[On-going Scams - Post them here]

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

Post by TomatoTomahto »

VanGar+Goyle wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 3:40 am
Fallible wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 8:30 pm
DonM17 wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 8:03 am If you have a few minutes to spare...watch this 60 Minutes Australia show on the Nigerian Scammers ......they interview one person who lost his life savings and his property because he thought that he was actually going to receive $33 million from these scammers.....I can't believe that anyone could be this stupid
...
When people fall victim to con artists, it's not necessarily out of stupidity, but because they (and apparently we humans are all prone to this) have a strong need to believe the con, which of course the con knows. A good book on this is The Confidence Game by Maria Konnikova. It shows how the con identifies and works the mark (us) and can help us avoid becoming a victim.
Not a scam, but I wonder if Maria Konnikova is related to Anna Kournikova, the computer virus that took over millions of computers in Feb of 2001.
Seems like many people wanted to see an attractive female tennis player.
I believe no relation. Maria Konnikova writes about chance/risk and other topics for the NYT and also several books. A very interesting book The Biggest Bluff is about her one year attempt to become a poker pro with lessons from Eric Seidel and others. She is an attractive female tennis poker player, now playing professionally.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
Fallible
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Fallible »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 4:37 am
VanGar+Goyle wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 3:40 am
Fallible wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 8:30 pm
DonM17 wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 8:03 am If you have a few minutes to spare...watch this 60 Minutes Australia show on the Nigerian Scammers ......they interview one person who lost his life savings and his property because he thought that he was actually going to receive $33 million from these scammers.....I can't believe that anyone could be this stupid
...
When people fall victim to con artists, it's not necessarily out of stupidity, but because they (and apparently we humans are all prone to this) have a strong need to believe the con, which of course the con knows. A good book on this is The Confidence Game by Maria Konnikova. It shows how the con identifies and works the mark (us) and can help us avoid becoming a victim.
Not a scam, but I wonder if Maria Konnikova is related to Anna Kournikova, the computer virus that took over millions of computers in Feb of 2001.
Seems like many people wanted to see an attractive female tennis player.
I believe no relation. Maria Konnikova writes about chance/risk and other topics for the NYT and also several books. A very interesting book The Biggest Bluff is about her one year attempt to become a poker pro with lessons from Eric Seidel and others. She is an attractive female tennis poker player, now playing professionally.
I also know of no relation to Kournikova. The "Bluff" book is on my reading list; I don't play poker, but understand the book has great insight into human nature.

Btw, an interesting part of Maria Konnikova's "Confidence Game" book is leaving readers wondering whether they've ever been victims of a con, or scam. That's because the best cons have gotten by with it without the mark ever knowing - I don't mean denying they were, or ever could be, victims, but honestly never realizing it had happened to them.
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
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enad
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by enad »

Just got a call from "Medicare Benefits". They are asking me for my name, then my age. Wait, you called me. How come you don't know my name? Who are you: Claire Dolly. What company is Medicare Benefits? What? What company do you work for <click> line is dead. Scam Alert
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mark_in_denver
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Re: Gift Card Scam

Post by mark_in_denver »

MichaelAZ wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 12:50 am [Merged into ongoing discussion -- moderator oldcomputerguy]

Public service reminder about the famous gift card scam.

My 74 year old mother-in-law had a pop-up appear on her computer while browsing the web. It said her computer had been compromised and to call "Microsoft" for tech support help at the number on the screen.

She called and, to make a long story short, was transferred to a "Level 5 technician." They tricked her into giving them remote desktop access. And then they said that hackers had taken $13,000 from her checking account, but there was a three hour window that Microsoft still had to help her get the money back.

He told her to drive to Lowe's, Home Depot, and the grocery store and buy 26 $500 gift cards. She tried to use her credit card to buy them, but it was rejected. So she used her debit card. And she read the gift card numbers to the scammers.

The scammer then asked for her checking account and routing number. She suspected fraud at that point and ended the call.

Money is gone. Gift cards are drained. And my MIL is mentally and emotionally distraught. It's a lot of money for most people, but especially her.

Tl;Dr: Never believe that you need to buy gift cards for any reason for someone over the phone or text or email. Seems obvious to me and most people, and yet many people fall victim.
Wow, just an incredible unfortunate issue to have to go through.
My elderly mother received similar calls in the past and asked me about them. I specifically told her to always call me if someone else has instructed you to move money, install software, or doing any transaction over $500.
andypanda
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by andypanda »

My buddy says to beware Valentine Day scams. He ordered his wife some jewelry and they sent him a new fishing rod.
jarjarM
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by jarjarM »

Here's one from CNBC on a scam where the owner could not recover the money.

