Forum Thermomix
Welcoming Center, Management and General Chat => Chit Chat => Topic started by: KarenH on April 21, 2013, 10:47:10 pm
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Just a warning so you are aware, and dont do the totally stupid thing that I did:
This morning I had an email that looked like it was from Paypal (looked VERY authentic!!) - saying that I had made a payment to someone. I had not made this payment. In the email small print it said that if there was a problem with the transaction, to click on the link and fill in the form to cancel the payment.
I clicked on the link, logged in to what I thought was PayPal, and filled out the online form to cancel the payment.
The form included my bank details, address, drivers licence number, expiry date, mothers maiden name, DOB etc etc .....
STUPIDLY STUPIDLY I filled all this out ......
It turns out it was a scam to get my personal details.
Moral of the story: Be alert for scam emails - they look very professional! Dont EVER click on the link contained in the email. Go direct to the paypal website and log in from there, or else contact paypal first.
This is probably old news to most of you inernet-savvy people out there, but it might just save someone else from doing what I just did.
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Oh how awful. :-( I'm so sorry that you've been caught like that. How did you realise it was fake? What alerted you? These people are utter scum. Thank you for sharing so we can be aware not to get caught ourselves.
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Karen.. That just wicked!! Have you reported it to PayPal and to the police??? And change as many of your details as possible ASAP.
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I got suspicious only a minute or two after I had hit the "send" button - wondering why they needed mothers maiden name, drivers licence number and expiry date etc ....... So I logged onto my Paypal account directly to see if I could see the incorrect transaction, which wasnt there (big surprise). So I rang PayPal, and they said that these scams are common - and to never to go any link from an email - to always log in to Paypal directly and go from there.
I have changed all the details I can for the moment (PayPal password, cancelled credit card etc) and will ring police when it is business hours.
I should have known better - I just wanted to cancel the transaction that I hadnt made - and didnt think it through properly first >:(
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I'm so sorry that you were caught out by this Karen. >:(
That is just so wrong. Thanks for alerting us to this, I'm sure I would have done the same.
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Hi Karen, I would hope I'd have smelt a rat but you never know, we get caught up in the moment and before we know it (like you) we could have done what they asked of us. Paypay always says never click on the link though so they were obviously aware this could happen. Good luck with cancelling everything, such a pain to have to do all that. Thanks for sharing this with us, it will make us more vigilant.
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Thanks for giving us the heads up! I would probably do the same thing just rushing to get it cancelled
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Sorry to hear that Karen. These people are the lowest of the low.
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Sorry you got caught Karen....they are very clever these days with their graphics to look authentic.
Good on you though for sharing your experience, as you may have helped some one else.
Financial institutions do not email account holders, so treat every one as a fraudulent email.
Even online Birthday cards are a huge risk, as these clever thieves can access email addresses of people you know, so the card you think is from a friend, is really a scammer, and then they have info on your future password entries.
Never click on any links from emails....even use caution on forums from links that users post, that don't have a long history or credibility amongst members.....you just don't know.
I recommend anyone who uses PayPal, to check directly by the website address, and look over your account weekly. I had money taken by deception, but I only discovered it when I checked my account transactions directly. I was reimbursed, but had I not looked for it.....that money would have been gone!
Karen, I know you are contacting the police & banks, but please ask them who else you should notify. Sadly once they have those details, they are already applying for online credit....and I would hate to think you will be receiving bills in a months time.
Your identity details are just so precious.
Goodluck K....let us know how you go.
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Sorry to hear of your problem Karen, it is a pain having to cancel cards etc. :( Some people have very little to do.
Marie
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Karen .. You can always go to www.afp.gov.au and report the crime online 24/7 . they then contact the appropriate agency. Good luck!!! A nasty experience that's for sure!!
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Karen - so sorry to hear you got caught - we have had the same paypal emails sent trying to scam us, tho I didn't click on it, I feel bad not to have put a warning out for others. Sorry. :-[ :-[ I thought it was a bit weird as while it looked authentic, it said it was from expaypal not paypal!
Good luck with getting it sorted. :)
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Karen, hope you get it sorted out soon, Cancel all cards, and get a new drivers license too.
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Karen that is awful. I like to think that I am really careful but that is the sort of thing I would do. Thanks for letting us know about it.
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So sorry to hear that Karen, There are some mean people about that have nothing better to do than to cause others grief. Hope you get it sorted out soon.
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Its terrible to think that one click can cause so much trouble. Good luck! I'm sure you're not the only one to get scammed.
