Biden urges consumers to be wary of vacation-related scams

Wilmington – As the summer travel season kicks into high gear, Attorney General Beau Biden warned Delawareans to be on the lookout for travel-related frauds and scams.

“Vacationers are prime targets for scammers who attempt to swindle victims out of their money or steal their personal information to commit identity theft,” said Biden. “Help protect yourself from fraud during your travels and secure your property and valuables back home while you’re away by taking a few simple precautionary measures.”

Families can help protect themselves from fraud while planning a vacation and during their travels, and guard against theft back home by being aware of the following scams reported to law enforcement across the country:

  • Travel ticket scam. Online ads, emails, and other marketing schemes advertise cheap or free airline tickets on a nonexistent airline whose name sounds remarkably similar to a well-established commercial airline. In order to claim or purchase the tickets, the victim is directed to provide the “airline” with personal information that the scammer uses to commit identity theft.
  • Rental Scam. Vacation rental properties are advertised, commonly online, by conmen who do not actually own the properties.  After a renter pays the scammer a deposit or surrenders personal information to them, they later learn that the rental property either does not exist or that the property is not owned by the scammer, who hijacked details and photos of the property for their fraudulent advertisement.
  • Pizza delivery scam. Flyers for phony pizza delivery are slipped under hotel doors or handed out at travel locations such as the beach. These advertisements direct travelers to place a delivery order by providing their credit card number, which the fraudster uses to commit theft.
  • Imposter Scam.  Scammers contact a hotel’s front desk and ask to be transferred to a random guest room.  The scammer poses as a hotel staffer when the unsuspecting guest answers the phone, claiming that the hotel has encountered a payment problem and directing the guest to provide credit card number or personal information in order to resolve the issue.
  • Social Media posts.  Thieves monitor social media accounts looking for postings that state when consumers will be away on travel, leaving their home empty and a target for burglary.
  • The vacation arrest scam.  An elderly resident receives a call or e-mail from an imposter claiming to be their grandchild on a trip out of state or in a foreign county.  The scammer may report they have been arrested or mugged and pressure the resident to wire them money immediately in order to post bail or travel home.

Follow these tips to avoid being victimized in a vacation-related scam:

  • Use only reputable travel sites and companies for booking rentals and other travel services.  Thoroughly verify rental postings made on Craigslist or other social networking sites.  Never provide personal information over the phone or via e-mail, and never wire money to an individual or company or send money to a PO Box without first verifying their authenticity.
  • Don’t announce your vacation on social media until after you have returned from your travels.
  • Securely lock all doors and windows of your home while traveling, use timers to keep lights on at night, and ask neighbors to keep an eye on your property while you are away.
  • If you are traveling far from home or for extended periods of time, notify your bank in advance about your trip to help guard against suspicious behavior on your account.
  • Limit what you carry in your wallet (credit cards and other documents with personal identifying information) during your travels.
  • If you receive a call from your hotel front desk seeking payment information, address the matter face-to-face with hotel staff.
  • Be wary if you receive an urgent call from a family member claiming to be out in trouble on vacation and needing money fast.  Verify the claim with another family member and ask the caller to provide information about them or about you that only a family member would know.
  • Be cautious of your belongings and personal information when traveling, no matter how close the destination is.

For more information on how to avoid summertime vacation scams, visit the Biden’s Consumer Protection Unit online at www.attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/fraud, call the Consumer Hotline at 1-800-220-5424, or e-mail consumer.protection@delaware.gov.

Compiled, in part, with information from:

 

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Delaware Fights Human Trafficking

Dover – Legislation championed by Attorney General Biden, national authorities on the law, and state legislative leaders which strengthens the fight against human trafficking was enacted in a signing ceremony this afternoon in Legislative Hall.

Senate Bill 197, crafted by Senate President Pro Tempore Patricia M. Blevins, D-Elsmere, and Rep. Helene Keeley, D-Wilmington South, in cooperation with Attorney General Beau Biden’s office and the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), increases criminal penalties for those that engage in human trafficking and provide greater protections for its victims.  The bill passed the State House and Senate unanimously earlier this spring.

