My hay customer and I got scammed. Can anyone explain??

[ruralgirl]

Does anyone know how technology enabled this worrisome scam to be done?

Last week I got a call from a lady who buys hay from me off the field, so we haven's spoken since last July. She said she just got ripped off by the hay guy I recommended to her that morning. I said, HUH? That wasn't me on the phone; what are you talking about? And why would I recommend another hay producer?

This is how it went down: She made her annual call to me to see when I'd be haying her batch, but she forgot that I only use a landline, so she texted me. My answering machine acknowledged nothing, so I had no idea she'd tried to call.

She soon received a call that ID'd as MY number. I know you can get an app that enables you to "spoof" your number that way (first saw it demonstrated on Judge Judy 3 yrs ago), but how did this guy know she'd tried to contact me? The initial caller was a woman who pretended to be me, KNEW MY NAME, and recommended "Johnny" as a high quality hay guy. Several texts and voice calls using two other numbers were then made with "Johnny" who said he'd deliver hay right away.

He arrived at my friend's stable, saying the (much slower) hay wagon left shortly after he did. He took her $400 cash and gave her a receipt. By now, a suspicious amount of time had elapsed, so she asked for her money back until the hay got there.

He took off. A neighbor charged after him for several miles and got his license plate while my friend called the cops.

The cops immediately knew who he was, pulled his photo from the computer in their cruiser, and my friend ID'd the guy with great detail. Since then, they've done nothing other than chastise her neighbor for chasing down the guy and even saying they shouldn't have let my friend ID his photo. There's a court date, which of course the creep won't attend, and they say she'll be lucky to ever see her money again.

This is unsettling for me, especially since I was widowed last month, to know that some bastard knows my name, phone number, the fact that I'm part of the local horse community, and probably my address.

So my question is: How the hell does someone (an uneducated young guy from a very poor, high crime area) intercept a phone call, specifically a text message that didn't go through? He apparently gleaned from her message that my name is Wendy and that she was looking to buy hay. As I say, he obviously knows how to "spoof" anyone's number, but how in the world did he intercept a call made by someone he doesn't know??

[Bob Denman]

I've got nothing on the "Hay deal" gone wrong...
But I DO want to send condolences for the terrible loss in your life...

[ruralgirl]

I've got nothing on the "Hay deal" gone wrong...
But I DO want to send condolences for the terrible loss in your life...

Thanks, Bob. Bill's massive stroke was unexpected and it's been a rough road since.

[Chupaca]

Not techy enough to know how they were able to do it but sorry people like that are our there and got you involved in their criminal activity. Do wonder if the cops know about it why he is getting away with it....

[Culpjp]

It's possible to clone a cell phone. It's not easy and the technology isn't cheap. Don't think that because he seems uneducated, that he's not working for someone who is educated. With enough information about you, they could even get the phone company to change your account information. You might want to get a hold of your phone company and make sure nothing has been done to your account.
If they are well known by the cops, then this isn't the first time they've done it, and they are probably very good at it.
The cops need to let people know that there is a scam going on.

[Easy Rider]

but how in the world did he intercept a call made by someone he doesn't know??

That information may not have come from her failed message at all.
He may have gotten it by other means.

[Bob Denman]

Thanks, Bob. Bill's massive stroke was unexpected and it's been a rough road since.

You're stronger than you think, and you have more friends than you could possibly imagine...

[bhern]

That information may not have come from her failed message at all.
He may have gotten it by other means.

I think you're both wrong and right, Easy Rider -- my bet is that it did come from the hay buyer's failed message indeed, but the person being monitored was the hay buyer, not ruralgirl. My guess is that the creep/criminal is tapped into that person's cell phone and/or network traffic and jumped into the breach.

Taking a couple of unfounded leaps of logic, if the person is buying hay, hay is for horses as the kids say, and so it's possible that the hay buyer is a person of means worth targeting for this kind of activity.

Regardless, it certainly would be unsettling on both ends of the transaction, and I hope you're able to get some comfort from the authorities about your safety in this matter.

[BoilerAnimal]

I'm very sorry for your loss. There are a lot of low life people out there who are more than willing to take advantage of people in any way possible.

That said, if you haven't already, put a freeze on your credit reports with the big three agencies, Equifax, Trans Union and Experian, posthaste!!!

If someone has enough info about you, they can open accounts of all kinds in your name and leave you with a mess that can take months or years to straighten out. If you have a freeze on your credit reports, they will be turned down for credit in your name, helping to avoid a nightmare for you.

Also, when giving info for joining a social media site (Facebook, for example) there is no law requiring you to give actual info. It can be completely fictitious, especially any security questions you may give. Just be sure to write answers down and keep them in a safe place with no clues as to what they are for.

In this day and age, you can't be too careful. Our privacy is pretty much a thing of the past.

Good luck, Bob.

[ARtraveler]

You're stronger than you think, and you have more friends than you could possibly imagine...

x 2. Our thoughts and also go with you.

[ARtraveler]

Advice given above is all good.

I am not a techie--so cannot help there. Some of the "dumb" ones most likely have a lot of technical help. The smart ones, let the dumb ones do their dirty work.

[ruralgirl]

Thanks, everyone, for your input. So cell phones can be tapped ... that makes sense. Might've simply been a random breach which, given the info my friend left in her message, gave the creep all he needed to create an appropriate plot. Lovely.

Thanks again, all.

[Fat Baxter]

Check again with the cops, or perhaps your state police if you have such. Some cyber crimes are federal offenses.

Another tack would be to contact your local newspaper or TV station. They might be interested in spreading the word on how these new types of crimes are easily pulled off. If you're lucky, they may have already heard of similar crimes and might be able to point you towards some more legal resources they encountered in working previous stories.

