Internet and Phone Scams - Extended warranty expirations, botched USPS deliveries, etc.

[Großmann]

Has your car’s extended warranty expired? Did you provide the USPS with an invalid address? Is your payment to the IRS in delinquency to the point that you’re going to lose your SSN?

This thread is for documenting encounters with these friendly and needful messages from the world’s most honest and hard-working people.

I’ll start off with some helpful notifications about how much mail I’ve missed because I forgot to confirm my address.





This one was kind enough to attach files for me to view about what mail could not be delivered.



And finally, U.S. Customs (and Border Protection) decided to reach out to me personally using a residential northern California area code to let me know that my overseas parcel was being held because I gave a bad ZIP code. Oops. Good thing they let me know.


Do the needful and post your helpful messages, rather they be voice messages, SMS, email, or otherwise.

 

[The Repeated Meme]

I've gotten so many but they almost never make it past my spam filter so I just delete them.

 

[gagabobo1997]

My phone number was in a crypto site leak so I get daily notifications about the 200 million dollars in my crypto account that I just have to log in with my SSN to access.

 

[Generic Anime Girl]

if you fall for this shit you are unironically retarded and should be barred from voting

 

[Relinquish]

I used to be a part of the Telegram chat where Indians and other people from 3rd world countries would discuss scamming, hacking, and share schemes (most of which they stole from places like BreachForums due to most people in the chat being too retarded to know anything about hacking)

I got banned from there due to me spamming "Poo in the loo" memes. They also tried to terminate my Telegram account for that. I remember reading some of the shit they were sharing, they weren't all that genius but they were all incredibly "evil", as all scams are. I don't have anything on them now since I didn't bother to archive anything but it was always fascinating to me to see their complete lack of any moral character. They always hide behind "I'm just trying to get by" bullshit while taking advantage of poor people and making a huge buck of that, genuinely disgusting behavior, and they even have the audacity to shit-talk Americans who don't like them. They would sometimes even do mass report campaigns in the chat to take down accounts making fun of their countries for racism

 

[Brenda Holiday]

I almost got got by one similar to those, I had just placed an order and the message was short and nothing too strange except the link they wanted me to click was bitly
I can see how that would've tricked anyone else though

 

[Kiwi Lime Pie]

I don't have anything on them now since I didn't bother to archive anything but it was always fascinating to me to see their complete lack of any moral character.

The combination of their immorality and the fact many of their victims - especially American seniors - are either trusting to a fault or don't fully know what's going on is a large reason why these scammers manage to abscond with the millions or billions they do every year. It's enough to make one mad both on and off the internet . That's why I applaud the efforts of Kitboga and anyone else who stands up to scammers in their own way.

I almost got got by one similar to those, I had just placed an order and the message was short and nothing too strange except the link they wanted me to click was bitly

I recently received a text about paying a bill with the included link coming from a questionable-looking link shortening service (not bit.ly but something similar and unfamiliar). I don't trust these types of links sent via text, so I called the place up directly and resolved the matter over the phone.

I've received a number of calls about my Medicare benefits even though I don't even have Medicare.

Another wave of calls I've received over the past few months that US Kiwis should be aware of: Scammers are calling and claiming to be from a generically named "clinic" although others have also claimed to be from legit places such as Quest Diagnostics. If asked for their location, they insist the place in question has an address in your hometown as if they already have leaked data on whomever they are calling. However. a quick online search on the address usually verifies they're lying about what's located there). They always ask you to give them the name of your doctor or primary care physician so they can file fraudulent claims under the doctor's name. They also have some sort of directory of doctor names available when they call because I've given them fake names such as "Dr. Feelgood" and they immediately say that they can't find their information. The scariest part is how these particular scammers sound so convincing it could easily fool a senior with memory issues or anyone else not keyed in that this is the latest attempt at social engineering personal (medical) data.

One of my favorite ways to have fun with scammers if I'm in front of my computer is to load up Google translate, pick a random non-English language and have it play various phrases and insults in a language they likely wont understand before they hang up in frustration.

I used to know someone who would say stuff in German to scammers to the point some of his subsequent scam calls had the person on the other end saying, "Not you again?!"

Edit to include:

Someone who owned my number in the past has me lit up on spam calls at least once a day. They are as dumb as you’d expect.

It doesn't even have to be tied into a previous owner. Scammers have been known to war dial numbers at random or in sequence to see which numbers answer and which don't go through.

I forget where I read it years ago, but someone explained how at east one auto-dialing system had return codes indicating whether the call was answered, the line was busy, or the number was not in service. It wouldn't surprise me if scammers use this data to pass around lists of valid numbers like they have with email address.

 

[Großmann]

I've gotten so many but they almost never make it past my spam filter so I just delete them.

