Posted on 07/10/2023 6:05:29 AM PDT by Alas Babylon!
If you receive a call from someone asking if you remember them, Alabama Securities Commission is urging you to immediately hang up.
It said it could be part of a cryptocurrency scam responsible for robbing nearly a hundred people out of 23 million dollars.
It’s called the pig butchering scam, and the director of the Alabama Securities Commission, Amanda Senn said it’s on the rise around the state, especially in the Tennessee Valley.
“We’ve had several in the Madison County area. About half of these that have come are North Alabama victims,” said Senn, “We’ve just had several more cases come into our office I’m looking at six new ones right now. Several over $100,000.”
The attacker reaches out through either a cold call or a dating app and gains the victim’s trust by asking them to invest in crypto and lures them in with small, successful returns.
Once the amount is large enough, they disappear with untraceable money.
Senn said, “They fatten you up and then go in for the slaughter and I hate to even use those terms but that’s exactly what’s happening here with some of these victims.”
The scheme resulted in nearly 88 nationwide confirmed victims nationwide according to the ASC, with an estimated loss of over $22.5 million.
Bradley Irish with H2L Solutions, a cybersecurity firm in Huntsville, said COVID-19 was a big catalyst.
“People were lonely, they felt isolated, they wanted somebody to talk to,” said Irish, “And so that tends to be the kind of victim that they will find is the person who is willing to continue the conversation.”
Senn said the bulk of these scams originate from overseas, making it difficult to get your money back. She urges people to use discretion when answering an unknown number.
“If you are interested in somebody make sure that they come meet you at your door,” said Senn, “And take you to dinner and not ask you for money to send a plane ticket to visit them.”
If you believe you are a victim of one of these investment scams, call and report it to the Alabama Securities Commission.
Still, this is serious, as it has robbed many innocent people.
Many years ago I got a call and the caller said I had won one hundred gallons of free gasoline. I responded with, “Thank you. But I don’t accept gifts.” The caller stammered. I could hear how incredulous he was. He tried again. I said, “No thank you,” and hung up. I’ve sometimes wondered about his reaction. How many people had he scammed, assuming it was a scam? My reason for declining the offer was based on some advice from my mother. She said, “If something seems too good to be true, it generally is.”
“If it was a scam”...
Absolutely it was a scam!
I like to waste as much of their time as possible. Its even more fun if they think you are falling for it, and start buying ‘gift cards’ , and then keep giving them different numbers.
I’m even considering getting some actual gift cards and spending them down until they have only one cent left.
it’s fun when they figure out that YOU have been scamming THEM. Plus while they are talking to you they are not scamming someone else.
I sometimes tell them, “Gimmee a second and let me start my phone recorder...”
BTTT
Here is an oldie but goodie: Precious turnabout
Bkmrk
I just tell them, that I don’t talk about financial issues, or do business with anyone who I don’t personally know. But most of the time I don’t even answer the call and let my machine screen them.
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