New Scam: Amazon

[jkapp]

Aug 10, 2016 8:20:47 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

Interesting that the call comes on the heels of items being returned to Amazon. Coincidence Ok, I love conspiracies

But sorry this happened as also thanks for the heads up!!

Probably not a coincidence...but not a fault to Amazon either.

The scumbags knew your friend's phone number, so they very well may have hacked his emails or other accounts (including Amazon account). So they probably saw an email from Amazon about a return and started the scam.

[TheOtherMe]

Aug 10, 2016 14:13:19 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Aug 9, 2016 22:34:12 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

A friend of mine is very embarrassed that he fell for this one.

His wife had returned an item to Amazon.  He answers the phone and it's a man speaking broken English saying he's from Amazon and he's calling to discuss his recent return.  He said he talked to him because his wife had made a return.  Man says he needs to get in to his Amazon account on his computer.  Yes, he let him. 

Then he was told there was a problem and a third party would be finishing the transaction.  He was put on hold.  On his computer screen, a notice pops up that his computer is locked and it can be unlocked for $350. About then, another man comes on the phone and says to Fedex $350 cash to xxxx.  He knew then he had been had, but it was too late.

His wife has another computer, so the Amazon password got changed on that computer.  His computer will not go any farther than the ransom screen.  He went to Best Buy yesterday and was told it will cost them more than $350 to unlock it and if he wants data recovered, it would cost more.  Best Buy was aware of the scam.  Friend is buying a new computer.

He thought he was smarter than this, but he fell for it.  He can't believe that he fell for it. 

Be careful. 

I don't quite understand. It would take a lot more than giving somebody access to your Amazon account to compromise your computer in this way. You'd have to allow them remotely access your computer using a special application, or you'd need to run something downloaded from the Internet.

Did your friend actually go to a site suggested by the scammer, download something, and run it?

All I know is that he said he let them remotely access his Amazon account.  To me that means he would have had to have downloaded a program.  He did it.  He feels like he was very stupid.

He has spent today working on his new computer.  He has a password program and when it was downloaded on the new computer, it worked.  He has been changing passwords on all accounts.

The old computer is still demanding money to use it.

[TheOtherMe]

What is kind of funny is he keeps a spreadsheet of his blood pressure.  It is not on his wife's computer, so he thinks it is gone.  The loss of that spreadsheet is bothering him the most.

[TheOtherMe]

Aug 10, 2016 17:05:02 GMT -5 violagirl said:

I try to get my parents not to answer any phone calls where they don't recognize the number, but they alternatively try to shame or play dumb with phone scammers. They find it fun. 

I just try to drill it into them to be alert whenever someone calls out of the blue. Particularly if the person wants somethign from them or to do something for them. They have not fallen for anything yet. Another friend of theirs did and went all the way to Walmart and was in line to wire money when they saw a sign on the wall warning of scams. Like your friend, my husband just told them to buy a new computer, there was no way to know  what malware they had on the computer. More cost effective to buy a new one than try to fix old. 

I really hate having to be so cynical though. :^( 

92 year old father got the IRS scam call.  He told them to call me since I used to work there.  They didn't call me.

We feel like he can't fall for the grandchild scam because he no longer drives and would have to find someone to drive him to the bank to get the money to be wired.  We have told him about that scam but I don't know if he would panic if he got the call.

Sometimes it's nice when he doesn't hear well. 

[thyme4change]

Aug 10, 2016 19:27:28 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

What is kind of funny is he keeps a spreadsheet of his blood pressure.  It is not on his wife's computer, so he thinks it is gone.  The loss of that spreadsheet is bothering him the most.

This is the kind of stuff I started keeping on my google drive.  Nothing that (if hacked) would give anyone access to anything - just boring ol' stuff to them, but oh so important to me.

