Questions tagged [scam]

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1 vote
0 answers
94 views

I caught myself in the middle of a phishing scam

I got caught up in a phishing scam where I conducted an automated interview with emails that appeared legitimate from real people within my college. I did respond to multiple emails and the only ...
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3 votes
1 answer
90 views

How are the bank's "voiceprint" authentication methods secure?

A few years ago, an agent from the bank rang up to say my credit card was compromised. But first they wanted me to confirm who I was. I refused, they were ringing from a private number, they could ...
37 votes
4 answers
6k views

What is the purpose of hiding spam links in some obscure forum posts?

I'm moderating one small Discourse forum and we, like everyone else, get spammers from time to time. Our forum is small, like 40-60 weekly unique visitors. Our forum requires that each new user's ...
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1 vote
0 answers
57 views

I cant get a linux computer from my devices that are signed in my google account and not me [closed]

I was scammed and hacked. I called a hotline that said Facebook help getting unlocked from account and was directed to install an app that allowed the operator to see my screen and navigate to my cash ...
1 vote
0 answers
5k views

I received an email that someone created Snapchat with my e-mail - is this a known scam?

On July 31 and a second time after around twelve o'clock at night (August 1) I received two E-mails, which asked me to confirm my E-mail to create an Snapchat account and the second one was stating ...
0 votes
1 answer
65 views

I gave my first name and alt email to someone I don't know, will that reveal who I am?

So, I wanted to get this game (to try it as it had no demo), so I went to a website, did not click on anything except the link to the Google drive folder, and then stupidly requested access to a ...
user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
59 views

Would removing a SIM disable the phone number and block text scams

I have a PAYG basic Nokia mobile, not a smartphone, and have noticed on my EE A/c there is a transaction for a Text Service with a charge of 15p, appearing every so often, which is nothing to do with ...
user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
55 views

Should I publish a blog post about scam ideas? [closed]

I have written and was planning on publishing a blog post about scams. The blog post talks about methods used by hackers in their Reconnaissance phase (specifically, researching individual people) and ...
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1 vote
2 answers
192 views

What's the likelihood of a compromised computer compromising others on the network?

Today my grandparents connected to my WiFi, the password was given to them by my partner. Well, after looking at their PC, we established that they hired someone who has installed loads of stuff on ...
  • 11
0 votes
1 answer
797 views

How does this scam email from a seemingly legit domain work?

I received a strange email from security@facebookmail.com. Sources on the internet seem to state that this is a Facebook-owned domain but I know the email is not legit because they do not address me ...
  • 105
0 votes
3 answers
4k views

Unknown numbers sending videos on WhatsApp. What should I do?

A number with ISD code +92 sent a video via WhatsApp. No text, only a video. About 20 days later, another number with same ISD sent another video. Should I open the video? OR Should I Report and Block?...
0 votes
1 answer
109 views

What is an attacker looking for when they try to get me to go to their website? [closed]

This is the third time I've gotten a call from someone asking me to just go to their website so that we can talk about the information [stock, forex and/or crypto trading] there. Many things that were ...
1 vote
0 answers
129 views

Potential Western Union Scam - Account Registration

In recent weeks I have seen a handful of senior employees in my organization receive a confirmation email from Wester Union for a new account creation. The issue is that none of these users have ...
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0 votes
3 answers
362 views

What to do after opening a potentially malicious link on smartphone?

What must one do if they opened a malicious link? Warning: Please do not open the links below as they may be malicious. They have been deliberately mangled to prevent accidental opening I received an ...
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1 vote
1 answer
118 views

Random garbage in phishing [duplicate]

What does it mean when an obvious scam e-mail, possibly "mere" phishing, includes in (whatever we call its signing-off small-print) what looks like a pointless list of dozens, perhaps ...
0 votes
0 answers
31 views

Is verification code a scam? [duplicate]

When facebook sends the confirmation code, the name FACEBOOK is not displayed as the sender,, instead phone numbers of different countries. Until now, it was only on my notebook, but today I synced my ...
0 votes
1 answer
146 views

Is there a hardware-constrained method for removing content from the internet?

