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Not sure i fully understand this one so maybe y'all can chime in.
I placed an ad on facebook for some tools. Got a response asking me to text to a phone number having to do with Google. Apparently the scammers try to get into your account at google to steal your Google phone number and use it to scam others as you. I quickly changed all my passwords including Gmail ect. Maybe someone can explain it better.
You've got it half right. They're not actually trying to break into your account, they're trying to get a US phone number, while overseas. Google voice has fraud blocking features that prevent people from other countries from easily getting US numbers, ESPECIALLY if they get reported for scamming.

They basically are using your real phone number as a verification for Google voice, and you would probably never know. Google would give them their own phone number, that they would then use to try to scam other people. You are just being used to get an account set up.

My wife buys things from Facebook marketplace sometimes, and I use my Google voice number to hide my real phone number from scammers. What's funny is that when they ask if it's cool to send a code, I always say yes, because when they try to use my phone number it already knows it's a Google voice number and won't let them do anything with it. I basically just waste their time.

The other variation on that scam is a little more serious, if somebody already has your username and/or password for your bank, they can request a password or 2fa reset code, and then you will inadvertently relay it to them. However, you would have to be specifically targeted for this, they would already need account information, Plus, it would come from your legitimate bank, so you should realize it's probably not something to send to somebody else.
 
I had a person call me claiming to be the IRS about my back taxes. (I have never had a tax issue, so I knew immediately it was a rip off). They went on to tell me if I gave them a credit card number they could resolve the problem and I would be free of the so-called debt. When I refused, they got nasty and told me there would be a warrant put out for my arrest. I told them to come and get me.
 
I find answering in hoch Deutsch is extremely useful in deterring scam calls and street beggars. Nein!, Kein Englisch! works along with some gibberish or choice insults in German slang like like "yo mamma sells it on the corner". Might not work in PA. Conversely telling a pair of large German Thugs in Munchen i was not american, but a Turk who worked at Mercedes kept me from a severe beating.
 
Anyone remember the radio guy Tom Mabe and his show "Revenge of the Telemarketer " ? Back when land lines were more common. Funny stuff back then, when people were just trying to sell you stuff not scam you.
 
Actually got one call from a scammer saying I won a brand new Cadillac . All they needed was $8,000 for shipping and taxes. I was very excited and went on asking for details for about 15 minutes, I am very hard of hearing you know. Told him when they delivered the car I would have the cash in hand. He tried his best for almost half an hour to convince me to send the money first. I used every excuse I could think of to keep him going, the post office was to far, I didn't have a credit card, the bank was closed, etc. They finally gave up.

Don
 
Not sure i fully understand this one so maybe y'all can chime in.
I placed an ad on facebook for some tools. Got a response asking me to text to a phone number having to do with Google. Apparently the scammers try to get into your account at google to steal your Google phone number and use it to scam others as you. I quickly changed all my passwords including Gmail ect. Maybe someone can explain it better.
I get these every so often. Their email in the header is always a good clue.
Lately it's about my Amazon account
I reply to the email with "F.O.A.D."...and then consign the email to spam folder. Sometimes the reply is not deliverable -- another sure sign of a scam.

NEVER click on any link or attachment
 
These scams persist and will grow as long as our govt is weak.
This is partly true. It's also when your government cares more about controlling the already law-abiding citizens more than it cares about protecting them. You'd think that if they had enough energy to go randomly scrape email and phone traffic from people without warrants that they could rechannel their efforts into going after scammers.
 
This is posted here instead of "Non-Muzzleloading Discussions" so that all members, not just premium guys, are warned...

I got this email today... looks legit right? ODD..., my name doesn't actually appear....


View attachment 208504

Except I'm not buying a semi-auto "pistol" in the modern, Soviet, combat rifle caliber, AND I don't have a PayPal Account, BUT it was slightly possible that some yahoo got one of my cards, then set up a PayPal Account, But that didn't happen....,

SO what this is, is a "Scare Scam". You see the large charge, and the "800 number" and you call them to dispute it...,

Then when they answer, they have to "verify" who you are, while the secretly record your voice. They want you to answer "yes" to just one of several of their questions...., probably the last question that they ask..., something like, "So Mr. [fill in name here] you want to cancel this transaction, is that correct?" THEN since they see your phone number coming in, they then charge that number with authorizing all sorts of bogus charges for services and fees, and have your own voice, with a dubbed in question you never were actually asked, answering "yes" and authorizing the charges..... IF they get the caller to slip up and state a credit card number and authorization code, it's even worse....

Funny when I called them from my desk at the police station the recording said "there is no one here to take your call"... really, nobody at PayPal ??? LOL

Here are some flaws in the invoice, when you closely look at it...


View attachment 208506
So I have posted this for all of us to be on our guard. Stay vigilant ; Stay safe , folks!

LD
Over the past 2years or more I have reveived several of these type e mails mostly purporting to be from Pay Pal an organization that in the past was very handy ,buit no longer used by my family.

there have been some from other places as well purporting to be from various retailers agencies and whatever , as I recall they all have a phone # to call to RESOLVE the problem . am quite certain it is an 888 prefix. have never called and delete every E mail . It appears the only dire consequence has been to not get any more from that particular source.
We just need to ignore and delete this stuff.

