigate the frenzied pandemic housing market, where some tenants struggle to pay off their debts while others experience discounted rents benefit.

A new Apartment Guide report reveals that California was home to three of the five largest cities in the country for reported rental fraud per capita from January 2015 to May 2021: No. 1 Los Angeles, No. 3 San Francisco, and No. 4 San Diego . The report also found that the busy summer moving season tends to be the most expensive when average losses have exceeded $ 19,000 per victim.

The timing couldn’t be worse this year. After a slow start to California’s unprecedented $ 5.2 billion pandemic rental relief program, officials are asking renters to seek assistance before the state’s September 30 eviction moratorium expires. However, tenant attorneys warn that an increasing number of scams could hamper these efforts.

“It’s really brutal to prove that you’re not just trying to get people’s information and take advantage of them,” said Leora Tanjuatco Ross, associate director of San Mateo County’s Housing Leadership Council.

Even before the pandemic, Tanjuatco Ross said her non-profit organization was hearing more skepticism from tenants who were exhausted by years of rising costs and intense competition for housing. And now dozens of community groups have been enlisted across the state to ease rents through a maze of city, county, and state programs funded by the federal government.

According to the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, the state’s primary rent reduction program had paid out $ 282 million in financing to 23,760 households by last week – a fraction of the 807,000 households the National Equity Atlas estimates were lagging behind in rent. With the addition of smaller rent relief programs in the Bay Area and the city, only 10% of the nearly $ 900 million in funds available to the area had been disbursed by mid-July.

Now efforts to speed up those payments clash with recent warnings from watchdog groups that scammers are changing their tactics as rents pandemic protection expires.

“Scammers often take advantage of the confusion and stress surrounding major events,” the Better Business Bureau said in an August 6 warning. “When the eviction moratorium expires, watch out for fraudsters offering loans, selling credit repair services, or promoting government programs.”

The Better Business Bureau scam tracker, which is just a snapshot based on consumer reports, has identified more than 50 rental and moving frauds in the Bay Area and 144 across California since the COVID-19 lockdown began in March 2020. They range from two roommates in Oakland who said they lost $ 4,190 after viewing an apartment by sending a person in Los Angeles money for a deposit via a cash app that was $ 499 for paid an eviction defense service that never came about.

One challenge is that the supply of rental fraud in California has exploded in recent years, well beyond known attempts to trick home applicants into transferring money to unknown recipients. Now scammers can reassure them that they don’t need social security numbers, just a credit report. Or they post photos of homes recently sold or offered for rent on more regulated sites like Zillow, Vrbo, or Airbnb, district attorneys warned in Santa Cruz County and elsewhere.

Last year, the FBI’s cybercrime department reported more than 13,600 confirmed victims of rental and real estate fraud in the United States. This makes them less common than credit card schemes, but more common than healthcare tricks. Overall, real estate fraud cost victims more than $ 213 million.

In the Bay Area, rental fraud has also taken hold in fire-hit areas and, more recently, in locations that have seen an influx of remote workers. Take a three-bedroom, white picket fence Santa Cruz bungalow that was advertised last week on Craigslist for $ 3,600 a month and on Zillow for $ 4,600 a month.

Go to www.housing.ca.gov, text 211211, or call (833) 430-2122 to see if you are eligible for legitimate state, county, or local rent loss programs.

Never agree to pay a fee for assistance with free rental reduction programs, or give your Social Security number, bank account, or credit card number to someone who contacts you.

When you hear about an organization offering rental help, search for their name online with the words “scam”, “scam” or “complaint” to see what others have to say.

The California eviction ban for non-payment of rent lasts through September 30th. Tenant attorneys recommend that you follow the “three-S rule” when you receive an eviction notice: stay at home, submit a COVID-19 hardship declaration to your landlord and look for tenant relief.

Report suspected fraud related to rent reduction at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov or to the local public prosecutor.

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“I can’t give you a personal tour right now,” said the Craigslist poster, instead offering an in-depth backstory about cancer treatment out of state and a picture of a driver’s license with the same address in Santa Cruz.

“Yeah, it’s a scam,” said Scott Joly, the real estate agent trying to rent the actual house.

Lauren Hepler is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: lauren.hepler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LAHepler

The post In San Francisco, it is the summer season of rental scams appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

UNITED STATES – Life is hard. There is a constant battle between mind and muscle to make a living. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to put food on the table by honest means. Some like to make easy money by deceiving other people. Disappointing, yes, but it happens a lot.

However, the moving industry is not short of scammers. Fortunately, the good guys still exist. Well-known moving companies work hard to keep their customers safe. And if you’re moving to a big city like LA, here are some tips on how to protect yourself.

But first…

Why hire a moving company?

