Community Chat

[DecorDiva]

The Grandma scam has been kicked up a notch.  Scammers are now using AI to get the actual voice of the person and mining social media sites for  personal information to be more convincing.   A friend of a friend got one of these calls.  They called back to verify, thankfully. We really can't trust what we see or hear anymore.

[Still Raining]

Someone got the roster of a volunteer board I was on, and some loosely associated addresses, and we started getting emails etc etc.

One guy lived close by and I knew his health had worsened.  Walked down to check in with his wife.  Gotta say that got his heart rate going.

Beyond sly.  Glad I did not reply.

[Love my grandkids]

@DecorDiva  That's why family passwords are needed.

My grands each have special name for me that others don't know. All I'd have to do is ask for it. Busted. Plus, I wouldn't trust any of these scam calls. I know better, old as I am!

[Trailrun23]

it wasn't that you weren't smart, you were just used by scumbags. We all need to be so crazy- careful nowadays. Thanks so much for the reminder. ,

[elated]

I don't think IQ has anything to do with being scammed. If you have common sense and think something is not copasetic, it is a red flag. There are too many scammers looking for a quick buck and will do anything to make it sound legitimate. The scammers have become very sophisticated and know every trick in the books to get your money.

BUYER BEWARE!!

I hope you get positive results but always check everything when it comes to transferring money or gift cards.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@jlkz wrote:

One of my college friends who does a lot of international travel sent me an email and asked me to do a favor for her as her close friend was just diagnosed with liver cancer.  My friend has had several major health issues in the last few years and getting around has become difficult. So I did.

After I emailed the 3 Apple gift cards "she" requested and the back of the cards, she sent me an email saying I now could send the cards. What ????   Then I noticed that the time was " GMT+1 ".  After Googling, it translated to 11 PM Europe time.  The next email asked for $500 gift card and that is when I called her.  She was hacked today and was starting to get calls from folks in her contacts list.

Within the hour that I sent the card info to "her" the cards had been used....Apple will close the account that used the cards but that's all they could do.  I contacted VISA and I have to call back mid-week when the charge is posted to dispute the charge.

Sharing this so others do not get taken in.  I have read all about the Grandparent scam and others but the elements contained in the email tracked with my friend's disabilities, her concern for friends, etc.  Since she does travel and receives physical therapy, not being available by phone for a few hours wasn't suspicious.

As for the liver cancer item, I was very vulnerable as a close friend of mine was diagnosed on Monday with it.

ANY request that isn't "normal" should be regarded as potential scam.  Please be smarter than I was !!!

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@jlkz 

Sorry you had this experience and hope it gets sorted out quickly.

Just curious .... do you know if her contacts were hacked from a COMPUTER (like a laptop or ipad) or from a CELL PHONE?   

[1Snickers]

 Last night I received a suspicious e mail from the Paster of our Church. He was wanting me to share ideas with him and needed a reply as soon as I received it. 
   I knew it wasn't him even with his name on it. A Deacon or someone from the church would contact me. 
   I called the church without replying to it. The secretary told me to delete it which I had. And it was a scam and if I answered it I'd be hacked. 
   Beware of church mailing lists! My son said those people will go to H_ _ _! 
       💻 📞 🚫❗️

[jlkz]

@Tinkrbl44 

No, I don't know if it was her cell phone or other device.  The calls she got were from folks near her calling to see if she was alright because they knew of her physical issues.

When I spoke with her, she said she had just changed her yahoo password.  I suggested she notify all her contacts so they wouldn't fall prey to the scammer.

Apple was able to close the account that the scammer had used....it was less than an hour from the time I had emailed the cards until I spoke with Apple !

[Estellee]

Thanks for the alert. I got a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS saying I owed a little over $2,000. These con artists will stop at nothing.

[taquito]

I'm sorry this happened to you, but I appreciate you sharing your honest experience!  It's always good to be reminded.

My DH was having a busy day at work when he got a call from his HR dept. wanting him to verify his SS#.  He rattled it off, and as soon as he did he thought he shouldn't have done that.  He called HR back and sure enough, no one from his HR dept. called.  But things like this can happen when our minds are elsewhere.

I had my email hacked about five years ago.  Luckily, it was something strange enough that no one in my email contacts thought it was me.  They didn't ask for money, just to sign a petition about an irrigation project in another country.  Very strange!