[Virgil Showlion]

Aug 10, 2016 19:25:30 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Aug 10, 2016 14:13:19 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

I don't quite understand. It would take a lot more than giving somebody access to your Amazon account to compromise your computer in this way. You'd have to allow them remotely access your computer using a special application, or you'd need to run something downloaded from the Internet.

Did your friend actually go to a site suggested by the scammer, download something, and run it?

All I know is that he said he let them remotely access his Amazon account.  To me that means he would have had to have downloaded a program.  He did it.  He feels like he was very stupid.

He has spent today working on his new computer.  He has a password program and when it was downloaded on the new computer, it worked.  He has been changing passwords on all accounts.

The old computer is still demanding money to use it.

Wow.

OK. Yeah.

Rule #1 in avoiding scams: when somebody cold calls you and asks you to download and run a program on your computer, don't.

It's sad, though, that we live in a world where this kind of fraud happens. I would love to live in a world where somebody could call me up and say "I'm from Amazon and I need you to run a program to correct a problem," and I could oblige without the slightest risk, as though the man was a brother and a beloved friend.

[Virgil Showlion]

Aug 10, 2016 19:27:28 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

What is kind of funny is he keeps a spreadsheet of his blood pressure.  It is not on his wife's computer, so he thinks it is gone.  The loss of that spreadsheet is bothering him the most.

Poor fellow.

Let this be a reminder to all of us: always, always keep an up-to-date external backup of critical files.

I violated that rule recently, so I'm not really one to preach.

[Ombud]

Aug 10, 2016 9:26:03 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I'm still waiting for the IRS to come arrest me.

I got a call from the 'IRS' that they were deactivating my PTIN because they did not have any recent returns from me. All I had to do was give them info regarding the returns I filed in 2015 season and then they would reactivate it. Now the problem is that the PTIN is active until December & the tax season isn't even over! Not to mention the fact that the IRS doesn't call, they send letters. Yes I called the IRS provider line and notified them

[tloonya]

Aug 9, 2016 22:34:12 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

A friend of mine is very embarrassed that he fell for this one.

His wife had returned an item to Amazon.  He answers the phone and it's a man speaking broken English saying he's from Amazon and he's calling to discuss his recent return.  He said he talked to him because his wife had made a return.  Man says he needs to get in to his Amazon account on his computer.  Yes, he let him. 

Then he was told there was a problem and a third party would be finishing the transaction.  He was put on hold.  On his computer screen, a notice pops up that his computer is locked and it can be unlocked for $350. About then, another man comes on the phone and says to Fedex $350 cash to xxxx.  He knew then he had been had, but it was too late.

His wife has another computer, so the Amazon password got changed on that computer.  His computer will not go any farther than the ransom screen.  He went to Best Buy yesterday and was told it will cost them more than $350 to unlock it and if he wants data recovered, it would cost more.  Best Buy was aware of the scam.  Friend is buying a new computer.

He thought he was smarter than this, but he fell for it.  He can't believe that he fell for it. 

Be careful. 

Was item cost like $20?

[justme]

Just as an fyi, Amazon can take control of your tab when your logged into their website. You have to give permission, but that's how they do it if you're having issues with the site that they can't fix or replicate. It's like screen sharing but they literally can only see or do anything on that Amazon page without downloading anything. It was pretty damn nifty.

[NoNamePerson]

Aug 10, 2016 17:53:54 GMT -5 jkapp said:

Aug 10, 2016 8:20:47 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

Interesting that the call comes on the heels of items being returned to Amazon. Coincidence Ok, I love conspiracies

But sorry this happened as also thanks for the heads up!!

Probably not a coincidence...but not a fault to Amazon either.

The scumbags knew your friend's phone number, so they very well may have hacked his emails or other accounts (including Amazon account). So they probably saw an email from Amazon about a return and started the scam.

I like your reply better. The other person had me headed for the back yard to eat worms!!!!!

[dannylion]

Aug 11, 2016 7:20:27 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

Aug 10, 2016 17:53:54 GMT -5 jkapp said:

Probably not a coincidence...but not a fault to Amazon either.