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I have had no end of problems with the real paypal and the fakes. I never open anything that even vaguely looks like PayPal. It is very difficult to see the difference in these scams unless there is a typo or spelling mistake. I am now being scammed by a fake Telstra saying my payment has been rejected and inviting me to give them all my details so they can "fix it". As if!!!! But, having said that it is difficult to tell the difference.
Karen this can happen so easily. Hope you have fixed it.
Gert
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New avatar Gert! Very nice. :D The 7 faces of Gertbysea ;D
One of my many favourite movies - The 7 faces of Dr Lao.
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Oh dear Karen! Thank you so much for sharing this with everyone so that we are all more aware. Keep us posted.
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Oh lordy Karen, that's dreadful. :o :o :o
Do report it to the police as it's not only your credit they can apply for. With details like that they can do a lot of damage - I hope you get it dealt with soon.
There are so many PayPal scams around at the moment. I'm getting on average one dodgy email per week purporting to be from PayPal.
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Thanks for the warning Karen.Hopefully you have done all you can to stop your details being used.
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Thanks for the warning Karen.Hopefully you have done all you can to stop your details being used.
Bad luck
Agree with everyone else, but horrid when your stomach lurches after realising you've been had.
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Oh Karen, so sorry you got caught. I have received many emails like this and forward them onto PayPal fraud dept. Obviously they haven't stopped them as they keep coming. Thank you for sharing your story with us and fingers crossed everything will be ok.
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Thank you all for your messages! I felt just so stupid when I realised what I had done >:( >:(
I ended up speaking with someone in the e-crime branch of the police: apart from cancelling credit card and changing Paypal password details, they also recommended changing the security question reminders for anything that has a password i.e. Facebook, gmail etc etc ....... where if you forget your password, they can ask you a question and if you answer that question you can reset your password. Mothers maiden name is a common security question. If they have that info, they can hack into your accounts and reset your password and "take over" whatever that account is.
So, its been a long day of paperwork and passwords, but I have changed all I can change now, and hopefully (fingers crossed) there wont be too much damage done!
Thanks again everyone for your support! I just hope my experience saves someone else doing the same!
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Oh Karen you poor thing. Thank you for sharing. Did something similar with telephone call purporting to be from Microsoft. Had been having trouble with a programme that I installed so when this call came in I believed it and stupidly let them take remote control of my computer. Smelled the rat when it was suggested they could fix the problem for something like $300. Luckily no harm done but it easily could have. Was worried for some weeks that they might have access to Bank accounts etc but all was well. Like you I felt quite foolish as I should have known better.
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How awful Karen, why does the world have to have so many rotten B¥€£%#DS in it.
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Karen so sorry to hear what has happened but it seems to be everywhere and they are so clever it is easy to get caught without realising. Good luck with having everything changed and updated and hope there is no long term damage. Thanks for alerting us.
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I hope you all have harder passwords, with numbers and letters. Makes it harder to work out.
I get about 15-20 spam in my inbox a week now.
glad It all goes into a spam filter.
Edit to add, just checked my spam, 5 in so far today, Just won $400 000 from Nokia, send details to Bangkok.
since I have nothing Nokia at all..
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Oh Karen so sorry this has happened. Hope you get it all sorted out :)
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Oh Karen, what a PITA.
I've had that email too. I never, ever respond to emails from banks, PayPal, Telstra or anything like that. I always go online to check the account.
Hope all is safe and well in cyber land for you!!
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I also received this email this morning but luckily because I'm not computer savvy I left it for my son to check he knew it was a scam because of the address or something and now that I've just read about what's happened to you Karen I realize I to could could have got caught so thank you for the warning
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These internet criminals are just getting so god damn clever, and for many it's so easy to get caught !
A girlfriend of mine casually told me this morning that she's got her car advertised for sale on Trading Post. She just happened to mention that a few people are interested and they are marines on a ship ! She was saying they are going to pay her by Paypal and that she'd been setting up a Paypal account for them to pay her.
I quizzed her a bit more saying, it just doesn't sound right to me !! It turns out they sent her an email with a link to Paypal and to create her account (so goodness knows what information they have of hers !). I don't know what their motives are ??? Are they trying to access all her details by getting her to set up a Paypal account and then will create fraudulent transactions in her Paypal account OR are they planning to get someone to pick the car up and somehow get Paypal to refund their money (Paypal, I think, will only accept a proof of delivery that has come from a shipping company / carrier) so would easily refund if they were to say they didn't received the car ! I think her paypal account is the most likely target, as they quite possibly are from overseas !
Anyhow, we have changed her password and she is closing her bank account today !
