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View Full Version : Scam warning for you all


Kuamata
01-15-15, 07:30 PM
Lookin' out for ya'll and giving you a scam alert. Not reptile related, but may help ya.

So, I've been sitting at work just boredly fiddling with my games, and my phone suddenly rings. My caller ID pops up 'District of Columbia'. I think to myself,"Isn't that a bank?.. Maybe I applied for a loan there, or it's about one of my existing loans."... So, thinking this, I answer. A man with a heavy Indian accent answers and goes on how I've been selected to receive a $9,000 government grant, free of charge with no taxes because I pay my taxes, have no criminal record, and have not filed bankruptcy in the past 6 months. I fit all of that criteria, so I was hopeful maybe it was real and I could upgrade some things. Being an exotic animal enthusiast, there is always room for improvement, and they're often costly. So, I go along with it. He asked me how old I was, and then how would I like to receive my grant, with my debit/credit card or into my bank account. I picked the safer of the two, my bank account, since he did not have my access code, my date of birth, or social security. I gave him my account number routing number, and zip code. He then gave me an approval ID GO### and gave me a phone number to call and approve my grant. It was a 202 area code. They said they would be transferring this money from a bank in New York to my checking account.

I called the number and an Indian accented woman answered the phone and asked for an approval ID. I gave her my ID and she verified my name. She then said that the transfer will take 25 to 35 minutes to go through, but I first needed to go to a local CVS, Riteaid, Walgreens, etc to purchase a Green Dot Money Pak for $4.95 and load $200 for a security deposit. She said that the government would refund this money, making it a total of $9,200. She then asked me how soon I could get to my nearest Walgreens. I told her I don't know, I'm at work. She said something that I couldn't decipher because of her accent and then she asked how soon again. I told her the same thing, in a bit of an irritated tone. She was like,"Oh, you at work... So how soon?" At that point I yelled at her the same thing I'd now repeated three times. I was already suspicious about both representatives being foreign with very broken english, but asking for money and just being stupid was the final straw. I told her that I'll give them $200 when I see the money in my account. She then started to repeat herself and I hung up on her.

Rotten people. Preying on families and people's hopes. Preying on the poor and young adults trying to get started in the real world... preying on the desperate. I'd feel so awful if a poor family fell for this, spent the last bit of money they had or, even worse, forsook a bill or rent for these greedy savages and end up going hungry, without electricity, or facing eviction because of these pigs. Slimey rotten scumbags, need to be thrown in jail.

If you receive any call about a federal grant, just hang up and block the number. I'll be making a call to my bank in the morning, just to be safe.

Minkness
01-15-15, 07:38 PM
I got that one MONTHS ago.

First flag for me was that they wouldn't give me a check and wanted my actual bank acct.

Another red flag. They told me I couldn't spend the money on drugs or alcohol....As much as I'm sure the govt would love to tell us how to spend our money, the simple fact is that they cant.

Also, when I expressed my concern that it was indeed a scam, they started yelling at me that it was NOT a scam and demanded if I wanted the money or not, because, if I didn't want then I needed to stop wasting their time.

=D

Kuamata
01-15-15, 08:01 PM
Lmfao, from the people that are wasting our time. Pot calling the kettle black, lol. Yeah, just gonna tell my bank the only people authorized to inquire about my account is me and my mother. :/ No one else's business.

shaunyboy
01-16-15, 09:25 AM
anytime my house or mobile phone rings and someones offering Any kind of deal,they get hung up on instantly mate

my house phone is private ex directory,and i use pay as you go burner phones for myself...

so if some stranger calls me,i assume/know it's a bullshet scam

it's pretty sad that all the great technology these days,gets used to scam innocent people minding their own buisness

it really grates on me when they do it to old people who have worked and been honest their whole lives..

in fact,i'd better not get started on that subject folks :angry:



cheers shaun :)

Zoo Nanny
01-16-15, 10:25 AM
After having given them your account information did you notify the bank. With the information given to them they can easily hack your account and transfer the money.

marvelfreak
01-16-15, 01:13 PM
Had one a couple years ago that said we won $5000.00 for filing out some survey. All we had to do was send $200.00 processing fee on a green dot card. Then they would deposit the money. Told them to call me back in 1/2 a hour. Contacted the bank and asked about it and was told it was most like a scam. They get the $200.00 then send a fake deposit. If i had done it and spent the money i would have been screwed. I would be the one having to pay it back to the bank and would have got charged with fraud.


Another one that just happen this last summer was i had snake for sale on Craigslist. Guy contacts me about buying one. He want to send me extra money to give to the person picking the snake up. I am like ok. The cashiers check come and it for $1,500.00. The snake only $200.00. told me he give me a extra $100.00 for doing it. He wants me to cash it right away then go to a Western Union and send the rest to the deliver person. So i go to the bank and tell them what's going on and they run a check on the check. The bank it from doesn't exist and it a very very well forged cashiers check. So we called the police and turned it over to them.

ALWAYS REMEMBER IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S a SCAM.

Kuamata
01-16-15, 01:23 PM
Yeah, I did, but even if they managed to I only got 5 dollars in there, haha~ I don't appreciate the usage fines on my debit.

Edit: Yeah, I've figured that out, now. Sucks, I wanted to build an even better aviary and all PVC cages. :( Oh well.

marvelfreak
01-16-15, 01:25 PM
Yeah, I did, but even if they managed to I only got 5 dollars in there, haha~ I don't appreciate the usage fines on my debit.
To be safe i close the account and open a new one. So later they can come back and take your money.