Windows 10 New Scam, at least to me...

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi...

Anyone else gotten an email saying that my "Order for a new, expensive laptop had been shipped and was sent to some woman in Utah"?
Just got the message, and of course there's a phone number to call if you have any question, that's when they try and get your credit card and other info out of you.

We need a new law enforcement wing of the government just to go after these people and put them out of business, it's getting so that practically every day I get some kind of scam message. I don't know if it's because I'm 83, and they think I'm dumb or if it's like this for everyone.

It might cut down on this kind of thing if some of them got caught and sent to prison.
The sending it to a different person is a nice touch, almost anyone would be worried about that.

Mike

 

[ussnorway]

yes lots of people are getting that knid of message... and yes it is a scam

 

[dustymars]

We need a new law enforcement wing of the government to check up on people who want to put people out of business just to scam them. Hey, even crooks deserve a decent living wage and safe place to scam unsuspecting morons who fall for scams. Maybe there should be a scammers union? Come on, man! Scam artists unite! Hum, I've been trying to get millions from African scammers for years but only get notices from by bank that a scammer attempted to take all my loot from my accounts. What is a scammee moron to do?

 

[davehc]

Watch for this one! I had an rmail scam, advising me they were an antifraud organisation. If I clicked the link and registered, they would track who the (other) scams were from

 

[dustymars]

Watch for this one! I had an rmail scam, advising me they were an antifraud organisation. If I clicked the link and registered, they would track who the (other) scams were from

Scam emails should alert even the most casual observer given grammar and spelling errors. Even so, one must be a little stupid to even read them, much less answer those emails. Just for kicks I clicked on an obvious scam email once and entered some erroneous account information then a return address for the Secret Service; the very Fed agency that investigates such scams. I used to know several agents when I worked near one of their offices and was friends with a couple of them. Needl4ss to say the African scammer never sent me another email.

 

[Neemobeer]

Scams have existed long before technology. They simply adapted with the times and technology. They can come through any form of communication such as in-person, mail, fax, email, web site, text, phone call etc. Scams can be automated (these are easier to spot since they are just blasted out to harvested contact information) and targeted. Targeted phishing attacks are referred to as spear phishing and whaling (high value targets). Targeted attacks will be tailor made for the victim or business sector focused.

The key items to always look out for are

• Generic salutations (Dear Customer, Dear user) vs calling you out my your name or username
• Spelling and grammatical errors in the message
• Links to unusual domains or similar domain (homoglyphic domains)
• Email addresses with non-company associated domains or again similar domains (homoglyphic domains)
• Attachments (PDFs and macro enabled office documents for sure or executables)

Another really REALLY important item to watch out for is messages that invoke fear such as

• If you don't call us the IRS will come after you
• A large purchase was made
• If you don't click the link your bank account will be deleted

These are all things that are unlikely if not impossible and you need to keep that in mind ALL THE TIME.
Fear is the most powerful weapon scammers have and the natural human response to fear which often overrides logical reasoning and gets people to fall for scams.


Best course of action if you're not sure
For Emails
Open a browser and go to the purporting emails site and contact them that way. NEVER EVER EVER reply to the email, don't open links and don't open attachments.

For Phone Calls
Tell them you will call them back. (It's trivial to spoof legitimate phone numbers) Calling them back will call the real business or government entity and will confirm they did not contact you.

People you know contacting you with unusual requests
This is another tactic of scammers. Compromising a family member, friend or someone you implicitly trust. Most people will let their guard down. The same answer applies. Don't reply to them via whatever means you've been contacted. Use a different form of communication to contact them. If they are unaware of the communication be sure to let them know their account is likely compromised.