They've targeted her, and she knows very little about online transactions, how Paypal works etc, which they probably worked out very easily ! She really thought she was safe because she would be receiving the money (and for her she couldn't see what could go wrong) and she had the opinion that Paypal is a very safe way of transacting. It's really frightened my g/f as you would expect !!
Ok, there is a slight possibility they were legitimate, but HIGHLY unlikely I think.
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It turns out they sent her an email with a link to Paypal and to create her account (so goodness knows what information they have of hers !). I don't know what their motives are ??? Are they trying to access all her details by getting her to set up a Paypal account and then will create fraudulent transactions in her Paypal account OR are they planning to get someone to pick the car up and somehow get Paypal to refund their money (Paypal, I think, will only accept a proof of delivery that has come from a shipping company / carrier) so would easily refund if they were to say they didn't received the car ! I think her paypal account is the most likely target, as they quite possibly are from overseas !
Your friend is the one who should be issuing them the paypal form, and not the other way around.
I would say definitely yes...they are trying to scam her.
Has she actually followed through on the links they sent her?
She needs to get confirmation on what methods of payment are advisable.....she should also contact the trading post to pass on what has happened.
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Not a chance in hell. Regular scam. I thought everyone knew this one . My DIL was selling stuff the same on Gum Tree and her car on some other site and they tried it on her as well. Quite common.
She was a buyer and seller on line with various sites including eBay, has had A PayPal account for years and has seen it all. No one is safe from it. Every one should educate themselves and believe nothing you see or hear and give no details to anyone .
Just the other day some woman was berating the post office staff over the usual Fed Ex parcel scam. I tried to tell her that FedEx does not operate in Australia in that way and she said it must be true as she had an email from FedEx. I told her to look up FedEx on line and compare the logos at least. Nothing like the real one. The post office gets this all the time. I heard a lot of it over Christmas and now for Mother's Day it will be popping up again.
This week alone I have had the ANZ scam, another PayPal scam and a Telstra scam. Telstra scam email comes every month around billing day.
Gert
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A friend's son had the same thing happen to him when he wanted to sell his car . . it took a lot of convincing so that he could finally see it was a fraud it was so well set up - and Paypal indeed confirmed it was!
Car for sale: - welcome to come and inspect it first - preferably outside a police station!!! Just incredible that there are so many crooks out there!!
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I have had 3 more in my spam box today,
make $$$ and a six figure income, just send me your details.
Nokia, you have won $400,000
Advertise with us, and win $$$$
I should leave them there, and see how many I get in a month.
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She hasn't had much to do with the internet at all and yes she should definately have educated herself first. Trading Post do have information on these scams, so I told her she should read that as well ! She fell right into their trap. She's cancelling her paypal account (this was the only reason she was setting it up) and closing her bank account (that she linked to her paypal account). I advised her to get a separate credit card with a small limit and set up a new paypal account (obviously only on paypal's drect site).
She's a very trusting person, and cannot believe how low these people will go, but it's just a reality these days ! She keeps saying as well that the police should be prosecuting them etc. There's just so much of it though these days and many of these scams are run from overseas which makes them very hard to trace ! She will be reporting it to Trading Post, Paypal and the police though !
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We had trouble with Gumtree and people wanting to buy DH's ute. He changed the ad eventually to say "must be viewed before sale". Most of them stopped then.
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Oh karen feel for you and hope like maddy said that they dont try and open up lines of credit in your name.. I get emails often too in both languages.. Latest one is the french electric company telling us we have defaulted payment and to cluck on the link.. I never ever click on any link in an email but go directly to the site.. Most companies if not all repeat that they never send out emails with direct links ever bur ask you to log in directly on their sites.. Good that you posted this though as im sure there are many who just dont know and fall into the trap.. Im sure you saved at least one person from doing the same thing..
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Here is another scam this morning.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/25/y7y4y5ej.jpg)
This is typical. Never click a link and just look the stupid bit on the bottom. You would have to be really dumb to fall for this one. And why would you click the link if you do not have an account with this bank even if it were a real bank which it is not.
Gert
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Our network at work must be very secure as I never get scam emails, can't remember the last time.
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Oh Karen, I'm so sorry that this has happened to you! It must be extremely scary to have something like this happen. These scams can look so authentic that it would be easy to fall into their trap. I think there must be many many people in your boat that don't realise it's a scam until it's too late.
I hope that you have it all sorted out now.
Thank you so much for warning us of this Paypal scam. I am grateful as I'll be aware if ever anything like this comes my way. (plus it never hurts to make everyone aware of these things, even if they have heard of it before)
Take care
gin xx