For scammers, holiday season can offer gift of opportunity
’Tis the season for scams, when people are sometimes at their most vulnerable.
Law enforcement and business advocacy groups are warning Houston-area residents, in particular the elderly, to beware of shady helpers and avoid questionable purchases during the holiday season because of an uptick in likely scams.
“I would say the No. 1 problem is multi-tasking,” said Dan Parsons, president of the Better Business Bureau of Greater Houston and South Texas.
As shoppers are hurried for gifts and making purchases in person and online, they are susceptible to thieves looking to break in to cars, steal valuable personal information from fraudulent websites or prey on people traveling to malls and other spots.
“This time of year, there are a lot of scams going on where people will approach an elderly person in a parking lot or a gas station and pretend to be kind, but steal their money,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a news release.
Ogg said Friday that police are looking for two men, Paul Yonko, 34, and Nick Stanley, 27, who pulled a “wobbly wheel” scam on a 75-year-old man.
The victim pulled into a gas station on Westheimer, where the duo told him one of the wheels on his vehicle was shaking. They offered to help him with the problem, at no charge
except for parts.
Taking him to a secluded area, they claimed they needed $400 for the repairs, then went with him as he withdrew $1,000 from an ATM, the district attorney’s office said.
“In this case, only money was taken but one can imagine far more tragic scenarios starting this way,” Ogg said.
Officials are offering $5,000 for information on Yonko and Stanley’s whereabouts. The two are charged with aggravated robbery of a person 65 or older, a first-degree felony. If convicted, the two face five years to life in prison.
In-person scams, however, are the tip of the iceberg for holiday horrors, according to the Better Business Bureau. Officials warned of phone calls to grandparents purporting to be relatives involved in an accident. Other scams involve counterfeit goods offered in person and online.
“People are shopping more,” said Leah Napoliello, senior director of investigative services for the local BBB. “Scammers can easily create a website to trick people.”
Parsons said the hectic pace and the spirit of the season can work against people.
“Everybody is in the mode and feeling the season,” he said. “So, that person on the street corner that’s asking for money, you might give it to them and it’s a scam. But people are looking for distraction and they give them $20.”
Once the Christmas tree comes down, Parsons added, the risk remains for online theft.
“With identity theft, a lot of nasty stuff comes later,” he said. “It’s really a six-week window, and some people might not notice until they are paying bills the first or second week of February.”