According to the Federal Trade Commission, you shouldn't respond to these texts or click on any links on them—the smart thing to do is to block these numbers and get on with your day. But I wanted to see what happens to people who follow through and actually try to get the job, so I answered a scam text, and it led me down a surprisingly long road that included bogus online piecework, a discussion of the nature of labor itself, and repeated requests for $33.

I’m currently running a small giveaway promotion on FB. I keep getting these bot messages about “how can I enter” or “please tell me more about your giveaway.” They’re always the same 1 sentence messages. I’ve been moving them to spam, but I don’t know what the end goal is.

Just trying to protect the public from a scam contractor named Nova One Construction, LLC based in Mahwah, NJ. We had a bathroom renovated and the work was so bad that we had to rip it all out and redo it. The owner of this company is named Steve Bonder who is very unprofessional.

I'm about 70-80% sure it was actually just someone asking for my help but I did render that assistance and I'm still worried I may have fallen for something.

Someone on the street standing outside an apartment building I was walking past asked if they could have some of my data to tell they're friend they'd arrived somewhere as theirs had run out. This scenario seemed strange, I mean it's certainly possible, I just hadn't really heard of this happening to anyone these days. That said I couldn't immediately think of how it could be a scam and didn't want to deny help to someone if they needed it.

I gave them the name of my personal hotspot along with the password and they joined the network. It was awkward after that point because I was very keen to see what they did in case it was dodgy, but if it wasn't, well basically I'd just watching someone else's private messenger conversation over their shoulder. Either because he didn't care or didn't notice I watched and he did just send so

Brilliant way to check if you were scammed 🧐

My wife and I both received message requests on Signal from the same "person". I assume this is some sort of scam but since it was the exact same name and profile image for me and my wife I wanted to see if anyone else has seen this so I can figure out how targeted this attack was. Thank you.

OK, so I met somebody on a gay dating site who said he was in the military. Shortly before we were to meet, he told me he was being deployed to replace somebody else who couldn't make their deployment due to personal problems.

We continued to chat on Google Chat for the next two months almost three, and everything was very pleasant, very friendly. Suddenly, he asks me for money, saying he needed it to purchase some extra things while out on deployment.

Now, I was born at night, just not last night. I've dealt with a scammer before. I naturally grew suspicious and refused to send him any money, but since I know a little bit about the military, I told him I'd like to send him a card and asked him for his APO address. So far, I haven't gotten one.

This morning, I woke up and had this conversation. DCU is a credit union. I'm sure there are people out there stupid enough to go ahead and open up an account and send somebody else their login details, but I'm not one of them.

FB Marketplace Scam. There's a second where they get your phone number and send you a "confirmation" link which apparently will confirm you are changing an account over to them. Not sure what account, as my phone provider auto blocks these scam links.

This one is pretty stupid. Instead of venmo'ing the cash to their "relative" who is coming to my place to pick up the item. They expect me to accept the Venmo on my end, then wait 1-3 business days before actually being able to get the cash for the product. At which point there is no cash. They continually try the scam even when I say it's cash only.

Also if you inspect these profiles they are generally one image and zero information. These are all from fake accounts which they delete /get banned periodically.

Summary

• Fake online gurus are people who give advice on a particular topic, such as health, business, or finance, without having any real expertise or experience.
• They often make unrealistic promises, such as making a lot of money quickly or losing weight without diet or exercise.
• They may also sell courses or e-books that promise to teach you their secrets to success.

You can spot a fake guru by looking for the following red flags:

1. Lack of credentials: A real expert will have some kind of qualification, such as a degree or certification.
2. Unrealistic promises: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
3. Paid courses or e-books: You can often find the same information for free online.
4. Unprofessional website: A professional-looking website is a sign that the guru takes their work seriously.
5. Past controversies: If the guru has been involved in any scandals, it's a red flag.
6. Miracle products: If the guru is selli

Summary

A new sextortion scam is circulating, impersonating YouPorn. Victims receive an email claiming that a sexually explicit video of them has been uploaded to the site and must pay to have it removed. In the past, similar scams threatened to share explicit content with contacts unless a ransom was paid, generating substantial profits. This recent scam claims to be from YouPorn, offering a free removal link that leads to nothing and lists paid options ranging from $199 to $1,399. Victims are urged to pay via Bitcoin. Thankfully, this campaign has not been successful, but it's important to remember that these emails are scams. If you receive such an email, delete it; there is no actual video, and making payments is not advisable.