The TL,DR version, the scammer tricked the account owner into believing that they're from Chase fraud department and gave up all the security info. A second scammer use those info in real time to move the $$$ from his personal checking/saving account to his banking account and then wire the money out. Since he volunteer the info to scammer and it was wired out from a business account, Chase is not responsible. :? :oops:
Rdytoretire
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Rdytoretire »

andypanda wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 7:50 am My buddy says to beware Valentine Day scams. He ordered his wife some jewelry and they sent him a new fishing rod.
:D Good One
jarjarM
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by jarjarM »

andypanda wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 7:50 am My buddy says to beware Valentine Day scams. He ordered his wife some jewelry and they sent him a new fishing rod.
I'm ashamed to say that I only understood what happened on 2nd read :oops: :P
Mudpuppy
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Mudpuppy »

jarjarM wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 8:21 pm Since he volunteer the info to scammer and it was wired out from a business account, Chase is not responsible. :? :oops:
I suspect the business account part is more important. Most business accounts have very little fraud protection. Businesses are expected to get that as part of their business insurance and such.
RetiredAL
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by RetiredAL »

enad wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:23 pm Just got a call from "Medicare Benefits". They are asking me for my name, then my age. Wait, you called me. How come you don't know my name? Who are you: Claire Dolly. What company is Medicare Benefits? What? What company do you work for <click> line is dead. Scam Alert
We got calls that woke us up this last Sat and Monday before 6:30 am that went to voice mail with no message left but lots of background talking for a few seconds. Today it came at 6:07, I was already up, so I quickly answered it. it was "Joe Blah from Medicare Benefits" with the same background talking. Well, after giving him an ear-full about the time, I quickly hung up.
jarjarM
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by jarjarM »

Mudpuppy wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 11:08 pm
jarjarM wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 8:21 pm Since he volunteer the info to scammer and it was wired out from a business account, Chase is not responsible. :? :oops:
I suspect the business account part is more important. Most business accounts have very little fraud protection. Businesses are expected to get that as part of their business insurance and such.
The article did in fact pointed out that many of the consumer protection legislation is decided for personal account and business account is NOT covered. As you mentioned, a proper business liability and insurances hopefully would help in this scenario. The other one is that wire transfer transaction is usually not covered under many of the consumer protection law and since it's almost instantaneous so time is of the essence (unlike ACH) in reporting and bank action.
scrabbler1
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by scrabbler1 »

RetiredAL wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 8:32 am
enad wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:23 pm Just got a call from "Medicare Benefits". They are asking me for my name, then my age. Wait, you called me. How come you don't know my name? Who are you: Claire Dolly. What company is Medicare Benefits? What? What company do you work for <click> line is dead. Scam Alert
We got calls that woke us up this last Sat and Monday before 6:30 am that went to voice mail with no message left but lots of background talking for a few seconds. Today it came at 6:07, I was already up, so I quickly answered it. it was "Joe Blah from Medicare Benefits" with the same background talking. Well, after giving him an ear-full about the time, I quickly hung up.
Wow, it's bad enough to get those calls during regular waking hours. But to get them at 6 AM is awful. Then there is my ladyfriend who gets these calls at work, on her personal cell phone (which she isn't supposed to use but she gets a legit work call on it, so she has to answer her phone anyway). She isn't old enough to be on Medicare, which makes matters worse. She gives them an earful, but there are so many different outfits using this scam it is useless.
RetiredCSProf
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by RetiredCSProf »

jarjarM wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 9:16 pm
andypanda wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 7:50 am My buddy says to beware Valentine Day scams. He ordered his wife some jewelry and they sent him a new fishing rod.
I'm ashamed to say that I only understood what happened on 2nd read :oops: :P
Can you explain it to me -- I still don't get it. Is it a play on the word "fishing"?
pizzy
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by pizzy »

RetiredCSProf wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 12:27 pm
jarjarM wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 9:16 pm
andypanda wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 7:50 am My buddy says to beware Valentine Day scams. He ordered his wife some jewelry and they sent him a new fishing rod.
I'm ashamed to say that I only understood what happened on 2nd read :oops: :P
Can you explain it to me -- I still don't get it. Is it a play on the word "fishing"?
He bought a fishing rod instead of the jewelry.
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Devil's Advocate
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Devil's Advocate »

An elderly married relative made an online "friend" who requested some pics of him in less than proper attire. After the pics the "friend" blackmailed him into sending gift cards and prepaid cards or the "friend" would somehow notify his wife and church of his misdeeds. Luckily they only got a few hundred dollars before the old man's wife found out and the gig was up. The "friend" didn't send the pics to anybody and the old man was sent to a nursing home. Don't send a stranger d*#k pics.

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

Post by Mudpuppy »

scrabbler1 wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 11:36 am
RetiredAL wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 8:32 am
enad wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:23 pm Just got a call from "Medicare Benefits". They are asking me for my name, then my age. Wait, you called me. How come you don't know my name? Who are you: Claire Dolly. What company is Medicare Benefits? What? What company do you work for <click> line is dead. Scam Alert
We got calls that woke us up this last Sat and Monday before 6:30 am that went to voice mail with no message left but lots of background talking for a few seconds. Today it came at 6:07, I was already up, so I quickly answered it. it was "Joe Blah from Medicare Benefits" with the same background talking. Well, after giving him an ear-full about the time, I quickly hung up.
Wow, it's bad enough to get those calls during regular waking hours. But to get them at 6 AM is awful. Then there is my ladyfriend who gets these calls at work, on her personal cell phone (which she isn't supposed to use but she gets a legit work call on it, so she has to answer her phone anyway). She isn't old enough to be on Medicare, which makes matters worse. She gives them an earful, but there are so many different outfits using this scam it is useless.
Well, there's one thing the 6am call proves: it's definitely a scam. Legitimate business will adhere to the contact hours regulations (usually 9am to 9pm) unless you've given permission for after-hours contacts (e.g., text alerts and such).

