[On-going Scams - Post them here]

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imbogled
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by imbogled »

vested1 wrote: Wed Mar 10, 2021 5:07 am
imbogled wrote: Tue Mar 09, 2021 1:22 pm Vested1. I wonder if you are familiar with the website Fakespot?

https://www.fakespot.com/company/amazon

You copy and paste the url from the product page on Amazon to Fakespot and it will analyze the products reviews and give a grade from A to F on the authenticity of the reviews.

Chicago Tribune headline from October. "Can you trust that Amazon review? 42% may be fake, independent monitor says."
I haven't, mainly because the site requires you to download an extension to Google, which I am leery of. I know that the product is defective and that hundreds of other reviewers have cited the same problems. As of today, there are 7,404 reviews with 76% 5 star and 14% 4 star, a total of 90% positive. This is laughable.

I have left it to Amazon to police this and have designated further emails from the seller as spam.
I'm pretty sure that there is no need to download an extension. Just ignore the request to do so. Then click on the menu and then click Fakespot analyzer. Copy and paste the url in the box on the very top of the screen and click analyze. Give it a shot with the product you have been disappointed with.
Last edited by imbogled on Wed Mar 10, 2021 11:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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bertilak
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by bertilak »

imbogled wrote: Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:56 am I'm pretty sure that there is no need to download an extension. Just ignore the request to do so.
Yes, they really want you to install that extension but you don't need to. Their eagerness makes me suspicions!

I did a few sample checks and didn't find it at all useful.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Mudpuppy »

boglegirl wrote: Wed Mar 10, 2021 8:47 am Turns out this was NOT a scam, but I got a call from
" Tracy at (state) dept of blah blah blah, may I speak to boglegirl?"
me: "This is boglegirl"
"What is your date of birth and social security number?"
me: "WHAT? No, who are you again?"
" I'm with the (state) dept of public health something-or-other (something that I've never heard of) and I need to verify your DOB and SSN"
"nope"

After more back and forth, she *finally* told me she was a contact tracer and gave me a website where I could verify the info and then call them back. I was flabbergasted that this was their approach. Why not lead with telling me why they were calling instead of going straight to DOB and SSN? I can't believe anyone would answer that question.

By the way, It had been almost 7 weeks since someone in our household had a positive covid test, which made this all the more surprising.
I would report this directly to the head of that public health office. State how it is likely to lead to scammers targeting people in the area, since they are cold-calling people and asking for such personal information. Say that any contact from their office should lead with what they are calling about (e.g. contact tracing), state how to independently verify the request (the public health website), and provide a case number for call-back once the person has completed independent verification.

I know they are back-logged in contact tracing, but that's no excuse for using a call script that looks like it came right out of a scammer's play book. Most other agencies and companies are good about using the approach of giving a case number, so the person can independently verify the request, find the legit call-back number, and call back with the case number to get into the meat of the matter.

And if that's ineffective, this might be something where you might get the most effective outcome by complaining at either a local government meeting (city, county, parish, etc. council meeting) or via the local media.
Tom_T
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Tom_T »

I got a text message for a medical bill. It said "Dear Tom, your bill from XYZ Medical Group is ready, please click here blah blah blah". I didn't have an outstanding bill, everything was paid up months ago, but it was the name of a medical group I visited last fall. I had to double-check to see if it was legitimate, and did I still have a balance and missed it somehow?

What is a bit surprising is that the scammer had a list of actual patient names and cell phone numbers. The text didn't have a sender number; instead, it was one of those shorthand 999-99 numbers.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by boglegirl »

Mudpuppy wrote: Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:25 pm
boglegirl wrote: Wed Mar 10, 2021 8:47 am Turns out this was NOT a scam, but I got a call from
" Tracy at (state) dept of blah blah blah, may I speak to boglegirl?"
me: "This is boglegirl"
"What is your date of birth and social security number?"
me: "WHAT? No, who are you again?"
" I'm with the (state) dept of public health something-or-other (something that I've never heard of) and I need to verify your DOB and SSN"
"nope"

After more back and forth, she *finally* told me she was a contact tracer and gave me a website where I could verify the info and then call them back. I was flabbergasted that this was their approach. Why not lead with telling me why they were calling instead of going straight to DOB and SSN? I can't believe anyone would answer that question.

