Guys, be careful...more careful than me

[LyleW]

My foolishness is weighing heavily today. Wny? Well, yesterday I became a victim of a hacker/scammer. So far, no money has been lost. The transaction I allowed has been reported to PayPal and our bank. The bank will not honor it and our accounts have been closed and new ones created. That is a supreme hassle, especially in these days of setting up automatic payments. What happened?
I had an "official" email pop up from PayPal that said someone had requested funds in the amount of 391.00. Never heard of t hem, I knew it was an attempt to scam. It was even showin on PayPal. Stupid me, called the number on the email. Guess where that took me.
All told, I spent about 2 hours on the phone with this puss filled sacks of garbage. They had me hook, line and sinker. There were so many red flags:
1. extreme background noise from the boiler room full of people around them. Could barely hear them.
2. I was arguing with one jerk and he actually called me a MF...should have hung up right there.
3. they had to have access to my computer. Foolishly I gave it to them. (I know, I know, I know. That is another whole issue.)
4. They were going to "refund" the amount even though it had not been authorized to be paid by me.
5. To do that, they installed an .exe file and this was done via a DOS prompt. Big flag I missed.
6. Entering the information, somehow the amounts were "fat fingered"
7. insisting that I log into the bank - magically the "overpayment" was showing in the balance. I now know how they did this.
8. Then the BIGGIE - You can get gift cards to send it back to us. UH, NO. Okay, you can use bitcoin. UH, NO. How about ....and on and on.
I allowed a cash payment through PayPal. One of the dumbest things I've ever done. Fortunately, PP has a 5-7 day hold. Told the bank to not honor it, closed that account, so it should never go throgh and I've notified PayPal.
The last flag was they could not accept a check or simplliy reverse that transaction. YOUR PAYPAL for God's sake.
They were good and I fell for it.
If you get an email for a cash payment request from someone you don't recognize, you can simply go on PayPal and cancel that request. I know that now. Do NOT call the number in the email. DUH.
Signed,
Redfaced, and embarrassed

[Gary Brantley]

Wow, Lyle, what a mess! You know, I got several requests like that, for transactions I had not made, just a month or so ago. I believe they appeared in my Junk email folder. I reported them as phishing attempts, checked my Paypal account and saw no activity from said requests. I guess I was lucky, but man, some of those scam, phishing emails do look so damned legit. Hell, before I retired, I got something similar on my school computer and went along with it until the request for my SS number. I don't recall the exact nature of that scam, but that request raised the red flag for me and I shut it down pronto. I'm sorry for the hassles this has caused you Lyle! Stay vigilant, and "endeavor to persevere".

[BlackSheep214]

Wow, Lyle. I, too was a victim of a scam. 2 or 3 years ago, I get a address change notification postcard in the mail and that immediately sent up a huge red flag. I never submitted such a change.
So, off the the post office we go. I explained to them and declared I had never sent an address change. They told me it was the third incident they received in thd past week. (Postcard had spelled last name wrong)
Now the headache became bigger. Someone tried to open a credit card account in my name. I'm one that don't need multiple credit cards. I went to my credit union an spoke to a representative there and she advised us I close my current credit card and they will issue me a new one. They did close it and got a new CC. She also recommended we set up a Lifelock account and Esperian account. It's a sime thing to set up. Enter all credit cards in the database and it will block all hackers from using them. I still have it now.
Believe me Lyle, I know the feeling. However, any email stating I need to contact them or they will shut it down goes in my junk mail later after I block them. Not worth the hassle opening the email and responding to it. The same thing with phone scams. I screen all my calls.

Here's a hint you should follow. If you answer the phone and you have caller ID, DO NOT say "Hello" when you answer it. Simply stay silent. You will hear a click as they ended the call meaning those calls are voice activated via a spam call center. I've had thousands of successes they hang up when I don't respond.

I would suggest you set up a LifeLock account. It's better to be safe than sorry. Go to your bank, they can help you walk through it.

[cbaltrin]

Wow Lyle, I don't really know what to say. That's a crappy deal. Point taken though, always mediate these things via the trusted vendor. Never follow any links or phone numbers from suspicious emails. Hope you come out of this alright. May Want to have your computer looked at if anything was installed on it, you could still be at risk.

[Gary Brantley]

May Want to have your computer looked at if anything was installed on it, you could still be at risk.

Yes, ^^^this!

[keavdog]

Ya, after installing an executable... most likely seriously infected. Do a virus scan at a minimum. Try a system restore if you have a restore point, otherwise wipe/reformat your hard drive and re-install the OS.

[LyleW]

Funny thing...working on moving stuff I want to keep. Then I'll likely take it to a local computer store. I have another computer upstairs that has been turned off for a couple of weeks, so it should be clean. Anyway, These clowns called this morning. First one, the wife took and told them to talk to me and hung up. They called back and I took it. "Hello, this is Dennis and we spoke yesterday." Yep. Told them I was done with you and hung up. Then the super nice lady from the bank called and was sort of laughing. Said they tried to run the transaction through this morning and it was blocked. I am sre that is why "Dennis" was callingn.

This bogus amount actuall was showing in my PayPal account as a request for funds. So, I fell for the phone number listed on the email. Dumb. Dumb, and Dumb.

It has also been reported to PayPal. But now we have to go in and re-do all the automatic pay st

[keavdog]

If you can get by, unplug it from your network.

[Stikpusher]

The internet and financial services - making theft easier for the tech savvy…

[BlackSheep214]

Can you block this "Dennis" phone number? Also, pay attention to the phone number. If it shows up on caller ID, don't answer it. Or simply say so and so county sheriff fraud department, how may I help l you?