But the scammers are also banking on waking people up and getting them while they're sleepy and confused. This is why do-not-disturb is always set on my phone, with specific family contacts having the ability to ring through the do-not-disturb in case I need to be contacted for a family emergency. I only turn off overnight do-not-disturb when I'm the main point of contact for a relative in the hospital.
jarjarM
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by jarjarM »

pizzy wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 12:35 pm
RetiredCSProf wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 12:27 pm
jarjarM wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2023 9:16 pm
andypanda wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 7:50 am My buddy says to beware Valentine Day scams. He ordered his wife some jewelry and they sent him a new fishing rod.
I'm ashamed to say that I only understood what happened on 2nd read :oops: :P
Can you explain it to me -- I still don't get it. Is it a play on the word "fishing"?
He bought a fishing rod instead of the jewelry.
+1 :thumbsup
sunsetting101
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by sunsetting101 »

Do any of you report the scam on the Better Business Bureau site? If I get a phone number, I report it and hope they build up a case. I can only hope that the BBB has leverage to get the phone companies to identify the purchasers behind the phone numbers swapping to get to the "businesses" making those calls.
bluebolt
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by bluebolt »

sunsetting101 wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 5:52 pm Do any of you report the scam on the Better Business Bureau site? If I get a phone number, I report it and hope they build up a case. I can only hope that the BBB has leverage to get the phone companies to identify the purchasers behind the phone numbers swapping to get to the "businesses" making those calls.
BBB only helps with legitimate businesses. Reporting scammers who aren't part of an established business to them won't do any good.
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enad
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by enad »

if you sell items on eBay and if one happens to be a high dollar item, you may get a message from an interested buyer who wants to pay by check which isn't one of the standard methods but the buyer may suggest that it's a way of avoiding fee's. Turns out the buyer wants your information and address and not necessarily make the purchase from you. This can only end up badly for you, so avoid those kind of queries. Selling outside of eBay can cause you also to lose any kind of seller protections.
What Goes Up Must come down -- David Clayton-Thomas (1968), BST
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heartwood
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by heartwood »

Given the terrible quake in Turkey and Syria, I'm suddenly getting many spam phone calls on my cell phone. I use the google call screener automatically for numbers not in my contact list. I've then looked at some of the calling numbers (many 888 or similar 800 numbers). Many have listings with TR (turkey) domains for emails.

I'll mention that if you want to help that you might do it through something like the Red Cross or similar organization rather than an unknown caller.
VanGar+Goyle
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by VanGar+Goyle »

heartwood wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2023 5:17 pm Given the terrible quake in Turkey and Syria, I'm suddenly getting many spam phone calls on my cell phone. I use the google call screener automatically for numbers not in my contact list. I've then looked at some of the calling numbers (many 888 or similar 800 numbers). Many have listings with TR (turkey) domains for emails.

I'll mention that if you want to help that you might do it through something like the Red Cross or similar organization rather than an unknown caller.
The Actual Red Cross is usually respectable, but the Red Crescent would be a more direct way.

The Turkish Red Crescent is the responsible authority for feeding coordination in the disaster area and has deployed catering vehicles, mobile kitchens, food and snacks, water and kitchen kits as well as blankets, beds and tents.


The name change from Turkey seems to be recent: The United States Department of State officially began using Türkiye in January 2023.
Allixi
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Allixi »

This is a really dumb one I’m still kicking myself / facepalming for:

I wanted to cancel my broadband internet since I had just installed fiber. I called the cancellation number and spent 10 minutes talking to some guy who told me there was a fee to cancel and I gave them a credit card number. He kept talking about a “confirmation number” he would give me, and once he did, the call abruptly cut off.

When I called again to check on this, it went to a completely different call center for a random marketing company. It was at this point I realized I had dialed the wrong number to cancel my broadband - I was off by one digit! :oops:

After calling the right number to cancel my broadband for real, I watched my credit card like a hawk and sure enough, the next day there was an unauthorized purchase and I replaced it.
Harmanic
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Harmanic »

Dave Ramsey Show recently had a caller ask about solar panels. They told the caller to avoid solar panels at all costs, they take 100 years to break even. Instead, put your money in a good growth mutual fund, which they will happily set you up with through their advisor network.

This is a scam because for some people solar panels are one of the best investments. Mine broke even after 5 years and I save about $5,000 per year in utility costs.

The Dave Ramsey advisor network charges high advisory fees and front end loads to invest in actively managed funds. Meaning that clients lose most of their gains to fees.

