Fraud Alerts

Tips to Help Avoid Gift Card Fraud

• RMG GROUP branded Gift Cards can only be used at the designated RMG GROUP Branded stores from which they were issued in the U.S. or Puerto Rico, or on-line. A legitimate government entity, including the IRS, Treasury Department, FBI or local police department, will accept any form of gift cards as payment.
• Other businesses do not accept payments in the form of RMG GROUP branded Gift Cards. For example, you will never be asked to pay your utility bills, bail money,      debt collection and hospital bills with our Gift Cards.
• Do not purchase, sell, or check your balance on online marketplaces outside of RMG GROUP Branded and authentic websites.
• If you get a call from a stranger who says that a loved one is in trouble and they ask you to provide gift card numbers to help them, hang up and contact your loved one directly.
• Don’t always trust your caller ID. Scammers can manipulate a caller ID to look like a      legitimate company or government agency.
• Don’t purchase a gift card if it appears that the packaging has been altered or manipulated. If you have questions about a gift card, ask someone who works at that store.
• Don’t click on or respond to online ads or websites offering gift cards. These are often scams.
• If you think you’ve been the victim of a gift card scam, report it to the Federal Trade      Commission at ftccomplaintassistant.gov.

Common Gift Card ScamsThe Grandparent ScamIn this scam, the scammer will call a victim and indicate that a loved one is in some sort of trouble (i.e. kidnapped, arrested, etc.). Sometimes, the scammer pretends to be a lawyer or the loved one themselves and asks directly for money. The scammer then instructs the victim to purchase gift cards and give the gift card numbers to the scammer over the phone.

The Tech Support Scam

Perpetrators of tech support scams try to trick victims into believing their computers are infected and they need help. Some scammers pretend to be connected with Microsoft, Apple or a familiar security software company such as Norton or McAfee, and claim to have detected malware that poses an imminent threat to the person’s computer. Other scams feature planted website ads or pop-ups that display warning messages, some even featuring a clock ticking down the minutes before the victim’s hard drive will be destroyed by a virus — unless he or she calls a toll-free number for assistance in deactivating the menace. Such scammers will often ask for remote access to your computer to run phony diagnostic tests and pretend to discover defects in need of fixing. They’ll pressure you to pay for unnecessary repairs or new software and ask for payment via gift cards.

Additional ResourcesAvoid Being the Victim of a Scam

Internal Revenue Service (IRS):  https://www.irs.gov/uac/tax-scams-consumer-alertsFederal 

Trade Commission (FTC) 10 Things You Can Do to Avoid Fraud:  https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0060-10-things-you-can-do-avoid-fraudThe 

National Council on Aging Top 10 Financial Scams Targeting Seniors:  https://www.ncoa.org/economic-security/money-management/scams-security/top-10-scams-targeting-seniors/Reporting 

Suspicious BehaviorInternal Revenue Service (IRS)

• Report IRS      impersonation scams to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax      Administration: https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml or call      800-366-4484.
• If you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS directly at 800-829-1040.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

• Contact the FTC,      which handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices. To file a complaint, visit https://ftccomplaintassistant.gov/, call      1-877-FTC-HELP, or write to Federal Trade Commission, CRC-240,      Washington, D.C. 20580.
• For updates on other types of potential scams, check out the FTC’s “scam alert” website at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts.

Government Impostor Scam

Scammers sometimes pretend to be government officials to get you to send them money. They might promise lottery winnings if you pay “taxes” or other fees, or they might threaten you with arrest or a lawsuit if you don’t pay a supposed debt. Regardless of their tactics, their goal is the same: to get you to send them money.

IRS Scam

During tax season, scammers pretend to be from the IRS or other Government Agencies to scare customers into sending them money. They trick people into believing they owe taxes to the IRS. The scammers threaten those who refuse to pay with arrest, deportation, or loss of a business or driver’s license. They ask the victims to go to Walmart to send a money transfer or to put the money on a prepaid card or gift card.

The IRS usually first contacts people by mail – not by phone – about unpaid taxes. The IRS or any other government agency, such as prisons or jails, won’t ask for payment using a pre-paid debit card, gift cards, or money transfers. The agency also won’t ask for a credit card number over the phone.

