Ugh, I’ve gotten two texts in Chinese this afternoon. Hope that’s not a new trend. I blocked the first one and then got another from a different number.
I received an alert on my phone from Sephora that my order had been received. Since I didn’t order anything, I went to log in to my Sephora account and discovered that my linked email address and mailing address had been changed. I was able to call Sephora and they canceled the order and I was able to restore my credentials/change my password.
I didn’t have any payment types associated with my account, and was wondering why someone would hack my account, when I realized they used all my points I had accumulated for the purchase. Fortunately I got those back.
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Apparently, Sephora’s security is really lax!
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Today I rec’d a WhatsApp message from Hong Kong - an emoji - I looked up the number and apparently I’m not the only one. I blocked it, but I can’t help wonder what the point is…
One thing I do is make sure there are no linked credit cards stored in my account on merchant websites. Whenever you make a purchase the website will ask “do you want to save this card?” and I say no and have to type it in each time. It’s not a bulletproof solution but at least this way I’m hoping that if accounts are hacked then they still need to supply a credit card for payment. And the 30 seconds it takes to go get the credit card and type in the numbers builds in a pause to reconsider if I really need the purchase 
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Yup. 
It does not take long to memorize the cc number. 
Only 16 digits. That’s what I do.
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I have been receiving more than the usual number of scam calls. Typically they are from area codes near my home. Now they’re from all over the world - Australia, Switzerland, etc. I WISH I had friends there 
My daughter’s ID was used to open a checking account (and at more than one institution!) - fortunately we got paper mail to the home address before they could switch addresses to get cheque forms mailed elsewhere.
Yes - we froze her credit reports at the three major services. It IS free, but you have to be smart to “opt out” the various for-fee add-on options, sometimes every single time to log in. Once you’re set up with them online, it’s very easy to do a 24-hour or one-time “thaw” in case you apply for some credit - all regular lenders are very familiar with the process, so it’s not disruptive at all.
However… freezing your credit will NOT prevent the opening of checking/bank accounts!
Banks don’t check your credit history if you want to deposit money with them. Instead, they check Chex Systems, Inc. to see if someone is known for check fraud - or if someone has put a security freeze on their SSN.
So in addition to the credit bureaus, make sure you also put a security freeze at Chex Systems to prevent opening of bank accounts!
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I got an email simply with the subject line “Order Confirmed.” It was already in my spam folder, but I was curious so I clicked. [I allegedly order $539 of cryptocurrency. Yeah, right.] At the bottom, it says:
PayPal is committed to preventing fraudulent emails. Emails from PayPal will always contain your full name or customer ID.
Guess what wasn’t included in the email?? 
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Are there a lot of Chinese illegal aliens in your neighborhood? For a period of time, I got a lot of voice mails in an Asian language. I mentioned it to a friend and it turned out she was getting them too. She had her son, who speaks Mandarin, listen to one. Message said something like "We know who you are and that you are in the US illegally. We will report you to Homeland Security and you will be deported UNLESS you show up on the corner of S and T streets (in NYC Chinatown) at 6 pm on Y date with $x in cash. Our courier will be wearing ___. When you see this person, say a certain phrase and if he answers another phrase give him a package containing the cash. If you fail to comply, we will report you.
Maybe the text you got is the same sort of thing.
Yes - some of the scams I get, I am astonished that they don’t even seem to “try”.
Of course, the really scary part is, those poorly done ones must still find “takers”. 
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I keep receiving emails from “Donald Cameron” who wants to share pictures with me. Just click on the link. I keep marking them as spam, and it goes away, but another one arrives every few days. Any way to “block” emails? Easy on my phone, but I have not seen that option for email.
We got a bunch of messages in (probably) Chinese as well. But they stopped. Back in the day when I answered some of these calls, if I got the “this is Microsoft your computer is infected” call, i’d say”does your mother know you scam people for a living?” And then I’d hang up.
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I keep getting calls to sign up for Medicare. They aren’t spam per se, but certainly annoying. I get about 4 per day, and also a lot of post cards. I tell them to take me off their lists that I’ve already decided but they won’t. They are from all over the country (Idaho, Virginia, California…) Just annoying.
I just hang up without saying a word now when I get any solicitation call. I’ve given up on no call lists and requests.
Because we currently have medical and auto issues I’ve taken to answering some calls on my cell that I might not otherwise. One was from a woman who asked me if I was interested in participating in a vaccine study. I advised her that I am currently IN a vaccine study. She thanked me for my participation and for actually answering her call!
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For the last week H and I get nightly ( usually 3 or 4 am) text messages about amazon or PayPal accounts blocked. We had to put our phone on silent during the night.
We got bombarded with the same scammy texts about PayPal and Amazon recently. 
Also, lots of “realtors” inquiring about properties we don’t own.
Wow, that’s a mean one. I don’t speak Chinese but have friends that do. When I get Chinese-language spams they tell me that the message says the Chinese embassy is holding a package for me and for a small amount of money would be happy to deliver it.
From what I’ve read this is intentional. They’re blasting out millions of emails and want to pick the people who are the easiest marks.