Reason why I am putting this here, I almost got "suckered intop a media friend thing, I researched that fella, and he is a scammer, and whats amazing, he is copying from a General of the army, and how do these people get away with it. and yes the older folk is targeted. but have any of you had this problem? what did you do, how did you handle it?
Where was it? What did he want?
I would suggest:
-
not using social medias or just use it to read or
-
set privacy settings and private list of contacts that can see your profile
-
avoid putting your face pic or telling your age or your address, etc. on these social medias.
-
finding social medias with good reputation or there is a good moderation and report the scammer’s profile.
-
ignore, don’t answer or click on a link they send, and report.
Be careful, like anywhere, of:
- dating apps or websites, people disguise themselves as youngsters.
- in the street when they try to get you sign a paper and asking for money for cancer, health, religious causes or orphans. They don’t work for any official organization.
- they tell they’re officers, doctors, firemen or from your bank or insurance company or a company where you bought something imaginary, while asking for your private info or passwords.
- they ask for direction or for help, disguising themselves as tourists or homeless.
- don’t answer to unknown numbers that don’t less voicemails. Spammed calls: if you have something in your country that forbids people to call you for advertisement and block the number.
3 Likes
thank you for that, was on Facebook, what I did I googled him, and what a result! also youtube has something about people that do spams with other people’s pictures, which this guy did. something just told me to google him, so glad I did! as for your other things, yes there are places that do the spam stuff here, and I found that one today… as for social media, my brother said to block those people, yes I get onto Facebook guess more than I should. so I did learn a good lesson today AND that’s another thing, I do have my picture on there so a good idea I take it off, the guy just wanted to be a friend. so again thanks for all that, and I also made a copy of it too, will save it to my desktop for reference!
3 Likes
I have no profile picture on my FB and everything I post there is only visible for friends (or only me in some cases). Annoying for people who might not be sure if it’s the real me before they add me, but I never liked the idea of the whole world seeing too much.
Oh, and beware, some people make an account with a name that looks like the name of one of your friends, so you might think they have a new account and accept them.
3 Likes
- don’t share your official mail address on the internet.
You can create more mail addresses, for example one just for social media without sending personal or important information on this mailbox.
- people don’t ask to befriend people for real just from looking at their pic on social media, except if it’s a dating website. And if it is one, the guy won’t only have 100 contacts of hot girls, won’t ask you to meet him already in the middle of the night at his house or at a hotel or somewhere where there is no one. If he asks you to meet you already, alert!
I didn’t know that there was a directory of spammers on social media! That is useful to know and it is really good you checked!
There is also one for ad phone numbers that could be useful when you don’t know the number.
Blocking them and reporting them, he’s right. Later, they might create more accounts and try again or you might encounter another scammer.
-
The best is being aware and be cautious like you are now, after encountering one.
-
Some of them don’t need a lot of info or gather some info you left here and there on the web or just install things on your computer when you click on a link or on an ad (don’t click on ads, especially ones saying you have won the last version of a phone, you have won the lotery or false alert messages saying you have viruses).
-
don’t open an email from people you don’t know (just opening them, even if it says it is from someone important like a president, lawyer…), they have weird titles, mistakes, wrong logos, they ask for your personal info or tell you are a good person out of nowhere or ask you to click on a link.
You can call the official organization to check. They will never ask you personal info from mail. -
don’t download a file from weird sources
-
don’t navigate on a website where you don’t see the lock on the left upper side or when you click on the lock, it tells no valid certificate or no secured connexion.
-
You might never be directly in contact with them, but just being on the internet will make you a target.
Against this, I would suggest:
-
a complete not free anti-virus (anti-everything) and make it turn regularly for a full check. Do security updates as soon as possible.
-
difficult and different passwords without your birth date or your name. Using symbols, numbers, long ones that have no sense. Change them regularly if you can.
-
a VPN to install. Not free because they might share your own IP address (it is like your virtual address).
-
adblockers to install on your web browser to avoid ads
-
don’t buy on the internet or if you buy on the internet, buy on official stores, official logos, correct translations, correct url (some use url that look like official ones or governmental ones), the https and lock on the url bar when you pay. Have 1 credit card just for buying on the net with enough money and some banks are making credit cards with a security code that changes or have a virtual credit card that has a security code that changes and that you use exclusively on the net.
You have “Trust pilot” to know if the website is fine or weird. More it has positive stars and comments, more it could be safe. -
keep an eye on your bank account more than regularly. Sometimes, you don’t even need to use your credit card online and people can have this info, just from trying numbers or from taking a picture of your card.
-
erase cookies, history regularly to erase personal date you left on the internet, or in case someone has access to your account.
Use incognito mode to navigate on the internet.
This works for computer, tablets or phones.
Hopefully, nothing happened to you!
4 Likes
nothing happened to me, and as for what you,pirannna, put here is wise indeed.
that what I got was so innocent, just wanted to be a friend and all, but just something told me to check him out! like my earlier message, really amazing how this guy took a real honest to God general, and took his identity and did this.
there is a place one can go to on google, just put scammers, spam and a bunch will come up, and some has the pictures. and you tube too
what wwas so funny and don’t think I will put this guys name here, but another one came up with almost the same name! and was in a different line of the military!
