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I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed

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

#101

Post by overtonwhy »

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…

Lots of call centers get targeted with this type of scam. I think it's because call center employees are so poorly treated and compensated that it's appealing to join the scam. I've seen the same exact thing happen with QuickBooks support. The actual agent you're speaking with gives your contact info to the scammer who calls you back.

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

#102

Post by gnicholas »

giaour wrote: post #85
gnicholas wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I was suggesting wasn't asking the account holder, but asking the bank. With a little training, the call center reps should be able to handle adding together the last few digits of a card number. I agree that asking account holders for this would be confusing, but since the bank is the one calling in this case it makes sense that the caller (bank) should provide information first. Of course, it appears that in t…

If the account holder has to ask the bank for a piece of information, the account holder will also have to produce it for comparison. Summing the last four digits could unintentionally leak information (what if those digits are all zeros?), so the challenge question should be carefully chosen by the bank, not just whatever the account holder comes up with.

Can you explain what the information leak would be? Also, I think it's not possible for a credit card to end in all zeroes.

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

#103

Post by mekoka »

cjg wrote: post #42
klik99 wrote: post #21

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 a…

Calling on the official number is a good rule. But my neighbour followed that and was still scammed for tens of thousands. The critical extra step that they missed was to check that the line was disconnected before calling out. They were using a landline. The scammers called them, but didn't hang up. Then, when my neighbour called out to their bank, they pretended to be answering that call - going through security, e…

So your neighbor hung up to proceed with a follow up call, which, if they're like most people, consists in just pressing the switch with a finger, while keeping the handset to their ear. But then upon releasing the switch, they just started dialing without waiting for the dial tone? And after they finished dialing and never heard the ringing tone, they didn't find that unusual? Forgive my skepticism, but something's missing from that story.

Edit: Just read up on the disconnect time (10 seconds for some providers) and yes, a sophisticated scammer could indeed emulate the various tonalities.

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

#104

Post by dangus »

jjoonathan wrote: post #19
Nextgrid wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I was blown away that Amazon would transfer me to a scammer. I contacted Amazon again and let them know what had happened. Hopefully they will figure out how their guy got this scammers phone number and teach him how to find a 3rd party phone number... 1) Amazon is complicit in shady behavior on their platform, whether it's inventory commingling, sketchy sellers repurposing existing, well-reviewed listings for a to…

Yep. Amazon gets a cut and they act like it.

This is quite a jump to conclusions. The alternative theory of the customer service rep googling a phone number and getting the wrong one is far more likely. Or, it's possible that the company's own seller login was compromised and a scammer changed their contact number.

The idea that a wildly successful multi-billion dollar company would actually set up such an easily-noticed system where they "get a cut" of phishing scams is outlandish.

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

#105

Post by post-it »

mdoms wrote: post #50
cjg wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling on the official number is a good rule. But my neighbour followed that and was still scammed for tens of thousands. The critical extra step that they missed was to check that the line was disconnected before calling out. They were using a landline. The scammers called them, but didn't hang up. Then, when my neighbour called out to their bank, they pretended to be answering that call - going through security, e…

Your neighbour dialed a new number without hanging up his ongoing call? Is this his first time operating a telephone? The scammers mustn't have believed their luck when they realised that was happening. Did they mimic a "brnnnnggg brnnnggg" sound when he dialed?

> Did they mimic a "brnnnnggg brnnnggg" sound when he dialed?

Yes: https://bc.ctvnews.ca/beware-of-the-delayed-disconnect-phone...

Looks like you would have fallen for it.

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

#106

Post by jstarfish »

otterley wrote: post #26

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 bet…

> imagine how easily our friends and family -- who are often far more vulnerable -- can be taken advantage of.

FUD. Hackers and scammers exist, sure, but your friends and family are always most likely going to be victimized by friends and family.

Outsiders have to work to collect intelligence, gain access and obtain your trust. Friends and family already have all three prerequisites.

Bernie Madoff didn't become the most prolific con-artist in history by cold-calling strangers. And consider what demographic is most likely to try recruiting you into the latest MLM scheme.

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

#107

Post by AdamN »

mekoka wrote: post #103
cjg wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling on the official number is a good rule. But my neighbour followed that and was still scammed for tens of thousands. The critical extra step that they missed was to check that the line was disconnected before calling out. They were using a landline. The scammers called them, but didn't hang up. Then, when my neighbour called out to their bank, they pretended to be answering that call - going through security, e…

So your neighbor hung up to proceed with a follow up call, which, if they're like most people, consists in just pressing the switch with a finger, while keeping the handset to their ear. But then upon releasing the switch, they just started dialing without waiting for the dial tone? And after they finished dialing and never heard the ringing tone, they didn't find that unusual? Forgive my skepticism, but something's…

scammer plays a dial tone after the 'hang up' and while dialing.

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

#108

Post by carabiner »

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…

Amazon today is a street side flea market. You really don't know what you'll get. I've started ordering more stuff from traditional retailers. Their online operations these days are really good, and at most a few dollars more than Amazon. Clothes from macys.com, home goods from homedepot.com and target.com, and so on. You're not flooded with choices with these stores that are mostly garbage, instead you get only 1-3 choices that are reputable.

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

#109

Post by davchana »

dqv wrote: post #28
______-_-______ wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

My friend booked one international flight with departure and destination having 12+ hours timezones difference. The email listed the departure time & duration of journey and arrival time, all in local times (as expected). Gmail auto creates an event about flights and hotel bookings, and thus shows the correct departure time, duration & then that AI simply added that duration to departure, and showed departure city's time flight lands. Wrong. My friend, no blame, believed it; until I pointed it out.

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

#110

Post by klik99 »

alskdjflaskjdhf wrote: post #74
klik99 wrote: post #21

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 a…

Yes, this is scam prevention 101. Anyone who called you is always unverified. It's hard for me to take seriously a "scam prevention expert" who doesn't seem to know or follow this rule, which by itself is enough to protect you from most scams. Normally I try not to victim blame people for getting scammed, but when you've made a declaration like that you forfeit that right. I'll also point out that the author seems to…

Regarding the complex phone arrangement: There's an effect, the name escapes me, that adding security can make threats less frequent but more dangerous. Sounds like he was more complacent because he had trust in his phone system.

And I agree about author - if he had said that he violated an easy rule and owned that I would take his credentials more seriously. Everyone makes mistakes, but he didn't list this simple, well-known rule as a way of preventing this.

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