Being Careful. Being Scammed! I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING TEXT MESSAGE ON MY CELL PHONE: We have successfully processed your order under the ID "JJ915331", and a charge of $617 has been...

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING TEXT MESSAGE ON MY CELL PHONE:

We have successfully processed your order under the ID "JJ915331", and a charge of $617 has been applied to your card. any inquiries, contact us +18044511450

I REPLIED WITH:

You have reached the telephone number of a Federal Law Enforcement Officer. You must delete this number, never call this number again and never share it with anyone. This is your only warning. You will be prosecuted to the full extent of Law.

Now that the COVID cloud has lifted the number of scams will increase. We must be ever so vigilant to prevent thieves from reaching into our pockets.

Two other examples I have experienced. I received a bill from a doctor from two years ago. I didn’t even recognize the doctor’s name. Two years ago I hired an attorney to finalize my will. He was paid in full. I received a bill for $75 for FedEx charges. Something is wrong because I pay my bills in full at the time they are due. I always ask to confirm the final cost.

More and more scams will continue as thieves become desperate.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

That's much longer than my usual answer.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I just delete, but write the number down. If it repeats, I block it. I don't get many at all.

The nice thing about my (Android?) is that I can block all numbers "beginning with" and just put in the area code and exchange, or add the first two digits of the number: AAA-EEE-NN and it will block AAA-EEE-NN00 through AAA-EEE-NN99. Saves blocking many numbers.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Scruples wrote:

I REPLIED WITH:

You have reached the telephone number of a Federal Law Enforcement Officer. You must delete this number, never call this number again and never share it with anyone. This is your only warning. You will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

I think all you did was verify with the slime ball that your number is a good one.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

47greyfox wrote:

I think all you did was verify with the slime ball that your number is a good one.

Most likely...

scallihan Loc: Tigard, OR

I love your response!

I live in a 55+ community, with emphasis on the +, and am constantly showing others how to recognize a scam email. Many of these phishing scams are very convincing.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I believe that scams will not only increase, but they will also be more and more difficult to identify as a scam. My reasoning is that AI will be a valuable tool for criminal enterprises. It will also be a hacker's paradise where computers can communicate with each other exchanging data freely. It is not the robots that I fear, it is my fellow man.

scallihan Loc: Tigard, OR

Longshadow wrote:

I just delete, but write the number down. If it repeats, I block it. I don't get many at all.

The nice thing about my (Android?) is that I can block all numbers "beginning with" and just put in the area code and exchange, or add the first two digits of the number: AAA-EEE-NN and it will block AAA-EEE-NN00 through AAA-EEE-NN99. Saves blocking many numbers.

Your email or MSM system should have a drop-down in each communication with an option to block and report as spam.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

sippyjug104 wrote:

I believe that scams will not only increase, but they will also be more and more difficult to identify as a scam. My reasoning is that AI will be a valuable tool for criminal enterprises. It will also be a hacker's paradise where computers can communicate with each other exchanging data freely. It is not the robots that I fear, it is my fellow man.

AI is only a tool, neither harmful nor harmless by itself. Just as a hammer can be used for good or evil depending on the intent of the user, so can AI. And as the nefarious capabilities of AI expand, so will the tools to combat it. AI is going to be an everyday reality soon; we need to get used to that.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

47greyfox wrote:

I think all you did was verify with the slime ball that your number is a good one.

Trying to scam a scammer usually won't work.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

scallihan wrote:

Your email or MSM system should have a drop-down in each communication with an option to block and report as spam.

It does. I sometimes use it.
Like I said, I get one so infrequently on my phone, like every other month or four.
I just usually delete them.
I use the block list for repeat numbers or numbers in a group, like an area code or area code and exchange.

My email - a different story:
Most I mark as spam anymore. For some I get the originating server ID from the header and report them. Sometimes I also report them to the server provider for the linked website, especially if the domain is less than a month old. I like doing the 1-3 day old domains.
I've gotten a bunch of domains suspended that I've reported.
Only 6 billion left to go........

jarhtmd

Several years ago I got a very legitimate looking email supposedly from Bank of America. I always use my known links, usernames and passwords and do not click on anything emails that are not direct replies to inquiries that I have initiated. This particular email made me curious. So I read it carefully. It had all the right graphics, logos, headers, etc. Everything sure looked legit. I read all the way to the very end. The very last sentence was "This offer expires on Feb 31."

I get multiple phishing emails almost every day. I forward as attachments to the following addresses:

phishing-report@us-cert.gov; phishing@irs.gov; reportphishing@antiphishing.org; reportphishing@apwg.org;
abuse@gmail.com; abuse@google.com; abuse@msn.com; reportphishing@apple.com;
spoof@paypal.com; OnlineAbuse@walmart.com; spam@nortonlifelock.com; Phishing@Regions.com

If nothing else, it makes me feel better and keeps me on the lookout.

Fstop12 Loc: Kentucky

47greyfox wrote:

I think all you did was verify with the slime ball that your number is a good one.

PaulBrit Loc: Merlin, Southern Oregon

Advice from the BBC (Radio 4, today, Moneybox feature on mobile phone scams). Do not use your mobile phone, as in cell phone, for banking access. Beware that criminals are everywhere and they are listening!

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

If you ain’t in my contacts my iPhone sends the number to spam folder. Problem is, I have several doctors offices that must have at least 5 - 10 numbers. So I have to check the number before I block them.