Someone who owned my number in the past has me lit up on spam calls at least once a day. They are as dumb as you’d expect.

if you fall for this shit you are unironically retarded and should be barred from voting

If only this was the case. I remember tricking people into revealing their passwords on Facebook back in the old days. A lot of people spend most of their day with their guard down and are susceptible to manipulation from all avenues.

 

[Neo-Nazi Rich Evans]

i get the 'your ups package' one all the time.

i used to get non stop calls form them until i installed a spam filter on my phone. im currently using at&t activearmor. currently only ever get an occasional one which slips through. if any of you fine kiwis know a better one ill use that one instead.

I almost got got by one similar to those, I had just placed an order and the message was short and nothing too strange except the link they wanted me to click was bitly
I can see how that would've tricked anyone else though

similar. though for me it was the IT department of company i worked for sending out fake phising emails. i was currently expecting a new work laptop to be delivered so it seemed legit at first. but like you, the link seemed a bit fishy so i caught myself at the last moment.

if you fall for this shit you are unironically retarded and should be barred from voting

there are a few moments where if you arnt paying attention it is easy to click an link. but for 99% of them it is painfully obvious they are a scam. i think this is the reason they mostly prey upon old people. though the romance scammer ones, i have zero sympathy for those. ive seen a few on insta/dating apps and i really dont see how anyone could fall for that.

 

[Generic Anime Girl]

get the 'your ups package' one all the time.

I get them sometimes and they don't even try to use a VOIP or anything like that. Always a Filipino area code lol

 

[Neo-Nazi Rich Evans]

I get them sometimes and they don't even try to use a VOIP or anything like that. Always a Filipino area code lol

that or it is from a gmail account such as johnbarosa2345678@gmail.com yep, im real sure that is the true and honest email address usps uses to communicate with their customers. these scammers dont even try to mask their email addresses to look legit.

 

[Brenda Holiday]

though the romance scammer ones, i have zero sympathy for those

I feel sympathetic because they're so insanely delusional that there must be some sort of underlying mental illness.

AI is making it easier for scammers. I automatically assume an indian is trying to scam me. Thankfully AI is still janky. I also don't answer my phone anyways, don't even decline the call, just let it ring. Are the ones where scammers will take someones voice and use AI to call a family member to say they're in trouble actually real?

 

[Großmann]

Are the ones where scammers will take someones voice and use AI to call a family member to say they're in trouble actually real?

Yes. Someone I knew who had family in Panama received a scam call about a family member being kidnapped and demanded ransom money. Granted, kidnappings are not an uncommon occurrence in a country like Panama, but it was definitely a scam by someone who at least was somewhat familiar with the target.

 

[PovertySprocket]

At work we still receive scams via Fax machine.

 

[GeorgeFloydFentanylStash]

I got a ton of voicemails for taxes. And they all sound like AI generated voices. Here are a few

 

[Daddy's Little Kitten]

I get the USPS ones all the time. My mom gets them as well. She always asks me if it's safe and I tell her no.
I've been also getting shit from Whatsapp. At some point, I was getting spam from iTunes and Amazon, like for purchases that didn't go through and I needed to pay, accounts getting locked and needing verification.

My phone number was in a crypto site leak so I get daily notifications about the 200 million dollars in my crypto account that I just have to log in withy SSN to access.

This probably has happened to me as well since I also get crypto shit.

There's an app here called ATH Móvil. It's basically Venmo or Cashapp but for Puerto Ricans. Scammers usually call, text or email people telling them their account has been locked and they need your info to unlock it. So many people have fallen for that.

 

[Großmann]

This probably has happened to me as well since I also get crypto shit.

There's an app here called ATH Móvil. It's basically Venmo or Cashapp but for Puerto Ricans. Scammers usually call, text or email people telling them their account has been locked and they need your info to unlock it. So many people have fallen for that.

I’ve gotten a few Telegram scam messages over time, most of them being crypto scams.




And here is a poor attempt at thirst trapping me into a crypto scam.

 

[Mister Fister]

One time my wife got a scam that she ordered illegal semi auto handguns, on a card she has never had, in US state where they are legal. Yes they were Pajeets.

 

[GeorgeFloydFentanylStash]

I’ve gotten a few Telegram scam messages over time, most of them being crypto scams.

View attachment 6831701
View attachment 6831713

And here is a poor attempt at thirst trapping me into a crypto scam.
View attachment 6831711
View attachment 6831737

Tell her to have her send you a pic of her titties or no deal.

 

[Spruce Supremacist]

With scam calls I found the best practice is to decline all calls from any number which you do not know and call them back yourself. This usually leads to the scammer not knowing how to reply, as when they're the one calling you, they have the whole script laid out and prepared, but when you're the one calling them they usually get caught off-guard and you can kinda tell at that point if it's a scam call or not.