Dave Ramsey has other ongoing scams that I might post later.
The question isn't at what age I want to retire, it's at what income. | - George Foreman
OnTrack
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by OnTrack »

bluebolt wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2023 2:51 pm
sunsetting101 wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 5:52 pm Do any of you report the scam on the Better Business Bureau site? If I get a phone number, I report it and hope they build up a case. I can only hope that the BBB has leverage to get the phone companies to identify the purchasers behind the phone numbers swapping to get to the "businesses" making those calls.
BBB only helps with legitimate businesses. Reporting scammers who aren't part of an established business to them won't do any good.
A better option in this case would be to report to the FTC:
https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/

“Report anything you think may be a fraud, scam, or bad business practice. For ideas of what you might report to the FTC, check out consumer.ftc.gov for more information and advice, or take a look at the FTC's latest cases at ftc.gov.”
JBTX
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by JBTX »

My parents got another call from a person pretending to be a grandchild. Thankfully they didn’t fall for it.

Where do these scammers get the info in the first place - they obviously somehow are able to target older people. Where do they find the info for their targets? Any ways to reduce their visibility / profile?
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ResearchMed
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by ResearchMed »

JBTX wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:02 pm My parents got another call from a person pretending to be a grandchild. Thankfully they didn’t fall for it.

Where do these scammers get the info in the first place - they obviously somehow are able to target older people. Where do they find the info for their targets? Any ways to reduce their visibility / profile?

What "information" are you referring to?
I think a lot of these types of calls are cold calls... the scammer is hoping someone will think it's really "for THEM", and then fall into the game.
That is, the recipients of some of these calls may not have any grandchildren, but for those who do....

It would be different if they used the grandchild's name, but at least in some cases, someone asked about the name, and the attempted scam ended there.

Did the person who called your parents have the actual name of the grandchild, or was it something like, "Grandma, <I need help/etc....>" ?

Just finding names/phone numbers of "older people" probably isn't too difficult. Or they could be guessing there's someone of "grandparent age", too.

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

Post by Silverado »

Harmanic wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 9:01 am Dave Ramsey Show recently had a caller ask about solar panels. They told the caller to avoid solar panels at all costs, they take 100 years to break even. Instead, put your money in a good growth mutual fund, which they will happily set you up with through their advisor network.

This is a scam because for some people solar panels are one of the best investments. Mine broke even after 5 years and I save about $5,000 per year in utility costs.

The Dave Ramsey advisor network charges high advisory fees and front end loads to invest in actively managed funds. Meaning that clients lose most of their gains to fees.

Dave Ramsey has other ongoing scams that I might post later.
You have seriously expensive utilities. Yikes. Do you have an indoor ice rink and pool?
Gnirk
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Gnirk »

JBTX wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:02 pm My parents got another call from a person pretending to be a grandchild. Thankfully they didn’t fall for it.

Where do these scammers get the info in the first place - they obviously somehow are able to target older people. Where do they find the info for their targets? Any ways to reduce their visibility / profile?
It’s very easy to find information on people using whitepages.com. There is usually both free information and information available that requires payment. I doubt if scammers use this, and just cold call.
RetiredAL
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by RetiredAL »

JBTX wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:02 pm My parents got another call from a person pretending to be a grandchild. Thankfully they didn’t fall for it.

Where do these scammers get the info in the first place - they obviously somehow are able to target older people. Where do they find the info for their targets? Any ways to reduce their visibility / profile?
My wife got one of these a few years ago. Our only grandson at that time was under 2. Her comment to the caller was you sure sound mature for not yet being 2! -- click --
JBTX
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by JBTX »

ResearchMed wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 7:19 pm
JBTX wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:02 pm My parents got another call from a person pretending to be a grandchild. Thankfully they didn’t fall for it.

Where do these scammers get the info in the first place - they obviously somehow are able to target older people. Where do they find the info for their targets? Any ways to reduce their visibility / profile?

What "information" are you referring to?
I think a lot of these types of calls are cold calls... the scammer is hoping someone will think it's really "for THEM", and then fall into the game.
That is, the recipients of some of these calls may not have any grandchildren, but for those who do....

It would be different if they used the grandchild's name, but at least in some cases, someone asked about the name, and the attempted scam ended there.

Did the person who called your parents have the actual name of the grandchild, or was it something like, "Grandma, <I need help/etc....>" ?

Just finding names/phone numbers of "older people" probably isn't too difficult. Or they could be guessing there's someone of "grandparent age", too.

RM
The information I’m referring to is how do they find out who the older people are in the first place? It doesn’t seem like they are calling everybody at random. I’ve never received such a call. They seem to be targeting older people. Where do they get lists of elderly people?
JBTX
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by JBTX »

Gnirk wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 9:42 pm
JBTX wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:02 pm My parents got another call from a person pretending to be a grandchild. Thankfully they didn’t fall for it.

