First… GO TO CONFESSION.
Next… beware of scammers, online and by phone. Their slyness is only rivaled by their sliminess.
Be wary of emails from services or site that you use which have links to click, especially if they have anything surprising or alarming in them, like a notice that you are being billed for something.
Be wary of scammer phone calls, which purport to alert you to a charge or service.
Be super wary of anyone who says that you have to install a remote control program on your computer such as Anydesk.
I suggest that if you have older parents or friends who may be using email but aren’t necessarily up to speed on the swamp that the internet can be, tell them, warn them about scammers. Perhaps show them a couple videos from a site such as Scammer Payback to give them an idea of what is going on. Tell them not to fall for scams which prod them to buy gift cards, go to the bank to withdraw cash to be put into a crypto-coin machine or to be sent or picked up by a mule.
About showing videos: Don’t show just any video, watch a few and find the videos which are short and which expose particular scams, such as the “Amazon Prime” or “Geek Squad” or involve buying gift cards, or putting cash into a crypto machine, etc. Some videos show mostly the scam fighters torturing some scammer – usually in India – and deleting their files.
NB: There can be a great deal of foul language from the scammer in those videos. You have been warned.
I saw a video about a scam – really evil – which targets older people.
The scammers gather lots of personal information about a prospective victiom’s, say, grandchild. They call the grandparent with horrible news about their grandchild’s terrible accident and the need to send money right now. The scammers have found out through online research the name, age, school, etc. of the grandchild and they sound convincing.
These people deserve seriously unnerving punishment.
I offer this advice once in a while because someone close to me fell into a scammer trap and wound up buying gift cards and giving the scammer the codes. The scammers sell the codes for cash. It was not all that much money in this instance, but it could have been. I asked to see the computer and, yup, there it was: Anydesk. I immediately uninstalled it and we spent time changing passwords to everything.
Once they’ve gotten onto your computer with Anydesk, they can access you whenever you come online. They can turn on your webcam…. Think about it.
Some people get cleaned out completely, their entire savings in their old age. I am NOT making this up.
There is one scam where, after they gain access remotely to your computer, they put up a fake page that looks like your bank account. Then they claim to be giving you a deposit. What they are doing is using the browser console to edit the page to make it look like the balance in the account changed. They put in a huge amount and then claim that they made a terrible mistake and they will be fired unless you find a way to return the money. See where this is going? Their children will starve, their elderly parents will die because they all depend on this scammer’s “job”.
They play on emotions, try to keep you distracted. They want to keep you on the phone and often tell you not to tell anyone else.
If you have a doubt about something, put on the brakes and perhaps consult someone you know.
Loading ...
It’s really awful. My mom had a friend who went to the bank to withdraw $10,000 for one of these scammers. Fortunately, before she left the house she called her daughter (who’s a cop) to just let her know her plans for the day and that she was going out to the bank. Of course the daughter called the bank and no money was withdrawn.
Sadly, some of these scammers are they themselves victims (from what I’ve read).
Just this weekend I learned scammers list cars they don’t own on Carfax as a seller and then “sell” the car and the buyer verifies the car on carfax then sends the seller the money.
It’s best to not answer any phone number you don’t recognize. Check for a voicemail and call back if it is someone you need to talk to.
My mother feels she has to answer though. These people are slick and they can get you to talking before you know it. Fortunately, my mother is tight with her money and has always had a policy of not sharing any info over the phone or online. But I do worry about her losing the ability to understand scams.
Some years ago I bought copies of a book, “Scams for Grams”, and gave it to my parents and older friends. It’s short, concise, and written for non-technical people, and it has very useful information. It looks like it’s out of print now, but you can get it used on sites like Abe Books.
Even after educating my parents, I was surprised when my father fell for the “Windows Support” call multiple times. As he ages, he’s not as alert as he was just a few years ago.
Now I just tell them that they should never send money to anyone over the computer for any reason, and to call me first if there is any question. That has saved them and my friends many times.
Someone in Malta just tried to use my cc to buy a Ninja toy.
Visa caught it. The Visa fraud expert told me change my Amazon password.
WSJ article a few days ago about crypto fraud. Elderly couple lost about $5 Million.
We have a friend who sadly told us a few weeks ago, that he was scammed by a company and lost all his savings, totaling 1.7 million dollars. He never told anybody about it during the transactions. If this happens to you, tell somebody and get their opinion before you give everything away! So sad.
When I was working at a convenience store we’d constantly get the same call asking “Are you the owner?”
I finally had enough and said I could give the owner’s number to him/her. I picked a random name and gave them the number to the Newport, NH police department.
The forst time it happened the woman called back and asked me if I gave her the right number because she wound up dialing a PD. I told her I knew that because she was a scammer and I was trying to get her a** in trouble.
Other fun things you can do is when you are told you have an extended vehicle warranty that you own a 1938 Studebaker.
I also once called back an IRS scammer that was harassing a coworker. I told the guy my name was Koichi Sugiyama. Keep in mind I’m neither Japanese nor am I the famous composer for the Dragon Quest series. Yet Mr. Sugiyama owed over 5 grand to the “IRS” over a clerical error.
As the legendary Stone Cold Steve Austin once said: D.T.A. (Don’t teust anybody).