I recently came across this viral post on Facebook: As of the time of this question, the post has more than 37,000 likes, 33,000 shares and 1.5k comments. Most of the comments are positive, ...
0 votes
2 answers
350 views

Are Bitcoin Scam Recovery business a scam? [closed]

I have an acquaintance that has lost USD 10k - 20k in a Cryptocurrency Investment scam. I strongly suspect he is about to get involved in what in my mind would be a "Crypto Currency Scam ...
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1 vote
2 answers
245 views

Scamming explanation

I've just received a scam SMS with that invite me to click on a link to check a delivery. Since I was curious about where it could lead, I opened a VM and set up a VPN, then clicked on the link. After ...
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1 vote
0 answers
473 views

Can someone turn my browser into a RDP with a keylogger? [closed]

I got an email the other day telling me that when I visited a website, someone installed malware in the website with which he was able to use my browser as an RDP. Kinda paranoid right now.
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1 vote
0 answers
101 views

Email Takeover Scam? [closed]

I've been receiving a lot of email lately intended for "Daniel L...", a person with the same last name and same first initial as me. It appears this person has requested information from ...
  • 193
1 vote
1 answer
150 views

How is it possible for scammers on YouTube to use the same exact username as the author of the video? [closed]

Recently, there has been an absolute massive flood of scammers on YouTube videos related to Bitcoin. Their "trick" is to use the exact same username and profile picture as the person who ...
1 vote
0 answers
180 views

How can this "Jim Browning" YouTuber have access to all these scammers' PCs? [closed]

I've been watching these videos on YouTube about some British-sounding male (with millions of views) busting Indian scammers. It is never explained how exactly he is able to do this, with him ...
0 votes
0 answers
147 views

How to Minimize Risk of Remote Access from Potential Job Scam?

Question resolved: no reason at this time to assume the remote access was with any malicious intent. [skip this beginning if you want] My partner was offered a job with a real estate listing company ...
0 votes
1 answer
215 views

What to do after a scammer took control of my mac?

A friend of mine called me in panic mode to tell me that "a message told her her computer was infected, and that she should call the phone number". So did she. Apparently, a lady made her ...
  • 103
-2 votes
1 answer
203 views

Why is Western Union so popular among scammers? [closed]

I've heard/read about a number of scams around the internet, and most of the time, the scammer tells the victim to transfer money using Western Union. I might be biased due to my sources, but Western ...
5 votes
1 answer
346 views

Found fake Facebook profile with my name and education history, what to do?

A family member of mine called my attention to a Facebook profile with data significantly resembling mine: Matching first and last name Matching city Matching secondary school Matching university ...
1 vote
0 answers
97 views

How to determine if a webshop is scam? [closed]

Nowadays people prefer to do their shopping online rather than using the real shop, especially because of the COVID-19 restrictions. But in the same context, attackers (scammers) are trying to gain ...
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0 votes
0 answers
203 views

Did fraudsters access my SMS verification code?

A very strange sequence of events resulted in some unknown person gaining access to my online banking (with CIBC). I've since recovered my account, but I am very eager to understand what happened: I ...
  • 101
0 votes
1 answer
173 views

Security risk for allowing accounts without captcha

I run a website that allows people to create accounts with an email address address and a password. Over the last month, I have had about 100 accounts created with email addresses that look like this:...
  • 121
0 votes
2 answers
541 views

Danger of making calls after unknown random number called through

I recently received a call from a number I didn't know to my mobile, answered it anyway. I didn't say anything, when it is a number I don't know I let the other person speak first.. after a few ...
  • 560
0 votes
1 answer
429 views

What to do after falling victim to a remote access technical support scam? [duplicate]

A common scam involves fake technical support tricking the victim into calling them, downloading remote access software, and allowing the scammer access to their computer. Suppose the victim ...
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1 vote
1 answer
237 views

Whatsapp suspicious message

Received a message from an unknown individual on WhatsApp messenger. I did not recognize the number (the person is not on my contact list), and there is probably an attachment (4 messages were sent). ...
5 votes
1 answer
201 views

Whom should I report spam emails to?

