Tag: scammers

SCAM ALERT: Fake Anir Dutta/Stenograph Scam

It’s come to my attention that there may be texts circulating claiming to be Stenograph President Anir Dutta.

Scammer attempting to fool CaseCATalyst/Stenograph customers by claiming to be its president, Anir Dutta.

Mr. Dutta called me not too long ago (Sunday), and this was obviously not his area code. Nobody should be fooled by this dishonesty, it’s a common gift card scam.

It’s notable that these attacks are frequent on prominent organizations. The data to commit these scams is usually scraped off of organizations’ websites, and as far as I know, not usually the result of any breach.

It’s my sincere hope that more law enforcement emphasis gets put on scam detection, investigation, and prosecution. FTC data shows consumers losing over $8 billion to scams in 2022. That’s over twice the size of our entire industry. Double the money every single court reporter made in 2022.

If you or anyone receive this scam, remember not to fall for it. Respectable people like company presidents and association board members will not randomly ask for gift cards.

Stenonymous Satire Weekends is back with a vengeance tomorrow. We’ll be poking fun at AI art.

Scam Email Targets NCRA Members – August 2022

A scam email was sent around to some National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) members claiming to be for fundraising for “treatment” for “Mindy” and “Kevin,” a fabricated one-year old. Many stenographers received their first alert of the scam from Margary Rogers, NCRA Membership Committee Chair, and the group NCRA Membership Matters.

Scam email targeting members of the National Court Reporters Association sent to Stenonymous.com

One of the main giveaways that this was a scam was the domain name, NCRA.org.us. The NCRA’s domain is NCRA.org.

This blog has a history of reporting scam activity in our industry and informing readers about scams. It seems natural to join the chorus of voices helping get the word out so that not one of us is fooled by would-be scammers.

The National Court Reporters Association released a statement immediately, and took measures to educate members on scams.

Response to the activity of scammers by the National Court Reporters Association

As a general rule, scammers play off human bits like fear and sympathy. Any time someone is trying to get you to act without thinking, you can be sure a scam or propaganda will follow. The name of the game is manipulation, and our alertness and critical thinking skills are how we win the game.

Our communities and associations are seeing increased scam activity in recent months. We mustn’t allow scammers to pull at our heartstrings and take our hard-earned money. A sincere thank you to those that fight to keep members informed. We need you now more than ever.