By the way, It had been almost 7 weeks since someone in our household had a positive covid test, which made this all the more surprising.
I would report this directly to the head of that public health office. State how it is likely to lead to scammers targeting people in the area, since they are cold-calling people and asking for such personal information. Say that any contact from their office should lead with what they are calling about (e.g. contact tracing), state how to independently verify the request (the public health website), and provide a case number for call-back once the person has completed independent verification.

I know they are back-logged in contact tracing, but that's no excuse for using a call script that looks like it came right out of a scammer's play book. Most other agencies and companies are good about using the approach of giving a case number, so the person can independently verify the request, find the legit call-back number, and call back with the case number to get into the meat of the matter.

And if that's ineffective, this might be something where you might get the most effective outcome by complaining at either a local government meeting (city, county, parish, etc. council meeting) or via the local media.
Good idea; I will see what I can find on the website. It really was like pulling teeth to get her to tell me exactly who she was and what she was calling about!
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by cheese_breath »

Tom_T wrote: Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:34 pm I got a text message for a medical bill. It said "Dear Tom, your bill from XYZ Medical Group is ready, please click here blah blah blah". I didn't have an outstanding bill, everything was paid up months ago, but it was the name of a medical group I visited last fall. I had to double-check to see if it was legitimate, and did I still have a balance and missed it somehow?

What is a bit surprising is that the scammer had a list of actual patient names and cell phone numbers. The text didn't have a sender number; instead, it was one of those shorthand 999-99 numbers.
I got one of those yesterday myself. Not exactly the same but mentioned unpaid bill from the hospital I was in 2018. I deleted it and ignored it.
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scrabbler1
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by scrabbler1 »

I just got a scam email from someone looking to poll me about the Pfizer covid vaccine and to give me a reward up to $90. The email address of the sender was <gobbledygook> (at) <weird domain name>.com. Never mind that I haven't received that vaccine.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by LadyGeek »

Be on the lookout for scam texts on your cellphone.

I just got a text from a number I didn't recognize. Here's what it said (actual link not shown).
<Postal Update> Your items are delayed. Scheduled to arrive, Fri 3/12, 12:00PM. Signature req'd http://(website).com/xxx/xxxxxx
First, I don't have anything on order via USPS. Next, the website uses http:// (insecure protocol). The website is one that I don't recognize whatsoever.

Everyone should know to never, ever click on links in an email, but I would suggest to do the same thing for texts.

Out of curiosity, whois shows the website is from the UK with no registration info. I deleted the text.
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bertilak
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by bertilak »

OK, here's one just yesterday...

I ordered "Smead Poly Envelope, 1-1/4" Expansion, String-Tie Closure, Side Load, Letter Size, Clear, 5 per Pack (89521)" for $5.50 from Amazon.

Today a mystery charge for $38.15 showed up on my AMEX. I did not associate that with my $5.50 order and could not find anything in my list of recent Amazon orders (about 8 or 10 things recently) that even remotely looked like $38.15.

Upon calling Amazon I found out I ordered from a 3rd party and they charged $29.99 shipping!

I told the rep that 3rd party merchant should be investigated for fraud/scam.

IN ADDITION:
At Amazon when you look at your list of recent orders every one of them, in the past, showed for each order, the total charge, including tax and shipping. They no longer show this. You need to click on "invoice" for each, one at a time, to see the total charges. But, what you see in the invoice is list price (e.g. $5.50) and you need to scroll down to get to the total charge. This is why I could not find the $38.15 charge -- when I saw the $5.50 it seemed impossible that the total would add up to $38.15 so I didn't even scroll down to look.

I asked the rep why this was changed. What used to be simple was now very cumbersome. There is a way, clicking through a set of menus, to get a useful list that shows the total charge for each order but it took a support call to have it explained to me.

Amazon made good:
  1. Escalation number 1: Merchant being investigated.
  2. Escalation number 2: Cumbersome menu navigation being reported to whoever is in charge of that stuff.
  3. I am getting the product shipped to me free of charge. Product free, shipping free, and therefore zero tax.
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mptfan
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by mptfan »

bertilak wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 9:48 am At Amazon when you look at your list of recent orders every one of them, in the past, showed for each order, the total charge, including tax and shipping. They no longer show this. You need to click on "invoice" for each, one at a time, to see the total charges. But, what you see in the invoice is list price (e.g. $5.50) and you need to scroll down to get to the total charge. This is why I could not find the $38.15 charge -- when I saw the $5.50 it seemed impossible that the total would add up to $38.15 so I didn't even scroll down to look.