Where do these scammers get the info in the first place - they obviously somehow are able to target older people. Where do they find the info for their targets? Any ways to reduce their visibility / profile?
It’s very easy to find information on people using whitepages.com. There is usually both free information and information available that requires payment. I doubt if scammers use this, and just cold call.
I had already done this for myself, but I just started taking them off of some of these sites via opt out, white pages being one of them. It takes some diligence but you can put a dent in it.
Harmanic
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Harmanic »

Silverado wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 7:34 pm
Harmanic wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 9:01 am Dave Ramsey Show recently had a caller ask about solar panels. They told the caller to avoid solar panels at all costs, they take 100 years to break even. Instead, put your money in a good growth mutual fund, which they will happily set you up with through their advisor network.

This is a scam because for some people solar panels are one of the best investments. Mine broke even after 5 years and I save about $5,000 per year in utility costs.

The Dave Ramsey advisor network charges high advisory fees and front end loads to invest in actively managed funds. Meaning that clients lose most of their gains to fees.

Dave Ramsey has other ongoing scams that I might post later.
You have seriously expensive utilities. Yikes. Do you have an indoor ice rink and pool?
Yeah, both expensive utilities and use more than average.
The question isn't at what age I want to retire, it's at what income. | - George Foreman
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Tubes
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Tubes »

JBTX wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 11:36 pm
ResearchMed wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 7:19 pm
JBTX wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:02 pm My parents got another call from a person pretending to be a grandchild. Thankfully they didn’t fall for it.

Where do these scammers get the info in the first place - they obviously somehow are able to target older people. Where do they find the info for their targets? Any ways to reduce their visibility / profile?

What "information" are you referring to?
I think a lot of these types of calls are cold calls... the scammer is hoping someone will think it's really "for THEM", and then fall into the game.
That is, the recipients of some of these calls may not have any grandchildren, but for those who do....

It would be different if they used the grandchild's name, but at least in some cases, someone asked about the name, and the attempted scam ended there.

Did the person who called your parents have the actual name of the grandchild, or was it something like, "Grandma, <I need help/etc....>" ?

Just finding names/phone numbers of "older people" probably isn't too difficult. Or they could be guessing there's someone of "grandparent age", too.

RM
The information I’m referring to is how do they find out who the older people are in the first place? It doesn’t seem like they are calling everybody at random. I’ve never received such a call. They seem to be targeting older people. Where do they get lists of elderly people?
This stuff is so readily available out there, especially on the dark web. My county had every registered voter's birth date up online for years before they took it down. This has all be scraped, correlated and sold.

AARP and the "financial analyst" companies know our age and pound us with mail. Between DW and I, we get 3 to 4 offers per week for "free" meals if we listen to their blather. They know who we are, and likely know our approximate income and networth. They at least know we don't have a mortgage or lien, which makes us a good target for their investment advice, hence the seminar invites.

Finally, there are scammers who groom the list by calling and seeing if a human is on the line. They just hang up. Why? To groom the list. They can re-sell the list saying the number is "verified." This is why you should never even answer an unknown caller, ever. I have a 70 year old friend who loves to spar with callers. He picks up 3 or 4 times a day and just starts chatting and giving them heck. I told him to stop. He says it gives him something to do. This is a terrible idea, because as he ages and loses cognition, some day he'll get bit by this.
bberris
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Re: Is this a scam?

Post by bberris »

Jack FFR1846 wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 5:04 pm Scam..

I 619 these clowns. I take the call and play along. I get confused and ask them to repeat things and repeat back completely wrong. My goal.....since time costs them money, I want to cost them lots of money. I can tell when they've figured it out because they start swearing at me in either English or Hindi. I respond in whatever language they use.
How do you spell "eye are ace"?
OnTrack
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by OnTrack »

JBTX wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:02 pm My parents got another call from a person pretending to be a grandchild. Thankfully they didn’t fall for it.

Where do these scammers get the info in the first place - they obviously somehow are able to target older people. Where do they find the info for their targets? Any ways to reduce their visibility / profile?
In many cases they can get all the information they need from social media posts such as facebook. I’m sure many grandchildren post enough information to be able to convince the grandparents that it is a real situation. They will even claim to put the “grandchild” on the phone and since the story is that the grandchild injured his or her nose in an accident, that would explain why the voice is different. They will sometimes also spoof the phone number to make it look as though it is from a jail or police department.
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typical.investor
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by typical.investor »

WSJ has an interesting article about an increasing scam …

A Basic iPhone Feature Helps Criminals Steal Your Entire Digital Life

Basically it’s social engineering at a bar or similar to get people to show pictures or something and observing the passcode.

From there they steal the phone (after spiked drinks) and the passcode allows a reset of the password, then they can log out other Apple devices and turn off “find my”.

Can’t be so common right well … the WSJ says ‘Similar stories are piling up in police stations around the country’ with for example one ring in Mpls likely responsible for 40 incidents and another in NY responsible for 30 (ok I’m thinking there must be multiples rings in NY as no way Mpls is worse).