Today I received an email from a person in "critical health condition" who wants to give me about $10 million. It is clearly some kind of scam. What should I do with the email besides not ...
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0 votes
2 answers
734 views

What is the real risk of clicking a link? [closed]

If I were to click a link on any of my devices, be it over text message, email, or from a webpage, and enter no information/actions with the target page. What is the worst that could happen?
1 vote
2 answers
392 views

Checking system integrity after clicking scam email link on Linux

Earlier today, my mother opened an email thinking it was from my sister-inlaw, then clicked on the shortened link. The link loaded a page of fairly nonsensical text. The source of the page had no ...
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0 votes
0 answers
30 views

How to secure a Windows system impacted by TeamViewer customer support scam? [duplicate]

A friend of mine had her mother allow a "telecommunications customer support agent" (a scammer) to access her computer via TeamViewer. What should I do to secure the system/ensure the computer is ...
3 votes
3 answers
517 views

Have gotten a blackmail email with a password of mine - what to do? [duplicate]

I've gotten the following email today (the password has been changed; and the Greek characters are reproduced verbatim): Your ρasswοrd is REPLACED. Ι kηow α lot more τhngs about you τhaη τhαt. ...
  • 439
24 votes
4 answers
8k views

How does this Bitcoin scam work?

Lately I have been receiving messages from accounts on Discord telling me that I have won 1 BTC in a giveaway. This is obviously not true, but I have a hard time seeing how these accounts will get ...
  • 343
0 votes
2 answers
225 views

Is it possible a scammer stole my credit card details and made a new card from it?

So I'm abroad at the moment, yet I've just had a cash withdrawal made on my credit card from my country of origin, even though I'm not there and the card IS with me abroad. I called the card issuer ...
  • 103
4 votes
1 answer
902 views

How do gift card scams work?

A common scam is that the victim is contacted by someone claiming to be from the tax office or whatever, and that the victim is required to pay a fine. The victim then buys gift cards and gives the ...
0 votes
0 answers
777 views

What's the scam? Unknown users joining and leaving WhatsApp groups

I'm on a few WhatsApp groups that have signup links. Lately (last few months) I've noticed some very odd activity on a few of these groups: every few days I notice a number (often from a country with ...
  • 1,027
0 votes
0 answers
119 views

Understanding scam involving mobile transaction number

Today I have received an SMS from the number that my credit card provider uses to send MTANs that have to be entered for e-commerce. So at first the obvious scam seemed to be someone trying to use my ...
8 votes
3 answers
9k views

Surely I haven't won the lottery, but where's the scam?

Some time ago I received the following message on my personal mobile phone number: YOUR MOBILE NUMBER HAS WON 780,000EURO IN THE WORLD LOTTO END OF YEAR PROMO.FOR CLAIMS EMAIL(NAME/ADDRESS/PHONE) ...
  • 325
0 votes
1 answer
5k views

Someone I don't know is sending me test mail. Is this a scam? [closed]

In the last couple of weeks I've received several e-mails at my work account (a small research non-profit). The format is similar for all: "Test mail" in subject line No content in body Address ...
  • 101
9 votes
2 answers
4k views

Trying to understand the point of this scam email

I was reviewing my spam folder and spotted this: People are going to have one of two reactions: Hooray! Free porn! Confirm, confirm, confirm! OR OMG! I didn't sign up for porn! Now everyone can see ...
user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
106 views

Is there a way to forward unknown land line callers to a specific number in a manner similar to nomorobo? [closed]

My parents are getting up there in age and recently, my dad asked me about a message on his answering machine from "Apple" saying his account was "compromised". After having educated him on phishing ...
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2 votes
1 answer
481 views

I received an phishing email from myself [duplicate]

So today when I was checking my spam folder on my outlook account, I noticed I had received an email from my own address. The email looks like a typical scam: Claims to have installed a RAT on my ...
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1 vote
1 answer
221 views

Why would a stranger offer to write content for a nonexistent blog?

I get emails like this all the time: Hello dear, I’m a long time reader. I’m writing to you because I’d love to contribute a guest post on your website. I’ve been brainstorming some topics that I ...
0 votes
1 answer
279 views

Email phishing, understand mail header

I try to understand phishing email received from an attacker: Received: .... Received: .... Received-SPF: Pass (sender SPF authorized) identity=mailfrom; client-ip=; helo= envelope-from:attacker@...
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