Common Tactics Used by Callers Committing Fraud

• They      use common names and fake IRS badge numbers
• They      know the last four digits of the victim’s Social Security Number
• They      make caller ID appear as if the IRS is calling
• They      send bogus IRS emails to support their scam
• They      call a second time claiming to be the police or DMV, and caller ID again      supports their claim

What You Need to Know

1. If you      owe federal taxes, or think you might owe taxes, hang up and call the IRS      at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you with your payment questions
2. If you      don’t owe taxes, call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector      General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484
3. You      can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov. Add "IRS      Telephone Scam" to the comments in your complaint

How to Protect Yourself

Be alert for phone and email scams that use the IRS name or other Government Agencies

The IRS will never request personal or financial information by email, texting or any social media. You should forward scam emails to phishing@irs.gov. Don’t open any attachments or click on any links in those emails

Additional Resources
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
FTC Complaint Assistant
Report Phishing
Money Gram Payment Services Consumer Protection Information
Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker
Ria Money Transfer Consumer Protection
Fraud Warning
Scam Awareness

A fraud method in which the fraudster sends out a legitimate-looking email to gather personal and financial information from recipients. The scammer sends an email to an unsuspecting customer that may look just like a legitimate Walmart email (including use of the Walmart logo.) If the customer falls for the bait (thus the “fishing” reference), the thief could get credit card numbers, PINs, account passwords, expiration dates, credit card/bank account numbers and even Social Security numbers. Learn more about phishing. Learn more about phishing.

Vishing: 

Vishing is very similar to "phishing" but instead of occurring through email, vishing happens over the phone. In these scams, fraudsters pose as a trusted retailer or bank and obtain personal information from the customer by requesting they "verify" the information on file. The information gained is then used for fraudulent transactions.

A good rule of thumb: If someone is contacting you to verify your personal information, it is very likely you did not provide it to them in the first place, and it is not a legitimate request. Legitimate companies will not expect you to provide your social security number or other personal information when they call you. If you receive a call like this, do not provide any information. If in doubt, call back a trusted number for the company, such as the one on a statement or invoice, the back of your credit/debit card, or on their official website (Do not use the phone number provided by the person on the phone or sent through a suspicious email.) Learn more about vishing.

Smishing: 

A combination of the terms "SMS" and "phishing." It is similar to phishing but refers to fraudulent messages sent over SMS (text messaging) rather than email. The fraudster may text you saying you’ve won a free gift card. Remember, you can’t win a contest you didn’t enter. Walmart doesn’t notify winners of any contest via text message. Learn more about smishing.

Tips to Avoid These Scams

• Never      provide personal information in response to an unsolicited request,      whether it is over the phone or internet. A trusted company will never ask      a customer for highly sensitive information during a call they initiated.      A financial institution may ask for the account holder’s partial Social      Security Number for verification, but they will never ask for the entire      Social Security Number, account number or PIN.
• Do      not respond to any suspicious looking email, automated calls, or text      messages.
• Don’t      trust the Caller ID. Fraudsters can manipulate the Caller ID to have it      display a legitimate business’ name. To be safe, you can check to see if      the phone number matches the number that appears on your bank statement,      credit/debit card, or on their official website.
• Avoid      fraudulent sites by entering web addresses directly into the browser      yourself or by using bookmarks you create. Do not click on links in emails      that you did not directly request from a company or that look suspicious.
• If      you have fallen victim to such a scam, contact your financial institution      immediately to protect your accounts.

Don't respond or reply to an email, phone call, or text message that:

• Requires      you to supply personal or account information directly in the email
• Requires      you to click on a link to provide more personal or account information
• Threatens      to close or suspend your account if you do not take immediate action
• Invites      you to answer a survey that asks you to enter personal or account      information

States that your account has been compromised or that there has been third-party activity on your account, then asks you to enter or confirm your personal or account information 

With an international company such as RMG GROUP, brand abuse is inevitable. If you received an order confirmation email from an RMG GROUP Brand about a product or service but you did not place an order, it may be a phishing scam attempting to gather information, or in some cases, spread malware.