Face ID isn’t always great in the dark but I never imagined this would be targeted.
Nicolas
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Nicolas »

typical.investor wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2023 8:33 pm WSJ has an interesting article about an increasing scam …

A Basic iPhone Feature Helps Criminals Steal Your Entire Digital Life

Basically it’s social engineering at a bar or similar to get people to show pictures or something and observing the passcode.

From there they steal the phone (after spiked drinks) and the passcode allows a reset of the password, then they can log out other Apple devices and turn off “find my”.

Can’t be so common right well … the WSJ says ‘Similar stories are piling up in police stations around the country’ with for example one ring in Mpls likely responsible for 40 incidents and another in NY responsible for 30 (ok I’m thinking there must be multiples rings in NY as no way Mpls is worse).

Face ID isn’t always great in the dark but I never imagined this would be targeted.
The video says to only use faceid or touchid, not the passcode, to unlock, but the article itself says that if you’re going out drinking to disable faceid and touchid first as you could be drugged and your unconscious face or fingers could be used to unlock your phone. It’s happened.

People cozy up to you in bars and pretend to make friends and ask you to show them something on your phone while an accomplice is observing your fingers. So you could just refuse, but in a social situation you’d probably agree, so you must only type in your passcode while obscuring your hands, etc, which seems obvious, but if drunk you’ll likely forget. So once they have your passcode they just grab your phone and run, then it’s all over.

The complete article is behind the WSJ paywall but here’s the video portion
on Yahoo: https://tw.tv.yahoo.com/wall-street-jou ... 00880.html
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dratkinson
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by dratkinson »

Nicolas wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2023 10:37 pm
typical.investor wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2023 8:33 pm WSJ has an interesting article about an increasing scam …

A Basic iPhone Feature Helps Criminals Steal Your Entire Digital Life

Basically it’s social engineering at a bar or similar to get people to show pictures or something and observing the passcode.

From there they steal the phone (after spiked drinks) and the passcode allows a reset of the password, then they can log out other Apple devices and turn off “find my”.

Can’t be so common right well … the WSJ says ‘Similar stories are piling up in police stations around the country’ with for example one ring in Mpls likely responsible for 40 incidents and another in NY responsible for 30 (ok I’m thinking there must be multiples rings in NY as no way Mpls is worse).

Face ID isn’t always great in the dark but I never imagined this would be targeted.
The video says to only use faceid or touchid, not the passcode, to unlock, but the article itself says that if you’re going out drinking to disable faceid and touchid first as you could be drugged and your unconscious face or fingers could be used to unlock your phone. It’s happened.

People cozy up to you in bars and pretend to make friends and ask you to show them something on your phone while an accomplice is observing your fingers. So you could just refuse, but in a social situation you’d probably agree, so you must only type in your passcode while obscuring your hands, etc, which seems obvious, but if drunk you’ll likely forget. So once they have your passcode they just grab your phone and run, then it’s all over.

The complete article is behind the WSJ paywall but here’s the video portion
on Yahoo: https://tw.tv.yahoo.com/wall-street-jou ... 00880.html
Great! Something else to worry about.

I have an Android phone; searched for my settings. Found: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3 ... urity.html


See #9: "Lockdown mode". Adds a "Lockdown mode" button to Shutdown screen to lock phone/disable biometrics.

When "Lockdown mode" button is pressed, phone remains On, but screen blanks and PIN is required to exit lockdown mode.

Disclosure. I've been using biometrics (fingerprint) to unlock my phone when out, guess I'll need to rethink this and use Lockdown mode if "social engineered" by someone to "show me your pictures".


See #5: "Lock screen controls". Disables Settings screen until PIN entered.

The Setting screen can be accessed (swipe 2-fingers down) before we start our phone (enter our PIN). It's from here we turn On/Off the flashlight, enter Airplane mode, turn On/Off Wifi/Hotspot,....

It's reported that those knowledgeable (not me) can restart our phone, and make changes on our Setting screen without knowing our PIN. Turning on "Lock screen controls" prevents this---PIN is now required to access Setting screen.

Disclosure. Being paranoid, I try to keep my smartphone sterile: it does not access my real email account, nor any personal/financial accounts, nor contain any apps. It's only used for out-of-the-house emergency phone calls/map directions/weather information/road information, and internet access for my home PC. My primary home phone is grandfathered powered-copper. My financial life is conducted by landline phone and snail mail.

My smartphone's Hotspot button is (was) available on the Setting screen without me needing to start my phone (enter my PIN)---a small convenience, meaning I only needed to enter my PIN/start my phone when I went out.

By turning on the "Lock screen controls" mode, I can no longer use Hotspot/flashlight/... features without entering my PIN. Such is life.



