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I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed

lupinia.net

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Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed

#21

Post by klik99 »

There's one easy rule that could have avoided all of this - never give out any info on incoming calls. If I get a call or text about fraudulent transactions, I'll keep them on hold while I log into the bank website. If I get a call about a late payment, I'll thank them for the info and ask them to stay on while I pay online. If I get an inbound call with a more complex request, I'll ask them for their employee info and call back the official service number. It annoys the caller sometimes, despite always treating them professionally, but I keep that a hardline rule no matter how real it feels.

I heard this from a security guy and was under the impression it was one of the sacred laws of security. If it's not, it should be - it's a rule of thumb that would stop 90% of social engineering attacks I hear about.

Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed

#22

Post by nopeYouAreWrong »

I'm so skeptical of these "experts" especially if they write a blog post where they hate their bank.

I've been with Wells for over a decade. They have never called me. Never.

I have had "fraud" alerts hundreds of times. They always happen at certain POS, and it's always a text alert.

Some of the stories I read make me viscerally react with "what in the world are you doing with something as simple as a bank account?"

Also a fundamental default is "no action". If you are even slightly suspicious, do nothing. It isn't somehow so important that you stop thinking and just act or react. Just stop.

Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed

#24

Post by hunter2_ »

gnicholas wrote: post #10

> He verified my name, he had the last four digits of my debit card number, and everything generally seemed to follow the normal script of a transaction verification call There's a red flag right there — I've never found a bank willing to provide any verification of who they are when calling me. They call me and ask me to give them a code or card number without providing me with any proof of their identity. I've trie…

> sum of the last 4

It's a chicken/egg problem of not wanting to give information first, but a one-way function (hash) is a fantastic idea. The collision possibilities in this particular function are worrisome, though.

Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed

#25

Post by compsciphd »

buscoquadnary wrote: post #8

Security theater. I had a situation where I had to buy something online from a company in Europe (owl4thunderbird) I placed the charge and then right after I got a text telling me to call a # for a possible fraud alert. That's a big red flag there. So I try and find the phone # of the fraud dept of Citi because anyone can send a text message. Turns out can't find it anywhere in the official Citi site. So I finally gi…

isn't there a phone # printed on your credit card?

Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed

#26

Post by otterley »

Scam reports like these really frighten me. If someone of above-average intelligence like the author can nearly be taken for a ride, imagine how easily our friends and family -- who are often far more vulnerable -- can be taken advantage of.

As the people most capable of remediating the vulnerabilities in our telecommunication and banking systems, I think we ought to close ranks and insist that our employers do a better job of protecting the innocent, even if it means breaking a few conveniences.

Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed

#28

Post by dqv »

______-_-______ wrote: post #13
rolobio wrote: post #6

I nearly got taken by a scammer because Amazon transferred me to one. I purchased a set of Reolink cameras on Amazon, (they've been great) one of them failed a couple months in. I contacted Amazon customer support (via my Amazon login and in their interface) and they wanted to troubleshoot with their technical team. Eventually the (very helpful) Amazon technician suggested contacting Reolink for support and started a…

I bet your Amazon rep just searched for Reolink and clicked on a Google ad that happened to belong to the scammers.

Well this initiated a rant, not directly related to ads, but Google in general. This is an internet literacy issue I’ve noticed more and more. People will refer to Google listings as an authoritative source even if the data comes from some third party.

“Is this Jordan’s Tiles?”

“No. This is Patrick. You have the wrong number.”

“It says on their website this is the number!”

“Their website is wrong, this isn’t Jordan’s Tiles.”

more argument with me just hanging up because they’re clueless (someone even had the audacity to ask me what the number was for Jordan’s Tiles like I’m their personal assistant)

And finally I went on Google and searched for Jordan’s Tiles. There my number was on the listing and on a third party source. The right number was on the lower ranking Jordan’s Tiles website. They were so argumentative about being so wrong, it was outside of their ability to understand that the internet can and does give you the wrong information.

Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed

#29

Post by buscoquadnary »

compsciphd wrote: post #25
buscoquadnary wrote: post #8

Security theater. I had a situation where I had to buy something online from a company in Europe (owl4thunderbird) I placed the charge and then right after I got a text telling me to call a # for a possible fraud alert. That's a big red flag there. So I try and find the phone # of the fraud dept of Citi because anyone can send a text message. Turns out can't find it anywhere in the official Citi site. So I finally gi…

isn't there a phone # printed on your credit card?

Only the customer support number, not the fraud number specifically and at the time I didn't have the time nor patience to navigate through a thousand mile phone tree and wait on hold for 8 hours.
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