I Want A Website Scam - Beware
The Setup!
Yesterday I received a message from someone in California who wanted an e-commerce store for his business in LA. He dealt with imported goods for Salon businesses. Said he had a budget of 3-6K and wanted the site completed in 2 months. I asked him to send me the details in an email.
Received the email and as usual, a customer will not know all the elements of an e-commerce website that needed to be addressed and so I responded, requesting a SKYPE call and sent a list of about 20 items to be discussed.
Before too long, I received the exact same email back, and he's telling me he had given me enough information and wanted a quote and personal telephone number to contact me. By then I knew this was scam so I politely said that if we didn't do the SKYPE call, I will not be providing a quote.
His Final Attempt
Early in the morning I was awaken by a call that the caller ID said was a 900 prefix... I rejected the call, a minute later, it rang again... and I rejected it again.
Scam Averted
So it looked like the goal of the caller was to get me to answer his 900 call which rack up a Hugh bill for me and hassle to clear it up..
The Rules
Rule #1: Never answer call from a 900 prefix...
Rule #2: If you pickup the call and the caller says is this "your name" Say NO They will record your "yes" and say, when asked to except the call, you said "YES"
Rule #3 Avoid clicking any links you receive in an email.
Rule #4 If you get any kind of email asking you to reconfirm you PayPal, Itunes, or similar accounts don't click to go and fix the account, Your logon info will be captured.
Recent Comments
19
Great advice, Billy. I've heard before that you shouldn't respond "Yes" when they ask about your name. That they do record that and use it for nefarious purposes.
What a bummer that that call ended up costing you money!
Those are all great tips. Someone else told me if you ask to be taken off there calling list, they legally have to press a button on their end to remove your name and number from getting called again.
Something else that is very much on the rise at the moment in Canada is identity theft. I had someone send an email looking like a great job offer, it didn't seem out of line because I have my resume posted online on some sites. But then they wanted me to give personal information, luckily my gut instinct kicked in before I have too much information.
Thanks for the share!
No it only cost me time.. and it woke me up in the morning... Once I noticed it was a 900 prefix, I rejected the call. Funny thing is that he asked me why I didn't pickup on his calls? so I told him I don't take calls from a 900 prefix. In that response I sent him the URL to the "Proof of Concept" website based on what information I had and he really liked it. But when he asked how much would it cost. I responded that I have decided to respond with a quote and that he was welcome to locate another web designer. Gave him the Hula shuffle. ha ha.
Thank you sir. Sometimes this internet can be a scary place. Scammers always trying to prey on unsuspecting folks.
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Another scammer avoided. Thanks for the warning. It is good to be alert and on top of things