Anyway, one more scam to watch out for.

[mike1003]

I just got this from a good friend of mine in Columbus, OH. Something almost like this just happened to a close friend in Cincinnati



Please, please, PLEASE NEVER TAKE A CALL FROM ANYONE REPRESENTING THEMSELF OFF AS BANK, CREDIT CARD OR ANYONE SAYING THEY ARE IRS, MEDICARE, INSURANCE CO (UNLESS YOU KNOW IT'S YOUR AGENT) ETC.


HANG UP AND CALL THE INSTITUTION, OR THE NUMBER ON THE BACK OF YOUR CARD.


PASS THIS ON TO YOUR FRIENDS, ESPECIALLY OLDER VULNERABLE PEOPLE!


Mike

A lady at our church, around 80 years of age, whose husband passed away a few months ago (we used to sit just behind them during services), received a call from a guy claiming to be in her bank's antifraud division who told her that a $45 k transaction purchasing bitcoin had been made in her name that seemed fraudulent. She told him that she had no idea about it.


He apparently had her personal and account information at hand, so she believed he was who he said.


He then told her the only way to counteract it would be to take money out of her account and deposit it at an ATM in a convenience store he would direct her to. She withdrew a total of $54 k in two withdrawals from her bank (she told the teller, per the guy's instruction, that she was "buying a boat").


She then went to the place and deposited all the money. It took her so long a store employee brought her a chair. The money is all gone, of course.


I know it's hard to fathom how anyone can be so naive as to fall for something like this. But older vulnerable people are everywhere. She told Judy about this yesterday and I'm not sure what has been done to inform her bank or the police. Just incredible.


Anyway, one more scheme to watch out for.

[Igor Blevin]

Anytime you get a text, email, or call from what appears to be a known professional organization you deal with, you should not respond to that with an actionable response. You should do an end run on that text, email, or call and contact that organization directly, confirm if the problem actually exists, and only then set about to resolve it.

Scams are so numerous, aggressive, and sophisticated, I would not trust anybody anymore. Not directly. If I get contacted by my bank, I am going to call the main number, get a real person, and we can go from there. If I am notified by the IRS, I will visit my nearest office to confirm there is actually a problem, and then go from there.

I treat all notifications of problems and issues today as if it is a scammer.

I will end up getting scammed eventually, probably when I am in some stressful life crisis and not thinking clearly. So long as life is calm and steady and I have my mental faculties, here is hoping that every scam contact I get, I deal with it as above.

Ignore the source of the contact and use the official contact phone number or address for the agency or organization the claim is made for.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by mike1003

I just got this from a good friend of mine in Columbus, OH. Something almost like this just happened to a close friend in Cincinnati



Please, please, PLEASE NEVER TAKE A CALL FROM ANYONE REPRESENTING THEMSELF OFF AS BANK, CREDIT CARD OR ANYONE SAYING THEY ARE IRS, MEDICARE, INSURANCE CO (UNLESS YOU KNOW IT'S YOUR AGENT) ETC.


HANG UP AND CALL THE INSTITUTION, OR THE NUMBER ON THE BACK OF YOUR CARD.


PASS THIS ON TO YOUR FRIENDS, ESPECIALLY OLDER VULNERABLE PEOPLE!


Mike

Even if the scammer seems to have the banking information, the instructions to deposit money into another bank account to "fix" a scam would set off alarms to me, that something phony is going on here. In the event there actually has been some fraudulant or "funny" activity that's been picked up by financial institution personnel, they don't require the customer to make deposits, or any other action, for that matter, to investigate and remedy the problem.

My favorite is when the scammers request gift cards, and I'm still waiting for the call from my nonexistent "grandson" who calls crying and claims to be in trouble. Lemme at 'em...

[considerforamoment]

Basic common sense.

[Igor Blevin]

Originally Posted by Travelassie

Even if the scammer seems to have the banking information, the instructions to deposit money into another bank account to "fix" a scam would set off alarms to me, that something phony is going on here. In the event there actually has been some fraudulant or "funny" activity that's been picked up by financial institution personnel, they don't require the customer to make deposits, or any other action, for that matter, to investigate and remedy the problem.

My favorite is when the scammers request gift cards, and I'm still waiting for the call from my nonexistent "grandson" who calls crying and claims to be in trouble. Lemme at 'em...