I asked the rep why this was changed. What used to be simple was now very cumbersome. There is a way, clicking through a set of menus, to get a useful list that shows the total charge for each order but it took a support call to have it explained to me.
It's funny that you bring this up because I noticed the same thing and I think it's annoying. I used to be able to easily review recent orders and match them up to recent Amazon credit card charges, but now it's more cumbersome. I love Amazon's website but this change is annoying.

I did find a reasonable workaround and I am curious if this what the rep explained to you...go to Your account, your payments, transactions... and there is a list of recent transactions (completed and in progress) listed by date and the total charge is clearly shown for each transaction. It does require an extra click to see the details of the order to match up each charge to the product that was ordered, but I find this way to be easier and a bit less cumbersome.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by bertilak »

mptfan wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 10:53 am I did find a reasonable workaround and I am curious if this what the rep explained to you...go to Your account, your payments, transactions... and there is a list of recent transactions (completed and in progress) listed by date and the total charge is clearly shown for each transaction. It does require an extra click to see the details of the order to match up each charge to the product that was ordered, but I find this way to be easier and a bit less cumbersome.
That's it. Now it is a three step process for something that used to be one step, the one step being an obvious one: click on "orders" at the top of the screen and all is revealed. The three steps require some hunting around (or a customer support rep walking you through it):
  1. Click on "Accounts and lists" (while ignoring the obvious -- and what used to work -- "orders")
  2. Click on "Your Payments" (one of seven choices, again ignoring "your orders")
  3. Click on "Transactions" (one of four choices)
It's as if Amazon doesn't want you to see that information.

I had difficulty getting that idea across to the phone rep. She kept saying "That's what I'm here for." I told her Amazon would be better off if someone could see what the charges were without involving a customer service call! I did get her to (at least say she would) push this up the ladder.

(Agreed, the final result is a nicer list but they didn't need to remove the original behavior.)

Of course I was further confused by that insane $29.99 shipping fee for five envelopes. (THE SCAM -- or did this include a tour of the factory with lunch and an open bar?))
Last edited by bertilak on Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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sport
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by sport »

Can you see the total charges when you are making the Amazon purchase? If the charges are too high, you should be able to cancel the purchase before you make it final.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by ResearchMed »

sport wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:37 am Can you see the total charges when you are making the Amazon purchase? If the charges are too high, you should be able to cancel the purchase before you make it final.
For any online order, we always make a copy/pdf/printout of the order-to-be-submitted, showing all costs/fees/etc., as well as item list/description, and then another copy once it is processed.
That first step is because very occasionally, once the "submit" part is clicked, there's not a good version still showing the identical information... or that might be when something gets added, like handling or whatever. Then we have proof of what we actually approved-by-clicking, etc.

Usually, there is also an email confirmation sent, and we double check that it matches the documentation we've already saved.

It's rarely needed, but it keeps the documentation of any online ordering right at hand just in case.

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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by bertilak »

ResearchMed wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:58 am
sport wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:37 am Can you see the total charges when you are making the Amazon purchase? If the charges are too high, you should be able to cancel the purchase before you make it final.
For any online order, we always make a copy/pdf/printout of the order-to-be-submitted, showing all costs/fees/etc., as well as item list/description, and then another copy once it is processed.
That first step is because very occasionally, once the "submit" part is clicked, there's not a good version still showing the identical information... or that might be when something gets added, like handling or whatever. Then we have proof of what we actually approved-by-clicking, etc.

Usually, there is also an email confirmation sent, and we double check that it matches the documentation we've already saved.

It's rarely needed, but it keeps the documentation of any online ordering right at hand just in case.

RM
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by mptfan »

bertilak wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:28 am It's as if Amazon doesn't want you to see that information.
I agree, I think Amazon came to the conclusion that it's better not to alert people how much they are spending when they look at their order history. It reminds me of casinos, they do not put clocks in the casinos because they don't want to alert people to how much time they are spending gambling.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by mptfan »

