I'm a scam prevention expert and I got scammed • Hacker News Board

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

#231

Post by mardifoufs » Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 9:03 PM UTC

BaseballPhysics wrote: post #225

mardifoufs wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what if they said that? I'm not trying to pile on them but the reason people are questioning their credibility is that they fell for a pretty basic scam. Even if they acknowledged that their assumptions were incorrect (knowing Caller Id is very flawed but still falling for it), it doesn't necessarily make the scam any less obvious. Would you not question the credibility of a doctor who falls for say, crystal heali…

> I'm not trying to pile on them but the reason people are questioning their credibility is that they fell for a pretty basic scam. Yeah, I've read the armchair quarterbacks around here thinking they wouldn't be the ones to get duped if it was them. Of course, I'll bet if they did get duped, they wouldn't post about it on social media because a bunch of folks would come out of the woodwork to point out how stupid the…

I'm not saying I wouldn't get duped, but Im also not a scam prevention expert! And you are right that I wouldn't be posting this if I was in their place but I'm not sure if that means that makes them immune to criticism. "I bet you'd have done the same" is not an extraordinarily good defense when we are talking about a scam precention expert.

I also don't think this has anything to do with intelligence. You can question expertise without questioning intellect

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

#232

Post by craftyguy » Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 9:04 PM UTC

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 was blown away that Amazon would transfer me to a scammer

You shouldn't be. The amazon store's core business model is allowing scammers to sell garbage to unsuspecting buyers.

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

#233

Post by craftyguy » Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 9:05 PM UTC

dheera wrote: post #163

itslennysfault wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reason #99,999 that I don't use Amazon anymore. Just buy stuff in-person, pay the shipping, wait the week, or whatever. You'll be fine I promise.

Stuff in person costs 2X the price though. Especially bike parts. It's often cheaper to buy from Amazon but never go through troubleshooting support. Always return or replace. If that doesn't work, give a 1 star review, wait for the seller to come chasing you with a gift card in return for 5 stars. Change it to 5 stars, spend the gift card, and then change it back to 1 star.

As someone why buys a lot of cycling parts online, there are many mom/pop bike shops with web storefronts, that are very reasonably priced and often include "free" shipping. Stop giving bezos your money, you have no excuse.

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

#234

Post by rolobio » Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 9:08 PM UTC

pmoriarty wrote: post #220

rolobio wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon US used to be as you describe. But now its mostly just cheap knockoff stuff. I hardly purchase there anymore. Its really sad because they used to have such a wide selection.

Where do you shop instead?

Locally mostly. Also, surprisingly on walmart.com.

Edit: Also from manufacturers' websites.

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

#235

Post by wombatpm » Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 9:08 PM UTC

gkilmain wrote: post #188

aceazzameen wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Interesting. I would have lumped them all together. Why do you trust reviews on Target but not Amazon?

Target and Walmart take online returns at their stores, which no one in the supply chain likes. They will take bad suppliers to the woodshed if too many returns of an item. Hence they have skin in the game to carry quality products

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

#236

Post by josephcsible » Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 9:08 PM UTC

tl;dr: Someone claiming to be from Wells Fargo contacted her by phone and requested a code that she got emailed. The email with the code said "Wells Fargo will not contact you by phone or text to request this code." She gave him the code anyway.

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

#237

Post by agentdrtran » Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 9:12 PM UTC

whimsicalism wrote: post #17

Just don't give people 2FA codes? I am never going to give a 2FA code to someone who calls me, no matter what combination of words come out of their mouth.

"just don't get phished"

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

#238

Post by verisimi » Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 9:13 PM UTC

Is it possible that this is a PR puff piece?

I think you could argue that this guy gives us this long (and somewhat implausible) story in order to:

a/ support the line of business he is in and

b/ to justify all the privacy intrusions and obstructions that banks are undertaking

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

#239

Post by jazzyjackson » Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 9:14 PM UTC

pmoriarty wrote: post #229

dqv wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

.

you've got caller and callee flipped

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

#240

Post by lxgr » Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 9:14 PM UTC

Phiwise_ wrote: post #135

camtarn wrote: post #68

Earlier 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?

If you're up for an (at least to me) fascinating rabbit hole of technological history in audio form, you might enjoy this narrated audio tour of analog phone switches:

https://www.evan-doorbell.com/production/group1.htm