Real scammers are pretty good at knowing who has what relatives and who doesn't.

In one recent case, the scammer actually used AI to mimic the daughters voice. The target of the scam was convinced that she was talking to her own daughter.

These professional criminals are becoming very sophisticated and it is getting harder and harder to tell the real from faked.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djSCxz_QfIE

[mike1003]

I asked my friend that sent the email why didn't the bank stop her. Here's his answer:

The bank did try to stop her from withdrawing the funds. She insisted on it and lied to them, saying that she was using the cash to buy a boat.

Behavioral issues and even a rapid onset of dementia seem to follow someone losing a loved one. Older men are frequently gone a week or two after their wives. I've wondered whether organized scam artists peruse obituaries looking for potential prey.

Damn, this pisses me off!

I sent my email to over 200 people last night. (One was an organization of retired pharmacists mostly in their late 70s and up)



4 told me that same thing happened to them. One lost 16k, the other 3 told the caller to f off


Another 2 told me that they got calls from their grandkids crying that they were arrested in Mexico and needed bail money. One went to Walmart to buy gift cards and the clerk called the cops (Walmart has learning modules on scams every 3 months for every employee. Mandatory)


The other one said that he was going to Walmart and then called grandson who was at school in Maryland



Here are the most significant replies I received

Several years ago my elderly sister wrote checks totaling $16,000 to someone who had called her on the phone. She couldn’t explain why she did it. I had warned her repeatedly about such things and thought that she would be ok. In hindsight I should have taken her check book away before anything like this happened.

And:

Thanks Mike,

Interestingly, I received a similar call last week (these crooks must be busy).


He said he was calling from American Express to question two recent very large charges. I confirmed that I had not made those changes. So he said he would credit the charges back to my account. But, then he asked me to confirm my AmEx card number to confirm I am the actual owner of that card.


I told him I would never give that information. To which he said he could not correct my account without me confirming that I am the card owner.


I said that I'll call AmEx about these changes and he said that I'd just be transferred back to him. To which I said, I doubt that, and hung up.


When I called AmEx and explained the previous call, there were no previous large charges.


I later informed our kids of that call and said to never give personal or financial information to anyone who calls you.


Thanks again for passing along another scam.

Dirtbags

[old fed]

I get text alerts for all my credit card purchases. if I don't get an alert then it didn't happen so claiming some charge happened on my account (minus an alert) is a huge red flag.

also, I can immediately access my accounts online to verify any alleged activity. same with banking

[Parnassia]

Just got a new one yesterday. Received a text that scheduled USPS delivery of a high dollar value purchase had failed due to an "incorrect address". I was directed to respond to sender with my correct full name & address so they could re-direct the delivery. No ffing way!

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by Parnassia

Just got a new one yesterday. Received a text that scheduled USPS delivery of a high dollar value purchase had failed due to an "incorrect address". I was directed to respond to sender with my correct full name & address so they could re-direct the delivery. No ffing way!

I get those all the time too. But I'm not expecting any delivery, high priced or not, so I just delete those.



Did they want your account information too?

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by mike1003

I asked my friend that sent the email why didn't the bank stop her. Here's his answeramn, this pisses me off!

I sent my email to over 200 people last night. (One was an organization of retired pharmacists mostly in their late 70s and up)



4 told me that same thing happened to them. One lost 16k, the other 3 told the caller to f off


Another 2 told me that they got calls from their grandkids crying that they were arrested in Mexico and needed bail money. One went to Walmart to buy gift cards and the clerk called the cops (Walmart has learning modules on scams every 3 months for every employee. Mandatory)


The other one said that he was going to Walmart and then called grandson who was at school in Maryland



Here are the most significant replies I received And:



Dirtbags

I'm sure you probably know AMEX doesn't work that way. They might call to confirm a large purchase if they think it looks suspicious, but they don't need to verify that the person they called to ask about it ( whose contact information and phone number is in their files) is actually the cardholder- they KNOW who you are. And they can credit your account or delete the phony charge just on your word that you didn't make that charge, you don't have to prove it's you.



And gift cards???? I've heard of IRS scams, or scams calling people to extort them into paying for imagined traffic tickets, or other unpaid fines- with gift cards????? Since when does the federal or local guv'mint or law enforcement use gift cards from Walmart as legal tender????????