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Spotted a scam? Tell us about it.

Spotted a scam?  Tell us about it.  Our scam-tracking map gives you information about the latest scams targeting people in your state.  You’ll also find first-hand accounts from scam-spotters who are sharing their experiences so you know how to protect yourself and your family. Go to the Scam-Taking Map>>

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Honored Social Butterfly

@abmicro839

 

Although the deductions are NOT tax deductible usually, sometimes news cast or local newspapers might run a story about a person or family who need a "hand up" and they or some other entity have established a GoFundMe account.

After checking out the story, people can make donations to these specific GoFundMe account.

 

This is just another way of helping a person or family - remember banks use to set up accounts for them where donations could be made.  This is just the 21st century way.

 

 

It's Always Something . . . . Roseanna Roseannadanna
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Bronze Conversationalist

There are "Go Fund Me" accounts that are fake, also.  If I am going to donate to someone's worthy cause, I will mail them a check myself after verifying that their

story is indeed true.   

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Periodic Contributor

No end to the robocalls from the "IRS". Answering one of these robocalls will pass you to somebody with a foreign accent, usually from India, saying taxes are overdue and you owe money that must be paid immediately via western union, money order, or iTunes cards.

 

I sometimes call back and give them fake answers to waste the fraudsters time. They always hang up and dont call me for a long time after that.

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Super Contributor

I am hanging up on all callers with an Indian accent. I almost fell for a computer scam a couple months ago, but cancelled the check before they cashed it. Now, it seems they have put me on a sucker list. This morning I received a call claiming to be Amazon and saying there is a charge of $700+ on my account. If I want to cancel it, press 2. When I did that, I got a live person with an Indian accent. I hung up. This same thing happened a month ago and I immediately called my credit card company. They said there was no unusual activity on my account. Call me a racist, but I hang up on anybody with an Indian accent now.

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Bronze Conversationalist

I have had two calls supposedly from Amazon that someone charged something on my account, and then had the item sent to someone I don't even know.  If you should get anymore of those calls?  THEY ARE FAKE!  Amazon does NOT call when something looks suspicious on your account, they always EMAIL you when a charge is placed on your account with them.  (I verified this with Amazon myself)

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Periodic Contributor

I love the idea of giving false information. What I did one time is I talked about God, Salvation through Jesus and the importance of pro-life. The caller simply said thank you and hung up. 

 

But the best response is to simply say, and clearly, "Do not call this number. Take me off your list." Then hang up. The longer you talk and leave the line open, the more points your number gets and the more money they can get for your info. JHU! Just hang up!

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Bronze Conversationalist

"Take me off your call list" as well as being on the "National Do Not Call Registry" does absolutely NOTHING to stop getting unwanted calls anymore!

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Periodic Contributor

No end to the Craigslist shipping scam. You sell something on craigslist. You get a buyer who will send you a money order for the goods.  (Money order will absolutely be fake.) A day or 2 later, he will ask you to western union some money so he can use his shipping company. Money order will bounce a few days later, but usually after the seller has already sent the fraudster some western union money.

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Periodic Contributor

Long time ago when I was single, went on a dating site and wrote to a gal and gave her my email contact. She sent a reply that looked fake, so I replied that it was fraud and please dont send me any more emails. I continued to get an email every month as if I had replied to all her messages in a positive way. Each message had a little more info about "her" with a new picture of "her". The final email asked me to western union some money to help "her" buy an airline ticket to meet me.

 

Clearly the emails were sent in automatically every month and the listing probably wasnt even a woman. Singles beware. The worst scams are on the online singles sites.

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Newbie

 This scam was new to me. I had applied for a position with Uber online and evidently all my information went out to every week website in the world offering part time employment. I get a call from someone saying they represent Nike and that they needed a mystery shopper in our area and after much back-and-forth it sounded legit I went for it. They were supposed they were to send me  The cost of the products I was to buy from Nike and also I was to go to Walmart and purchase a money gram and review the attendant at money gram. A week later a certified check arrived at my house by FedEx for $2950.50. I couldn’t figure out how the amount of money was correct so I got suspicious and I called the bank that the check  was issued on. The check was fraudulent. The whole thing was fraudulent. They were very professional except they would not talk to me on the phone which made me very suspicious. The scam is very well put together so be very careful if you get that call. You should be wary of pretty much any mystery shopper deal that’s out there. After all this happened I googled mystery shopper scams and was surprised to find that there are hundreds out there. Fair Warning.

