Reading these posts was such a bummer. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the information-sharing you're all doing here, I'm just bummed you all have gone through these situations. Scammers make my blood boil. I haven't had any adult content scams perpetrated on me, but I have dealt with a few other kinds.
1) a FB advertiser scammed me out of a $30 lamp (this was 4 or 5 years ago & I didn't know I could report it to my CC for a refund)
2) some of my ID information leaked in one of those big data leaks just before the pandemic. I locked my credit report for 2 years riding that one out to hopefully avoid anything bad (knock on wood, all good so far).
Also years ago, pre-internet, I had an outside contract company affiliated with my credit card give me a "free" 3-month trial on security protection, only to make it nearly impossible to opt out of the $10 a month future coverage before the free trial run ended. Three hours on the phone, handed off over and over again to five different reps. I think they dropped my call twice, but I'm not sure on that. I do know that the call nearly drained my cell battery, and it became a race to finish the call before the phone died. Last November Saturday Night Live did a skit with Kieran Culkin about canceling Spectrum Cable that lasted 6 minutes. Extend the skit to three hours. Take out ALL the laughs, and add me telling one of the reps "If I have a rage-induced aneurysm today all I hope is that I live long enough to name it after you" before I finally got it canceled. I then immediately called that CC company and canceled the card, telling them their partner firm is what lost them my business. They, and I'm not making this up, offered me three more months of free security protection to stay. I declined their offer in as firm and definitive manner as possible.
Oh, and in an old job of mine I had to help deal with an out-of-state financial product (annuity aimed at older people) that may technically not have been a scam, but they knew their product wasn't competitive or very good, so they created a system where you could only opt out/sell once a month. You'd have to give them prior telephone notice, only had their phone lines open three hours each weekday (1 hour in the morning, an hour off for lunch, and two hours before the end of the business day) four days a week to request they send out the huge multi-page document that needed to be signed in several places. They required certified mail to return deliver the paperwork back to them, during only in a specific window of days at the month's end, and they would reject an entire packet if even one of the many signatures and initials were missed. When that happened, instead of correcting the issue and faxing over the correction(s), the person who wanted to opt out had to repeat the entire process the following month.
That was 20+ years ago, so a few of the details as hazy now, but I remember the overall process. I can still hear their indifferent, snippy voices when I would make those *(%$# monthly calls. And I KNOW they are the reason I check and re-check nearly everything myself in my personal life (paperwork, correspondence, 'did I turn the stove off?', 'did I lock the front door?') after those SOBs rejected a couple packets I had been assured were correct.
So, if that was all tl;dr, I feel for you all, and I hope you get your money back, or at least get some satisfaction posting warnings here.
Those scammers I have no problem spotting. I actually play with them daily.
Basic scams
First and foremost. NEVER give your phone number or email to anyone you just met on messenger.
…….
Thought I’d give you some basic things to look for in online dating scammer convo.
…….
Definitely bad English. Usually no punctuation or over punctuating.
…….
Babe and hun are used a lot. Like to ask what you’ve eaten or have you eaten.
…….
Camera or mic or both are broken on phone.
…….
Jobs are usually.
•Army related. (Peacekeeping mission)
•Nurse, Traveling doctor or in school for one of those.
•Fashion design.
•Clothing store.
•Antique buyer/seller.
•Taking care of a sick parent.
•Construction worker of roads and buildings.
•Janitor.
•I work at apple inc as a distributor.
•Lives in same city as you and wants you over for sex, but you need to pick up condoms and a stream card to load movies for the kids.
•Want to be your sugar daddy/mama and you be their sugar baby.
-I’m sure there’s more but these seem to be the most common.
…….
•Have just left an abusive relationship.
•Significant other cheated on them. (They usually have walked in on them)
•Parents died in a car accident. Sometimes have left them a trust or money in some form.
•Significant other had died in some accident.
•Need money to update their phone. Software updates on phones are always free. They even send you a fake photo to prove their camera or internet is down because of it.
•Need money for customs to get their property released.
•Need someone else’s email to get a verification code for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.
…….
These are just a few of the basic things to look for. Hope this helps.
As far as scam calls I’ve gotten.
•Amazon (they will not call you)
•iTunes (they will not call you)
•You’ve won some kind of gift card and have to pay for the processing.
…….
Other online scams.
•Facebook lottery.
•covid relief.
•homeowners refunds.
•fedex scam.
•Crypto currency.
•PCH (Publishers Clearing House), they do not charge you to pay you.
…….
They usually want to move to hangouts or WhatsApp app to continue the conversation.
…….
They’ve also been asking to see your identification lately.