ResearchMed wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:58 am Usually, there is also an email confirmation sent, and we double check that it matches the documentation we've already saved.
In my experience Amazon always sends a confirmation email when an order is placed. The confirmation email does show the total amount of the order but it does not show the product that was ordered, in order to find that out you have to click a link which then logs you in to Amazon and takes you to view the order details. The problem is if you (or someone who shares the Amazon account with you) order several things in one day or over several days, and you then check your email within a few days to confirm and review the orders, you then have to click through several emails and several links to match up the total of each order with each product that was ordered. It was much easier before when the summary of recent orders showed each order and the product and the total amount all on one page!
Last edited by mptfan on Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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bertilak
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by bertilak »

mptfan wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:09 pm
bertilak wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:28 am It's as if Amazon doesn't want you to see that information.
I agree, I think Amazon came to the conclusion that it's better not to alert people how much they are spending when they look at their order history.
That's probably right and is a borderline scam in itself! My complaint probably won't make it very far.
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mptfan
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by mptfan »

bertilak wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:16 pm That's probably right and is a borderline scam in itself! My complaint probably won't make it very far.
If it makes you feel better, I just complained also. I expressed my dissatisfaction with Amazon by chat and this is a copy and paste of the response "i'm sorry for it and i'm gonna write this in the annotations for sure, thank you for your feedback is appreciate it."

I have to go now, I think I hear some kids playing outside... "Hey kids, get off my lawn!"
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by dratkinson »

Ya'll's Amazon problems remind me.

Amazon mystery charge. Similar situation several years ago. Placed 1 order for 5x "illuminated universal front-door garage-door push button", ~$5/ea + ~$10 s&h, so expecting to pay $35 (=25 +10s&h). Received Amazon confirmation email for ~$75 (=25 + 50 s&h). Amazon email exchange with third party seller said s&h was per piece, but would ship all pieces in one package. Immediately cancelled order.

Local Grainger price was ~$10/ea. Wonder if third-party seller was ordering from Grainer at $10/ea, and making his money from s&h charge? Neat gig. No inventory. Just charge customer for what customer could do for themselves.

Didn't know I could complain to Amazon. Will next time. Thanks for the heads up.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

scrabbler1 wrote: Wed Mar 10, 2021 1:00 pm I just got a scam email from someone looking to poll me about the Pfizer covid vaccine and to give me a reward up to $90. The email address of the sender was <gobbledygook> (at) <weird domain name>.com. Never mind that I haven't received that vaccine.
I received an email with the same offer Saturday.

When I searched, it appears the scam is widely spread, as I'm in Florida, the TV station warning was from a station in Utah.

https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/sc ... mail-scam/

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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Mudpuppy »

LadyGeek wrote: Wed Mar 10, 2021 6:46 pm Be on the lookout for scam texts on your cellphone.
Relatedly, I've set my cell phone to NOT automatically download MMS, so it doesn't automatically show pictures, videos, or the like sent through text. Instead, I have to click on an icon to download and display the MMS, which I do when my family or friends sends something with an actual message to explain it.

I started doing that because MMS has been an vector to deliver malware if the phone has a vulnerability in media handling. But I've also found it blocks the spam texts that come from an email address, of which I've received several lately. And it also protects you from being inadvertently shown something you'd not want to see from a spam message.

Side benefit, I've also slowly trained my family and friends to actually explain their photos before sending them by text. Only once in the past couple of months have I just gotten a MMS from a friend with no texts before it and no follow-up after it. I actually still haven't downloaded that MMS.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by michaeljc70 »

I was browsing used cars on FB Marketplace a few days ago. I saw a car that seemed like a good deal for its condition. The listing said to not message the person that posted it...it was posted for her aunt and to email the aunt. I didn't think much of that since not everyone is on FB. I emailed the aunt. I got a ton of pictures of the car, some story about how her son had died and it was his car, etc. She said she wanted to complete the transaction through eBay motors if I was interested. I looked up the car for the Kelly Blue Book price. It was 3+ times the asking price of the car. I didn't realize this originally (13 yr old car) and became very suspicious.

I didn't pursue this as I am sure it is a scam. I am guessing that they either send emails that look like they are from eBay asking for payment information, call pretending to be eBay asking for payment or send a link to a site that looks like eBay. I almost acted like I was interested just to see how the scam played out.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by GG1273 »

Have been getting calls from "Card Services" constantly, last few days - unfortunately it is my internal work phone. I can look up the # in the company directory but annoying nonetheless.

Interestingly, if you dial back the number, it belongs to Chase Bank. I don't have a Chase relationship, so careful with that one.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Mudpuppy »

GG1273 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:00 pm Have been getting calls from "Card Services" constantly, last few days - unfortunately it is my internal work phone. I can look up the # in the company directory but annoying nonetheless.

