03/29/2022
Dear Everybody,
I've see the tentacles of an effective scam out there. It's old conman methodology that has been perfectly placed in today's world where online orders and home delivery are sky rocketing.
Here's how to spot it and here's how to never fall for any email scam:
You get an email in your inbox from a major provider like Amazon, paypal, or any other well known and respected company. It says "we have confirmed your order for ###X in the amount of ###X. Products have been shipped to your current address on file ....
The email has their telephone number. When you call them to report that this is not your order, it sounds like you are calling the company - you may even get sent to a telephone holding queue to wait for the next available representative (because they are currently scamming other customers.) The emails use good grammar that is appropriate to the language being spoken. The people you speak to will be located in a place you are familiar with in the US. The story will unfold from there and you will give them whatever they need to resolve the problem. They will convince you that the order came directly from your computer so they will clean it up for you.
Remember to never assume that if you are given a phone number in an email, that it is in fact the phone number to a legitimate company. Phone numbers are a dime a dozen and easily obtained for pennies. Exit out of the email, then search for the official website of the company you received the email from. Contact them via the info they have on their website.
P.S. We already know never to click anything in an email unless it's from family or a verified source. That may download tracking capabilities if its from a scam. Never let anyone come into your computer to help you out unless it is your computer technician or you work for a company that has one.
FEAR: When times change - so must the successful scam artist. Many are masters at creating fear and urgent situations. The "solution" is the scam. The solution allows you to be free from fear and feel in control again. It feel good. But the next day, you may actually be as poor as a church mouse.