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Newbie

 This scam was new to me. I had applied for a position with Uber online and evidently all my information went out to every week website in the world offering part time employment. I get a call from someone saying they represent a Nike and that they needed a mystery shopper in our area and after much back-and-forth it sounded legit I went for it. They were supposed they were to send me  The cost of the products I was to buy from Nike and also I was to go to Walmart and purchase a money gram and review the attendant at money gram. A week later a certified check arrived at my house by FedEx for $2950.50. I couldn’t figure out how the amount of money was correct so I got suspicious and I called the bank that the check  was issued on. The check was fraudulent. The whole thing was fraudulent. They were very professional except they would not talk to me on the phone which made me very suspicious. The scam is one very well put together so be very careful if you get that call. You should be wary of pretty much any mystery shopper deal that’s out there. After all this happened I googled mystery shopper scams and was surprised to find that there are hundreds out there. Fair Warning.

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Honored Social Butterfly

@se5769

 

Always remember this:

 

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which data is sent between your browser and the website that you are connected to. The 'S' at the end of HTTPS stands for 'Secure'. It means all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted. HTTPS is often used to protect highly confidential online transactions like online banking and online shopping order forms.

 

Web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome also display a padlock icon in the address bar to visually indicate that a HTTPS connection is in effect.

 

https://www.instantssl.com/ssl-certificate-products/https.html

 

You should be able to check this BEFORE entering any sensitive info.

 

It's Always Something . . . . Roseanna Roseannadanna
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Newbie

Looking for a apartment in Los Angeles on Craigslist,  I responded to 2 different listings.   One in Santa Monica and another in San Fernando Valley.  They were reasonable,  allowed cats, had parking and sounded great.  Both sent replies to me, one from a man, the other a woman.   Both people had throat cancer, loved their home, and both verbatim said the exact same things about 2 different listings.   And yes drive by but don't contact the tenants.  Which is odd because they indicated that it was their home so the occupant would be them.  I also looked into renting a mobile home in a senior park prior to this and got a very similar response except that man was a missionary moving to Texas for biblical study.  The wording was close to the above emails.  The photo later turned out to be of a mobile home for sale by ReMax.  This was a total scam.  

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Newbie

AUSLOGICS!  Supposed to be from HP, and Microsoft!  IT has all this stuff in it, like boost speed, and clean up files.  BULL!  Don't get taken like I did!  I paid $99.00 for a year.  Only had it for a month!  I tried calling the number and talked to everyone I could talk to!  THIS is one pissed off **bleep**!  Don't fall for it!  God help me, I have been through this so many times, YOU would think I'd know!  But all this new technology is overwhelming to someone my age!  Good luck all you people that do this all the time!


@AARPLynne wrote:

Spotted a scam?  Tell us about it.  Our scam-tracking map gives you information about the latest scams targeting people in your state.  You’ll also find first-hand accounts from scam-spotters who are sharing their experiences so you know how to protect yourself and your family. Go to the Scam-Taking Map>>


  

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Honored Social Butterfly

"...AUSLOGICS!  Supposed to be from HP, and Microsoft!  IT has all this stuff in it, like boost speed, and clean up files.  BULL!  Don't get taken like I did!....".

 

Could you be more specific? How did you get 'taken'? You're calling this a 'scam'. It did not speed up your PC, or did not do proper defrags or registry cleanup?   

   I've read mixed reviews on this product, so I'm curious about your experience....

 

Also, the product was developed in Australia and is not from Microsoft or HP. Who told you that? It has been 'certified' by Microsoft, but is not their product. I don't know that the 'certified' means much of anything.


"...Why is everyone a victim? Take personal responsibility for your life..."
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Periodic Contributor

I shopped on a app  called Wish shopping made fun. Their are very misleading. You never get where think you are ordering. And they don't stand behind their products and you won't get your money back. When I reported it to the BBB. They said they were out of business so they thought anyway. But just told them, that me and my daughter just got ripped off by them. 

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Honored Social Butterfly


@k72347s wrote:

I shopped on a app  called Wish shopping made fun. Their are very misleading. You never get where think you are ordering. And they don't stand behind their products and you won't get your money back. When I reported it to the BBB. They said they were out of business so they thought anyway. But just told them, that me and my daughter just got ripped off by them. 


I'm not sure you understand what you are accessing. Wish is purely an app created by some software engineers about 5 years ago. It is a 'bargain hunting' site that allows you too look at hundreds of different stores and untold number of products. Essentially, it's an online shopping mall.

 

   Here is some info on them.

 

".... in the instance of Wish.com, nearly all of the emphasis is placed on ‘cheap,’ basically to the exclusion of ‘fast’ and ‘good.’ So, although you’ll be getting rock-bottom prices, you’ll have to wait a very long time to receive your order, and in general, the product(s) will probably be of less-than-stellar quality.

On top of this, should anything go wrong with your order, you might experience difficulty getting in contact with the original seller (remember, Wish.com only acts as a storefront, but doesn’t sell items directly). And if you need to get Wish.com involved, many customers have complained that they weren’t much more help....".