Interestingly, if you dial back the number, it belongs to Chase Bank. I don't have a Chase relationship, so careful with that one.
You can't trust the caller ID. It's very easy for scammers to fake the caller ID to match anything they want, Chase in this case. In general, if they call you, ask for a case number and then call back via an independently verified number. If it's legit, the CSR will give you a case number and the case number will get you right back to business. If it's a scammer spoofing the caller ID, they will either resist giving a case number and try to get you to continue on or they'll try to get you to call back to a number they've provided (aka another scammer). Both are big red flags.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by GG1273 »

Mudpuppy wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:01 pm
GG1273 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:00 pm Have been getting calls from "Card Services" constantly, last few days - unfortunately it is my internal work phone. I can look up the # in the company directory but annoying nonetheless.

Interestingly, if you dial back the number, it belongs to Chase Bank. I don't have a Chase relationship, so careful with that one.
You can't trust the caller ID. It's very easy for scammers to fake the caller ID to match anything they want, Chase in this case. In general, if they call you, ask for a case number and then call back via an independently verified number. If it's legit, the CSR will give you a case number and the case number will get you right back to business. If it's a scammer spoofing the caller ID, they will either resist giving a case number and try to get you to continue on or they'll try to get you to call back to a number they've provided (aka another scammer). Both are big red flags.


Yes and not having an account w/them was 3rd red flag
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by ResearchMed »

Some people who should know better seem to be remarkably clueless about the strong recommendations NOT to give out personal information to someone you don't know who has just called you.

And by this I mean some of the people making those calls, the legitimate calls.
I've had more than a few of those calls - ones that I later determined were legitimate - who start the call when I answer by asking me to provide personal details.

What is really annoying is when I explain why I'm being, uh, reticent, and explain further that "Hey, YOU called ME. I don't know for sure if you are really from X Company or not..."
... and then the caller starts to get insulted/etc.
I've had several responses along the lines of "Well, who ELSE would I be?" :oops:
And this even after I've explained how *others* might try to fake this, etc.

And it goes downhill, briefly, from there. "Briefly", because it usually ends with my hanging up.

Note: The reason I answer the phone without recognizing the number is because our fine, world-class medical center continues to use outgoing lines that can appear to be "any local number, some nearby town" or a blocked number, rather than something that actually has the medical center number or, better, that physician's office number.
Yet other callers there do show the main number or a specific office (one that I've labelled on my phone, etc.).
Nope, this is not due to folks calling from their homes during the COVID Festival. It's been this way for years.

If they wouldn't get so unpleasant when I try to get a name/extension number so I can call them back at the main number... :annoyed

By now, I'd think the basic training would at least mention this telephone issue.

RM
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by sport »

ResearchMed wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 7:27 pm Some people who should know better seem to be remarkably clueless about the strong recommendations NOT to give out personal information to someone you don't know who has just called you.

And by this I mean some of the people making those calls, the legitimate calls.
I've had more than a few of those calls - ones that I later determined were legitimate - who start the call when I answer by asking me to provide personal details.

What is really annoying is when I explain why I'm being, uh, reticent, and explain further that "Hey, YOU called ME. I don't know for sure if you are really from X Company or not..."
... and then the caller starts to get insulted/etc.
I've had several responses along the lines of "Well, who ELSE would I be?" :oops:
And this even after I've explained how *others* might try to fake this, etc.

And it goes downhill, briefly, from there. "Briefly", because it usually ends with my hanging up.

Note: The reason I answer the phone without recognizing the number is because our fine, world-class medical center continues to use outgoing lines that can appear to be "any local number, some nearby town" or a blocked number, rather than something that actually has the medical center number or, better, that physician's office number.
Yet other callers there do show the main number or a specific office (one that I've labelled on my phone, etc.).
Nope, this is not due to folks calling from their homes during the COVID Festival. It's been this way for years.

If they wouldn't get so unpleasant when I try to get a name/extension number so I can call them back at the main number... :annoyed

By now, I'd think the basic training would at least mention this telephone issue.

RM
I get those calls too. However, my callers are nicer than yours. When I tell them "you called me, who are you?" they just laugh. Then they give me sufficient information for me to know they are legit. They also do not ask for really sensitive info such as my SS number. They usually ask for my birthday which is easily found on the internet.
daheld
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So how exactly would this text message scam work?

