Savvy and Scammed

 

It’s true. No matter how savvy we think we are there is that ever-present possibility that we could get scammed.

Some of my friends have been receiving emails from me. I say ‘me’ because my name is definitely on them….but if you look closely behind my name is an email address that is not mine. (circled) What does the sender intend to gain? If the recipient clicks on the image will their computer get hacked? If so, what does that mean? Is it a simple case of them getting your contact list? Or is it worse than that…can they actually see where you have been and what you are presently up to? Happens on TV all the time…just tune into Scandal to see who Huck is hacking!

Thankfully, my friends did reach out to me and I was able to bring to their attention that the emails were not from me and they should block the email address associated with the email from their computers.

I’ve been receiving phone calls on my cell telling me to get in touch with the CIA or FBI to turn myself in, I am being arrested for fraud. I was thinking of calling….3 square meals cooked for me every day! I was momentarily excited…but then the unknown bunkmate got me thinking…I better not turn myself in. The Women of Wentworth scare the sh** out of me.  The first time I ever received one of these calls I immediately called back. It was all very sketchy, so I called my lawyer. He told me these calls happen every day. There were a few instances with my own kids and friend’s kids where the scammer told them they were from the CRA and they were behind on their taxes. Pay X$ within four hours in order to prevent your cards from being immediately suspended!

The most unsettling attempted scam was via an email. The email immediately grabbed my attention as the sender quoted a password that I have used. (I have since changed it)….I’ll let you read it…..

I know XXXXXXXX is one of your password on day of hack..

Lets get directly to the point.
Not one person has paid me to check about you.

You do not know me and you’re probably thinking why you are getting this email?

in fact, i actually placed a malware on the adult vids (adult porn) website and you know what, you visitedthis site to experience fun (you know what i mean).

When you were viewing videos, your
immediately after that, my malware obtained every one of your contacts from your Messenger, FB, aswell as email account.

after that i created a double-screen video. 1st part shows the video you were viewing (you have a nicetaste omg), and 2nd part displays the recording of your cam, and its you.

Best solution would be to pay me $1053.

We are going to refer to it as a donation. in this situation, i most certainly will without delay removeyour video.

My -BTC -address: 32qLxN6hAo4qrmHiwo1hk16RGtWTWkdXuS
[case SeNSiTiVe, copy & paste it]

You could

Weird that he asked me to reply with ‘yeah’ but in the sentence immediately following he told me not to reply to the message. I of course have no intention of answering this email.

My mom received a phone call a while back. It was my son calling his grandma to say he was in trouble. He had been arrested for a crime that he didn’t do. They were holding him in a cell. Could she please send him money right away so that he could retain a lawyer?  Guess what? It wasn’t my son…but it was his voice!  How does that happen?

I was listening to the radio and a female DJ was telling a story similar to my mom’s. Her ex-husband called her and asked that she send money right away to his kidnappers. He was going to be bound and gagged and put into a trunk of a car where she could pick him up once the transaction was received. It was definitely her husband. It was his voice and he knew personal information. She made the money transaction right away (she must really like her ex!!) without involving the police as she was told. She anxiously went to the pickup spot and neither her ex-husband nor the car was anywhere to be found. She then phoned the police right away worried that the unthinkable had happened. The police went to her ex’s home and there he was safe and sound. He had no idea that any of this had happened. Her money was gone.

I recently read a story in Reader’s Digest about a minister that received an email on Christmas eve asking for $300 worth of iTunes gift cards for a friend that was in the hospital. This friend was battling cancer. He was instructed to scratch the back of the cards for the serial number, take a photo of it and send it to the email address. The minister said he would get it done later that evening. The sender messaged him back within minutes saying that would be too late. She really wanted them before she went into surgery that day. Of course, he said yes and got it all done as instructed. The sender emailed him after receiving the photos of the cards and asked for $500 more. This obviously sent up red flags and he realized he had been duped. He phoned the police right away, but it was too late. The sender is long gone at this point and is selling the cards.

These are intelligent people! How is it possible that we let these things happen to us knowing everything that we read and hear in the news!? Are we all just really trusting people?

Do you know scams cost individuals, organizations and governments trillions of dollars every year? Victims experience depression and ill health. Scamming affects people of all ages and backgrounds across the globe. If you have ever fallen for a scam you apparently are not alone.

 

SO HOW CAN WE PROTECT OURSELVES?

STOP answering fun Facebook questions!!

Many of us on FB have fallen for these questions that hackers set up as fun get to know each other games ….Who was your childhood friend? What elementary school did you attend? What is your mom’s maiden name? What was the name of your first pet or first car? These are some of the same questions you are asked when opening up accounts that require security questions – like your bank!! By answering these seemingly fun and non-threatening questions you are actually giving the answers to your security questions without realizing it. Scammers can then start building a profile of you from several sources. Before you know it, someone has hacked your bank or opened a credit card in your name.  I did have a credit card opened in my name. The funny thing was; the purchases made were gas, liquor,  and shoes. LOL. At first, I was so confused thinking these purchases could have all been mine!

 

So…other than FB. Here are some ways that you can protect yourself from scammers.

Check out what CBC.COM suggests we do and don’t do to protect ourselves…

https://www.cbc.ca/doczone/m_features/how-to-protect-yourself-against-scams

The Canadian anti-fraud centre suggests…

https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/protect-protegez-eng.htm

This US government site gives some helpful ideas as well as shares some scams that you might be unaware of. There is an entire list of new ‘CoVid’ scams!!!

https://www.usa.gov/scams-and-frauds

This is a new scam that comes in the mail…

https://www.niagarathisweek.com/news-story/10128323-have-you-received-unsolicited-packages-of-seeds-/

If you receive seeds in the mail do not open and do not dispose of them on your own. Please follow the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s suggestions. These seeds are also being found in the USA. This scam is called a ‘brushing scam’ and this US site gives some insight as to what that is. https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/voa-news-china/mystery-seeds-arriving-us-china-could-be-part-scam-officials-say

So my friends….take extra care do not open seed packages or anything else that you did not order…and if you should see images of me watching porn… let me know!! LOL