 

   You need to research apps before loading/using them and understand what you are getting. Wish doesn't guarantee much of anything, and you are on your own dealing with the hundreds of companies they search on. You need to research the company you are placing an order with before you order anything.


"...Why is everyone a victim? Take personal responsibility for your life..."
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Newbie

I play worxzy with friends and started talking to a gentleman on there. He was very charming and wanted ust o start talking. I didn't feel comfortable giving my phone #. He suggested we talk on hangout. He described growing up in an orphanage, his wife died from cancer and his son was sick with an incurable disease. I was immediately suspicious, but I continued to talk to him. He said he was working on an oil rig and wasn't able to talk to me per phone. Remember, he had already ask for my phone #. Eventually he wanted me to send a $100 iTunes card so that he could call me. Be Careful who you talk to on social media. He still trys to send me messages.

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Newbie

Last week, posted a craigslist ad to sell a new-in-box pedestal sink that was wrong size for our small space. I listed my cell phone number; as my email doesn't link to cell phone (old type cell phone) and I wanted faster responses to ad. Got a text from an interested party who wanted my full name and address so he could 'mail a check or money order'. Why would you mail a check for an item you must pick up in person? Not to mention, I'd never take a check (even money orders are forged). Another red flag is that he offered me much than I was asking 'in order to hold it for him"- which also was silly since that put item in price range where he could just buy it at a home store, no bargain for him. I texted back cash only, pay when you come look at/pick up item. Now, here's where the scam got interesting: he wanted to call to 'talk about it' and texted that since something wrong with his cell, he'd use Googlevoice to make call (essentially using his computer to make a phone call); but that I'd have to press 00 to "accept" his call. He then immediately called. That just didn't sound right to me, so I didn't answer (my computer was at that moment doing a slow 'installing updates'; so I could not check on-line about reports of similar scam). He then texted again and told me he'd call again and I should enter the 00 after I answered. I texted back that if he were local, which I had to assume for an item like this, he could text to set appointment and pay in cash when he came; I could email him photos but that was the arrangement. When I did go online to research, I learned this is a known scam where the scammer takes control of YOUR telephone number and can make calls on your number through googlevoice. Your entering 00 tells googlevoice to set up an account on your number (as if you had initated the request- it calls your number and you verify the request by entering 00.) He would have been able to use MY phone number to call & scam other people, to make out of state toll calls; and possibly even to make international or pay-per calls (such as phone sex 1-900 numbers- my particular carrier plan would not cover internat'l or 1-900 but would allow out of state calls). Don't fall for the google voice "enter 00 to "accept my call" scam! It is tedious to go through the process to uninstall googlevoice and get your number secured again! (YouTube vidoes and other info on-line tell yu how to do that if needed)

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Trusted Contributor

I hate to admit this to anybody.  I made my hubby promise that he wouldn't even tell our grown Children!!!  I am not a dumb person but these scammers got me not once but twice.  😞  😞  It all started when I got this warning page that my computer had been hacked.  It had MICROSOFT stating that DON'T shut down my computer and call this phone number immediately.  Which I did.  I called the number and a man answered my call.  He got into my computer and showed me where it supposable had been hacked!!  Of course, if I wanted my computer fixed I would have to pay 249.00 for cleaning it all up and they would keep an eye on it to make sure no one hacked it!!  So I used my debit card and paid the amount.  It took them or they pretended that they worked on my computer like 6 hours. Everything was hunky dory!!  Ok, then I was told that I was scammed.by my hubby but I denied to the end.  Then came the WORSE SCAM at all.  Again they tried a different way, and yes I fell for it again.  But, luckily I couldn't  get into my account at the bank.  I think someone was looking out for me.  If I would have listened to that voice of reasoning everything would be great!!  But...I fell for it again!!!  They ask me to go to Walmart and get ITUNE cards in the amount of 300.00 I DID what I was told all the time my hubby telling me it was a scam!! Nope, it couldn't be again.  I did finally GET IT!!!  After costing myself a ton of money that we could not afford.  But...if one person is saved then I will be alright.  By the way, if MICROSOFT is really hacked they will not put anything on your computer, they will shut it down.  Then you will call them to find out why it isn't working. Also, I still get calls every once and awhile but not many since I learned how to block a number and got my phone number added to a DON'T CALL number.  I would like to wish I had learned my lesson the first time but...I can say I HAVE DEFINITELY learned it now!!  Be on guard at all times.  It just might save you from being so ashamed about being not tricked one time but to get tricked the second time!!  