Summary

• Quid pro quo attacks are a type of scam in which the attacker demands something from the victim in exchange for something else.
• The attacker may use phone calls, email, messaging apps, social media, or dating sites to contact the victim.
• They may threaten the victim with legal action, financial ruin, or public embarrassment if they do not comply with their demands.
• To protect yourself from quid pro quo attacks, be wary of any unsolicited contact that makes bold offers or threats.
• Do not give out personal information to unsolicited callers or open attachments from unknown senders.
• Keep your social media profiles locked down and avoid oversharing personal details publicly.
• Use strong, unique passwords and turn on two-factor authentication where possible.
• Back up your data regularly and do not send money, gift cards, or sensitive information to strangers online.
• Keep your antivirus, firewalls, and devices updated.

Additional Tips

• Never click

So i was looking through a website that, i thought was owned by US government, searching for how to apply for green card. I found a form that required username and location for seeing if i was applicable for the green card lottery. I filled and submitted it, and after 1 day i received a call from someone presenting itself to be US immigration officer. We started talking and they asked me typical questions of : "What do you work", "Do you have family", "What is your education", etc.. I immediately noticed something is off, since that supposed American (female) had very thick accent on some words. Anyway, we finish with the questions, and she asked me to hold the line for 1 minute until they send the data to their superiors and evaluated if i'm applicable to enter the green card lottery or not. They came back and said i was approved, and that they will need 680$ for fees (which is more than a month's salary for me, currently). At that point i thought to myself that 100 % that this is

She went through a really rough divorce in 2019 with an abusive husband, and not too long after that she was dating online and met this man about her age who was allegedly deployed to Afghanistan with the US military (which is odd to begin with since they're in their 50s). She started chatting with him a lot and talking about him all the time. He has the same name as my husband, so she used to tell me a lot about it because I tend to be a good listener, and she thought it was a funny coincidence.

He would occasionally send her flowers or pizza to our workplace (still does sometimes), and right off the bat it was clear that he was lovebombing, so my only advice was to take it slow. (I tend not to give strong advice, opting for listening instead, but I felt a bit concerned.) She claims she has never sent him money, but even though she earns more than I do, she has had constant financial struggles. I know that's a fairly normal thing for people to have now, but in the context of everythi

Giving out the VIN number on a car you're trying to sell can cause you to end up with a lien on a vehicle you own that someone else took a loan out for.

Steve Lehto explains.

Summary

• Malvertising is a type of attack that uses malicious ads to trick users into clicking on them.
• Malvertising can be used to deliver malware, phishing attacks, or other types of attacks.
• In this case, the malvertising campaign targeted users who were looking to track their packages via the United States Postal Service website.
• The malicious ad looked completely legitimate and used the official USPS logo.
• When users clicked on the ad, they were redirected to a fake website that asked them to enter their address, credit card details, and bank account information.
• The fake website was designed to look like the real USPS website.
• The attack was discovered by Jesse Baumgartner, Marketing Director at Overt Operator.
• Malwarebytes has reported the incident to Google and Cloudflare has already flagged the domains as phishing.

Additional tips to avoid falling victim to malvertising:

• Be wary of ads that look too good to be true.
• Don't click on ads that ask you t

I received this email appearing to come from an employee at my landlord’s office today (6/24). My landlord’s office is not open on Saturdays. I was immediately suspicious of it.

The email had about 30 recipients on it including me. The list of recipients did not include my fiancé, who is on the lease with me.

A email header analysis via google’s admin tools showed that the email did come from the email in the sender info. There is a mailto: link in the body that, when moused over, shows mailto:[email address of the employee].

I looked on the landlord’s website and this person’s name is listed as an employee and the photo on the website matches the photo in the email signature. The email matches the email listed on the website.

The language in the email seems off to me. All the other emails I have received from other employees at the landlord’s office have been very straightforward, this email is very flowery and apologetic in its request.

Overall, it has signs of being a scammy em

Advance-fee

The advance-fee scam arises from many different situations: investment opportunities, money transfers, job scams, online purchases of any type and any legality, etc., but the bottom line is always the same, you will pay the scammer and receive nothing. It can be as simple as the scammer asking you to pay them upfront for an item they have listed, or as complex as a drug scam that involves an initial scam site, a scam shipping site, and fake government agents. Sometimes the scammers will simply take your first payment and dissappear, but sometimes they will take your initial payment and then make excuses that lead to you making additional payments. If you are involved in an advance-fee scam, you should attempt to dispute/chargeback any payments sent to the scammer, you should ignore the scammer, and you should ignore them if they attempt to contact you again.

Blackmail email

The exact wording of the emails varies, but there are generally four main parts. They clai