Signs of Fraud

• The recipient may have not placed an RMG GROUP order from our sites such as RMGProtection.com or RMGeCommerce.com
• The message contains very poor grammar.
• There is no order number or details about the order. A real order confirmation email contains the details of your order without clicking on any links, as well as where it is being shipped and the payment method.
• The email listed as the sender is not from an RMG GROUP domain. Please note that we also have legit domains that include “Mail.” For example, a notice may come from “noreply@mail.rmggroup.com” You can see the embedded email address by hovering your cursor over the “from” line in the email.
• There may be multiple emails listed in the “to” line, or there may be “undisclosed recipients"

How to Protect Yourself

• If you placed an order and are suspicious about the email you received, log onto your account with the respective brand account to check your order status.      Remember not to click on any links within the email claiming to take you to your account.
• Keep your virus software updated on all your computers.

If you were a victim of fraud, you should file a report with your local law enforcement agency along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/.  

Additional Resources

OnlineOnGuard: Avoid Online Scams 

Report Phishing 

OnlineOnGuard: Malware 

Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker 

Fraud Warning

 Scammers may pose as relatives or friends, calling or sending messages to urge you to wire money or load prepaid cards immediately. They’ll say they need cash to help with an emergency---like getting out of jail, paying a hospital bill, or needing to leave a foreign country. The goal is to trick you into sending money before you realize it is a scam.

Common Tactics Used by Callers Committing Fraud

• They      call or text from numbers that look familiar
• They      play on your emotions
• They      swear you to secrecy
• They      need the money immediately

What You Need to Know

• Caller ID can be faked
• Always talk to someone to verify what was told to you
• If you believe you have responded to a scam, file a complaint with the FTC 1-877-FTC HELP or online at ftc.gov/complaint

How to Protect Yourself
Be alert for phone and email scams from individuals that could be impersonating a loved one. Providing gift card numbers over the phone should not be a method of providing funds. Once the numbers are provided, the funds are gone. ALWAYS validate that the loved one is in trouble.

Additional Resources
Scam Awareness

RMG GROUP In-Store Experience Survey

RMG GROUP offers a survey, located at survey.rmggroup.com, from invitations appearing on receipts in our or email confirmations. Customers are offered entry to the survey through receipts or emails from our survey team, and the survey can only be completed online. The survey participants may choose to enter a sweepstake which offer five winners $1,000 gift card every 3 months, and 200 winners a $100 gift card. Winners are notified via phone and certified mail. Gift cards are not given away through Twitter, Facebook, or text message. If you receive notice through one of these channels, it is likely a scam. Do not click on any links in these messages.

You also may receive RMG GROUP surveys related to other products or services through our official brands including Ramsey Management Group Inc, RMG Management Group Inc and all RMG GROUP Brands. 

RMG GROUP Customer Elite PanelThe RMG GROUP Customer Elite Panel consists of RMG GROUP customers who have agreed to be a part of our online survey community. Our goal is to foster interaction and involvement among our customer base while strengthening the RMG GROUP brand through customer feedback. We engage panelists within the community via quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Currently, panelists are invited to join the RMG GROUP Customer Elite Panel via a double opt-in method. Panelists are rewarded for their participation in the panel activities. The RMG GROUP Customer Elite Panel is proprietary, and panelists agree to keep all information confidential.
The RMG GROUP Customer Elite Panel will never ask for any sensitive information such as passwords or social security numbers. If you receive a request like this, please contact customerelitepanel@rmggroup.com.

If you would like to learn more about the panel or confirm your invitation to participate, or if you are receiving emails about the panel and would like to unsubscribe, please email customerelitepanel@rmggroup.com.

Surveys About Your Recent Shopping Trip

Our goal as a company is to put our customers first. One way we can learn about and improve our customers’ store experiences is through feedback surveys. Sometimes after shopping at RMG GROUP, we will send you an invitation asking you to take a survey. We intend to allow you, the customer, to tell us about your store visit, shopping experience and gather other general feedback. The goal of our survey is ultimately to learn how we are doing and what we can do to make shopping at RMG GROUP the best it can be.

RMG GROUP will never ask for any sensitive information such as passwords or social security numbers. If you receive a request like this, please contact surveysupport@rmggroup.com.If you are having an issue with a survey, would like to learn more or if you are receiving these surveys and would like to opt-out, please email surveysupport@rmggroup.com.

