Beware of scam re Facebook

[Eagle1]

I was contacted by an old schoolmate that supposedly saw my name on a winning list that is supported by the CEO of Facebook. I was immediately suspicious since I had not talked with him in 50 years. The names used were Forrest Lee Evans and Gary Mason. If I sent$1000, I would get $50,000. BEWARE !!!!

[Peter Aawen]

Surely everyone knows that NO legitimate competition or lottery will ask you to "just send us $xx & we will forward your winnings!" - so how hard is it to work out!?!

If they ask for money, then it's NOT legitimate! If they ask for your bank details, it's probably NOT legitimate!! Legitimate competitions & lotteries etc actually give you money, they don't ask you for it?!?

So how on earth can there still be so many suckers out there who actually respond to this sort of scam as to make it even worthwhile bothering making the attempt?!?

Just sayin!

[Bob Denman]

Ask them if they're willing to cash your Welfare check; in order to get the money...

[ThreeWheels]

I got a guy who did something like that. Asked me for my bank account number so he could deposit $10,000,000 from out of his country. I got to keep one million for my trouble.
I sent him an email saying I would be happy to help. Unfortunately my bank account was suspended because I was in arrears. If he could send me $132.27 I could re-open my bank account and then make the transaction.
He asked me for my credit card number so he could forward the money to me.
I told him my credit card was also suspended for the same reason and needed $443 to re-open my charge card.
He stopped sending me emails

[Chupaca]

There are those that fall for it or they would not keep trying....

[MisterP]

A guy on our local news admitted he was taken by an IRS scam. Was threatened with court action and was told to go to store and buy ITunes gift cards.

He said he became suspicious after reading some of the card numbers over the phone to the scammer.

Itunes gift cards to the iRS? Seriously? Why are people this naive?

[lou49]

A guy on our local news admitted he was taken by an IRS scam. Was threatened with court action and was told to go to store and buy ITunes gift cards.

He said he became suspicious after reading some of the card numbers over the phone to the scammer.

Itunes gift cards to the iRS? Seriously? Why are people this naive?

Don't they know that the irs never contact anyone other than by post office mail!

[Trbayth]

A scam? On Facebook?

Here's my shocked face:

[ARtraveler]

The scams just keep cropping up because there are so many people that think they are going to get something for little to nothing.

Look around, it's a whole different world these days.

[JerryB]

Hi MisterP,

Re: Why are people this naive?

Quite simply, they are fools: http://www.knowyourphrase.com/phrase...on-parted.html



Jerry Baumchen

[pitzerwm]

I'm getting text that say, I need Help, and it gives a tinybit link to click on. Also, I get text that says you have a message at Craigslist and a link. Pay attention, and click on no links from anyone until you verify it with the sender. All of the emails that include everyone's name are used to link groups together, so you can get an email from your friend with a link, so DON't just click it.

A suggestion is to create a signature, for your emails, then if someone gets an email from you the sig will confirm that its from you. The scammers usually won't bother with the sig.

While I'm posting scams You can get an email from UPS/FEDEX saying that you have a package and they can't deliver it with an attachment to click on, DON'T.

If a thing pops up on your computer that says that you have a virus and click here to fix it, DON'T even click on the red X as it is all a link to a lot of pain, in this case turn your computer off with the power switch.

[Bob Denman]

My Nigerian Prince isn't amused by any of this; it cuts into his business!


Give Me The Number.jpg

[Pirate looks at --]

I was contacted by an old schoolmate that supposedly saw my name on a winning list that is supported by the CEO of Facebook. I was immediately suspicious since I had not talked with him in 50 years. The names used were Forrest Lee Evans and Gary Mason. If I sent$1000, I would get $50,000. BEWARE !!!!

Well that one should have been easy to delete!

[Pirate looks at --]

A guy on our local news admitted he was taken by an IRS scam. Was threatened with court action and was told to go to store and buy ITunes gift cards.

He said he became suspicious after reading some of the card numbers over the phone to the scammer.

Itunes gift cards to the iRS? Seriously? Why are people this naive?

Sorry but some people almost deserve to get scammed!

[JimVonBaden]

Sorry but some people almost deserve to get scammed!

Agreed, if they are that dense!

[Msmoto]

Love this thread.... the reason we are so easily duped is the idea of getting something we do not deserve triggers our greed. And as we begin thinking about our new 45' boat, airplane, or multiple Spyders...all blown...we have what is called "defense mechanisms" which blind our logical thinking and allow us to somehow think the millions of dollars are legitimate.

Having sold several two wheelers on the internet, I was always amazed by the folks who sent emails....the emails go like this....I want your bike for my son who is in XXX. Can you ship this to him? I will send a cashier's check for the amount plus $5,000, you ship the bike, deduct the amount for shipping and send me a money order for the excess amount.....

