SCAM Beware of geeks bearing (unexpected) gifts

cyberiot

Rimtas žmogus
Pulled this scam alert off FaceBook. Pretty subtle, very clever.

Brace Yourself Prophetic Dreams by Dana Coverstone

Lucy Dizek · 8t6Shp4c8l941rteh1 ·

NEW SCAM! BEWARE—THIS ONE IS PRETTY SLICK!

This is very clever. I would probably fall for it if not warned. Give this wide distribution. This scam is actually very clever. Just when you thought you'd heard it all. Be very careful out there! Beware of people bearing gifts!

The following is a recounting of the incident from the victim:

Wednesday a week ago, I had a phone call from someone saying that he was from some outfit called: "Express Couriers," (The name could be any courier company). He asked if I was going to be home because
there was a package for me that required a signature.

The caller said that the delivery would arrive at my home in roughly an hour. Sure enough, about an hour later, a uniformed delivery man turned up with a beautiful basket of flowers and a bottle of wine. I
was very surprised since there was no special occasion or holiday, and I certainly didn't expect anything like it. Intrigued, I inquired as to who the sender was.

The courier replied, "I don't know, I'm only delivering the package."

Apparently, a greeting card was being sent separately. (The card has never arrived!) There was also a consignment note with the gift.

He then went on to explain that because the gift contained alcohol, there was a $3.50 "delivery/ verification charge," providing proof that he had actually delivered the package to an adult (of legal drinking age), and not just left it on the doorstep where it could be stolen or taken by anyone, especially a minor.

This sounded logical and I offered to pay him cash. He then said that the delivery company required payment to be by credit or debit card only, so that everything is properly accounted for, and this would help in keeping a legal record of the transaction.
He added, "Couriers don't carry cash to avoid loss or likely targets for robbery."

My husband, who by this time was standing beside me, pulled out his credit card, and the "delivery man," asked him to swipe the card on a small mobile card machine with a small screen and keypad. Frank, my
husband, was asked to enter his PIN number and a receipt was printed out. He was given a copy of the transaction.

The guy said everything was in order, and wished us good day.

To our horrible surprise, between Thursday and the following Monday, $4,000 had been charged/withdrawn from our credit/debit account at various ATM machines.

Apparently the "mobile credit card machine," which the deliveryman carried now had all the info necessary to create a "dummy" card with all our card details including the PIN number.

Upon finding out about the illegal transactions on our card, we immediately notified the bank which issued us a new card, and our credit/debit account was closed.

We also personally went to the police, where it was confirmed that it is definitely a scam because several households had been similarly hit.

WARNING: Be wary of accepting any "surprise gift or package," which you neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if it involves
any kind of payment as a condition of receiving the gift or package. Also, never accept anything If you do not personally know or there is no proper identification of who the sender is.

Above all, the only time you should give out any personal credit/debit card information is when you yourself initiated the purchase or transaction!
 

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
GEEEEZ, can't trust anyone or anything anymore, no matter how innocent it might appear. Oh well......I'll just go back up on my mountain and into my cave where it's safe.
 

Shotsie

Contributing Member
Just about 30 minutes after I read this I got a phone call that showed up on my caller ID as “Call Delivery.” It rang twice and hung up, no message left. ID cleared before I could get the number. Scam, nuisance, etc. calls always ring twice on our phone and then hang up. We never answer them unless we recognize the number. If it is a legitimate call they will leave a message and if we recognize the caller we pick up.
 

Mark Armstrong

Veteran Member
Apparently this was also done back in 2008, in Sydney Australia.


The guy who did it in that instance, David John Hennessey, got caught. Or at least he was charged with the crime. Haven't been able to find the results of his court appearance.
 

day late

money? whats that?
See, this is where a smartphone comes in very handy. I get a text alert if more than $50 is taken from any account.

For the record, I never swipe my card through one of those portable reader things.

Regrettably that's the way most people pay in my business. But then again, I don't show up unannounced. The customer has to call for the locksmith.
 

Satanta

Stone Cold Crazy
_______________
Doesn't take much. Scan your card, get your PIN if feasible then go out to the car, rummage thru a box of hotel key cards or those cards they give out in stores with magnetic strips-even a defunct gift card from Walmart. Rewrite the magnetic info and go shopping, fill up the car...PIN number let's them ATM it but, no PIN, self-checkout at Wally World or pay at the pump.
 
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