“We’ve taken an important step to better protect the vulnerable and voiceless victims of human trafficking,” Attorney General Biden said.  “It ensures that resources are made available to victims of this unconscionable crime to help them heal and move forward with their lives, and it expands penalties to punish the perpetrators and those who benefit from trafficking.  I want to specially recognize Senator Blevins and Representative Keeley for their leadership in crafting and passing this legislation.”

Human trafficking is now the second fastest growing crime in the United States, and the Delaware legislation provides a comprehensive approach in the fight against human trafficking.  The bill:

  • Sharpens the state’s provisions that penalize the criminal conduct at the core of human trafficking and punishes those who knowingly benefit by using human-trafficking victims.
  • Empowers Courts to order that traffickers forfeit property used in or gained by trafficking.
  • Provides the protections and remedies that victims need to recover and rebuild their lives.
  • Creates a Human Trafficking Coordinating Council to develop a comprehensive anti-human-trafficking plan, evaluate data, effectuate interagency cooperation, and other important tasks.

“With Gov. Markell signing this Uniform Act into law, Delaware leads the nation in the fight against modern slavery,” said Delaware Uniform Law Commissioner and ULC Immediate Past-President Michael Houghton.  “Attorney General Biden, Sen. Blevins and Rep. Keeley have been exceptional partners in the fight to punish traffickers and provide resources and dignity to the survivors of trafficking–there is much left to do, but Delaware is leading the way.”

“Many of us don’t realize how frequently people of all ages fall victim to human trafficking right here in the United States, including Delaware, or understand the lasting and damaging impact that it has on individuals and their families,” Sen. Blevins said. “Not only does this bill strengthen our ability to penalize those who carry out these crimes, but it provides protections for victims, so that they are not criminalized for acts which they were forced to commit. Also, through the Council established under this bill, Delaware will continue to coordinate and develop rehabilitative services to help victims cope mentally and physically after their abuse, and get them back on their feet.”

“It is unthinkable that in 2014 we are talking about 2 million people annually being bought and sold around the world. While that number is much smaller in the United States, we must do everything in our power to put an end to this inhuman practice,” said Rep. Helene M. Keeley, D-Wilmington South, the bill’s chief House sponsor. “In Delaware, vulnerable boys, girls and women are being coerced into prostitution and are victimized and abused. No person should be treated like this and we as a society can’t tolerate it. This is a comprehensive approach, toughening penalties on those who commit and profit from the crime while protecting the victims whose lives are shattered by this act.”

Delaware’s Human Trafficking legislation is based in part on the Uniform Act on the Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking.  The Uniform Act was drafted and approved by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) in 2013 and endorsed by the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates in August 2013.  The Uniform Act has been the basis for anti-human trafficking legislation in numerous states this year, including Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Virginia.  More information on this nation-wide effort can be found at www.letsendhumantrafficking.org.

A broad coalition of organizations joined the ULC in creating the Uniform Act, including the ABA, the ABA Center for Human Rights, the National Association of Attorneys General, the Polaris Project, LexisNexis, the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and other organizations committed to eradicating human trafficking.

The Uniform Law Commission is comprised of more than 350 practicing lawyers, government lawyers, judges, law professors, and lawyer-legislators who are appointed by each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to research, draft, and promote enactment of uniform state laws in areas of law where uniformity is desirable and practical.  Since 1892, the ULC has served the states and their citizens by creating uniform state laws that help families, businesses, property owners, service members, and many more.

 


Delaware steps up fight to protect kids from child predators

Governor signs into law legislation proposed by Attorney General Biden and General Assembly’s Kids Caucus to expands efforts to stop predators from hurting kids

Dover – Delaware’s children now have stronger protections from online sexual predators under legislation that was proposed by Attorney General Beau Biden and the co-chairs of the General Assembly’s Kids Caucus and signed into law today by Gov. Jack Markell.

