Novel fraud attempt.|General Discussions & Questions|Forum|Winchester Collector

I can’t view your email. But phishing emails disguised as Ebay, Paypal, Amazon, Walmart, etc. is nothing new by any means. They’ll claim a charge was made or your shipment was delayed, etc. All while tricking you into clicking onto a link they provide and as soon as you click the link they’ve got you.

Often if you look at the source email address it wouldn’t match up with what the email is claiming and you’ll know its false. Simply delete and move on.

Sincerely,

Maverick

Clarence,  IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP: Don’t mess with these people. The process of pranking with them is analogous to poking at a large venomous snake at too close a distance. I have (to my intense displeasure) in decades past been required to represent people like that in criminal trials and one of the things they aren’t is stupid when it comes to depth of understanding of computer networks, security protocols, and software. Once they’re into your computer or phone, you would be amazed at just how much of your financial information they can access by leveraging a few supposedly private details. It’s not just the sophistication, it’s the SPEED at which they can move.  

When it comes to unfamiliar emails, I don’t believe the Sun rises in the East. But the last pest I dealt with was twenty years ago. An insurance agent cold calling me on the (land line) telephone. Nobody else was home at the time but, as soon as I got the offer I couldn’t refuse for life insurance, I told my grifter to hang on and yelled, “Martha, I told you those doctors were idiots. [back to the grifter]; “How much can I buy? I don’t have to take a physical, do I?”  But he was gone…

The guys in the Balkans or Beijing are not nearly so much fun.  

These phishing and other scams happen all day long, your just a wrong click away from being hacked.  When in doubt–Delete. 

Had a scammer last month try to pull a fast one on a bull purchase. We advertise cattle for sale on cattlerange.com from time to time which is likely where he got our contact number.  So, we get a call from a guy claiming to be from Norman, Oklahoma, then followed up by only text communications.  At first it appeared legit, as that is how sometimes these deals get brokered.  Had the “buyers” name, address, phone number, etc.  Sent additional videos of several bulls, etc. as they requested.  Then a price was settled upon for the bull.  The “buyer” was going to coordinate a shipping/hauling company to transport the bull from San Antonio to Norman, Oklahoma.  The “buyer” was going to send a check to cover the purchase price of the bull plus shipping.  We told the “buyer” there would be a waiting period of 14 days or until the check cleared before we would coordinate shipping, and we indicated we would pay the driver in cash from the check proceeds.  The “buyer” insisted by text that the trucking company be paid by money wire and not in cash. 

After about 10 days, the check never arrived, and we already knew something was up and told this guy the deal was off.  He then got more persistent by text.  Then about a week later, we received a first class mail envelope delivered to the front door.  Inside was a check for the agreed cost of the bull plus shipping, nothing else.  The return address on the  USPS envelope the check was in was from California.  The check looked legit until you started testing some of the safety features listed on the back of the check (a bit ironic).  The Payor on the check was a construction company from PA, the check also had a weird memo reference to a telecommunications company out of NY, and to top it all off, and it took me a bit to figure out the signature on the check was Buzz Aldrin.  A quick internet search found the exact Buzz Aldrin signature match on Buzz Aldrin’s wikipedia page, LOL!!! 

About a day after receipt of the first check, the “buyer” then text wanting to know if we cashed the check.  In the meantime we called the bank in PA listed on the check and found the name of the bank had changed, and the account holder was being investigated by secret service (although there was something also fishy about the person on the phone as they claimed to be related to the gentleman who owned the construction company listed on the check and a few other suspicious details).  At that point we knew 100% this was a bunch of BS.  Two days later, we receive another envelope, this time with a return address in North Carolina, with a check, identical down to the check number as the first check received.  At that point we blocked his phone number.  About 5 days after that, we received a 3rd check, matching the previous two, this one originating from a different town in California. 

At that point we engaged an investigator for the TX & SW Cattle Raiser Assoc.  No telling how many others they have tried to pull this scam on. These folks hope was that we deposited the check, and maybe they were even going to follow through on someone picking up the bull (likely taking it to the closest auction barn to sell), and then having us wiring the shipping costs to some fictitious trucking company, getting not only some free hauling money but also potential ability to hack bank account information, all before our bank identifies the check as being bogus. 

Too many ways to get skinned out there, got to keep your eyes peeled.  

CH

I feel all of everyone’s plight here. Try selling a truck on Craiglist. It is terrible. 

I hear ya, I just advertised a Mach 1 Mustang on kijiji, what an experience, 35+ idiot callers, not 1 looker. I ended up selling it in person at a show. No wonder people use the auction houses.

Concur.