OT—probable pfishing

Re: They're everywhere, in everything....

Bruce McCrory

That just about says everything.... Except.... When a "real" outfit, Dr., bank, or the people at Wally World letting you know a prescription is ready, call and demand I prove who I am:

"Well, you called me. I know who I am. Who are you?"

I used to peg fakes by how fake the recording was. Then I got a 'real' call from my bank's fraud department, robo-call, that sounded worse.

Re: They're everywhere, in everything....

Bruce, a MN Galoot

Must be that time of year or something in the air or something...

I’ve gotten dozens of emails telling me that my American Express/chase/discover/Wells Fargo account has been hacked and I need to re-enter my name, account number and password. I don’t have any of those accounts. It also seems that my email account has been deactivated and I need to allow them to reactivate it. The spelling and grammar are deplorable, so they’re easy to spot.

as software gets more capable...

David Weaver

i'd bet the spammers will have dynamic software that can perpetuate these things by constantly modifying email blasts to evade whatever blocked the last.

I deal with the IRS at work. I actually find them generally delightful, but that's because I deal with the real IRS area specialists and they're superb. But, they send letters. When someone calls and says:

"this is melinda from IRS, you have tax pay, we send you to FBI", I giggle first and then ask how I can get to the issue starting at IRS.gov and what the case number is. I'll go there and navigate my way to resolve it. They find this solution unacceptable, of course. The real IRS finds it delightful.

That's my tip for everyone. Ignore all emails that come from anything other than a transaction you just made, and even then, inspect, as traffic can be sniffed and you can get related topics after doing something normal. If you see something that's interesting, go to the main website and call customer service using the number on the website, or navigating through.

Re: OT—probable pfishing

Dale Stansbery

I got one from Visa. They wanted info to make "one click Payment" possible or some such. I bit, then up came an old Visa card number they wanted the security code for. It suddenly dawned on me that I get my Visa from B of A, and they would be contacting me, not Visa. So far I've seen no ill effect on my valid card.

Re: OT—probable pfishing

Bruce McCrory

Is there any way a program can be created to follow back the source of this thievery with a jolt of electricity capable of torching the thug's computer and resident building?

ZAAAAP!!!