"EXPERT"
That's all I could think. This guy sounds like a typical person prone to scams. Expert my ass.
I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed
171–180 of 562 posts
Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
For the people who are confused: this is a fairly common thing on landlines in some countries, where the telephone exchange doesn't drop the connection until both ends have hung up, or in some cases when the caller hangs up but not the callee. So it's possible to put your own phone down, but when you pick it up again your phone is still connected to the scammer's telephone. If they play a convincing dial tone, then c…
Even already knowing about this I'm still mystified that landlines work this way on every occasion that I'm reminded of it. Does anyone know if there is, or at least was, a justification for this mode of operation? Was it at least of any use to anyone back around the 1900s or whenever or is it just another "we do it because that's how we've been doing it" residue that hasn't been cleaned yet?
As opposed to my sib comment, I could see (theoretically, not saying this is what the original logic was) some justification to deal with intermittent line breaks or connection issues - if one side can keep the call open, then a wind gust breaking the connection for a couple milliseconds somewhere between the two parties won't cause the whole call to end. From a customer point of view, it's more resilient and ends up with fewer dropped calls.
I could also theorize about the different switching actions going on, where up until the other party picks up there's already only one phone on the line, but that's getting into phone system/phreaking stuff that is way out of my depth.
Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed
#173I 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…
Too bad Wal Mart murdered Jet.com
Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed
#174Not much of an expert, caller ID means nothing. Standard procedure for everybody in the last 20 years should be: Whenever I get a call about security or fraud from the bank, I thank them for the notification and tell them I will call them back, and hang up. Then I call the number on my credit /bank card, not the number I was called from. Fortunately there is a lost or stolen cards so there is no queue time and tell t…
> Not much of an expert, caller ID means nothing
They... said that:
> The caller ID showed the correct name and number for my bank, but caller ID data is so hilariously easy to spoof that it might as well not even exist.
Honestly, what is with the low quality comments attempting to undermine this person's credibility?
Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed
#175The author ("scam prevention expert") was extremely uncomfortable at multiple points in the interaction and just...kept going. I know that this scam is relatively sophisticated compared to others, but I have to think if I was a scam prevention expert that I wouldn't tarnish my own name by putting a story with this much raw honesty out there. They basically violated rule #1 of scam avoidance which is that no legitimat…
> I have to think if I was a scam prevention expert that I wouldn't tarnish my own name by putting a story with this much raw honesty out there.
I think it's an absolutely excellent story to publish. The road to becoming an expert in any field or art is paved with failures, and your own failures tend to be the ones you learn the most from. Plus in a field that primarily deals with dishonesty, being this transparent does help build a positive image.
Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed
#176I almost got scammed regarding renewing my software subscription with Intuit. I got a voice message indicating that my credit card on file for the renewal was expired (true) and that I should call back at the number given. That was my big mistake; given that I made the callback, I overlooked the fact that I had not myself looked up the number I was calling. But how did they know my CC number was expired, and that my annual renewal date was coming up soon?
When I called, I immediately got connected to a live person. Second mistake: you can never get through the voice menu to a live person so easily. Anyway, the guy sounded convincing, and said I could get a special discount on renewal, so after some further conversation, I commented that I should be able to log in online and get this same deal, which was my preferred method. At that point, he finally put me on hold and then the call disconnected.
Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
There may be inferences you can make from the sum that aren't immediately obvious. If cards can end in four zeros, the sum and the last four digits contain equivalent information, but you would also confirm that three of the digits are zeros if the sum was 1. It's something that, if I were a bank, I would want someone with a background in number theory to weigh in on. If I were a paranoid bank exec, I wouldn't trust…
Don't forget the last digit is a checksum digit too. Which I still can't give you an attack, but I also agree that I definitely can't say I'm sure there isn't one.
Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed
#178I 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…
Yep. I've been ordering from Target, Best Buy, and Walmart much more often these days. I just assume the product descriptions and reviews on Amazon are all lies.
Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed
#179There was one time I thought I was being scammed, but it turns out there was an actual issue with my bank account. Sitting at my desk at work, I get a phone call from my bank on by cell phone. "Mr. Anechoic, there appears to be a security issue with your bank account. We can resolve it for you. For security purposes, can you give your checking account number and the last four of you SSN"? This is clearly a scam, righ…
Not the same thing, but relatedly, every legit email I receive from my health insurance is functionally indistinguishable from phishing. They always bounce me through a million weird domains too. It's very discomfiting and makes me worry that I won't be able to pinpoint a legit phishing attempt because it won't stand out.
Re: I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 phishin…
I don't think the "cut" implies they are in on some phishing scam. It's saying they take a cut of all volume, so even volume that's harmful to consumers is hardly worth Amazon's attention (as is evidenced by the obviously massive economy of systematic scamming that happens via Amazon, all of which, again, they get a cut of).