Post by daheld »

[Thread merged into here --admin LadyGeek]

I recently got a text message that says the following: "Hey (MyName), it's Scott, didn't want to bother you, did you get my voicemail regarding (My Street Address)? Happy to stop if you're not interested"

I'm curious for those of you who might know how this type of thing works? Nobody has left me a voicemail, this is obviously a scam. I'm not planning to respond but if I did, is this pretty simple from the standpoint that the scammer would just try to coax out private banking information? It's from a local number, which I understand could be spoofed. Just curious as this is a new one to me.
Teague
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Re: So how exactly would this text message scam work?

Post by Teague »

Instead of a scam, maybe someone just sent their message to the wrong number (yours)? I've gotten all sorts of misdirected messages. Once I was included in a family group closely tracking the labor and delivery of their newest member. Minute by minute updates. I eventually sent my congratulations along with a request to remove me from their oh-so-detailed incessant bulletins.
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Re: So how exactly would this text message scam work?

Post by dukeblue219 »

Teague wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:01 pm Instead of a scam, maybe someone just sent their message to the wrong number (yours)?
With the recipients name and address correct? Doubtful.

I don't think this is a scam in the sense of stealing your bank account, but more likely a scam in the sense of a bad business deal. Sounds to me like someone from a "we buy homes" group spamming for possible sellers.
daheld
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Re: So how exactly would this text message scam work?

Post by daheld »

dukeblue219 wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:03 pm
Teague wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:01 pm Instead of a scam, maybe someone just sent their message to the wrong number (yours)?
With the recipients name and address correct? Doubtful.

I don't think this is a scam in the sense of stealing your bank account, but more likely a scam in the sense of a bad business deal. Sounds to me like someone from a "we buy homes" group spamming for possible sellers.
Right. It's not a misdirected text if they got my name and address correct. I thought about responding, but I'm always wary that it could help a scammer.
Teague
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Re: So how exactly would this text message scam work?

Post by Teague »

dukeblue219 wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:03 pm
Teague wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:01 pm Instead of a scam, maybe someone just sent their message to the wrong number (yours)?
With the recipients name and address correct? Doubtful.

I don't think this is a scam in the sense of stealing your bank account, but more likely a scam in the sense of a bad business deal. Sounds to me like someone from a "we buy homes" group spamming for possible sellers.
Ah, I didn't quite catch that. Right.
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dukeblue219
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Re: So how exactly would this text message scam work?

Post by dukeblue219 »

Don't respond.
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ResearchMed
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Re: So how exactly would this text message scam work?

Post by ResearchMed »

It could just be a feeler, sent to many. To see "who responds to these overtures"...
... and THEN start the scamming?

RM
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beernutz
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Re: So how exactly would this text message scam work?

Post by beernutz »

I think it is more likely to be a stealthy realtor solicitation than a scam.

My wife is cleaning out her late mom's house before the reverse mortgage company takes possession. Somehow realtors have gotten her cell number and texted her several solicitations about it, and in some they've implied they had a prior relationship with her which she has no memory of. She was there at the house for only an hour earlier this week and out of the blue two realtors came up and gave her their cards and wanted to talk about representing her. The freaky think is she has no idea how they even knew she'd be there.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by LadyGeek »

I merged daheld's scam into the ongoing discussion.

Don't reply to the text, just delete it.
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RetiredAL
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Re: So how exactly would this text message scam work?

Post by RetiredAL »

daheld wrote: Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:51 pm [Thread merged into here --admin LadyGeek]

I recently got a text message that says the following: "Hey (MyName), it's Scott, didn't want to bother you, did you get my voicemail regarding (My Street Address)? Happy to stop if you're not interested"

I'm curious for those of you who might know how this type of thing works? Nobody has left me a voicemail, this is obviously a scam. I'm not planning to respond but if I did, is this pretty simple from the standpoint that the scammer would just try to coax out private banking information? It's from a local number, which I understand could be spoofed. Just curious as this is a new one to me.
I say "cold call". Just ignore!

I am the Trustee for my elderly Dad's Trust, which holds two homes not in the area I live in, but the tax records come to me at my home. Hardly a week goes by without a snail-mail solicitation relating to those properties. These tend to be from regular realtors. They seem to home in on "remote owner". I get the same kind for my house from local realtor's to me, but much less frequent.

I have occasionally got calls on my cell relating to these properties. The calls tend to be from a "Bob buys homes" type of caller.

I have gotten a couple of letter offers from a company called VACASA or something similar, offering cash for the mountain home. The amount they offer is 30 to 40% of its worth.
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heartwood
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by heartwood »

I get almost daily texts with links in them. 99% contain the name Doja. I ignore and block them all.

