Scams, etc..

Hippy Chippy · **Posted:** Sun Nov 01, 2020 9:27 am

BC wrote:

Here's another scam that is starting to circluate. I had an elderly friend ask me about it, and today a neighbour also received it.

Hmmmmm... :-k

Clever one, I had to look at the URL twice to pick up the misspelling of Tesltra...!!! :omg1:

Mick Thompson · **Posted:** Tue Nov 03, 2020 8:36 pm

Hey Smiley, got a friend request from you today, looks like you may have been scammed.
Cheers

Graeme Rhodes · **Posted:** Wed Nov 04, 2020 11:41 am

Mick Thompson wrote:

Hey Smiley, got a friend request from you today, looks like you may have been scammed.
Cheers

Thanks Mick, but I am running my account on 2 devices so it would have been a request from the other device.
Why they don't sync is a mystery.

Hippy Chippy · **Posted:** Wed Nov 04, 2020 1:27 pm

The "Is this you in the video..?" scam is still doing the rounds, latest person to be 'hacked' is our mate, Chippy Doug 'Ganghas' Green, whose Facebook account sent me the dreaded 'virus' today... :redeye:

I'm not sure Doug is aware he's been hacked, and unfortunately, I don't have an alternative contact point for him, so if you've received the 'virus' from him, and have his e-mail address, or mobile number,
please contact him and let him know... :mail:

Hippy Chippy · **Posted:** Sun Mar 21, 2021 3:27 pm

A Text Message (supposedly from PayPal, but clearly 'phishing') :fishing:

was received on my mobile :mobile:

at 7:12 PM last night, Sat. 20/03.2021:
Received from +61 415 746 902 720 (<<< NB: Extra spaces/ numbers/ letters have been added to the phone number and URL link below to hopefully render them inactive...) :hook:

--------------------------------
To our value (?) customer, we are sorry to inform you that your account has been limited due to our system risk assessment. Please secure your account htps: // paypal - safety wizard .net / ?login
--------------------------------

I transcribed the entire text message verbatim to PayPal Customer Care chat-line via my laptop, :puter:

expressing my concerns, and after a brief exchange received the following from them:

"I'm sorry to find out that you received a text like that. What I can assure you is that your account is not limited at all and we never send text messages but rather,
emails. By the way, our email is always service@paypal.com or service@paypal.com.au AND we will greet you with your first and last name like Dear Warrick John
Pengilly or Hello Warrick John Pengilly. You can safely disregard that text, as your account is safe and secured with us. Let me also send you some useful information
about fake and real PayPal emails on your email. If I have answered all your enquiries, you can end this chat conversation to label your issue as addressed. You may
open a new one if you have other issues. If not, feel free to reply whenever you're ready and we'll reply as soon as we can. I wish you and your family are safe!"

:happy:

All good...! :yess:

tafmo · **Posted:** Mon Mar 22, 2021 11:50 pm

PAYPAL Rick...???? :cat1:

Is that a sister account to your PORNPAL account...??? :omg:

Hippy Chippy · **Posted:** Tue Mar 23, 2021 2:24 am

Hippy Chippy · **Posted:** Tue Apr 27, 2021 11:20 pm

Losses to car ad scams climbing

Australians have already lost over $288,000 to vehicle scams in the first quarter of this year, more than all losses reported to Scamwatch in 2019, and scammers have now begun impersonating defence personnel to con their victims.

In a vehicle scam, scammers post fake online listings offering to sell in-demand cars at well below market value to lure potential buyers looking for a second hand vehicle. Scammers seek payment to secure the car for the buyer but never deliver the vehicle.

Vehicle scams are commonly hosted on sites such as Facebook Marketplace, Autotrader, Car Sales, Cars Guide and Gumtree.

“As second hand car sales increased during the pandemic, unfortunately so did vehicle scams. If current trends continue, Australians could lose much more to vehicle scams this year than the $1 million lost in 2020,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.

“We want to raise awareness of these scams to reduce the number of people who may be vulnerable to them.”

A new technique we are seeing is scammers pretending to be defence personnel. In 97 per cent of reports received this year, the scammer claimed to be in the military (navy, army and air force), or to work for the Department of Defence, and said they wanted to sell their vehicle before deployment. This sought to create a sense of urgency with buyers and explained the unusually low listing price of the vehicles and why buyers could not inspect them prior to payment.