What happens is I receive a cashier's check for e.g., $16,000.00 which looks very authentic, and often will be accepted as a deposit in one's bank. Then about three weeks later, long after the bike is gone and the money sent to the "buyer", one finds the cashier's check is bogus and your bank deducts from your account the full amount of the check. So you are out the bike, shipping, plus the "change" sent to the purported buyer.

I have scammed the scammers in a sense, have three cashier's checks for about $50,000, not one of which is worth anything. And when one does investigate, call the bank upon which they drawn, one finds they are bogus. Usually there are indicators, such as a Washington, D.C., phone number on a check from Tennessee. And if one calls the number one gets the "bank" which approves the check.

For interest's sake, I have sent copies of the bogus checks to the CFO's of three banks, all called and thanked me.

Yup, scammers... lots of 'um out there.

[Pirate looks at --]

Don't they know that the irs never contact anyone other than by post office mail!

We still get these calls from "The IRS" stating that they have filed a law suit against me and that I must call them immediately. I have worked with the IRS for 20 plus years in the payroll business. The IRS doesn't sue people! The just freeze your accounts and take the money. Before they do that you will receive enough notices to wall paper the average home. I am so amazed that people fall for this stuff!

[MisterP]

I wrote this for our community website, as we have elderly in the area who have been scammed before. I'm not suggesting that they are the only victims but they tend to be more trusting. Feel free to forward this to family and friends if you think it might help someone. As the holidays approach, the number of scammers trying to get your personal information is increasing. Here are a few scams occurring regularly right now. Be very careful giving out credit card or other personal information to anyone who you haven’t verified is legitimate.
The IRS scam — This one appears every year, and still catches victims. Someone claiming they are with the IRS calls you and says you owe taxes. They may even threaten you with legal action if you don’t pay. Then they insist you send a money order or purchase gift cards and read them the card numbers to pay your “fine”. The reality is the IRS will never call you and demand payment over the phone. They send a letter telling you some action is needed, and provide a real phone number so you can call them to verify the information. And no IRS employee will ever expect you to pay taxes or fines with untraceable funds like money orders or gift cards.
The shipping scam — This is typically an email appearing to be sent from UPS or a retailer like Amazon. They claim they can’t deliver a package and offer you a link to clear up any errors in the shipping order. That link asks for information including a credit card. The reality is you just gave your credit card information to a scammer. If you ordered something from a retailer, go back to their website and track your order from there. NEVER click on a link in an email, regardless of how legitimate an email appears to be. Scammers can make emails appear just like the real thing.
The family jail scam — This scam is often referred to as “the Grandparents scam” because they target elderly people. Someone calls claiming to be a family member who is in jail or having legal problems and needs money quickly. They seem to be legitimate because they have personal information about you. They ask you to quickly get them untraceable funds such as a money order or gift cards and send it to them. What you should do — If you ever receive this call ask them for a phone number to call them back. They will normally refuse or give you some bogus reason why you can’t call them. This should be a warning this is a scam, so hang up. If they do give you a phone number, write it down, hang up, then call a family member you know and ask them if this person is in any legal trouble. The answer will probably be no, so ignore the request. If they call again tell them you will be giving their contact information to the police. You won’t hear from them again.
What you can do before you give out information:
Don’t answer the phone! Most everyone has caller ID, so why answer the phone if it’s not a number you recognize? People you know and companies having a legitimate reason to contact you will leave you a message. It’s okay to let the phone ring without answering it.
Monitor your incoming phone calls — If for some reason you don’t have a phone with caller ID and don’t have an answering service supplied by the phone company, buy an answering machine and use it. Many machines have a monitor function which allows you to hear the person calling when they start to leave you a message. If you recognize the person, you can pick up the phone and speak with them. If you don’t recognize the caller, don’t answer the phone.
Look at emails before opening them — If you are using web mail you can often place your mouse cursor over an incoming email and see the address of the sender before you open it. Scammers will try to use email addresses that are similar to the legitimate email address, but there will be differences. Learn to spot them.
Don’t open links in emails — Don’t open email links sent to you. Go to the sender’s web site and figure out what is needed from there.
Be cautious when writing checks and sending them through the mail — Checks contain not only your personal information, but your bank account information as well. Never write a check to a stranger, or someone asking for a cash donation. Don’t leave checks in your mailbox for the postal worker to pick up. People will steal mail from mailboxes with the flag up, hoping to get personal information from you. Put your outgoing mail in a post office mailbox, or wait for the post office delivery person to show up, and hand them your mail directly.
Don’t donate money over the phone — If you do answer a call and it appears to be from a charity or another organization looking for a contribution, don’t give them your credit card over the phone or agree to send them an anonymous money order. You are probably being scammed. Tell them you only donate through their website so you have a tax receipt for the donation. Ask them for their website address; if they refuse, you are being scammed so hang up.
In general, be cautious giving information to people you don’t know, and be very protective of credit card and banking details. It’s your money, and you need to be careful how you share your personal information. Don’t be complacent, and it’s okay to question people if the information they ask for seems suspicious to you. Legitimate companies will never question your motives when you are trying to protect yourself.