I did ask a reliable source if any military people get on medias to find friends, he told me that they only research family members, looking for people that were in their unit , stuff like that.
my thought is that any military that says where they are, and their actions in the military, they aren’t supposed to do that(if I tell you, I will have to kill you, type thing)
anyway alls well, a lesson well learned, didn’t get into the hot water. so will be more careful from now on. I did block him, oh and I do get a bunch of emails, free! check this out. which I don’t open. thanks everyone for telling me things I need to pay more attention to. really appreciate this so much!!
2 Likes
Social medias are the worst. Although I don’t add any personal info on FB nor add friends, etc, I still get a lot of spams and nonsense.
I stoppped using FB, Instagram, Twitter, etc, as I find it takes up a lot of unnecessary time and too much unwanted info, eg, Do I need to know where you were at, what you had for lunch, etc? Or what others are posting just because they can’t sleep and have nothing better to do? I find these info rather superficial.
Plus, I don’t join contests too - it’s a pit trap for getting lots of unwanted solicited spams from marketing companies.
Just rely on quality communication with friends and family that you really want to keep contact with.
Don’t really understand those people who are hung up on getting numbers of likes for friends or friends of friends, etc. on FB. 
4 Likes
and yes if you want to know how I am or whatever, call me! right?
instead of using facebook. thats how my family keep in contact with me, I am soooo close to cancel facebook! I am not one of those that wants to do the numbers of friends, and they dont even know them thats what I don’t understand, a friend of a friend of a friend!
um I rather get on Viki and do these things on here, the smiles, the quarinteen stuff and so on! to me its much better.
Of course your friends on the other side of the world wouldn’t easily be able to call you …
Ummm … I thought that was for illegally watching shows outside your area? How is that going to protect you? 
1 Like
aww so true!! and I understand the international calls are quite pricey too. so I will stick to viki for now.
1 Like
You can also call them through FB for free.
1 Like
VPNs have many uses. VPN or using VPNs are not illegal (how), it’s what people are going to do by using a VPN.
Ex: dowloading content protected by copyrights => not fine
Purchase an item like usual => fine
Using a VPN gives you more anonymity when people purchase, but also when people do illegal activity. It’s less risks.
That’s why it’s also used by military, companies and popular anti-viruses offer VPNs in their subscription.
People can also build their own VPN for home.
Here, it might be clearer:
https://www.whatismyip.com/what-is-a-vpn/
I don’t suggest free anti-viruses or free vpn.
They might not be safe and could have the opposite effect of protecting data.
It doesn’t protect from all, like free and not free VPNs hacked, like Facebook, Twitter…
That’s why, changing passwords, changing mail address is important when we hear of recent hacking activity.
I found a website that check if we “have an account that has been compromised in a data breach.”
Wattpad, Twitter, Facebook…
They tell us to change passwords, because hackers can test the same password on other websites.
2 Likes
I didn’t know that, calling them through facebook.
1 Like
One of my neighbor’s elderly parent fell for the fairly well known phone scam and lost a few thousand dollars recently. It’s basically someone from “Microsoft” calling you to tell you that your computer has been hacked and that they will help fix it! Yea, right! Microsoft WOULD NOT be calling you personally and tell you that your computer has virus! They wouldn’t even know it even if it did. Anyway, they even called me a couple years ago too and when I told him I knew it’s a scam and that his parents would be ashamed of him, he hung up on me. The bottom line is, don’t ever give access to your computer, password, any personal info (like bank account, social security number, etc.) to anyone over the phone or anyone you don’t know.
3 Likes
When you chat with someone on FB (on a computer, with chat on full screen) you see this in the upper right corner:
If you click on the phone you get a phone call where you only hear each other’s voice.
If you click on the camera you can have a video chat.
It only works if the other person is online at the moment you call him/her.
If you chat in a little chat window you see this in the upper right corner of the chat window:
On a phone it might be slightly different, but at least you should see an icon of a phone and one of a camera.
1 Like
Yeah, “Mr. Microsoft” called me to sometimes even I didn’t use it but Linux, would that stop “Mr. Microsoft”? No, not really.
After a long time just when you know what happened this year, when we had the first death case in our town due too you know what I mean. “Mr. Microsoft” called again, and I could hear it was from India, I was so outraged that I shouted into the phone, that there is a freaking pandemic going on, and he should look for a better job, other than people scamming for money, when most of them have real problems now he shouldn’t add more. I ended the phone call old style, because it was one of the old phones in the house, so I could just slam it loudly.
The next hours in my house the phone would ring now and then, but it would always be a strange number or not visible, I could guess it was “Mr. Microsoft” trying to anger me, but I didn’t answer.
2 Likes
Block the number! If your number is in a public directory, maybe you can ask to remove it.
Another scam is:
- once the hacker has hacked a mail address, he infects all the contacts of his first target.
- he sends them “I need money” or mails that we shouldn’t open or dangerous links
- some contacts realize it’s a scam by calling their friend or family or collegue. Some don’t realize, send money to their friend or give their codes and themselves could be infected once they click on a malicious link.
So calling family, friends and collegues once you see a strange request.
2 Likes
No use blocking the number they can change it in a flash to any number they like, that’s the downside with the new technology.
3 Likes
If it’s a private number and they don’t let a voicemail, then it’s not important.
Scammers are never important. I deactivated our voicemail. When they call they let the phone ring automatically until the voicemail activates, they might call 10 numbers at a time and the one is responding first is the “lucky one”. I too often had the voicemail on only to go through the trouble to listen to it in order to erase it, but there was actually no information left.
The people who are important know how to reach me.
1 Like