Relay your story to your cell phone carrier. They ought to be interested that someone can spoof their system. They might also be more knowledgeable as to the specific criminal offenses committed (most local police aren't up-to-date on cyber crime, as it is a rapidly evolving field).

[ruralgirl]

More good advice. Thanks, Fat Baxter. I told my friend to go to the Prosecutor and Channel 7 Action News, and she's got a retired cop delving more deeply into it for her. But I'll add your suggestions to the list of what others have said here.

Who needs FB when we've got the Off Topic section of SL! Thanks again, everyone!

[d.o.spyder-rts]

You've all ready received good advise and I have nothing to add except sorry for your loss. to your and your family. Dale

[trikermutha]

check your cell phone settings and APPS. THose apps take alot of information off your cell phones. Who knows where cell the information goes?

[PrairieSpyder]

Does anyone know how technology enabled this worrisome scam to be done?

Last week I got a call from a lady who buys hay from me off the field, so we haven's spoken since last July. She said she just got ripped off by the hay guy I recommended to her that morning. I said, HUH? That wasn't me on the phone; what are you talking about? And why would I recommend another hay producer?

This is how it went down: She made her annual call to me to see when I'd be haying her batch, but she forgot that I only use a landline, so she texted me. My answering machine acknowledged nothing, so I had no idea she'd tried to call.

She soon received a call that ID'd as MY number. I know you can get an app that enables you to "spoof" your number that way (first saw it demonstrated on Judge Judy 3 yrs ago), but how did this guy know she'd tried to contact me? The initial caller was a woman who pretended to be me, KNEW MY NAME, and recommended "Johnny" as a high quality hay guy. Several texts and voice calls using two other numbers were then made with "Johnny" who said he'd deliver hay right away.

He arrived at my friend's stable, saying the (much slower) hay wagon left shortly after he did. He took her $400 cash and gave her a receipt. By now, a suspicious amount of time had elapsed, so she asked for her money back until the hay got there.

He took off. A neighbor charged after him for several miles and got his license plate while my friend called the cops.

The cops immediately knew who he was, pulled his photo from the computer in their cruiser, and my friend ID'd the guy with great detail. Since then, they've done nothing other than chastise her neighbor for chasing down the guy and even saying they shouldn't have let my friend ID his photo. There's a court date, which of course the creep won't attend, and they say she'll be lucky to ever see her money again.

This is unsettling for me, especially since I was widowed last month, to know that some bastard knows my name, phone number, the fact that I'm part of the local horse community, and probably my address.

So my question is: How the hell does someone (an uneducated young guy from a very poor, high crime area) intercept a phone call, specifically a text message that didn't go through? He apparently gleaned from her message that my name is Wendy and that she was looking to buy hay. As I say, he obviously knows how to "spoof" anyone's number, but how in the world did he intercept a call made by someone he doesn't know??

I'm so sorry this happened to you. I live in central Kansas and I think around here it wouldn't be difficult for someone to hang out at places the farmers frequent and learn a lot about what's going on with the various farmers in the rural community. You'd just have to spend some time with the county agent, the farm implement company or the seed & feed store. There's also the ag college where lots of farm kids may attend and talk. So there may have been some "social engineering" going on before they ever pulled this scam.

I think you're both wrong and right, Easy Rider -- my bet is that it did come from the hay buyer's failed message indeed, but the person being monitored was the hay buyer, not ruralgirl. My guess is that the creep/criminal is tapped into that person's cell phone and/or network traffic and jumped into the breach.

Taking a couple of unfounded leaps of logic, if the person is buying hay, hay is for horses as the kids say, and so it's possible that the hay buyer is a person of means worth targeting for this kind of activity.

Regardless, it certainly would be unsettling on both ends of the transaction, and I hope you're able to get some comfort from the authorities about your safety in this matter.

[BryanSD]

This is how it went down: She made her annual call to me to see when I'd be haying her batch, but she forgot that I only use a landline, so she texted me. My answering machine acknowledged nothing, so I had no idea she'd tried to call.

She soon received a call that ID'd as MY number. I know you can get an app that enables you to "spoof" your number that way (first saw it demonstrated on Judge Judy 3 yrs ago), but how did this guy know she'd tried to contact me?

This is the hardest part of the scam and the tech part I can't figure out. Assuming her phone hadn't been hacked, the only way this could happen would be for the scammer to spoof a cell phone tower (very hard to do due to needing the right hardware) or depending on the text message app "listen" to the WiFi signal (not that difficult to do). If she text messaged you from home, ask her if her home WiFi is encrypted (if she DOESN'T require anyone to log into her home network with a password...it's likely NOT encrypted). If she was in public when she text messaged you then that's likely how the scammer initiated the scam...via an unencrypted WiFi network. Everyone should ensure their home WiFi network is encrypted and when out in public think twice about using the "free" public WiFi.

[rtotten]

First off I so sorry for your Loss. I know how the criminal got your name..you say you are recently windowed... the criminal probably went to the online obits and found that bit of information out. It really isn't that hard to get phone numbers if you want to pay a little money try researching your own name sometime. I used to work for a Federal Agency and got all sorts of complaints all the time about this and others. How the phone spoofing work I am not sure, but if look on internet it is there somewhere, to technical for my feeble mind. Again I am sorry that this happen to you and sorry for your loss.

[LeftCoast]

Here’s a wonderfully intrusive site. Just put your name in at the top and watch your life’s history show up.

https://nuwber.com/

[ruralgirl]

The more I learn, the more I'm convinced this was a random hack, especially given the WiFi info (thanks, BryanSD). The info my friend gave in her message provided the guy with everything he used in his scam.

Thanks again, everyone, for your condolences as well as advice. Running the farm all alone has been rough. But getting out on my Spyder gives me a few moments of joy.