RMG GROUP Practices

• RMG GROUP’s survey emails contain a link to the RMG GROUP Privacy Policy
• RMG GROUP does not offer gift cards via text messages, phone calls, online advertisements on websites that are not an RMG GROUP.com site, or through social media sites for “likes” or sharing a post. RMG GROUP will only call or text you with offers if you opt-in to receive such messages.
• RMG      GROUP will never ask you to email personal information such as:

Passwords Social Security Numbers Bank account details Credit card numbers Other financial information
RMG GROUP will not make unsolicited calls or send emails asking for such information. However, for fraud prevention purposes, RMG GROUP customer service may ask for you to verify personal information such as address or telephone number, that you have previously provided.

Signs of Fraud

The surveys we describe above are our legitimate surveys. Scammers may try to imitate RMG GROUP to gain access to your personal information. The following are signs of fraudulent surveys:

• Poor grammar
• Poor spelling
• Outdated logos or branding [e.g. use of RMG-GROUP or RMG GROUP, instead of RMG GROUP (subsidiary name)]
• There is often fine print disclosing that the offer is not associated with the      brand listed
• To receive the “free” gift card you are asked to complete several steps and      to request that several of your friends complete the same steps

How to Protect Yourself

• Don't open or respond to unsolicited e-mails, internet pop-up ads, or text messages indicating you’ve won a gift card or asking that you complete a      survey.
• Don't click on or respond to online ads or web sites offering free gift cards.
• Remember, if it sounds too good to believe, it is!

If you were a victim of fraud via the internet, you should file a report with your local law enforcement along with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (ICCC). The ICCC is a partnership between the FBI and the National White-Collar Crime Center. You can make a report with the ICCC by going to the following link: ICCC.

Additional Resources

• FCC’s Guide to SPAM: Unwanted Text Messages and Email
• Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker
• Fraud Awareness
• Fraud Awareness (Spanish)

 The goal of this scam is to encourage consumers to take multiple surveys and pay for shipping in exchange for a “free” gift, like a high-quality piece of jewelry, a store-branded gift card for a significant amount, or another product. However, after fulfilling the requirements, the consumer may never receive the promised gift, or they will be charged more than just shipping.

How These Scams Work

1. Consumers either receive a spam email or come across a web advertisement or web site from “RMG GROUP” offering a high-quality piece of jewelry or another gift in exchange for participating in surveys and paying the cost of shipping.
2. The consumer is taken to a web site that has branding that makes it appear to be a legitimate merchant (ex: RMG GROUP eCommerce), there the consumer is asked to enter an email address and other personal information, including home address, phone number, and credit/debit card numbers. The privacy policy on the site will typically indicate that this information will be sold to other businesses for their purposes, such as telemarketing and junk mail.
3. Once this information is entered, the consumer may be asked to take part in a      series of surveys.
4. Once the surveys are complete (if they were offered at all), the consumer is allowed to select their “free” gift, but it will end up costing the consumer a great deal of money in fees, hidden subscriptions,      and unwanted products. In addition, at the end of the process there is no      guarantee that the consumer will even receive the gift. 

RMG GROUP Practices

• RMG GROUP does not solicit online for individuals to complete online surveys for gift cards or gifts, nor do we send unsolicited emails asking individuals to participate in our surveys
• RMG GROUP does not endorse and is not affiliated with any "sponsor offer" related program or survey
• RMG GROUP will never send you emails or surveys that are contingent on your      making purchases, subscriptions, or fulfilling other financial requirements
• Drawings for the legitimate RMG GROUP receipt survey occur four times a year.      Winners of the register receipt gift card are notified by certified mail, never via email

How to Protect Yourself

• Don't open or respond to unsolicited e-mails offering gift cards or other      gifts
• Don't click on or respond to online ads or websites offering gift cards or      other gifts
• Pay attention to the website URL. If the URL does not match the branding to a      legitimate website navigate away from the website

To Report Suspected Sponsor Offer Scams

If you suspect you have been directed to a phony website claiming to be connected with RMG GROUP, please send an email with the link to abuse@rmggroup.com. The email abuse team will then work with authorities to put an end to the particular scam.If you suspect you have received a fraudulent email claiming to be from RMG GROUP, please send the email directly to RMG GROUP at OnlineAbuse@rmggroup.com with the scam as an attachment. For investigatory purposes, please do not cut and paste the email, forward the email, or change the subject line.

Additional Resources

BBB Scam Stopper 

Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker