Among Friends

[Desertdi]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@Desertdi.  I don't get any stuff like that.  Maybe you have an admirer in China?  Have you ordered anything from Temu?

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@Kachina624     Ummmm, not recently...but I DO have an "overly zealous" shirt-sleeve relative....      di

[moonandthestars]

@bonnielu  That is a pretty normal way the different parties or pacs fundraise.  It's hard to know if some of what your husband is receiving is spam or scam or not.  He always has the option of not giving money!  Sometimes tho I think you have to in order to submit the survey answers, but not always.  And if that's the case he doesn't have to complete the survey. He or you could look up if the particular ones he is receiving emails from are legit registered organizations.  But once you enter your info or once they pic up your cookies (or whatever it's called) they track you and use that information to continue contact.  Happens all the time with so many things/places.

[colleena]

@bonnielu  Good ?'s which I'm not sure of the answer.  But, my neighbor gave a donation to one of these & for some reason even though she meant it as a one time payment it's now coming out monthly & she's having a heck of a time making it stop.

[jbinrwc]

Many organizations will share your contact information.  That leads to unwanted emails and regular mail.  I never respond to surveys that come in the mail.  If a postage paid envelope is included, I stuff all of the contents of the original envelope into the postage paid envelope with a note telling them to remove me from their mailing list.  Works quite well.  Flag emails as spam and delete them.  Respond to texts with STOP.  They both stop coming soon as well.  Your husband may want to try one or all of these "tricks".

[Spacrazy]

@jbinrwc :  Great idea ~ I'm gonna give it a try, thanks.

[Carmie]

If you leave " bread crumbs" you're gonna get followed.

Everytime  you visit a site, you leave cookies.  It is easy to identify your e-mail and send you all kinds of junk, including e-mail trying to get into your pockets.

Delete your cookies and change your setting so that you can't be tracked.  Also, you can block e-mails.

But, just be prepared to get spam and junk mail, and advertisements based on what topics you search.

Adding;  When you register to vote, the party you register with is public knowledge.  Candidates and policital  parties get lists and send out snail mail asking for donations and your vote.

There isn't a thing you can do about it.  We get a ton of that nonsense around election time. If you donate, you invite more requests.

[chrystaltree]

Of course this  political, it's just not partisan politics.  Of course, many of those requests for donations for candidates, causes, parties are scams.  You know that, your husband knows that, we all know that.  Proof?  We aren't law enforcement, no one here would have proof.  If there are bank scams, investment scams, luxury handbag scams...there are political contribution scams.  My advice is that if your husband wants to contribute to a campaign or if he is looking for information about a candidate; visit the local campaign office for that candidate.  He can contact the contact the people litical party directly and ask how to safely donate.  As for political surveys.  When you answer one, you open the floodgates and you can never close them.  Surveys aren't scams since they never ask for money.  Surveys want your contact information.  Your email address, phone number, mailing address etc  so they can then slam you with requests for contributions.  They share that information with other candidates and causes so the begging never ends.   

[jackthebear]

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@bonnielu wrote:

This is not meant to be political.  My husband on line checks for information from his party of choice.  He is now getting all sorts of political surveys in the mail.  Of course the surveys repeat week after week with requests for donations. My question is not about the donations but the chance these are scams  or some sort of fraud... an attempt not only to get money but to invade our privacy and perhaps to do harm to us over time by harvesting information.

Does anyone have any advice.... any experience to share.... any proof I am right about the "scam status" that will allow me to convince my hubby to cease and desist. 

Please no politics, nothing about individual parties... just information on how legit they are.  

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ad and tracker blocker, use it

I use Ad Remover

mark the emails as spam and delete them 

[CalminHeart]

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@Desertdi wrote:

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@Kachina624 wrote:

I do think people become paranoid about everything being a scam, I suspect these people just want money.  However you have no way of knowing for sure and you don't know for what nefarious purpose the money will be used.

I've been besieged by requests for money for "causes" all of which I ignore for the same reason.

It's  going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

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@Kachina624     My mailbox is STUFFED with packages of "trinkets, pamphlets, greeting cards, note papers, etc." from an organization to which I do NOT belong.    I suspect "someone" gave them my name and address...     di

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Mark it "return to sender" an put them in the mailbox. The sender will get tired of paying return postage.

An uncle used to mark these deceased and return to sender. I don't know if it affected other mail but it seemed to slow down the junk.

[Group 5 minus 1]

We just have ALWAYS told the caller that we do NOT answer any surveys on the telephone.

As Murphy says,"Only God can make a random sample".