Help Others By Reporting Identity Scams!
(Title image created by DALL-E 3)
Hi WA Friends!
I wanted to alert you to one of the many telephone scams going around and, more importantly, what you can do to help protect others who are less identity-crime savvy.
The Scam
Several weeks ago, I received a call on my cell phone (which has a blocked caller ID and an unlisted number) from a woman called "Caroline," claiming to be from Amazon dot com. She wanted to know if I authorized the purchase of an expensive Apple "Pro" computer.
I played along a bit to collect more info and told her, "No." She stated she would help me fix the problem and asked for my name and email address so she could send me a link to log into my Amazon account to change my username and password and fix the problem. Caroline hung up on me immediately after I told her I would log into my account the usual way and check for any suspicious activity.
What to Do to Help Others
If you receive a call, text, or email intended to steal your identity, please report the incident to the proper authority in your area. There are an overabundance of people who get their identity stolen each year by various scams. The elderly are especially vulnerable, and many of them are forced to shop online due to their inability to drive to stores, etc.
Proof That It Works!
I went online and reported the scam to the Federal Trade Commission the day I received the call. Their web page asked for a summary of the incident with any identifying information. I had the person's phone number, state, and town, which registered on my cell phone.
They also asked me for personal information, including my name, telephone number, and email address.
I called the scammer's telephone number today (several weeks later) and got a recording saying the number has been suspended for spoofing and that I should take appropriate measures if I think my identity has been compromised, with the names of several legitimate websites to consider as helpful resources, including the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice.
You can contact the Federal Trade Commission here to report any suspicious activity if you live in the USA:
https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/assistant
Please Help Others!
It is more important than ever to help protect others from scams and identity theft. AI is drastically increasing the opportunities to hurt others, even those who are vigilant and trying to act safely!
Please do what you can to help contain the problem. 😎
Rock On! 🤘
Frank 🎸
100% Human-written content.
Recent Comments
44
Any scam number you are receiving is made in a way no resource can be found even if they use your area code number. So you do not have any information about the person. No real name, no real phone number.
Here is a story that happened to me last week. I received a phone call, the voice was a female voice with a fake name. She told me that she is going to help me to have a plan with her company. She gave me a random insurance company name, and she started to ask questions as soon as I told her that she was asking for confidential information she immediately hung up the phone. I called the company that she was trying to convince me that she was working with them. the employee there said that they do not having any marketing team to call random people just like that.
So, If you did not call the company by yourself, be sure that this is a fishing call.
Take care WA members
Great info, Frank!
Thank you for sharing!
I keep telling my 84 year old mother about these and I think at has sunk in.
Rock on!
Tim 🎼
Thanks, Tim
I really feel bad for the elderly who try to keep their independence but have no idea how difficult it can be to safely navigate their day-to-day needs.
The ones with have family members who are very involved in their care typically do much better.
I’ve given several presentations on identity safety at some of the local senior centers. Many participants are very surprised at some of the various ways they can be put in a precarious situation.
They are accustomed to a time when people were generally more trustworthy.
Unfortunately, some wrong doers could very easily fool your mother using AI trickery.
Rock On! 🤘
Frank 🎸
So true, Frank!
And thank you for your work with the seniors of our world. You are 100% right about the more mature folks growing up in a much more trustworthy time. Too bad there has to be "wrong doers" out there!
Take care, Frank and Keep Rockin!
Tim 🎼
Haha, I’m one of those seniors who remembers much more trustworthy times, Tim. 😆
Luckily, I can still safely look after myself. 😎
Frank 🤘🎸
100%
I am ready to get 1000 scam posts if this ...call stops! Keep in mind that the number says anything, for these assholes is no problem to phone from many countries.
Living here in Iceland, it means that many times they ring in the night, and it is not fun to wake up 3-4 times at night.
Luckily, I don’t get many scam or robo-calls.
For us it is annoying, but for others it can be disastrous!
Frank 🎸
I guess I get around 30-50 posts each day. I accept that all day, like I say if the ...calls...
See more comments
Thank you, Frank
I never knew we could report scams to the Federal Trade Commission before reading your post. We should report any scams to protect others as often as we can.
I receive many emails claiming to be from Amazon. I don't even have an account with them. That just shows you how they use popular merchants to try to scam us, this is an important post to read and share with others.
Jeff
Thanks, Jeff! 😎
Rock On! 🤘
Frank 🎸