Pictured above is Jerry Mitchell, from a screen shot taken during our Zoom group chat.
Larry Redding introduced our guest, Jerry Mitchell who represents the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office.
Jerry was prepared to speak to us about cyber-security when he was first scheduled back in February. His message was quite timely for us now, as he told us that the scammers are out in full force during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He told us that we can check out the website to see what scams are being reported
CLICK HERE There are new risks being listed there daily. He also left us know about the 90 day grace period being offered for loans due to the pandemic. During this time there will be no foreclosures or evictions.
Price gouging can be reported by sending an email to pricegouging@attorneygeneral.gov. There have been over 1,000 cases reported already! The definition of price gouging is if the price was raised by more than 20% of the price prior to a natural disaster or emergency.
Scammers are targeting people over 55 years of age. We were warned not to click on any links in emails from unknown parties. Each time we download and application, respond to an email, answer a call or reply to a text message, we give a data point that can be used by scam artists who have the capabilities to use this data to their benefit. There are some huge and powerful scammers with lots of resources to gather a lot of data to use to steal money.
There were some questions and answers as follows:
Q: Are there lawsuits being brought against the Small Business Administration for putting bigger businesses ahead of others for the payroll protection plan?
A: If a fraud or unethical practices are discovered, it should be reported to the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Q: Are the deferred loan payments added to the back end of the mortgage/loan or are they added as a balloon payment at the end of the grace period? If so, how can people be expected to pay these full amounts at the end of a financial hardship period?
A: Banks vary in their stipulations, but most are not adding any balloon payments and many are offering to allow customers to skip a payment.
Many of the items mentioned by Jerry were helpful warnings to us all.