Email addresses that do not bear the legitimate the defence email format of @defence.gov.au may be an indication of a scam, but even the correct email format does not guarantee the car ad is not a scam, as scammers are able to spoof email addresses. It is best to look for all warning signs to avoid being scammed.

“A price that is too good to be true should be a warning sign for potential buyers. If a classified ad offers a vehicle at a very low price, the ad might not be legitimate. For example, one Scamwatch report noted a listing that advertised a car for nearly $10,000 below its market value to entice buyers looking for a bargain.”

Vehicle scammers often seek payment via a third party website. A large number of reports to Scamwatch mentioned the use of escrow agents, a third party who is supposed to ‘hold’ the money from the buyer until goods are received, before releasing the funds to the seller. Other commonly requested payment methods include eBay, direct bank transfer or international money transfers.

“If the seller claims to be unavailable and insists on payment before meeting the buyer or allowing them to pick up their new car, this should raise suspicions,” Ms Rickard said.

“It is relatively common for scammers to claim that they are travelling or moving away to avoid meeting buyers before payment.”
“Always try to inspect the vehicle before purchase and avoid unusual payment methods. If you have any doubts, do not go ahead with the deal,” Ms Rickard said.

In addition to losing money to vehicle scams, around 20 per cent of consumers who reported vehicle scams have lost personal information, after providing their address, phone number and copies of their driver’s license to the scammer. To protect your identity, never provide your personal details to someone you have only met online.

“Fortunately, over 80 per cent of people who reported vehicle scams to us managed to avoid losing money by identifying the scam early. We encourage consumers to trust their instincts. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Ms Rickard said.

Further help for consumers

If you have been the victim of a scam, contact your bank as soon as possible and contact the platform on which you were scammed to inform them of the circumstances.

If you have experienced a loss online and believe the perpetrator is located in Australia, you can also report the scam to ReportCyber. ReportCyber triages reports and allocates them to the relevant law enforcement authorities for further action.

Victims of identity theft, or cybercrime can contact IDCARE, a free government-funded service that will work with you to develop a specific response plan to your situation and provide support. You can contact IDCARE on 1800 595 160 or visit http://www.idcare.org.

Background

Scamwatch received 346 reports of vehicle scams between 1 January and 31 March, with $288,459 in losses reported during this period.
This compares to over 1,000 reports and more than $1 million lost in 2020, and 330 reports and about $245,000 losses in 2019.

People aged 18-24 have lost the most money to vehicle scams in 2021 so far, $79,210, or 27 per cent of total losses. People aged under 35 lost 35 per cent of the total losses reported to vehicle scams so far in 2021. People aged 65 years and over reported lower losses than all other age groups.

New South Wales has the highest number of reports (114) and losses ($97,297) to vehicle scams, while reporters from the Northern Territory and Tasmania have not reported any losses this year to date.

Some examples of the fake Department of Defence emails that have been used in recent vehicle scams include:
• @airforce-raaf.org
• @royal-australian-defence-gov.com
• defence@royal-australian-air-force-gov-au.com

Hippy Chippy · **Posted:** Sat May 08, 2021 12:47 pm

Sound advice... :arrow:

Hippy Chippy · **Posted:** Wed Aug 11, 2021 4:41 pm

The following :director:

WARNING is doing the rounds through Bob Mummery's mailing list... :evil3:

Forewarned is forearmed..!! :snap:

Beware Of This Latest Scam.

[-X

Beware there is a new malicious scam doing the rounds in Aussie.
A friend received a call from 9122 5004 1117 asking him to press 1 if he had been vaccinated. He pressed 1. Immediately the phone was blocked, #-o

and his phone has been hacked. :shit:

So be careful when you get similar calls/ messages. Be alert. Also, inform all senior citizens and friends. 91 is a call from India. :dark:

Webmaster's Footnote: I can vouch for the voracity of this warning, :happy:

in the past fortnight I have received 3 calls (voicemails) :phone:

and 4 SMS text messages :evil3:

requesting I click on the URL provided, or 'press 1' :puter:

to receive an important voice message... :evil3:

Suffice to say, I've blocked each of the incoming numbers and declined the 'invitations' to click on any links... [-(

It would seem that telling friends to 'Stay Safe...!' refers to more than just the Covid sign

pandemic... :sheeesh:

Scams, etc..

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