Dr David Mills

Just had to tell a dear friend he almost certainly (basically, I'm 100% sure, but can't quite convince him) that he fell victim to a bank fraud.

Phone call by the "police" your account has been compromised, call your bank, they stay on line. Told by "police" to withdraw money, check serial numbers, told they are fake, and give cash to the "courier" we're sending.

Fuckers.

He's on the phone to his real bank now. Fingers crossed for him.

Apr 14 at 2:30pmWeb
Show threadDr David Mills3d ago
Confirmed fraud.
Fuckers.
Show threadAndrocat3d ago

@dtl Oh man. And it's a classic, too.

The only good thing about it is, they didn't get actual access, just the cash.

Still fucking sucks.

Show threadDr David Mills3d ago
@androcat Yeah, I sounds like he didn't give them his card or anything. They had more info on him, so there's probably some inside fraud.
Show threadAndrocat3d ago

@dtl That, or they bought it online from some leak.

Those guys are not master criminals, they just buy scripts and data.

The trick is to never accept inbound calls about money.

If you call the bank, that's one thing, but if the bank calls you, that's a gigantic red flag.

Like 1980s red square would be jealous.

Show threadDr David Mills3d ago

@androcat Yeah, that's the other option. He doesn't do much on-line, but we may never know how they got his details.

There was enough info they provided that happened to overlap with stuff going on his life right then, so they caught him right at the worst time for him and best for them. That was probably a just background info for the scam, but it happened to be close enough to true for him that it sold the scam.

Show threadAndrocat3d ago
@dtl Yeah. The only real defense is strong habits of mistrust against inbound calls :p
Show threadDan3d ago
@androcat @dtl I surprised a worker for a genuine call once by asking them security questions about my account that only someone with bank level access would know
Show threadAndrocat2d ago

@Dasy2k1 I usually lecture them about how unsecure it is to call someone and ask them security questions.

I only had to lecture my bank about it once before they produced a secure way to authenticate the call.

I claim full credit, of course 😂

@dtl

Show threadAndrocat2d ago

@Dasy2k1
I usually lecture them about how unsecure it is to call someone and ask them security questions.

I only had to lecture my bank about it once before they produced a secure way to authenticate the call.

I claim full credit, of course 😂

@dtl

Show threadHarriettMB3d ago
@dtl That sucks. I hope he has a ring doorbell or similar, the track of phone calls, and that the bank can/will refund him, and that the police might actually do something to catch these criminals.
Show threadDr David Mills3d ago
@HarriettMB he doesn't, he did think later that he should have got ID, but too late. Spoke to the bank, he might be covered by their insurance against this.
Show threadDr David Mills8h ago
I think I've convinced my friend that he is being scammed, but it took another day or two and he handed over more cash.
May these people burn in whatever hell the most fundamentalist arsehole believes in.
Show threadjamesb (MW1CGG)8h ago
@dtl
I have a friend, via my wife, that keeps getting taken in by MLM stuff.

There's no hope for some people despite the help we try and give.
Show threadPhilip Bragg8h ago
@jamesb @dtl MLMs are so exploitative. It's surprisingly difficult, though, to make people understand the accrual of income that a tree structure offers, but only meaningfully to the root and first few levels beyond the root, all of which are likely to be family and friends of the greedy people who set the thing up. There are so many common patterns on the dodgier fringes of business that blend seamlessly into scams. Improper use of percentages is one, and weasel language like "up to" to describe savings. Most advertising imagery etc.
Show threadHarriettMB5h ago
@dtl I thought the bank has stopped his money going to these scammers? Sometimes you just can’t get people to listen to reality, and it’s very sad to see them being taken such advantage of.
Show threadJo3d ago
@dtl oh dear
Show threadIcil3d ago
@dtl yeeesh. Hope it can be recovered.
Show threadDr David Mills3d ago
@icil Fingers crossed.
Show threadAlan Bellingham3d ago
@dtl Oh no!
Show threadSunanda3d ago
@dtl oh NO. Hoping that the funds can be recovered. Damn these scammers.
Show threadDr David Mills3d ago
@Theorem_Poem fingers crossed. We should know soon.
Show threadSimon G0FCU3d ago
@dtl I've had two like that recently. Fortunately on a VOIP line they can't hold the line open so this particular version will hopefully die out slowly as phone connections go digital.