200907-More-Scams

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Scams, Scams and More Scams

Almost daily there are reports of our residents being SCAMMED, or an attempted SCAM of some type. These are crimes of opportunity, so the best thing you can do to protect yourself is to take away the opportunity. Do not engage with these callers. If they call you, hang up the telephone.

In one case the resident received a warning, allegedly from AT&T, that her email service was about to be cancelled unless she logged into a listed website. She clicked on the link and it was a SCAM. After that she found that her computer had been hacked and the hackers were using her email address to SCAM people on her contact list.

In another case a 95-yr. old resident received an email, allegedly from Amazon.com, directing her to call a certain number. She called the number and she ended up giving the SCAMMER her bank account and other personal information. Then the SCAMMER got greedy and directed her to go to a 7-11 store near her and buy gift cards. At that point she remembered reading one of the Neighborhood Watch Alerts in which the victim was sent to a 7-11 store to get money cards. She immediately hung up and called a relative who confirmed that this was an elaborate SCAM. The relative was able to contact the bank and no money was lost.

The latest Amazon scam sends a legitimate-looking email stating that a recent order cannot be shipped. Click on a link and again it looks legitimate. Here you are asked for name, address and credit card. When you click SAVE AND CONTINUE, it goes to the real Amazon site!

Whenever you receive an email about an order, go directly to the website and sign in. If you do click on a link you should not have clicked on, immediately change your email password as well as the password for website.

Tips from the Amazon site:

  1.  Identifying suspicious email
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=help_search_1-
    1?ie=UTF8&nodeId=201909120&qid=1599072551&sr=1-1
  2. Report amazon scam to Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=201909130
  3. Protect your system after clicking on a bad link
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201127790

The short list regarding scams:

  1. Phone: Just Say NO & HANG UP
  2. Email: Delete
  3. Online: Look for “https” at the beginning of the address or a padlock next to the address.