There are scams to get your personal details and there are scams to impersonate you. It’s nothing personal; they just want your I.D. and your money.
Two friends had their emails hacked last weekend. I got requests for help from the hackers. The requests didn’t use my name. I’ve seen the scam before. Both times I wrote back asking a personal question like any friend might. Instead of an answer I got the same plea.
The first friend caught on really early and changed their email that day. The second one took a day longer to find out and resolve it. The second said the scoundrels were from Nigeria.
Here is the scam:
The email asks if you have ever before used an agency, store, before. (Amazon, was our friend’s scam) Then it explains there is something they need to purchase for a niece or a friend; could you pay and the friend could pick it up or whatever and the friend would pay you back.
Peg has had phone calls, purportedly from Amazon, saying that she has had a new charge of $1100, or $700 (or whatever) on her account. The first few times, she called Amazon to make sure she wasn’t defrauded. By the time the third call came, she went on the Amazon website, checked her account and knew the call had been a fraud. There are ways to check if the call is legitimate.
We’ve had fake calls from “our” utility department or the IRS or, well, you name it. “You need to pay your utility bill within half an hour or your power will be turned off.” FRAUD. Your utility company would send you a letter to get payment. They won’t call to terrify you to pay over the phone by some schedule to someone you don’t know. If some legal entity really needs your prompt payment, generally, you get a letter in the mail. But beware: there are many people in line waiting to scam you, steal your identity and take your money.
The ones I always laugh at are the business scams. The thieves check on your website address and then send you a bill for the domain renewal. Most people don’t remember when their domain name is up for renewal, so it’s an easy scam. Not only do they want to vastly over-charge you, but they suggest that you pay upfront for the next five years. What’s almost as bad are the companies that actually control the domain name. We’ve helped clients overcome the difficulty in changing their domain name or host, but sometimes it takes being on the phone for hours to get approval for change. Sometimes they approve the changes over the phone, but not really. So, you’re left spending more hours on the phone. They just want to break down your resistance so you’ll give up.
Current 2021 Top 10 List of Scams and Frauds – consumerfraudreporting.org/current_top_10_scam_list.php
Just today I received these two emails:
1 – “I am Abdul Beykzadeh son of late Mr. Saeed Beykzadeh who died of kidney disease in America. I have a business proposal of great benefit to both of us. I will like you to get back to me if you are interested for full details.”
2 – Another scam a caller says, “Your XXXXXX (credit card, for instance) account has been temporarily restricted.” If you respond to the Phishing extortion, you will regret it. The email looks exactly like it really came from XXXXXX, but the link will take you elsewhere.
You have to beware of almost every single request that comes via phone or the internet. There are evil people out there who want your money; there are people out there who need money to buy food for their families and are just desperate enough to try to take your money; and there are politicians who want you to donate your money to whatever campaign they happen to come up with. Please, just be aware and be careful. You don’t need to respond to threats and you can check your accounts yourself to determine the truth.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
Sadly too true. I’m lucky I have developed a sixth sense for scams by now and have warned so many friends that they most likely had been hacked (which always turned out to be true). I sometimes wonder whether the parents of such frauds would be proud of them. But maybe they were the same scum.
Add to that: If you don’t somebody who wants to befriend you over social media, just don’t. In many cases it might be somebody who is just fallible for the so-called friend suggestions. Unless you have had conversations with the person on another site, ignore, delete. In most cases though it’s somebody who has already stolen somebody’s identity. If they stole a friend’s, I ask my friend about it, never them. They might find a worm hole in any conversation to get back to my data. Go to the profile, report them, and block them.
And yes, the IRS and your utility providers would all write you a personal letter, no threatening involved.
Susanne,
Thanks for commenting. A sixth sense that something isn’t worded just right . . . you can almost smell it and feel your eyebrows lift. “Have you heard the good news . . .” is always an indication that your new FB friend has you in their cross-hairs. They simply deny everything and continue their sales pitch. No thanks, no thanks . . . and then just cut them loose. Thanks for sharing.
Don
Thanks Don, We need frequent reminders of these scams. I received one of these just this past week. i notified the involved friend immediately.
Jackie,
Thanks for commenting. Yes, you are correct . . . we have to look out for each other. That’s what friends are for! Thanks for sharing.
Don
Mr. Don,
You have provided a good service to Ben Sclair’s reading public by writing and publishing your article regarding the pursuits of the scum-bags we have in society.
Another way to spot a scammer is to carefully observe the language arts in the message.
If Amazon or IRS or your bank is writing a communication, 99.9% of the time language arts including vocabulary, punctuation, and spelling will be proper.
If if is scammer, the email will be full of errors and improper word usage. It looks like the piece was written by an idiot.
It also indicates English is not the writer’s first language.
Little did we know that our English teacher’s in high school were not only teaching us how to use proper English, but they were preparing us to recognize a con.
Here is the same sentance as it might appear if it were written by a con.
Little did we no that our inglish teacher’s in hi-school were knot only preaching us how to use pooper inglish, butt they were preparing us to recognize a con.
Joseph Boyle
Joseph,
You never fail to lighten and enlighten. I have long been a fan of “pooper inglish butts” and those who write about them.
My friend, I’m always glad to see your mind at work.
Don
It’s always a good reminder to know what the scams are all about. I have avoided them. However, someone hacked into my Facebook account and also changed my password and email. This was two weeks ago, and I still haven’t figured out how to get back in – spent hours on phone with my son and also my very techi neighbor. But to change passwords, etc, one has to sign in, and I can’t. Facebook only gives instructions (there is no number to call or email) – frustrating.
Do you know a hacker who can hack my hacker?
Barbara,
Thanks for commenting. I think becoming a HackerJack could be a lucrative career opportunity. Sorry to hear about your Facebook problem. They should be ashamed of themselves not having a phone number. You know . . . I bet they could afford a help center with real live people. Thanks for sharing.
Don
I have caller ID, and I simply don’t answer the phone if I don’t know who it is. And even if I receive a call from a utility company, I refuse to answer questions or give personal information. I tell them instead that I will contact the company myself, and then deal with the issues. I refuse to even answer yes or no questions, and if someone starts the call with…” Hello, is this Mr. (insert name ), I simply don’t answer that question and respond by asking them who they are and what they want.
It’s sad that things have gotten to this point. I’m of the opinion that punitive measures for hackers should be extremely harsh, as they’ve ruined so many people’s lives, and made so many others fearful of even answering the phones.
J Gordon,
Thanks for commenting. All we can do is try to protected ourselves like you’re doing and hope that our governmental bodies attack the leeches with a passion. Just today alone I got three calls on my Cell, and a friend requesting help via a BS hacker. We’ve got to share the news and warn people. Most of us are honest and want to help others and organizations that benefit our communities. Thanks for sharing.
Don