You are being investigated

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A female friend of my Dad (he’s 93) called tonight and relayed to him that she got a call from someone indicating that she was under investigation and
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Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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abbodi86, Michael432, Myst, SueW, GreatAndPowerfulTech, Norio, DrBonzo

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If anyone hasn’t seen it, there is some video of a hacked call center available on YouTube. It is a good lesson what goes on at the other end of the line and is far more memorable than reading about being wary.

 

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Cesar, SueW, wavy, steeviebops, samak

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I like to think that I would never fall for that kind of stuff and hope I never do.  It is disturbing to know that predators are able to dupe those who are most vulnerable – especially the elderly!!

My mother (77 yrs old) recently fell for an email scam and called the 800# on a phishing email for something she didn’t order and knew she hadn’t ordered! The guy had her clicking on links, fortunately, on her ipad, but I was really upset when I found out.  It is too easy for these criminals to trick people.

I try to warn my family and friends – but everyone thinks I’m crazy, over-the-top nuts with this stuff and they kind of tune out……security, unfortunately is not a common concern, at least not in my experience. I currently am trying to get two friends to update their routers, wish me luck!! 🙂

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SueW

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Oh and this is good info from SSA:

https://www.ssa.gov/scam/

SCAM ALERT
The Social Security Administration will never threaten, scare, or pressure you to take an immediate action. If you receive a call, text, or email that…

• Threatens to suspend your Social Security number, even if they have part or all of your Social Security number
• Warns of arrest of legal action
• Demands or requests immediate payment
• Requires payment by gift card, prepaid debit card, internet currency, or by mailing cash
• Pressures you for personal information
• Requests secrecy
• Threatens to seize your bank account
• Promises to increase your Social Security benefit
• Tries to gain your trust by providing fake “documentation,” false “evidence,” or the name of a real government official…it is a SCAM!

Do not give scammers money or personal information – Ignore Them!

Protect yourself and others from Social Security-related scams
• Try to stay calm. Do not provide anyone with money or personal information when you feel pressured, threatened, or scared.
• Hang up or ignore it. If you receive a suspicious call, text, or email, hang up or do not respond. Government employees will not threaten you, demand immediate payment, or try to gain your trust by sending you pictures or documents.
• Report Social Security-related scams. If you receive a suspicious call, text, or email that mentions Social Security, ignore it and report it to the SSA Office of the Inspector General (OIG). Do not be embarrassed if you shared personal information or suffered a financial loss.
• Get up-to-date information. Follow SSA OIG on Twitter @TheSSAOIG and Facebook @SSA Office of the Inspector General for the latest information on Social Security-related scams. Visit the Federal Trade Commission for information on other government scams.
• Spread the word. Share your knowledge of Social Security-related scams. Post on social media using the hashtag #SlamtheScam to share your experience and warn others.

Please also share with your friends and family.

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Steve, SueW

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Here’s a good, fairly recent article from Brian Krebs on gift card scams: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/09/gift-card-gang-extracts-cash-from-100k-inboxes-daily/

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Steve, SueW

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Reading similar stories I always wonder whether these peoples’ PCs, smartphones.. aren’t bootnetted and a hive for spreading trojans, viruses, ransomware…

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At times like this I wonder if the government should invest some $$$$ in public service announcements reminding people that no legitimate business or law enforcement agency would ever ask for payment in gift cards.    I know these scammers are good at what they do but does it even make sense that you would pay a legitimate debt or fine with a gift card???

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Charlie

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Governmental agencies might not do this. But in northeast Illinois, ComEd, the electricity deliverer, does run an advert frequently on terrestrial radio stations to which I listen (when not listening to Pandora) basically stating what ‘dmt_3904’ has referred in here.

Important links you can use, without the monetization pitch = https://pqrs-ltd.xyz/bookmark4.html

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We in the UK get calls impersonating Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, but they give themselves away by saying, in a very mid-Atlantic accent that a warrant for your arrest has been taken out “at the county courthouse”.  We don’t have county courthouses!

The “in your face”, very authoritative tone of the recorded voice could induce terror in people who did not know that their tax affairs were up-to-date.

Dell E5570 Latitude, Intel Core i5 6440@2.60 GHz, 8.00 GB - Win 10 Pro

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I make a habit of scamming these people (at least the e-mail ones).  They want my number to text me; I provide a Google Voice number. I waste their time drawing things out, pretending to get gift cards, and just as I’m “scratching off the numbers”, I ask for a favor…

I send them a picture of someone’s posterior and ask them to put their cranium in it.

 

The most valuable commodity a scammer has is their time.  The more you waste, the less time they spend scamming someone else. The less time they spend, the less money they make, the less vulnerable people (seniors, et al) get taken, and the better off we all are. If you have the time, I highly recommend wasting theirs.

We are SysAdmins.
We walk in the wiring closets no others will enter.
We stand on the bridge, and no malware may pass.
We engage in support, we do not retreat.
We live for the LAN.
We die for the LAN.

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wavy

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This is just what got me started on creating my http://www.DefensiveComputingChecklist.com website. Sadly the site is H-U-G-E, and yet, it is incomplete at the same time.

Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com

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Steve, wavy

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Dumber than a sack of onions.

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Related to cybercrime scams, here is a decent website worth visiting:
Cybercrime Support Network = https://cybercrimesupport.org/
“Our mission is to serve individuals and small businesses impacted by cybercrime. We envision a society where everyone has the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to recognize and defend against cybercrime.”
There are some resources to browse for victims of cybercrime, and their affiliated website Scam Spotter = https://scamspotter.org/ has an interesting 1:12 minute YouTube video about “Is your relative really in need of gift card bail payments?” This video is about a Super Hero
Grandmother who knows how to deal with crooks. You can watch the 72 second action vid at the Spam Spotter website, or at this YouTube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY8OekuzOgs
Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true.

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Steve

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