Almost Scammed. Don’t Let It Happen to You!
Because I’ve spent time as a software product manager and as a public school technology teacher, I used to consider myself savvy to computer scams. What I forgot is that it only takes one weak moment—or in my case, one weak hour. To summarize, my super-weak moment involved getting reeled in by a spoof E-mail telling me I’d been charged several hundred dollars for a product I’d previously refused to purchase.
NOTE: https://www.malwarebytes.com/spoofing tells us that “Spoofing, as it pertains to cybersecurity, is when someone or something pretends to be something else in an attempt to gain our confidence, get access to our systems, steal data, steal money, or spread malware. Spoofing attacks come in many forms, including: Email spoofing; Website and/or URL spoofing; Caller ID spoofing; Text message spoofing….”
My experience began with a bad night of sleep—a nightmare combined with a host of middle-of-the-night blown-out-of-proportion worries. In the morning, I wasn’t thinking clearly when I saw the e-mail (see below). I should have noticed the circled From line, a dead giveaway this wasn’t from LifeLock—a well-known company. Instead, I dialed the email’s toll-free number to ensure I wasn’t charged for an app I didn’t want.
I ended up in a very long and nearly disastrous conversation with a scammer who said his name was “Sam Cooper” (despite a non-English accent). Worse, I followed his directions, thinking he was helping me get rid of the unwanted charge.
This help involved several steps—visit a website that didn’t work, wait for “Sam” to check what went wrong, allow him to take over my computer, and ignore a virus alert from Microsoft Defender antivirus software at Sam’s behest, request a $200 refund to be deposited into my bank account as a test—and watch, horrified, as that amount became $20,000. All this involved credible-looking computer screens.
Poor “Sam” is now upset. He might lose his job.
“Just undo the mistaken twenty thousand dollars that got deposited into my bank account,” I told him.
“Impossible,” he replied. “There’s only one way. Go to your bank, stay on the phone line with me, and withdraw $20,000 in cash. Don’t explain to the teller. Just tell him it’s for ‘personal reasons.’ Then I’ll help your return the money to LifeLock.”
All along this process, little snippets of instinct warned me to stop. This is the biggest stop sign.
I bet you’re saying, “No. Don’t go to the bank!”
Unfortunately, I got in my car and did just that.
Lucky for me, my bank, Digital Credit Union, came to my defense. My teller was a young techie named Tim. His words, “This is very odd.”
Long story short, I told my new friend Tim the truth of why I was there!
Tim and his assistant bank manager took over. He blocked the caller on my phone, and she blocked my account until the faulty deposit could be erased.
And what about that eye-popping $20,000 deposit? It turns out it wasn’t the deposit. The spoofing software set up a fake loan for my bank account.
And the aftermath? The current techie people in my life confirmed Tim’s advice. Because there was now a mirror image of my entire computer on the &#$% scammer’s server. I had to follow these steps:
1. Get my computer off the network;
2. Backup needed files:
3. Do a factory reset to erase harmful software left on the machine. That’s it!
And one more thing, I called the local police. They suggested I call or go to the Federal Trade Commission’s fraud website. The FTC number is 202-326-2222. The website is ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
I’d love to know what you think about this. Also, I’m happy to answer your questions.
ADDED NOTE: My Facebook friend, Risa, added that customer service numbers are always available to check online against email numbers. Also, she has called my bank/credit card first when I get this kind of thing asking if there’s a charge. If they say no it’s a scammer.
YOUTUBE video sent to me by my friend Joan: A “white hat” hacker actually scamming the scammers.
Wow, Nancy—that’s a really elaborate and well planned scam. The loan application is an interesting twist. Real loans never happen that fast! So glad it was “only” an inconvenience and not a financial disaster. Thanks for the heads up.
Oh, Nancy, I am so sorry you had to go through all of this. Thank you so much for letting us all know about this scam. Something like this could happen to any one of us. I used to freak out with all the big bills I received from companies I had never used, but now I just let Norton know or put them in my spam folder. Then I check my bank account to see if any checks are pending just to be sure.
We live and we learn.
May all of the scammers out there never get us.
I second you wish, Susan! Live and learn and let all the scammers NEVER get us! 🙂
Glad someone came to help. Too bad we can’t mess around with the spoofers and spammers. At least you could have a little fun a la Clint Black “Messing with the Enemy.” I came in one night several years back to find my husband on a now defunct computer talking to someone about “fixing” his computer problem by taking over the computer. My words: “Hang up now.” Decades ago, during the break up of AT&T, I got caught up in a scam from a caller that asked if I wanted one bill for both local and long distance. Well, yeah. Turns out it was One Bill, yet another phone company. Since these, I just ignore anything I didn’t ask for. And my husband has two choices to answer something unsolicited: “I have to check with my wife” or “send me something in print so I can take some time to consider this.”
(And is this really Nancy Gardner? (: )
Good for you, Ann! I have really learned!!! I’m adding a fun video a friend sent me to this post–a white hat hacker scamming the scammers.
OMG, Nancy, what a story! After all that you’ll need a vacation! Seriously, I can’t imagine how stressful this must have been for you. (I was stressed just reading about it!) Thank goodness it all got sorted out before anything even more nefarious happened.
When you think about it, if all these scammers, with all their twisted, creative “brilliance” used that same creative brilliance to positively solve problems instead, just imagine how much better the world would be!
My ex had a similar experience. I got home one day to find him frantically making changes to his computer, following phone instructions from some supposed “compute support” person. I told him to hang up and shut his computer down immediately but he didn’t believe me until I pulled up proof on my computer that this so-called “computer support company” had been reported as fraudsters with lots of warnings.
Long story short, my ex had to replace all his credit cards (multiple times!) and have a real computer support person clean off his computer, then add the latest security software. Even after all that, 3 months later his credit card was charged for a executive class round trip flight from Buenos Aires to South Africa. It took about 6 months to get everything sorted.
Scary stuff all this and it’s going to get worse with A.I. So we all have to be extra vigilant.
I love your idea for the short story. It’s a nice way to make something positive out of your experience!
Thanks for the feedback, Irene! It’s good to know I’m not the only one. I’m going to add a few things to this blog–including a fun YouTube video about scamming the same kind of spoof they tried to pull on me.
Oh, that’s awful Nancy. I compensate in the other direction by NOT replying to any of these such emails. I may in fact delete legitimate correspondences. I monitor my accounts regularly to look for questionable transactions. As soon as I see one I’m on the phone with the bank that has my account in a heartbeat. I found that it’s the low value charges ( $25 – $50) that sneak thru my “watchful eye” sometime, in that I’m usually only looking for higher ticket charges. However, these low charges can show up at a high frequency if I’m not watchful.
You’re doing a great job, Jim! That’s terrible about your bank account. So far, my bank, Digital Credit Union, hasn’t been a problem. I did have to fix a fake charge to my credit card a few years back. Several hundred dollars to Home Depot–IN FLORIDA!
Nancy,
In response to whether or not you should write a short story about the cunning scammer and scamming, yes, please do.
Such a story will be widely received. This semester, there were many essays (more than usual) written by immigrant students who shared devastating experiences they had had because of having been scammed. A short story on the subject can be a lesson on prevention and protection for all of us. Immigrant and non-immigrant, we all need to be savvy about the mindset of a scammer. Write your story for all of us. You know how to keep a reader glued to your pages.
Barbara Greene Seyon
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for your feedback! The story is percolating! 🙂