Buzz
 
This is posted here instead of "Non-Muzzleloading Discussions" so that all members, not just premium guys, are warned...

I got this email today... looks legit right? ODD..., my name doesn't actually appear....


View attachment 208504

Except I'm not buying a semi-auto "pistol" in the modern, Soviet, combat rifle caliber, AND I don't have a PayPal Account, BUT it was slightly possible that some yahoo got one of my cards, then set up a PayPal Account, But that didn't happen....,

SO what this is, is a "Scare Scam". You see the large charge, and the "800 number" and you call them to dispute it...,

Then when they answer, they have to "verify" who you are, while the secretly record your voice. They want you to answer "yes" to just one of several of their questions...., probably the last question that they ask..., something like, "So Mr. [fill in name here] you want to cancel this transaction, is that correct?" THEN since they see your phone number coming in, they then charge that number with authorizing all sorts of bogus charges for services and fees, and have your own voice, with a dubbed in question you never were actually asked, answering "yes" and authorizing the charges..... IF they get the caller to slip up and state a credit card number and authorization code, it's even worse....

Funny when I called them from my desk at the police station the recording said "there is no one here to take your call"... really, nobody at PayPal ??? LOL

Here are some flaws in the invoice, when you closely look at it...


View attachment 208506
So I have posted this for all of us to be on our guard. Stay vigilant ; Stay safe , folks!

LD

We've had several emails very similar to the one you received. I think scamming should be made a capital offense. Harsh? How many people's lives have been destroyed by scammers? Usually it's the elderly that get stomped on pretty bad.
 
Actually got one call from a scammer saying I won a brand new Cadillac . All they needed was $8,000 for shipping and taxes. I was very excited and went on asking for details for about 15 minutes, I am very hard of hearing you know. Told him when they delivered the car I would have the cash in hand. He tried his best for almost half an hour to convince me to send the money first. I used every excuse I could think of to keep him going, the post office was to far, I didn't have a credit card, the bank was closed, etc. They finally gave up.

Don
Yeah I have a bunch buddies who do a lot of business via computer, and LOVE to mess with these guys..., they used to compete with each other to see how whacky they could get the scammer to be....., so Matt L. "won" because he got the "Young African Prince trying to smuggle cash out of his country" to pose for a photo of himself holding a pigmy goat, and a Lagos newspaper, while at the same time wearing a grass skirt..., the teenage kid gave up after sending that photo..., and still not getting any cash...,

LD
 
This is partly true. It's also when your government cares more about controlling the already law-abiding citizens more than it cares about protecting them. You'd think that if they had enough energy to go randomly scrape email and phone traffic from people without warrants that they could rechannel their efforts into going after scammers.
I would that the fact that govt persecutes the law abiding is a clear admission they fear those who know law is now largely a joke. .
 
I would that the fact that govt persecutes the law abiding is a clear admission they fear those who know law is now largely a joke. .
They're reinforcing the fact that they've made a mockery of the law. All they want now is for people to fear THEM instead of the law. If this 14th Amendment ploy to raise the debt ceiling without Congress goes through, then that will truly be the final nail in the coffin of our legal system.
 
I get these fake bills all the time.

What they are hoping is that you will call up, and then they will ask you to "confirm your information", which includes your name, address, birthday, paypal account info, or whatever account info.

I very nearly fell for one of these - got an official looking email from my bank from their "fraud department" about a suspicious out-of-state transaction. I had just been out of state, so figured that was what this was about. I called up the number, and they started asking ID questions that they should have known the answer to. I told the guy I would call back the bank directly to which of course he started stuttering "oh no, my ID number is XYZ, you don't need to call them..."

So, anymore, you cannot trust any incoming email or phone call as you have no way to verify the identity of the person contacting you.

You should assume that all unsolicited incoming comms are compromised. If you did not personally initiate the conversation through a known valid comms channel, assume it is compromised.

So if you didn't call the bank on a known good, verified number, don't talk to them. If you get an email, ignore it.
 
I never respond to these scum. Even if looks legit i go to the real website for look and then forward the spoof for good measure. Heck this trash even attempts to mimic the VA!
 
One of their favorite modus aporandi is to respond to a for-sale ad, a favorite is a Craigs List ad. They of course, once they get your address, will mail you a check (on a non verifiable bank) made out to you for 2-3 times the amount you want in your for-sale ad. When you contact them about the error, they claim it was a clerical error, to send them a check for the difference, then cash the check. Ho hum.......
 
Stopped counting i-phones I had bought on PayPal at 42. Mostly blue, but the occasional pink or green. All bought on my "PayPal Account", which is non-existent. Why anyone needs a $1,000 phone is beyond me, but seems that folks live on their phones these days.

Watch a family out at a restaurant, each on their phone, no one conversing with an immediate family member.

Personally curse the inventors of cell phones - can we re-wind the clocks on these? I am expecting new babies to be born with a cell phone growing from their ear.

Remember to empty "trash can" at the end of each day.
 
These scams persist and will grow as long as our govt is weak.
The government hardly ever does anything about these scammers, there's YouTubers who have done more than the FBI. Mark Rober alone is more useful than the entire FBI cyber crimes division.
 
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