Those invitations aren’t what I would characterize as scams, though.
I have trouble not losing my temper when dealing with car salesman—my head would explode if I had to sit through a timeshare/investment/etc sales pitch. Once I just yelled out “Would you just tell me how much you want for this damn car without all the garbage!!” We can find out EXACTLY what a given house should sell for, but I always fell screwed over when buying a car.
But I digress…
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@madad I feel exactly the same way. I have bought several new cars in my lifetime and I say give me one price and I will either agree or disagree. I think I don’t get the best price but I also don’t get the aggravation. I have bought 3 Toyotas from the same dealer (over many years) and they didn’t do any of the haggling and I think I got a good price (based upon internet research).
I did once sit through a time share discussion down in paradise island (we were with another family and they wanted to do it.) I think we got free dinner at the nice place in the resort in exchange. I wouldn’t do that again (life/vacation is too short to waste on that stuff).
Yes, they definitely aren’t a scam but we do get a ton of them!
Hmmm, not a bad idea! I just hope they wouldn’t get turned away! But I would never have thought of that!
I just discovered this thread. Wow! I’m glad CC is doing something like this as a PSA to help all of us out.
A few observations:
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These scams are getting far more prevalent.
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Never click on a link or an attachment in an email unless you’re absolutely sure you know who it is from AND that there is a known reason for them to send this to you. For work emails, I routinely send them to our IT department to make sure (and even consult them on personal emails). The good news is that merely opening an email, without click a link or an attachment won’t hurt. But even then, I will delete emails where there is any doubt (or get my IT colleagues to help out).
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I am glad that someone posted the many anti-scammers posting videos on YouTube etc. If I ever did get scammed, I would definitely contact these great folks for advice. It’s heartbreaking to read about so many scams, but there are definitely folks out there that can help (government and private).
Also, use strong computer generated passwords that are different for each website and MAKE sure you use two-factored authentication everywhere that it offered. Use a trusted manager to keep up with the passwords as it is impossible to remember these strong passwords, which is why they are so hard to guess.
Two factor authentication using your phone also means your cellphone is going to be a huge battleground for scammers, so protect your cellphone information zealously.
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I am not sure I agree. Note that the poster specifically said Area Code AND Prefix matching your cellphone number. If you don’t recognize the number, it’s a known MO for scammers to spoof cell phone numbers using the same area code AND prefix to lull you into a sense of comfort that it’s someone you know. If it meets this criteria, I won’t answer it and let it roll over to VM (assuming they even leave a VM).
Yes, it doesn’t work for everyone, but the coincidence of both the area code and prefix matching yours is not common. In today’s scam environment, it gives one cause for concern.
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There is just no way I would remember or keep track of computer generated passwords. They are gobbly goop to me. I access many websites from 3 different devices. Is there some secure software that will keep track of passwords across 3 devices?
My devices seem to auto populate my log in with user ID and password so I think all my lame protections will fail as soon as someone gets physical access to my laptop or something. But they’d have to break into my house.
Most of the scams above involve money or gift cards, not really from gaining access to a bank account with a password
Plenty… there are several excellent password manager apps. And they exist for precisely the reason you note: it is basically impossible to keep track of strong passwords that are far more secure than what I could generate on my own for the most part.
This isn’t a scam. This is the normal operating procedure. I have helped many brokers transfer firms while following the rules. Your advisor is legally prohibited from telling you (s)he is leaving until (s)he actually does so. It is normal procedure to then ask his/her existing customers to transfer their accounts to his/her new employer. You have to sign an “ACAT” form that allows the transfer to occur.
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It’s extremely common where we live. That may be because we’re rural? I can tell you the main prefix of all the towns/areas around us, and since H’s clients are mostly within a county or two of us, we get a lot of them that are real.
We tend to get scammers where the location is out of state. Our phone will say, “California,” or something similar.
I don’t disagree, and that’s what makes these scams all the more infuriating: not only do they try to scam you, but they disrupt normal/acceptable communications.
However, it is very much an issue, and it’s called “neighbor spoofing.” There’s tons of stuff on this, and here’s something from the Better Business Bureau:
BBB Scam Alert: "Neighbor spoofing" is a common type of phone scam
And also, I think you are referring to the phone call scams when you refer to gift cards. The email phishing scams most definitely target your passwords.
Most mobile phone companies will allow a phone number to be transferred to another carrier with no security. If your carrier allows this by default, you may want to put a PIN on your phone number to allow transferring the phone number only if the PIN is given.
Fake calls to my cellhave been skyrocketing over the last few weeks. I don’t answer unless I know the number,and virtually none leave messages. But I recently received a text on my cell that said something like: " Is this 1234 Elm street? Text END" (not my real address).
We still have a landline, and I try to be very discerning with whom I share my cell. The text was concerning primarily because they matched my house number to my cell phone, and I’m not sure where this is available as a set, except with our cell phone provider.
Yes, happened a lot at my area. I just ignore these calls.
Wow, very interesting, should make a movie about it.
Mobile phone companies can get cracked and the data they are holding stolen.
I just received this email, for the second time. No, I’m not doing to do what he tells me to do!! (And Yes, the password he mentioned is one of my very old PWs.)
I know xxxxxxx is one of your password on day of hack…
Lets get directly to the point.
Not one person has paid me to check about you.
You do not know me and you’re probably thinking why you are getting this email?
in fact, i actually placed a malware on the adult vids (adult porn) website and you know what, you visited this site to experience fun (you know what i mean).
When you were viewing videos, your browser started out operating as a RDP having a key logger which provided me with accessibility to your display and web cam.
immediately after that, my malware obtained every one of your contacts from your Messenger, FB, as well as email account.
after that i created a double-screen video. 1st part shows the video you were viewing (you have a nice taste omg), and 2nd part displays the recording of your cam, and its you.
Best solution would be to pay me $5849.
We are going to refer to it as a donation. in this situation, i most certainly will without delay remove your video.
My -BTC -address : 1Cxxn17XpRiGeEiY39oDGRgKqTwLXPaXYi
[case SeNSiTiVe, copy & paste it]
You could go on your life like this never happened and you will not ever hear back again from me.
You’ll make the payment via Bitcoin (if you do not know this, search ‘how to buy bitcoin’ in Google).
if you are planning on going to the law, surely, this e-mail can not be traced back to me, because it’s hacked too.
I have taken care of my actions. i am not looking to ask you for a lot, i simply want to be paid.
if i do not receive the bitcoin; in 24hrs, i definitely will send out your video recording to all of your contacts including friends and family, co-workers, and so on.
Nevertheless, if i do get paid, i will destroy the recording immediately.
If you need proof, reply with Yeah then i will send out your video recording to your 19 contacts.
it’s a nonnegotiable offer and thus please don’t waste mine time & yours by replying to this message.
Wow. I would definitely forward that to our attorney general since PA’s has done a relatively decent job of trying to help people in the past. I’d probably forward it to our news station too since they have a time slot in the news where they warn people about scams.