 

HB 256, sponsored by Rep. Debra Heffernan, D-Brandywine, and Sen. Harris McDowell, D-Wilmington, received overwhelming support in the state House of Representatives and Senate earlier this spring.

 

“Nothing is more important to me than protecting our children,” Attorney General Biden said.  “Our kids and our families have been made more secure by the work of the Delaware Child Predator Task Force which works tirelessly to proactively identify the worst predators in society – those who target children.  This new law gives the Task Force and law enforcement across our state more powerful tools to put predators behind bars where they belong.”

 

“The safety of our children is our top priority,” said Governor Markell. “We continue to work together to shield our children from harm and hold those who hurt them accountable. This bill strengthens those efforts.”

 

HB 256 makes clear that a sexual predator is guilty of the charge of sexual solicitation of a child online whether the defendant solicits an actual child or an undercover investigator whom the predator believes to be a child.  The bill also elevates that offense from a Class C to a Class B felony in cases in which the predator actually travels to meet the subject he is soliciting online, whether that subject is a child or an undercover investigator.

 

“With more and more young people using electronic devices to communicate with a broader audience, law enforcement need every tool possible to help keep our children safe and protect them from sexual predators,” said Rep. Debra Heffernan, D-Brandywine Hundred South. “Gone are the days of just worrying when your child goes to the park or store. They can be solicited inside the home at any hour of the day. We have now updated our laws to include all electronic devices and modes of communication that sexual predator could use to sexually solicit a child and make sure that any predator caught faces the appropriate punishment.”

 

“Thanks to the Child Predator Task Force’s hard work, we know the seriousness of this problem in Delaware,” said McDowell, D-Wilmington North.  “We hope this law will further protect our children by increasing the criminal penalties for those convicted of attempting to solicit them for sex by keeping those most heinous criminals off the streets for longer stretches.”

 

The bill builds on the work done by Delaware’s Child Predator Task Force which, since its creation in 2007, has secured the conviction of more than 190 predators and the rescue of 120 children who were being abused or being groomed for future victimization.  The Task Force is charged with initiating proactive investigations to track down and arrest sexual predators, and it is increasingly focused on conducting undercover online investigations to finding predators lurking online looking to meet children.  The legislation signed into law today ensures that predators caught in these undercover investigations are held accountable for their acts.

 

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Two Child-Protection Bills from Attorney General Biden Win Senate Approval

Dover – A pair of bills proposed by Attorney General Beau Biden to make Delaware’s children safer passed the state Senate on  Tuesday.

 

“Nothing is more important than protecting our kids,” Biden said.

 

HB 256, sponsored by Rep. Debra Heffernan and Sen. Harris B. McDowell III, will strengthen law enforcement’s ability to stop sexual predators from hurting children. Specifically, the bill makes clear that a sexual predator is guilty of the charge of sexual solicitation of a child online whether the defendant solicits an actual child or an undercover investigator whom the predator believes to be a child.  The bill also elevates the offense from a Class C to a Class B felony in cases in which the predator actually travels to meet the subject he is soliciting online, whether that subject is a child or an undercover investigator.

 

The bill, which has been endorsed by the General Assembly’s Kids Caucus, builds on the work done by the state’s Child Predator Task Force over the past seven years to track down and arrest sexual predators. Since 2007, the Task Force’s work has led to the conviction of more than 180 predators and the rescue of 119 children who were being abused or being groomed for future victimization.  The Task Force has increasingly focused on conducting proactive undercover online investigations to find predators lurking online to meet children.  The Senate made a slight technical amendment to the bill, sending it back to the House for final approval.

 

“Thanks to the Child Predator Task Force’s hard work, we know the seriousness of this problem in Delaware,” said McDowell, D-Wilmington North.  “We hope this bill will further protect our children by increasing the criminal penalties for those convicted of attempting to solicit them for sex by keeping those most heinous criminals off the streets for longer stretches.”

