Latest "Amazon" phishing phone call--be aware

L.C. Blackwell · Jul 13, 2020

This is just an FYI, y'all, as it sounds very realistic, and is definitely an attempt to extort a credit card number.

Weirdly enough, the caller ID reflected my own phone number--always a red flag--and an official sounding male voice, possibly computer generated, informed me that I had made a large purchase in a certain amount "today," and went on to say, "If you have made this purchase on Amazon.com and recognize it," to hang up and it would be delivered. However, "if you have not made any such transaction, you can call Amazon support right away at (202) 932-4150."

I did not call. Went online instead and checked my account. No purchases, today or recently, and none in the amount claimed. Reported to Amazon, but their phishing page failed to report. Flagged them on Twitter, instead. Coming here to repeat all this, in case anyone else gets the same phone call or a similar one. I particularly liked the urgent note in the request to call "right away."

:e2smack:

AW Admin · Jul 13, 2020

You will not be called by Amazon or Apple or Dell or Microsoft or Google for suspicious account activity of any kind.

You will not be called by Apple or Microsoft about malware, or by a support company "hired" by them.

You may be called by your credit card company, but you should hang up and call the number on the back of your card to verify rather than talking to them.

Chase · Jul 13, 2020

Thanks, L.C. It's great to keep reminding ourselves and others of phishing expeditions by poachers out there. Besides fake support and goodies from Amazon, I also get them from crooks pretending to be Costco and my bank.

No thanks to hackers, I had to replace a long-cherished business email address because hackers sent a close spelling of it in another dot.com to clients and friends asking them for info and money. :rant:

veinglory · Jul 13, 2020

They like to push the panic button with 'urgent' seeming issues as it can bypass out usual skepticism

L.C. Blackwell · Jul 13, 2020

What's really ironic with this one is that they're playing on people's fears of credit card fraud to commit credit card fraud. I was 99.99% sure it was a fake, but it still felt reassuring to log onto my account and find everything spotless. That, and the time spent trying to report it, wasted a good half hour this morning. Sigh....

mrsmig · Jul 14, 2020

I had a similar robocall last year, only this one was telling me that there was a problem with a recent purchase I'd made on Amazon. I had, indeed, made a purchase on Amazon just moments before, so I fell for it. The operator who answered told me they needed to access my Amazon account, and wanted me to open a remote program so they could "look." Red flags and alarm bells everywhere. I balked, and although the operator told me repeatedly "not to worry, Miss Donna," I asked to speak to a manager. The manager also told me "don't worry" (which always worries me), and as he tried to convince me to let them access my computer, I Googled "name of the program + Amazon + scam" - and lo and behold, there it was. I informed the manager that I had just looked up the scam, and he abruptly hung up.

I consider myself pretty savvy about these things, but it still shook me up to know how close I'd gotten to buying into the scam - all because their call coincided with a recent Amazon purchase.

L.C. Blackwell · Jul 15, 2020

mrsmig said:
I consider myself pretty savvy about these things, but it still shook me up to know how close I'd gotten to buying into the scam - all because their call coincided with a recent Amazon purchase.

I think that's part of the effectiveness of these scams. They may only be playing on statistical probability, i.e., a certain number of people will have made purchases today, a certain number of people have a particular credit card, etc. But if they tell you there's a problem with your MasterCard and you actually do have a MasterCard, the detail seems to confirm the claim.

Writers of crime fiction, take note. These guys have the playbook all figured out. :hat:

regdog · Jul 19, 2020

The IRS will not call. Publishers Clearinghouse will not call either. I got 26 IRS calls in 1 day. Someone claiming to be from Publishers Clearinghouse called on a different day. I ignored the IRS calls because I know they are a scam. I called Publishers Clearinghouse and gave them the information from the call.

Roxxsmom · Jul 19, 2020

AW Admin said:
You will not be called by Amazon or Apple or Dell or Microsoft or Google for suspicious account activity of any kind.

You will not be called by Apple or Microsoft about malware, or by a support company "hired" by them.

You may be called by your credit card company, but you should hang up and call the number on the back of your card to verify rather than talking to them.

This is true. In fact, it is notoriously hard to reach, or even find customer service numbers, if you have a problem you are reporting to them and want to talk to an actual person. Credit card companies do call, but you are right it's best to look up their customer service number on your card or on their website for the callback, "just in case."

I've gotten scammy calls purporting to be from Microsoft, or from my ISP, with a "problem." If course, they want you to give them protected information, or even access to your computer the way you might with a legitimate customer service call you made. I haven't gotten any from Amazon yet, though I've had some e-mails purporting to be from them that are trying to get you to click on a link re a "problem with an order" or something like that. Don't even get me started about the ones pretending to be the IRS (who also doesn't call when there is an actual problem with your taxes but contacts you by letter). Those tend to target vulnerable people (often undocumented people who are eager to settle any iIRS issues quickly and by writing a check) and are simply despicable.

If I believed in Hell, I'd say there was a special place in it for these scammers.

mrsmig · Jul 20, 2020

Roxxsmom said:
If I believed in Hell, I'd say there was a special place in it for these scammers.

I wish it with all my heart, especially because they seem to prey on the elderly. My mom (who is 99) fell for the "Microsoft" rep scam a few years back and gave the person access to her computer for HOURS. Fortunately she makes no purchases online and doesn't bank or pay bills online either, so they didn't get anything out of her - although they did charge her $200 for "working" on her computer. I told her to call her credit card company, stop the payment and cancel the card. Bless her heart, she did have the company cancel her card, but didn't stop the payment because "well, he did spend hours working on my computer." I couldn't make her believe that the guy did nothing to solve the issues she was having with her computer and in fact, was trying to bilk her in as many ways as possible. I think she was humiliated that she got conned and considered the $200 her penance for being so gullible.

I wanted to hunt that guy down and hurt him so bad.

Latest "Amazon" phishing phone call--be aware

L.C. Blackwell

Keeper of Fort Blanket

AW Admin

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

veinglory

volitare nequeo

L.C. Blackwell

Keeper of Fort Blanket

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

L.C. Blackwell

Keeper of Fort Blanket

regdog

The Scavengers

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.