Thanks.
d.r.a., not dr.a. | I'm a novice investor; you are forewarned.
Lastrun
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Lastrun »

I thought about this last night. It seems to me that with phones becoming so important that perhaps the answer is to have to “zones” within the phone. One for pictures social media etc. and another for the wallet and certain apps.
OldSport
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Re: Scam alert - USPS new feature playing a role

Post by OldSport »

SevenBridgesRoad wrote: Tue Apr 02, 2019 3:34 pm We use Informed Delivery and some of this doesn't make sense. USPS has an identity verification process. My wife and I had to personally go to a post office to have our identity verified. Many people can be verified via an online process using credit agency data (answering correctly questions such as "which of the four addresses listed are places you have lived", that kind of thing). This info is pulled from the credit agencies. Since we have credit freezes on at all the agencies, we had to be personally identified by a USPS official. But again, even if you don't have a freeze, a thief would still need to answer some pretty personalized info about you. Maybe it could be better, but to say "basically there's no security" in the verification process just isn't accurate. In our case, with the freeze on, we had to personally go to a post office for verification. Another reason to credit freeze, right?

Moreover, this also doesn't make sense: Informed Delivery sends to your email Mon-Sat images of the outside of the address side of each piece of mail you'll be receiving that day. The postal service doesn't open your mail and image the contents. They can't see inside. Someone more creative than I will need to tell us what a thief will do with an image of the outside of your mail.

Having a locked mailbox with a key required for mail access goes a long way with this service. If the mailbox did not require a key and anyone could access, I could see this not going well.
OpenMinded1
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Re: Scam alert - USPS new feature playing a role

Post by OpenMinded1 »

OldSport wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2023 9:36 am
SevenBridgesRoad wrote: Tue Apr 02, 2019 3:34 pm We use Informed Delivery and some of this doesn't make sense. USPS has an identity verification process. My wife and I had to personally go to a post office to have our identity verified. Many people can be verified via an online process using credit agency data (answering correctly questions such as "which of the four addresses listed are places you have lived", that kind of thing). This info is pulled from the credit agencies. Since we have credit freezes on at all the agencies, we had to be personally identified by a USPS official. But again, even if you don't have a freeze, a thief would still need to answer some pretty personalized info about you. Maybe it could be better, but to say "basically there's no security" in the verification process just isn't accurate. In our case, with the freeze on, we had to personally go to a post office for verification. Another reason to credit freeze, right?

Moreover, this also doesn't make sense: Informed Delivery sends to your email Mon-Sat images of the outside of the address side of each piece of mail you'll be receiving that day. The postal service doesn't open your mail and image the contents. They can't see inside. Someone more creative than I will need to tell us what a thief will do with an image of the outside of your mail.

Having a locked mailbox with a key required for mail access goes a long way with this service. If the mailbox did not require a key and anyone could access, I could see this not going well.
I use Informed Delivery. Didn't have to go to a post office to verify my ID even though I have credit freezes in place at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Had to answer the questions.

Regarding phone security, and the theft of phones at bars, I don't go to bars anymore. I'm 64. :D Do a lot of people still do that? I thought that mostly fell by the wayside with the advent of social media including dating sites.
Last edited by OpenMinded1 on Sat Feb 25, 2023 1:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Nicolas
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Re: Scam alert - USPS new feature playing a role

Post by Nicolas »

OpenMinded1 wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2023 12:10 pm Also, I don't go to bars anymore. I'm 64. :D Do a lot of people still do that? I thought that mostly fell by the wayside with the advent of social media.
No, I don’t go to bars and never did. Nor shall I ever. But many do so they need to take precautions.
Mudpuppy
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Mudpuppy »

I've been noticing an uptick in spam emails getting past my ISP's spam filters lately. I like to dump those emails out to a text file and look at the underlying code with a text editor (so nothing is actually run). They all pretend to be from a major company or service (Staples, FedEx, BBB, Meta, iCloud, etc.) and contain an embedded link to what I assume is either a phishing or malware-ladden website. I don't have a good enough sandbox environment at home, so I don't attempt to visit the websites.

The most "amusing" one I've seen so far pretends to be from FedEx, but has social media widgets stolen from multiple universities around the embedded malicious link. Like the spammers were so lazy in creating this campaign, they didn't even bother to get FedEx's social media widgets. Or maybe they think the logs at a university will be less robust, so it would be harder to track down the victims from them running the social media widget code, which loads images directly from those university's websites.

In any event, don't trust emails claiming to come from major companies right now. At the moment, they aren't even trying to obscure the sender email address, so it'll be complete nonsense relative to the legitimate sender email addresses for the company. But there's no guarantee that they'd continue to do that.
littlebird
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by littlebird »

I’ve been getting texts from what claims to be the Census Bureau, wanting me to participate in a “community survey”. They used to send a pair of census takers to your door to do these interim surveys, so I know there is such a thing, but text?