 

The second measure, HB 309, sponsored by House Minority Whip Deborah Hudson and Senate President Pro Tempore Patricia Blevins, will protect Delaware youth against the potentially harmful effects of mechanical tobacco substitutes known as “electronic cigarettes,” or “e-cigarettes.”  The bill passed the Senate overwhelmingly and now makes its way to the Governor.

 

Under the bill, a person would be prohibited from selling or distributing these e-cigarettes – defined as “tobacco substitutes” – to minors, and it prohibits minors from purchasing the products.  State Representatives Michael Barbieri, Paul Baumbach, Debra Heffernan, Joe Miro and Mike Ramone are also co-prime sponsors of the legislation, which also has the support of the Division of Public Health and the Division of Tobacco and Alcohol Enforcement.

 

“We’re just starting to learn about the health risks associated with e-cigarettes,” said Blevins, D-Elsmere. “And we have an obligation to keep young people from getting addicted to them, especially while the jury is still out on whether they’re a safe product.”

 

E-cigarettes have become increasingly popular, with sales for e-cigarettes having doubled each year since 2008.  Only a few clinical studies have been conducted on e-cigarettes to-date, and the results provide no definitive answer yet on the health effects of e-cigarettes, prompting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to state that consumers of e-cigarette products have no way of knowing “whether e-cigarettes are safe for their intended use, how much nicotine or other potentially harmful chemicals are being inhaled during use, or if there are any benefits associated with using these products.”

 

Additionally, in 2009, the FDA analyzed two brands of e-cigarettes and found that they contained trace elements of hazardous compounds found in antifreeze.  As a result, 41 Attorneys General – including Attorney General Biden – urged the FDA last September to test and regulate e-cigarettes.

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the percentage of U.S. high school and middle school students using e-cigarettes doubled between 2011 and 2012.  The National Youth Tobacco Survey shows that the percentage of high school students reporting ever using e-cigarettes jumped from 4.7 percent in 2011 to 10 percent in 2012 and an estimated 1.8 million young people are reported as trying e-cigarettes in 2012.

 

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Scott, Biden Introduce Child Online Protection Act

COPA would require sites to shield children from tracking, block certain types of advertisements, remove material posted by minors on request

 

DOVER – Recognizing the rapidly evolving capabilities of technology designed to mine user data online and target advertisements to specific website visitors, Rep. Darryl Scott and Attorney General Beau Biden introduced legislation Tuesday designed to protect the online privacy of children and ensure greater control over content posted online by minors.

 

The Child Online Protection Act outlines several key provisions that websites would be required to implement for users in Delaware, including a requirement to comply with requests from users to take down material they posted as minors, even if the person making the request is no longer a minor. This rule would cover websites and mobile applications, but would not allow a user to request the removal of content posted by another person.

 

House Bill 261 also prohibits website hosts from targeting advertising for products such as alcohol, drugs, tobacco and weapons to users they know are under the age of 18. The bill also would prevent sites from gathering “personally identifiable information” from known minor users for the purpose of targeting any advertisements to them. Personally identifiable information includes home address, email address, phone numbers and geolocation data.

 

“We’ve already agreed as a society that children should not be exposed to ads for products like alcohol and cigarettes, this legislation attempts to bring those values to the digital realm,” said Rep. Scott, D-Dover. “Young people spend a lot of their time online surfing websites and using social networking sites, and they can easily be subjected to ads that are not age-appropriate. We know from history that laws are often slow to evolve in the face of new technology, but it’s vitally important that the law stay current when it comes to protecting our children.”

 

“Kids share way too much information about themselves online, and the pictures they post when they are young can come back to haunt them when they apply for their first job or apply for college,” said Attorney General Biden. “This bill will help protect kids’ privacy now and in the future.”

 

In order to enforce its provisions, the bill would also require sites to use some form of age verification for users whose information would be tracked or stored. Website hosts found to be in violation of COPA rules would be subject to prosecution by Biden’s Consumer Protection Unit under the state’s existing Consumer Fraud Act and face penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.

 

The legislation is modeled on a similar California law, the first and only of its kind in the nation so far. HB 261 has been assigned to the House Telecommunications, Internet and Technology Committee.