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Speaking of scams

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Basil

Basil

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Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Today I got an email from a member (I'll call him Fred...not his real name) who hasn't been on my forum for over 10 years.
In the email he tells me he slipped and broke his leg and it required surgery.
I had no idea why this person would be emailing me out of the blue about this, but against my better judgement, I replied that I was sorry and that I hoped he gets well soon, etc.
A little while late I get a reply back from "Fred" thanking me for my concern, but then asking me if I order from Amazon?
This is when my red flag went up. Why would someone member who hasn't been in the site in ten years ask me if I order from Amazon? Sounds like a scam to me. I replied "No." and think I will not reply to any further emails.
 
Hey Basil,

I've been on the site most every day for the past ten years. I hurt my finger. Can you order a Dewalt angle grinder from Amazon and ship it to me?

:smile:

That's a funny story.
 
Popeye said:
Hey Basil,

I've been on the site most every day for the past ten years. I hurt my finger. Can you order a Dewalt angle grinder from Amazon and ship it to me?

:smile:

That's a funny story.
Click to expand...
Sure thing! But seriously, I think someone hijacked this guy's email.
 
In the last couple of months I must have received a dozen "Say, are you a member of Amazon? Can you help me out?" emails.

yeesh
 
Last edited:
Just got the following from “Fred.”

“
I need to get an Apple gift card for my Friend who is down with cancer of the Liver It’s her birthday today. I can't do this now. I tried purchasing them myself online but my card got declined. Can you get them from any of the nearest stores close to you and have them sent to me through the email? Let me know if you can handle this.

I'll reimburse you with the money spent.”


Needless to say I’m not going to reply anymore.
 
Fred... aka "Freddie the Freeloader"! (Thanks, Red Skelton!)
 
NutmegCT said:
In the last couple of months I must have received a dozen "Say, are you a member of Amazon? Can you help me out?" emails.

yeesh
Click to expand...

People at work might think I'm a scammer then - because I occasionally do ask people who have Amazon to order some things for me that I just cannot find in any stores. Of course I always give them the money up front so they won't actually be cutting into their own finances.
 
YakkoWarner said:
People at work might think I'm a scammer then - because I occasionally do ask people who have Amazon to order some things for me that I just cannot find in any stores. Of course I always give them the money up front so they won't actually be cutting into their own finances.
Click to expand...
The danger in these scams is that they often appear to come from people you know.
 
Basil said:
The danger in these scams is that they often appear to come from people you know.
Click to expand...
Coming from people I know throws up a red flag for me. Anyone I know wouldn’t just email me a request like that. If I were to get a request for $ or a gift card, etc. my first thought would be that they were hacked.
 
Gliderman8 said:
Coming from people I know throws up a red flag for me. Anyone I know wouldn’t just email me a request like that. If I were to get a request for $ or a gift card, etc. my first thought would be that they were hacked.
Click to expand...
I just noticed that the "From" email address was exactly the member's true email address BUT two things about the "Reply To" address: First, the fact that the reply to address is a gmail address, not Comcast. Also, his first and last name is followed by a number, but notice there is an extra lower case L after the e in his last name in the Reply To address. Obviously the "Reply to" address is scammers email address, not the forum member's real address.

amazon_scam.jpg
 
Basil said:
I just noticed that the "From" email address was exactly the member's true email address BUT two things about the "Reply To" address: First, the fact that the reply to address is a gmail address, not Comcast. Also, his first and last name is followed by a number, but notice there is an extra lower case L after the e in his last name in the Reply To address. Obviously the "Reply to" address is scammers email address, not the forum member's real address.

View attachment 101958
Click to expand...
Does there exist a website of known scammer email addresses?
If there is just add his to the list.
 
Got an email today from EZDrive MA Your vehicle has an unpaid toll invoice and wants me to open his site and a bunch of other gobblygook crap to reply. and his phone number is 63 947 357 1858
 
I had something similar, a call that went right to messages telling me I had unpaid taxes. Virginia area code but Philippines as a country code. Had another one once where I spoke to the guy. Told me I was convicted in secret government court of molesting kids and I had to pay a big fine, using gift cards of course. And that the police were hiding outside to arrest me if I didn't. Me response was to say it seemed I wouldn't need to go to work, could get 3 squares a day and sleep in, all in prison, so come and get me I'm guilty. He said I couldn't do that, had to pay the fine. Went back and forth for a bit before I noted I knew it was a scam and I'd waster 10 minutes of his time. He wasn't happy and had a few things to say....
Point being, beware of any unknown/unsolicited contacts.
 
When I was a kid (!), home phone rang one night. Dad picked it up, caller asked for Elvira. Dad said you have the wrong number. Caller demanded to speak with Elvira. Dad sighed, and said "Well - she's here, but she's flat on the floor drunk".

Yep - back around 1956. Remember these?

Bell telephone.jpg
 
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