SCAM Reminder

The government (IRS) will always initiate contact via direct mail - if you win something in a sweepstakes, you’ll receive a certified/registered letter confirming your win & verifying your ID. Accept no phone calls regarding these 2 items - report calls to the authorities if you have a #. Please pass this on to family member and friends. FYI - Kurt

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Got a good scam.

Someone got my credit card number… ordered something from Walmart.com which I have no account at… and they ordered apple wireless ear pods or ear wigs or whatever they are…
and had it delivered to my house.

At least I can return it, but the card has been canceled.

Now that is a good scam… no idea how they ordered something from walmart… and shipped it to me.

Of course, that is not the brightest thief.

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You mean I didn’t win the Publisher’s Clearinghouse sweepstakes on Monday night? They said they have been trying to reach me to send me millions of dollars but I just didn’t get the mail. That pesky post office I suppose.

I really got this call on Monday. After giving them my full name, address, DOB, SSN, a copy f my driver’s license, passport and several bank account numbers so they could make multiple deposits of $9,999.99 each (to avoid the IRS) they asked my favorite color. I thought, that’s weird, why would they want such personal information? I said to myself, “Self, I think they were scamming me!” So I hung up.

The call really did happen, the rest, not so much!

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The rest? Perhaps not with you… but far too many others might have actually given all of that…and only stopped when they asked about the favorite color.

If it did not happen, scammers would be far fewer and far less successful.

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I’ve gotten several calls saying they were from Social Security. And that there was an issue with my SSA number and illegal activity. I told them that SSA doesn’t make calls on any matters. That they do EVERYTHING BY MAIL. And to mail me the info. I also told them that the SSA web sight has on it web page a message about a scam where someone calls to say there is some kind of issue with your SSA number. And that also people that I’ve talked to at SSA have also told me this too. And they hang on me. And the caller Id and number is ALWAYS INVALID. So it is a SCAM.

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There ate a couple different things thieves do in that circumstance.

  1. They will try to track the package and take it from your house hopefully before you notice anything. This was way easier for them to do before Covid and everyone working from home.

  2. They will have it originally set to be delivered to your house as in above. This reduces the red flags to the credit dard companies since shipping and billing match.Once the package leaves the warehouse they contact the shopper and try to change the address. Most shippers charge a fee for this. Due to the ibcreased volumes lately the shippers typically will not guarantee it gets done.

I would be more concerned that they know your address.

By the way, I am not a criminal. I work for a distributor and can tell you many horror stories about how people and businesses get ripped off.

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Not to worry. There are many who think along these lines and are not criminals.

I already considered some of what you said, but appreciate the parts I did not know… and I considered someone trying to let me know they know where I live… and some other issues. Former intel community, you might be surprised what actually crosses my mind…

Think I will use a prepaid card from now on…for most things. Had my card for almost 30 years, and have not had this kind of problem…
Only once, AOL tried to charge me $700 for logging in from Europe… (never understood why it would cost more to log in), at the time, I had not been to Europe in over 15 years … since 1989, and I could not have logged in… it was resolved quickly when I said I would report it as Fraud and my card company was already aware of it.

Usually takes 48 hours to show a refund, mine was in less than 12.

be careful with these. I got one and after I hung up I called the number. Usually it’s a dead number, but this time it was the ACTUAL Social Security number. When I explained why I called, they said they never call, but thanks for the heads up. Pretty good scam, easier with the phone app that lets them call with ANY number.

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There are scam artists everywhere. I tried to sell something on Craigslist a couple years back and some idiot told me he’d buy it and sent me the most awful fake check ever for more money so I could pay the delivery person. As someone with at least half a brain, I played stupid and text him I deposited the check and have the cash in hand to pay the delivery person. Problem is, when the “delivery” person showed up, I had my friend greet him in uniform (LEO). It was fun and my buddy did arrest him for outstanding warrants and some other things. The best part was when he kept claiming he was only the delivery person so I called the number of the guy who I was texting and his phone rang. It was hilarious. My neighbors and I still laugh about that.

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Scammer, grifters, con artists… (it is almost an art form)…just when you want to take them out behind the wood shed…

To summarize- Government agencies DO NOT call! They send letters! Do NOT trust any IRS, FBI, or whatever calls through phones! Even Microsoft or Apple. They don’t call you first with tech solutions!

When my mother had a heart attack a few years ago, I took over her bill paying while she was recovering. Looking over her credit card statements for recent months, I found that each month she was being charged $9.99 for a magazine subscription. Each charge was for a different title, but the same amount and same “service” charging her. I had never seen any of the magazines in her home, so asked her about them. She said she tried to cancel the subscriptions but each time the operator started to cry and claimed she would be fired if my mother cancelled. So being a good person, she let the subscriptions run, and threw away the magazines when they arrived…!
I found the company in New York State and called to cancel the subscriptions, but there was no answer at any phone number. I called the NY State Attorney General to report elder abuse and fraud. An investigator told me the company was already under investigation and he took the information about my mother and added her to the “victim list”. Two months later a check arrived from the company for $250 and a promise not to charge for any more subscriptions.
How many other seniors are being taken advantage of by scams like this? Ask your parents if they are pressured to make purchases they don’t want. There are ways to get the scam to stop and get their money back.

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The answer is hundreds of seniors - I’m 70 - are taken for a ride every day. It’s not necessarily one big score they’re after, but a succession of smaller ones that they can milk again and again - your mom, for example. Kurt17

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