In the last couple of months I'm also getting calls to my landline purporting to be from a Dr's office confirming an appointment, always in someone else's name. They all go to voicemail. We answer no calls we don't recognize. Years ago I would have called back to correct it. Now I just ignore them.

Maybe a scam; maybe an honest mistake.
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Mudpuppy »

Mark Rober just posted a video on the refund scam, with details on the scam and his efforts to help law enforcement catch the scammers, as the latest installment of his glitter bomb series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrKW58MS12g
andypanda
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by andypanda »

When I receive a call from stranger who asks for me to verify my birthday I always say "Saturday" and wait to see what happens next.

Re: VACASA in an earlier post

"Vacasa is an international vacation rental management company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. It provides property management services for over 25,000 vacation rentals in the U.S., Europe, Central and South America, and South Africa. Vacasa manages properties in 31 U.S. states and 17 countries. Wikipedia"

You could also google complaints and lawsuits if you're bored and want something to do.
ubermax
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by ubermax »

Got an email from the president of our HOA ( trusted person) saying that she was having difficulty buying an e-gift card from Amazon for a friend - said her bank balked and so wanted us to buy the $300 e-gift card and , if we agreed , she would provide the email of her friend - smelled a rat and called our HOA president - she said her email list was hijacked - could be true , maybe not but I still have the $300 - crooks these days are thinking of clever ways to separate us from our $$ - maybe Covid is scrambling people's brains or maybe high unemployment is the cause but you have to be on your toes these days .
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bertilak
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by bertilak »

Beware of emails with something like this:
Dear Subscriber, #xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Unfortunately your free trial is ending in 2 days. But thank you for choosing to stay with us!

Your subscription will be continued using a payment method you already provided.
The plan you selected will cost you only $89.99 per month.

We hope that you enjoyed our service and that you are ready to move to premium plan.

In case you want to know more details about your order you can always contact us: [scam number removed by admin LadyGeek]

We are always glad to see you on our website.
Calling that number gets you to a "helpful" person who will walk you through a process to cancel your subscription. That process involves going to a web page and clicking on "unsubscribe." That link downloads an excel worksheet with macros and places to fill in personal information.

Nowhere is there a simple description of what the subscription or service actually does.

That phone number is listed as a high risk fraud number at https://www.fraudnumber.com. Seems most searches were recent.
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ResearchMed
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by ResearchMed »

bertilak wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 3:39 pm Beware of emails with something like this:
Dear Subscriber, #xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Unfortunately your free trial is ending in 2 days. But thank you for choosing to stay with us!

Your subscription will be continued using a payment method you already provided.
The plan you selected will cost you only $89.99 per month.

We hope that you enjoyed our service and that you are ready to move to premium plan.

In case you want to know more details about your order you can always contact us: [scam number removed by admin LadyGeek]

We are always glad to see you on our website.
Calling that number gets you to a "helpful" person who will walk you through a process to cancel your subscription. That process involves going to a web page and clicking on "unsubscribe." That link downloads an excel worksheet with macros and places to fill in personal information.

Nowhere is there a simple description of what the subscription or service actually does.

That phone number is listed as a high risk fraud number at https://www.fraudnumber.com. Seems most searches were recent.
[emphasis added]

Oh dear...

Did you actually go to a website/address that *they* gave you and click (click on "unsubscribe" or click on anything there)?
And before verifying precisely who "they" were?
That isn't recommended, to put it mildly.
You may have already downloaded some malware, etc.

Did you fill any information in that excel worksheet?

I'm not sure how much pro-active cleaning up is needed now, on that computer.
Hopefully some computer security gurus will help here.

RM
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by LadyGeek »

bertilak - I removed the scam phone number. Although you've posted the correct way to deal with this, readers may misinterpret the intent and will call that number. To be sure, it's best to remove all traceable info to the scam. The text alone should be good enough. (The website link is helpful.)
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bertilak
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by bertilak »