Why spend money asking other people to do the job when you can do it yourself? Because moving is not as easy as it sounds. You have to take into account the associated psychological stress, physical exertion and financial burden.

Hiring professionals will save you heavy work while you can focus on more important things. It makes even more sense to hire moving companies if you’re moving to a busy subway like LA. They know how to navigate traffic and meander through neighborhoods.

Did you know that moving trucks are also inexpensive? Yes! Imagine the hospital bill if you injured yourself lifting a heavy box. Or the price of a new TV if you break your current one. With moving companies, you may not save upfront, but you protect yourself and your belongings in the long run.

Common moving scams to watch out for

Alright. You understand it. Moving companies are critical to the success of your move. However, this does not mean that you should grab the first offer on the table. Does anyone know what type of company you are dealing with? Keep in mind that renegade movers keep getting smarter with their modus operandi.

One of LA’s top movers, Imperial Moving & Storage, hopes to help you avoid financial disaster by sharing some approaches that fraudulent moving companies typically use:

• Tempting cheap offers. The makers will try to lure you by naming a price that sounds too good to be true. Some people fall for it in hopes of saving more money. Unfortunately, moving companies increase costs at the end of the move or, worse, disappear without a trace.
• Wrong references. Most villains don’t have a website because they don’t want to leave an online footprint. But some might show you decent websites filled with fake testimonials that they wrote themselves. This can lead you to believe that this is a legitimate company with a list of satisfied customers.
• Estimates on the phone. A moving company that doesn’t personally rate your home is a big red flag. It’s even more shady when they tell you the prices on the phone. Can you guess the price? While many companies will give you an estimate over the phone, if you are traveling long distance (and based on the weight of the cargo) you should request a home estimate.
• Big deposit. Reputable LA Movers let their work do the talking before collecting payment. A moving company asking you to pay a large sum before you start moving is a huge red flag. You can either hold your belongings hostage or take it off without another word.
• Suspicious documents. Be careful before putting your signature on a piece of paper. Rogue movers sometimes give you contracts with missing terms or shady clauses. Make sure to go through everything twice or even three times before signing!
• Lost items or damaged goods. Even if a moving company has good intentions, you can’t be sure about everyone on their team. So don’t leave valuables lying around on the day of the move. Compare every box in your new home with your household’s inventory.
• Unlicensed company. The FMCSA registers moving companies to filter out the black sheep from the rest. Rogue movers typically use outdated equipment, hire inexperienced people or day laborers, and drive rented trucks. All of this makes an obvious recipe for disaster.

How to protect yourself from fraud

Scams will always be present no matter how much the government weed out the villains. The best way to protect yourself is to educate yourself. Since you already know the patterns of common moving fraud, the next step is to check the credibility of your potential moving company.

You can do this by:

• Ask them to provide proof of their license or type approval issued by the California Bureau of Household Goods & Services.
• Evaluation of the online presence. Check the validity of the website and the authenticity of the people who gave their testimonials.
• Read reviews on credible websites like Google and Yelp. It would also be helpful if you could reach out to these people and ask them about their experiences.
• Insist on a binding cost estimate in-house. Firstly, a binding quote ensures that the moving companies cannot rip you off with hidden fees. Second, you can meet the moving companies at home with a quote and assess their professionalism.
• If possible, pay by credit card or PayPal. Credit cards allow you to quickly abandon the transaction if something seems fishy while filing a dispute with PayPal and getting your money back.

Summarize things

Moving can be daunting, especially if it’s your first time. LA is a huge city with lots of nooks and crannies that are easy to get lost in. Additionally, the chances of being scammed are real, not to mention COVID-19 added restrictions on movement. But don’t worry! As long as you avoid the red flags mentioned above and get to know your company, you are good to go.

The post LA Movers Serving to Shield Californians From Transferring Scams appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

GREENWOOD, SC (WSPA) – The Greenwood Police Department is warning the public to be on the lookout for an increase in various scams – including craft scams.

With many Americans filing their taxes at this time of year, police officers are pondering how scammers can use other people’s tax refunds. Police say tradesman scams often happen in person, although many types of fraud occur over the phone.

“It seems like people show up and, ‘Oh, I’m a handyman. I can fix that for you and run the project, ”said Officer Jonathan Link. The telltale sign of fraud, however, is a request for payment – or partial payment – in advance.

“There’s always a legitimate reason for their story,” Link said. “But when it’s time for work, they go away and you run out of money.”

To check whether an employee is who he claims to be, Link recommends requesting a reference list. Also, make sure to confirm that a company is licensed and bound.

Police recommend calling law enforcement if you believe you are being attacked by a personal scam such as a handyman scam. However, if you want to report fraud that occurs over the phone, you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) here.

The post Look out for handyman scams, different scams, police warn appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.