The text contains a link, which I did not click on, but when I typed the link, which does contain the suffix ”.gov”, into my url bar, nothing came up. I also went to the Census Bureau website and found “Community Surveys”, but there was no mention of doing them by text. Anyone know anything about this? Oh, I and am in that age group beloved of spammers: the octogenarian.
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K72
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Re: Scam alert - USPS new feature playing a role

Post by K72 »

OpenMinded1 wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2023 12:10 pm Also, I don't go to bars anymore. I'm 64. :D Do a lot of people still do that? I thought that mostly fell by the wayside with the advent of social media.
I belong to a hiking group (60's, 70's and even a couple of low 80's) who hike every week and afterward conducts a "debriefing" at the closest watering hole. Yesterday's was at a real hole-in-the-wall that was packed with seniors! The bar life is alive and well.
Last edited by K72 on Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
All we want are the facts...
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K72
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by K72 »

DW just fell for a scam email from our "email provider" claiming she was running out of storage and needed to log in. She was in a hurry, so clicked on the link and logged in. A few hours later she realized it was a scam and changed her email password. DS is on her case for falling for it in the first place. He's worried we are getting feeble and losing our edge.
All we want are the facts...
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Tubes
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by Tubes »

littlebird wrote: Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:21 pm I’ve been getting texts from what claims to be the Census Bureau, wanting me to participate in a “community survey”. They used to send a pair of census takers to your door to do these interim surveys, so I know there is such a thing, but text?

The text contains a link, which I did not click on, but when I typed the link, which does contain the suffix ”.gov”, into my url bar, nothing came up. I also went to the Census Bureau website and found “Community Surveys”, but there was no mention of doing them by text. Anyone know anything about this? Oh, I and am in that age group beloved of spammers: the octogenarian.
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys ... tml#email2
How to verify an email or text message is from the Census Bureau

Some surveys such as the Household Pulse Survey may contact you via text message. The Household Pulse Survey uses the number 39242 (message and data rates may apply*) to send a link to complete the survey online.

To verify that someone who has texted you is a Census Bureau field representative, you can enter their name in the Census Bureau Staff Search, a database that lists name and contact information for all Census Bureau employees. You can also contact your local Regional Office. We do not publish the cell phone numbers of our field representatives on our staff search website.

Emails from the Census Bureau are sent from the official @census.gov domain.

Any links included in a Census Bureau email will direct you to an official federal government website ending in .gov.

Emails from the Census Bureau will have instructions or information to complete a survey online, by phone with a Census Bureau representative, or by paper. The Census Bureau will not ask you to provide your personal information via email.

The Census Bureau will never ask for your full Social Security number, bank account number, or passwords.

*Respondents may Reply “Stop” to opt out of receiving text messages.
littlebird
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Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]

Post by littlebird »

Tubes wrote: Sat Mar 04, 2023 6:03 am
littlebird wrote: Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:21 pm I’ve been getting texts from what claims to be the Census Bureau, wanting me to participate in a “community survey”. They used to send a pair of census takers to your door to do these interim surveys, so I know there is such a thing, but text?

The text contains a link, which I did not click on, but when I typed the link, which does contain the suffix ”.gov”, into my url bar, nothing came up. I also went to the Census Bureau website and found “Community Surveys”, but there was no mention of doing them by text. Anyone know anything about this? Oh, I and am in that age group beloved of spammers: the octogenarian.
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys ... tml#email2
How to verify an email or text message is from the Census Bureau

Some surveys such as the Household Pulse Survey may contact you via text message. The Household Pulse Survey uses the number 39242 (message and data rates may apply*) to send a link to complete the survey online.

To verify that someone who has texted you is a Census Bureau field representative, you can enter their name in the Census Bureau Staff Search, a database that lists name and contact information for all Census Bureau employees. You can also contact your local Regional Office. We do not publish the cell phone numbers of our field representatives on our staff search website.

Emails from the Census Bureau are sent from the official @census.gov domain.

Any links included in a Census Bureau email will direct you to an official federal government website ending in .gov.

Emails from the Census Bureau will have instructions or information to complete a survey online, by phone with a Census Bureau representative, or by paper. The Census Bureau will not ask you to provide your personal information via email.

The Census Bureau will never ask for your full Social Security number, bank account number, or passwords.

*Respondents may Reply “Stop” to opt out of receiving text messages.
Thanks. My texts don’t tick any of the boxes in this message, but good to know they *do* use text for contact. I still don’t think I would click on the link if I receive another text from them. If they want my input, I think I would only respond to a snail mail letter or a pair of humans standing outside of my security door.
roamingzebra
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Re: Scam alert - USPS new feature playing a role

Post by roamingzebra »

OpenMinded1 wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2023 12:10 pm Regarding phone security, and the theft of phones at bars, I don't go to bars anymore. I'm 64. :D Do a lot of people still do that? I thought that mostly fell by the wayside with the advent of social media including dating sites.
You don't need to go to a bar for this to happen.

I just got done listening to a podcast from a guy who advises VIPs and others on security/privacy. One of his clients was on the phone in a line outside of a restaurant and some guy just swoops by and lifts her phone. Sometimes the timing will allow the thieves to get access to all the data on the phone as the phone is still open. Other times, they may have been observing their mark enter the PIN and so have it on hand.

Aside from having situational awareness at all times and not opening your phone in public when others are close by, a separate PIN can be used for all sensitive apps on the phone. So if the phone itself is compromised via the PIN, that same PIN can't be used to access data from sensitive apps. No need to have a separate PIN for each app but rather one PIN for the phone and another reasonably long PIN for the apps. Lots of other advice but since I use a flip phone, I can't really remember or relate to the other suggestions.
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