ResearchMed wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 3:55 pm Did you actually go to a website/address that *they* gave you and click (click on "unsubscribe" or click on anything there)?
And before verifying precisely who "they" were?
That isn't recommended, to put it mildly.
You may have already downloaded some malware, etc.
Yup, out of curiosity. I figured I could stop before doing anything truly dangerous. I can tell what's being downloaded.
Did you fill any information in that excel worksheet
Of course not.
I'm not sure how much pro-active cleaning up is needed now, on that computer.
Hopefully some computer security gurus will help here.
I know there was no real action taken by excel or any macros since I did not enable macros. Excel itself warned me not to mess with it. I knew I was getting close to the thin ice but knew enough to stay back a safe distance.
May neither drought nor rain nor blizzard disturb the joy juice in your gizzard. -- Squire Omar Barker (aka S.O.B.), the Cowboy Poet
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Mudpuppy »

bertilak wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 4:03 pm
ResearchMed wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 3:55 pm I'm not sure how much pro-active cleaning up is needed now, on that computer.
Hopefully some computer security gurus will help here.
I know there was no real action taken by excel or any macros since I did not enable macros. Excel itself warned me not to mess with it. I knew I was getting close to the thin ice but knew enough to stay back a safe distance.
There's always the possibility that they are attacking an unknown zero-day exploit of Excel that bypasses the macro disabling feature and still installs malware, even on a fully updated system. The only way to be somewhat "safe" in such curiosity ventures is to have a machine dedicated to such tasks or a VM that can be locked against changes (although a well-motivated attacker could escape the VM and still do damage).
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by dratkinson »

bertilak wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 3:39 pm Beware of emails with something like this:
Dear Subscriber, #xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Unfortunately your free trial is ending in 2 days. But thank you for choosing to stay with us!

Your subscription will be continued using a payment method you already provided.
The plan you selected will cost you only $89.99 per month.

We hope that you enjoyed our service and that you are ready to move to premium plan.

In case you want to know more details about your order you can always contact us: [scam number removed by admin LadyGeek]

We are always glad to see you on our website.
Calling that number gets you to a "helpful" person who will walk you through a process to cancel your subscription. That process involves going to a web page and clicking on "unsubscribe." That link downloads an excel worksheet with macros and places to fill in personal information.

Nowhere is there a simple description of what the subscription or service actually does.

That phone number is listed as a high risk fraud number at https://www.fraudnumber.com. Seems most searches were recent.
Have received a variant of this on my landline answering system. Deleted message.

Receiving fewer unwanted calls after modifying outgoing message to first play "Intercept" Special Information Tri-tone, before my message: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_information_tone

Appreciate the fraud phone number lookup.
d.r.a., not dr.a. | I'm a novice investor; you are forewarned.
ubermax
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by ubermax »

Not a scam but potential malware included in emails from people posing as someone on our FB friend list - so we screen the email and delete if not a known email .
LeeRobbins
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Re: Fake Vanguard Email -- Fishing

Post by LeeRobbins »

[Moved into here from Fake Vanguard Email -- Fishing (2010) --admin LadyGeek]

[Note: I removed the number in the email. It appears to have been a valid number for Vanguard in the past, but I couldn't find anything that proves that they are still using it today. -- moderator oldcomputerguy]

Yes, it IS PHISHING:
I received:
"The money that you recently moved to Vanguard has arrived and has been invested according to your instructions. If you haven't already, you'll soon receive an official confirmation from us. In addition, you'll see your new investments on your next Vanguard statement.

Remember, you can review all of your Vanguard account activity online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by logging on to vanguard.com.

If you have any questions about your accounts in the future, please call Vanguard at 800-XXX-XXXX, M-F 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time."
I JUST WROTE THE FOLLOWING THE THE VANGUARD FRAUD DEPT. WHICH EXPLAINS WHY I AM CONFIDENT IT IS PHISHING:

I received the below email today and was immediately suspicious because I have NOT as it says
"money that you recently moved to Vanguard " SINCE LAST YEAR

and the tone does not seem quite right. Further there does not seem to be any legitimate “vanguard.com” portal for Vanguard. I went online and checked my account and indeed there is not any outside money moved onto it since last year.

I wanted to alert you generally and also please let me know about this suspicious notice that purports to be from Vanguard."
likegarden
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by likegarden »

We like to read a certain magazine, get billed yearly, and pay promptly then with the bill. But every 1 to 2 years we get another bill for the same magazine, and that bill is for half a year at a higher price, and the form envelope is to a different address every few years. I usually take that bill, cut it finely and mail it back in their envelope.
Otherwise we do not pick up phone calls from people we do not know, only review messages left once a day. We do not text on our cell phones. We do not click on Emails, even those from our credit card company, Vanguard and our bank. No problems here.
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