Security Alert

[larryboy]

Yesterday I got a call on my land line supposedly from Direct TV. The woman on the other end (who spoke very strongly accented English) told me that there was a problem with my Direct TV receiver. She said it was only getting 25% of the signal and she would install new software that would fix the problem. She knew my name and address and so I went along with her. She had me turn off my TV and then she put me on hold for a while and when she came back on she hit me with the following. The Software cost $700 and if I canceled Direct TV they would have that loss on the books. She said that I would get $10 off per month for 2 years but I had to send them $150 which would be held for 6 months and if I was still a Direct TV customer at the end of that time I would get my $150 back. I said "I am not sending you any money" and with that the call ended without a word from her. I would give her about a 7 on a 1-10 scale in terms of how believable she was and while I think that every one on this forum is
too sophisticated to fall for her bullshit elderly parents, children, and newbies to the net might just be suckered in. You might want to warn people you know are Direct TV subscribers about this scam. I have been hit up by several of these in the recent past. I got the "grandpa, I am in jail" one not long ago. I replied "that's a good place for a rotten little corksoaker like you". I don't have any grandchildren so I felt safe in saying that. I have seen warnings about other scams but this one is new so I wanted to pass it along. My computer just had a sudden attack of the italics so maybe she is exacting her revenge!

 

[Ty]

Thanks for the heads up. We can't be too careful these days.

 

[CHUCK G.]

Yesterday I got a call on my land line supposedly from Direct TV. The woman on the other end (who spoke very strongly accented English) told me that there was a problem with my Direct TV receiver. She said it was only getting 25% of the signal and she would install new software that would fix the problem. She knew my name and address and so I went along with her. She had me turn off my TV and then she put me on hold for a while and when she came back on she hit me with the following. The Software cost $700 and if I canceled Direct TV they would have that loss on the books. She said that I would get $10 off per month for 2 years but I had to send them $150 which would be held for 6 months and if I was still a Direct TV customer at the end of that time I would get my $150 back. I said "I am not sending you any money" and with that the call ended without a word from her. I would give her about a 7 on a 1-10 scale in terms of how believable she was and while I think that every one on this forum is
too sophisticated to fall for her bullshit elderly parents, children, and newbies to the net might just be suckered in. You might want to warn people you know are Direct TV subscribers about this scam. I have been hit up by several of these in the recent past. I got the "grandpa, I am in jail" one not long ago. I replied "that's a good place for a rotten little corksoaker like you". I don't have any grandchildren so I felt safe in saying that. I have seen warnings about other scams but this one is new so I wanted to pass it along. My computer just had a sudden attack of the italics so maybe she is exacting her revenge!

 

[CHUCK G.]

Thanks.

 

[84mpg]

Thanks Larryboy for taking time to share. First I’ve heard of this scam approach. I’ll be sure to share it with others.

My good neighbor is a naturalized citizen originally from India. She’s a smart lady but still not fully accustom to our way of life here in the US. She’s also a widow and had to pretty much take care of herself.

Long story short - she was ripped off to the tune of $1,500 through an “IRS” scam call. They were about to gig her for ANOTHER $1,800 - but thank goodness she asked me if she should pay. At least we saved her from throwing away the $1,800. I felt so bad for her.

Hell isnt hot enough for lowlifes that take advantage of people like that.

By the way - I get either scam phone calls or emails just about everyday now.

 

[Trusting]

I know someone who fell for a similar scam. A "nephew" called and said he was driving toward town and had an accident. He needed money to pay the other driver for damages. The mark ended up sending $2,500.

From the info the con man had, such as the nephew's name, home town, etc. It appears he (they) got the info from the mark's Facebook account. Be careful what you post.

 

[Made in USA]

I get calls all the time from a "Microsoft Technician" who tells me I have a virus and that he will walk me through removing it. He refuses to give me an employee number, or a number I can call him back on. I told him that Microsoft has my e-mail address (I use Outlook) but imagine my surprise when he says he doesn't have access to it. So I told him I like the virus and want to keep it. He then says that he will be forced to block my computer. I tell him go ahead, block it. He usually ends up hanging up on me. BTW, I use Malwarebytes for antivirus and have for many years. It seems to block a lot of the pop-ups pretty good.

 

[Mel]

I get calls regularly telling me that my Windows computer has a problem. I tell him that I don't have a computer. I use a Big Chief Tablet. Surprisingly, he's never heard of a Big Chief Tablet. He wants to know if it's made by Apple or MicroSoft.

 

[RSchneider]

I can't find the story right now but there was one, where a writer for something online decided to see how far he could string along the ones that call about you owing back taxes and they are from the IRS and will accept payment with iTunes gift cards. It was pretty funny but sad. The guy had them going for a while because he just searched for old iTunes gift cards and then used those numbers to see how far these guys would go. I think it started off with him acting so inept when it came to a Western union wire transfer and then it went to the iTunes gift cards.

 

[BilgeRat]

I had one a while back scamming via Pay Pal. The email said that someone had rented an AirBnB in Houston (of all places!) and had used my Pay Pal account to pay for it. I contacted Pay Pal about it, and they said it wasn't on their books, and that it was one of several phishing scams floating around. Based on the url in the email, they said it would walk you through several steps going after personal information. The world would be a better place if people would put this much effort into legitimate enterprises...