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Regular Contributor

so sorry - my best friend fell for it too. glad you know now, and don't be ashamed, I'm just glad they didn't get you in deeper. They have my mom for 40,000$ of her retirement and are trying to get to $77000 more. She still doesn't think it's a scam. We're stepping up to help. She isn't going to like it.
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Newbie

A message appeared on my computer saying I had multiple viruses on my mac and needed to download their program NOW. Of course I didn't but I couldn't get away from them.  Their address is  US.dolor774KV.pw       I rebooted the computer but still couldn't get rid of it.  No matter what I typed it returned back to the fraudster.  So, as a last resort I typed "fcc.gov" and pressed enter.  Amazing that all of the fraudster and their web site VANISHED. 

 

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Contributor

A month ago I got a letter invitng me to  work for an "IBM-USPS" project. The come-on was I would get $15 every time I mailed a package into a designated mailbox in my city for this project. Got suspicious when I googled the address of their office which was in Springfield, Virginia business area. IBM had an office there too according to my research.  Letter instructed me to call them at a 1-800 telephone number. I did not call the number because I suspected that their modus operandi was to ask for my SSN and other pertinent info so that they can mail a check when I finished the alleged job they want me to do.  I wondeer if they sent letter to everyone or just to seniors?

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Honored Social Butterfly

"...A month ago I got a letter invitng me to  work for an "IBM-USPS" project...".

 

That scam has been around at least 7-8 years. All one has to do is search online to find out if what you suspect is a scam has been reported before.


"...Why is everyone a victim? Take personal responsibility for your life..."
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Regular Contributor

I sign up with Care for some part time work. I get many strange requests from people claiming to be out of town that want to send me a weeks pay advance to watch their children. Yet they haven't even met me. In some of them, they wanted to send me an over paymet that I was to send to some body. It always came by text message. Every time I called the number it wouldn't work. Be careful.

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Regular Contributor

The other day my cell phone rang and a recorded message came on claiming I can lower my credit card interest rate to 6%. I was suspicious but thought I'd see what it was about. When an Indian accent answered the phone I became increasingly more suspicious. When I asked which credit card is this for, he immediately hung up. He didn't know what credit card I had. He was calling to get one.

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Contributor

Selling on Craigslist. If you try and sell an item on Craigslist you are likely to get emails or text messages first asking a few simple questions about the item and then claiming they want to buy the item right away but pay with paypal or a cashiers  check because they are out of town or state. These are all scams either they will send a fradulent email claiming that a paypal payment for $400 over your selling price is ready to be claimed just send $400 to release the Paypal payment. (email is not from paypal) or they will send you a cashiers check including an over payment for shipment. They say they will wait on it to be deposited before they ask you to ship them the product. Then they say they changed their mind and will pick the item up and ask you to refund the shipping price. The cashiers check will eventually bounce. Requiring in person pick up and payment in cash will thwart these kinds of scams however they still steal from you by wasting your time..

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Newbie

Yes those are scams and I am not sure if that is what people attempt to do when they reply to the listing on Craigslist and say you need to contact someone else that wants to buy the advertised item at a certain email address but I believe those are never or rarely ever a real buyer so my advice is to ignore any of those responses. That is what I have done and not sure what the intentions of those people are but it is one part of what is driving many people to not use Craigslist anymore, especially since Facebook has sale groups and the marketplace feature. That is what we tend to use for buying or selling anymore without issues so far, however, if you use that it's a good idea to check how long someone either selling or buying has had the profile because fake profiles usually aren't going to be very old or if you can see it (depending on privacy settings) have much for posts, friends, etc.  

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Contributor

Got a phone call from "Unknown Caller" (which is what my caller id showed), the number was 876-788-7915.  Guy identifies himself as Dave Sawyer from Publishers Clearing House; he knows my name and my wife's name and our Zip Code and phone number.  He then proceeds to tell me I've won a 3rd place price in one of their giveaways ($185,000 cash + 2017 Mercedes Benz valued at $125,000).  Then he goes into this rambling spiel about taxes due to the IRS, and they have paid 2% taxes for me and I have 3% taxes I owe, but only 1% has to be paid before the IRS will release authorization to PCH to release my winnings - - so I owe $2,855.15 now.  (They're not very good at math; that's not 1%.)  He then said I should call my wife and tell her the good news; and he will call back in 5 minutes to give me more details.  When he called back, using the same number as before, my caller id showed "Montego Bay, Jamaica".  I did some research online and found this is a scam these people are pulling on older people.  They also have used another Jamaican phone number, 876-472-3689; so if you get a call from either number - - don't give them any personal information about yourself and DON'T send them any money!

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Newbie

I just recieved a phone call from PCH, almost word for word as this one. They said they were from Jamaica NY.  They said they would be at my house within the hour to get my share of the taxes.  I told them to get a real job, and the cops will be waiting for them when they get here.

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