Latest and greatest cell phone text scam!

[Rule3]

I received not one but two (different names)

From Zoey and grace xxxxx

Internal Revenue (IRS)

Seems I am eligible to receive a $1,400 Economic Impact Payment

All I need to do is provide my accurate personal information And they will deposit it in my bank account or mail a check in 2 days

Reply Y and copy into my Safari browser and open it.

Well I figure the IRS already know all about me so how stupid can this be!

 

[Tom S.]

I get an average of 3 to 4 emails a week thanking me for my purchase via PayPal for everything from gold to bitcoins to iPhones to virus software. Everyone of them comes from a gmail account which means "Report as spam and send them to the trash".

 

[dben002]

what could possibly go wrong ??????????

 

[vt_shooter]

I got a text message two days ago purporting to be from Massachusetts EZDriveMA telling me to pay a $2.99 toll to avoid higher fees; the link to click to pay the $2.99 is the same as what Massachusetts publishes. But the text message came from a Philippines number, so I'm not sure how the scam would work. But is has to be a scam.

 

[Narragansett]

Right after Christmas, I got hung up in one of the ammo scams for 119.00. I do not have PayPal so I used a MasterCard. I never got my order, so I just called MC, and told them I got scammed. I just got my notice of the debt being cleared today.

I am usually careful on the too good to be true stuff, but I thought, well maybe. I did not go hog wild on a big purchase. I know that pigs get fat, and hogs get slaughtered

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

I got a text message two days ago purporting to be from Massachusetts EZDriveMA telling me to pay a $2.99 toll to avoid higher fees; the link to click to pay the $2.99 is the same as what Massachusetts publishes. But the text message came from a Philippines number, so I'm not sure how the scam would work. But is has to be a scam.

Yes, it does. I am not very computer-savvy, but most likely the link was not to what was displayed, but to an entirely different address, which may even execute code as soon as you click on it. NEVER click on a link from untrustworthy sources, and usually not even from friends unless you know that they are competent.

 

[Yendor357]

I got an email from pay pal that someone bought $799.99 worth of Bitcoin using my account. Don’t fall for that one either. I can’t help but wish really bad things for scum who do such things.

 

[AugieTN]

There are so many email scams I don't trust anything I didn't ask for. I may stay at a Holiday Inn, and get an email asking for a review of my stay, but I won't click on it.

Some of these scams show how stupid the people are who sent then out with spelling issues. Here's a few I have received

 

[LoboGunLeather]

I got an email from pay pal that someone bought $799.99 worth of Bitcoin using my account. Don’t fall for that one either. I can’t help but wish really bad things for scum who do such things.

Might as well get used to it now. The next generation of hackers and scam artists are being trained and apprenticed as we visit here. Even the little Elvis impersonator on the northern end of the Korean peninsula has devoted thousands of his minions to bilking everyone they can connect to on-line.

My financial institutions and others are pushing me to join the paperless movement and do every transaction on-line. I continue to resist but it is becoming more difficult every day. Still receiving more scam calls and texts than any of my legitimate communications.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Phishers, scammers and spammers are inured to rejection. They simply move on to the next target on their list.

They know that if they keep casting the hook they will eventually snag a slow moving lunker.

 

[AugieTN]

...My financial institutions and others are pushing me to join the paperless movement and do every transaction on-line. I continue to resist but it is becoming more difficult every day. Still receiving more scam calls and texts than any of my legitimate communications.

I still have a few bills that I need to pay by check. If I pay them with a credit card I get $4.00 service fee

 

[GaryS]

I have two that I write checks for. I have one that charges 3% IF I write a check. Apparently the guy's wife does the financials and doesn't like going to the bank to cash checks.

I use autopay for some of my recurring accounts because I know that they are legit.

I just hang up on the phone calls and delete the texts and emails. They're all scams unless it's someone I know I do business with.

I also read my emails in flat text, not HTML since it's much easier to see if they are phony. Which they usually are.

I still have a few bills that I need to pay by check. If I pay them with a credit card I get $4.00 service fee

 

[Rustyt1953]

We don't use checks any longer. The only things we use cash for is valet parking at the hospital and the carts at ALDI. All else is plastic.

Now, back to the topic at hand;

 

[Bajadoc]

Any unsolicited contact, in person or electronic, is a scam. Act accordingly.

 

[dben002]

I got a text message two days ago purporting to be from Massachusetts EZDriveMA telling me to pay a $2.99 toll to avoid higher fees; the link to click to pay the $2.99 is the same as what Massachusetts publishes. But the text message came from a Philippines number, so I'm not sure how the scam would work. But is has to be a scam.

The toll road scam is EVERYWHERE !!!!!!! got 2 of them this week and have not been on a toll road in 30 years !!!!!!!!

 

[Heymatt]

Apparently I don’t pay my tolls and the RCMP has a warrant for my arrest . I’m a hardened criminal

 

[Golddollar]

Apparently I don’t pay my tolls and the RCMP has a warrant for my arrest . I’m a hardened criminal[/ good f6QUOTE]

Are they sending Dudley Doright to get you?

 

[Heymatt]

Are they sending Dudley Doright to get you?[/QUOTE]

Told them to trace the call and I’ll wait for them.

 

[S&W Fan]

A couple of weeks ago there was one circulating in my area allegedly from Denver's parking bureau saying I had a $4 + change ticket I needed to pay. Haven't parked in Denver in since just after the pandemic and I was in my company ride lol. Most of the tv stations even did stories on this latest one.

The best email scam I received was from the "Federal Reserve Bank in NYC". I replied that I thought it was seriously damaged from a robbery but would gladly ask my good friend Lt. John McClane of the NYPD to arrange to pick up the funds personally on my behalf. Never heard back lol.

 

[GaryS]

A few months ago I started getting emails from Scottish Power, which is the electrical supplier for... Scotland.

The emails were addressed to someone who is a customer and were threatening to cut off his power if he didn't pay his bill. Sure seemed like a scam, but after an investigation on my part and visiting their website I realized that it wasn't a scam.

It was someone at Scottish Power screwed up the email address and were sending the emails to the wrong address.

I reached out to them via Facebook and explained the situation. I heard back from them pretty quickly and was assured that they would look into it immediately.

A week later (I guess that's immediate in Scotland) I got a message saying that their IT department was going to investigate.

A week later, I got another message saying that they had found the problem, but didn't know how to fix it. Hmm.

A week later, the message was that they had figured out the solution and I should stop getting the email. Which is what happened.

I only put that much effort into this because I was really bothered by the prospect of some poor sod in Scotland shivering in his cold house because they turned off his power.

I guess that's my good deed for 2025.