Posted on 02/18/2024 2:23:09 PM PST by nickcarraway
Everyone thinks they’re too smart to fall for a scam until it happens to them.
Today, you might be making fun of the financial-advice writer who went viral for putting $50,000 in cash in a box and handing it to a stranger. Tomorrow, you or someone you love could be falling for a less dramatic scam. In her article for New York Magazine’s the Cut, journalist Charlotte Cowles describes in detail how she fell for an elaborate scam that used fear, technology and her data to convince her it was real. A caller posed as someone from Amazon, then transferred her to someone posing as a Federal Trade Commission liaison, then someone claiming to be from the CIA and finally the scammers convinced her to withdraw cash and hand it over to a stranger outside her home.
The end result sounds wild on its own, but broken down step by step the scam did include the kinds of convincing details that frequently trick people. Here’s what we can all learn from this scam.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
So he spent a few minutes raving about how nice and sweet and funny and gorgeous Dream Girl was. I kept my mouth shut because why stamp on someone's dreams if you don't have to? Besides the rest of the office was all too eager to tell him that he was being played. They popped his bubble and he agreed that he was worthless and no girl would ever want him. Ticked me off. Finally the office manager shooed everyone back to their desks and took him into her office. After telling him to take reasonable precautions she also told him to go for it.
About a month later Dream Girl stopped by the office to pick him up and while she was also no troll she did not have to worry about Hollywood either. Which is ok because they are a bunch of jerks out there anyway.
It was a nice sweet romance between two ordinary people and it made me feel all gooey inside.
I will elaborate on your Rule # 1 with my own example of it.
Rule # 1: TRUST NO ONE
Rule # 2: BELIEVE NOTHING
Rule # 3: DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH
Rule # 4: EITHER PROVE OR DISPROVE THE QUESTION TO YOUR OWN SATISFACTION
Rule # 5: TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION BASED ON YOUR OWN RESEARCH
Rule # 6: NEVER SKIP THESE STEPS WITH ANY PERSON OR SITUATION
Answer “fraud detective center. Are you reporting a fraud?”
I need to add that to my routine.
Good system! :)
And I had to enter the ringtones by hand for the contacts list, but hey, when you are waiting at the drs office for the doctor who is always running late, I find that a great time to do stuff like that and clear out my call history and text messages.
Most fun I ever had with a scammer was a call from India (where else) that claimed to be from Micro Soft Tech Services.
They kept telling me my computer was slow because of a virus that they would remove but needed all my passwords.
I strung them along for 2 days by telling them I would continue to trouble shoot the problems from my end, my computer is slow because I’m in the middle of nowhere with crap service.
This went on until I got tired of the game and on the last call (about 20 to 25 in total) I told the guy he didn’t have to worry about it any more.
He told me that my computer was still showing that it was infected with a virus, I told him again it didn’t matter anymore.
He finally asked the question I was waiting for “why does it no longer matter”!
I answered “BECAUSE I TOOK MY COMPUTER OUTSIDE AND SHOT IT”.
LOOOONG silence on the phone, then he says “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU SHOT IT”.
I answered him with “it was obviously a damaged machine so I took it outside on the front lawn and shot it 3 times with my Ruger 45 caliber Long Colt”.
Odd; those guys never called me again!
When I got tired of stringing along one of those phony “Microsoft” scammers I told him my screen all-of-a-sudden was showing me the Virgin Mary. He hung up. Got no more calls.
Cute.
When dealing with your wife or girlfriend, keep the rules on the down low and just say, “Yes, Dear.”
Women on the whole are targets for a reason - they’re easily tricked or manipulated on the whole.....
Sorry.
She’s stupid.
I am not at risk of such a scam and am entirely unworried.
A person from Amazon called, then transferred the call to the FTC then the CIA? That’s a stopper right there. Anyone dumb enough to think Amazon has connection with the FTC or CIA deserves to lose 50 grand.
Amazon transactions are not handled with elaborate amounts of cash handed to someone in person. This woman is not only dumb, but a complete loser. I hope she gets scammed again.
We get scam calls all the time. I go to the internet and research the number. Such calls are typically spoofed from an inactive line or show up as a scam on websites.
Yep I do different things as well - I’ve even said “She can’t come to the phone but I’m her caretaker can I help you?...they hang up..... It’s also fun to tell them that while they’ve been giving you their “bit” you’ve been downloading all their files...an you hang up then. You can be certain they’ll be using their scamming time to check their files.
That warning is going to be difficult to follow.
My rule...Let the phone ring four times. If it is a scammer on automatic dial they will automatically disconnect after three rings.
But OOOHHHH so true!
Well that goes without saying; I’ve been married to the same woman for 47 years, I learned that lesson REAL quick!
GMTA
Dear Penthouse forum, I just met the love of my life.....
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