Gift Card FRAUD!!!

[Bruce Wrenn]

Perhaps some of you have already received an email claiming to be a "Survey" for either Costco, or Home Depot, which claims you will receive a $500 gift card for taking a quick survey. Look at the bottom of the page, and the address is Poland Oragon. Both words are spelled WRONG, and the zip code ( USA) is six digits long. Unless I'm wrong, USA zip codes are five digits long. Please warn others, especially seniors, that this is a FRAUD! I've gotten to the point that I open my email, using Fire Fox in the private window function..

[Ronald Blue]

There are many of these types of email frauds going around. There are usually give aways to tip you off but usually the first one for me is I haven't visited that store anytime recently. Their command of English and/or proper spelling is usually a big clue. I don't think a day goes by that I don't receive at least one. My McAfee has been expiring for most of this year. Which is good since I have never ever used that anti-virus protection.

[Jim Becker]

There is a "secret shopper" scam also in circulation that arrives in a USPS express mail envelope and also includes a very real appearing check for $1500 or so. Instructions say to deposit the check, keep $450 for yourself and then buy a prepaid VISA gift card to use for your secret shopping visits. The rub is that you have to report the VISA gift card details to the organization...all of them. Which means they drain the card immediately and when the check bounces because it's not real, you are out the entire $1500 and the bad folks gained $1050. The version on the news was pegged to Whole Foods and while they do use "secret shoppers", as do most major retailers, they do not do so unsolicited nor do they require any payments, etc.

[Jim Koepke]

There are many of these types of email frauds going around. There are usually give aways to tip you off but usually the first one for me is I haven't visited that store anytime recently. Their command of English and/or proper spelling is usually a big clue. I don't think a day goes by that I don't receive at least one. My McAfee has been expiring for most of this year. Which is good since I have never ever used that anti-virus protection.

Most of these end up in my junk folder without ever being opened.

Most emails from someone not known to me are not opened.

That probably keeps me from knowing about most scams if someone doesn't post about them here.

jtk

[glenn bradley]

Most of these end up in my junk folder without ever being opened.

Most emails from someone not known to me are not opened.

That probably keeps me from knowing about most scams if someone doesn't post about them here.

jtk

A wise and sensible approach. I handle phone calls the same way. If I don't know them and they don't leave a voicemail I ignore them. Any identified as undesirables get blocked. I know they have a huge range of numbers available to torture us with but, after a few months of active blocking the number of scam calls and texts I get per year are single digit or darn close to it. Pardon my Orwellian approach to all things Big Brother. I'm not some whack-job :). Like the airline mechanic that won't fly . . . the more you know the more cautious you are about these things.

[Lisa Starr]

I always have my email setup with a preview window. If the info showing in the preview looks in anyway suspect it goes straight to my junk mail. My junk mail folder is emptied daily.

[Jim Koepke]

A wise and sensible approach. I handle phone calls the same way. If I don't know them and they don't leave a voicemail I ignore them. Any identified as undesirables get blocked. I know they have a huge range of numbers available to torture us with but, after a few months of active blocking the number of scam calls and texts I get per year are single digit or darn close to it. Pardon my Orwellian approach to all things Big Brother. I'm not some whack-job :). Like the airline mechanic that won't fly . . . the more you know the more cautious you are about these things.

My blocked number file is full, cannot block new numbers.

We have cordless phones. Telemarketers tend to drop off after the third ring to avoid message machines. Sometimes the ringing is annoying enough that my phone is picked up and immediately hung up.

jtk

[Curt Harms]

My blocked number file is full, cannot block new numbers.

We have cordless phones. Telemarketers tend to drop off after the third ring to avoid message machines. Sometimes the ringing is annoying enough that my phone is picked up and immediately hung up.

jtk

I do the answer/hang up immediately trick too. A legitimate caller will call back almost immediately assuming a disconnect, a scammer usually won't. For us there are usually 6 rings then the scammers disconnect.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Just spent the last half hour erasing messages from land line. Out of about 50 messages, only a couple were worth the time to listen to. These had to do with friends and relatives checking up on us.