The scumbags knew your friend's phone number, so they very well may have hacked his emails or other accounts (including Amazon account). So they probably saw an email from Amazon about a return and started the scam.

I like your reply better. The other person had me headed for the back yard to eat worms!!!!!

Ahem. The idea to eat worms came from you. I had nothing to do with it. I simply provide the information; you decide what to do with it.

I have enough trouble keeping up with my own life, such as it is. I have neither the time nor the inclination to manage anyone else's life. Which is probably just as well.  It is a good day when I find my shoes on the first try.

So kindly do not attempt to deflect the responsibility for any worm-consumption activities from its rightful origin. 

Had I been inclined to suggest a punishment for entertaining the idea of any random individual being the specific target of an internet-scam conspiracy hatched by a mysterious stranger (or collection of mysterious strangers), it would have been more along the lines of recommending a review of the literature and statistical evidence regarding the likely probability of such an occurrence. 

(Eating worms might be starting to look like the lesser of two evils now, right?)

[souldoubt]

I still don't understand how people fall for this stuff.  The only time I've ever had anyone remotely log in to any computer is through work when we've contacted someone and initiated the service.  Under no circumstances when someone calls or emails do I give out any log in or personal information and I would never have someone remotely log in to my computer at home unless it was my friend who works in IT.  

[NoNamePerson]

Aug 11, 2016 9:28:04 GMT -5 dannylion said:

Aug 11, 2016 7:20:27 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

I like your reply better. The other person had me headed for the back yard to eat worms!!!!!

Ahem. The idea to eat worms came from you. I had nothing to do with it. I simply provide the information; you decide what to do with it.

I have enough trouble keeping up with my own life, such as it is. I have neither the time nor the inclination to manage anyone else's life. Which is probably just as well.  It is a good day when I find my shoes on the first try.

So kindly do not attempt to deflect the responsibility for any worm-consumption activities from its rightful origin. 

Had I been inclined to suggest a punishment for entertaining the idea of any random individual being the specific target of an internet-scam conspiracy hatched by a mysterious stranger (or collection of mysterious strangers), it would have been more along the lines of recommending a review of the literature and statistical evidence regarding the likely probability of such an occurrence. 

(Eating worms might be starting to look like the lesser of two evils now, right?)

[NoNamePerson]

Aug 11, 2016 9:50:03 GMT -5 souldoubt said:

I still don't understand how people fall for this stuff.  The only time I've ever had anyone remotely log in to any computer is through work when we've contacted someone and initiated the service.  Under no circumstances when someone calls or emails do I give out any log in or personal information and I would never have someone remotely log in to my computer at home unless it was my friend who works in IT.  

I agree. I actually ended a live chat with norton once. I initiated the support chat but a box popped up saying the site wasn't safe or something like that. They were asking to remotely access and like I said I initiated the service but the pop up caused my paranoia to kick in.   

Oh, and while posting this I got my first 000-000-0000 call. Knew others that have gotten them. I feel honored that they finally got to me. 

[TheOtherMe]

Aug 10, 2016 21:43:56 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Aug 10, 2016 19:27:28 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

What is kind of funny is he keeps a spreadsheet of his blood pressure.  It is not on his wife's computer, so he thinks it is gone.  The loss of that spreadsheet is bothering him the most.

Poor fellow.

Let this be a reminder to all of us: always, always keep an up-to-date external backup of critical files.

I violated that rule recently, so I'm not really one to preach.

I try to back up my computer once a week, but sometimes get behind.

After this, I did back it up last evening. 

He is quite embarrassed.

[TheOtherMe]

I have worked at two places where the IT department would take over your computer to try to fix things.  Knew they were from IT and didn't think twice about it.  At home is another story.  I am the IT department.

[naughtybear]

Way back when the IT dept was able to "takeover my PC" or whatever the term is. Not sure if company/customer issues would work.