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I'm a gullible idiot who got scammed out of a $1000. Learn from this.

iconmaster

Banned
I fell for a brain-dead and common scam: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/paying-scammers-gift-cards

As I relate the details, there will be multiple points where you can't believe I fell for this. You're not wrong.

My company was bought by a larger concern last December. I've been a little nervous about my job security since, and have had contact with only a few of the long-term employees (my immediate team).

On Friday, the company held an all-hands event/party that I was unable to attend because I was moving my son into his college dorm for freshman year. During the day, I received an email claiming to be from my CEO. Spoiler: it was a scam, but the scammer knew

My boss' full name and company email
My boss' email signature
My full name and company email

The email claimed my boss needed something done and requested my personal number. Nothing about this was terribly suspicious so far. I'm used to smaller companies and wearing multiple hats, and sometimes taking care of a quick thing for someone outside my department. Nothing really unusual about communicating over text, either.

We continued via text, with the scammer claiming (as my boss) that he was in a call and urgently needed some gift cards for a client. Here was my thinking at this point:

Company-wide event, everyone's tied up with it.
I'm not there, so I'm one of the few people freed up for extra tasks.
The CEO is probably in calls all the time.
Sending clients little loyalty gifts is a pretty typical thing for a company to do.

So I bought two $500 Best Buy gift cards and sent the full numbers and PINs, then asked someone at my job how to get those reimbursed. That's when I learned that multiple employees had received the same email. One card was already spent (guy bought an Apple Watch in Boca Raton, Florida) but I was able to report the second card as stolen and get it shut down.

Interestingly, if you buy gift cards through a third-party store, the issuing store can't refund or replace them. Good to know.

So I'm either $1000 wiser or paid $1000 for my job anxiety, or $500 wiser and $500 anxious. It's a blow, but I'll recover.

Beware texters seeking gift cards.
 
I appreciate your willingness to share something that could be embarrassing to some. Scammers can be crafty, and thinking you can't be taken advantage of is a sure way to get taken.

My rule is always question when there is an exchange of funds. Just a pause for a moment considering what exactly is or could be taking place.
 

Kamina

Golden Boy
I couldn’t fall for this because my CEO doesn’t even really know who I am beyond greeting my on the hallway when we walk past each other, and because of the fact that I have nothing to do with gift cards or the fact that my company doesn’t hand out gift cards in the first place.
 

cr0w

Old Member
Exact same thing happened to a new employee at my company, she ended up buying $1000 in gift cards but we found out before she sent the codes. I intercepted the e-mail and had a little fun with the scammers, strung them along for about 3 hours before I got bored.

Anytime you receive a request like this from your boss, double and triple-check it.
 

Ornlu

Banned
Props to you for owning up to it, OP. Thanks for posting your experience.

My company gets directed email scams constantly; there was one floating around purporting to be from the owner that one of the people in sales clicked on and got phished with. IT handled it before $ changed hands. I don't blame you for falling for it; scammers aren't stupid and know how to do what they do.
 

Hinedorf

Banned
That sucks and it happened because you were willing to do the best job asked of you. I've been working in the same building since 2005 and dealt with 2 buyouts and am still hanging around.

My only apprehension to everything that I read is why was there no company card used for all this? I would assume there is some type of company card for such things, to pop out 500/1000 of personal cash for anything would be a 'hell to the no' for me.
 
They try to hit our place of work all the time. I just keep banning the emails but it's an ongoing issue.

My boss did actually ask me to pick up gift cards once.
 
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iconmaster

Banned
My only apprehension to everything that I read is why was there no company card used for all this? I would assume there is some type of company card for such things, to pop out 500/1000 of personal cash for anything would be a 'hell to the no' for me.

Processes tend to be a little loose in the companies I've worked for, but yeah. Next time even if it's a legitimate request I'll decline to put up that much of my own money for any company need.

My boss did actually ask me to pick up gift cards once.

Interesting. So yeah, it wasn't completely beyond the realm of possibility.
 
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#Phonepunk#

Banned
oh no, the gift card ruse! not good. sorry to hear OP. its all good it happens to everyone. u gotta watch out for hustlers.

i've been scammed a few times. once i was looking for a job, tried to apply for the US post office, ended up "ordering application documents" and paying someone like $80 for a package that never arrived and a job that likely didn't exist. i was young and desperate. also been scammed working as a cashier a few times. there was this one trick someone pulled, they would buy something really cheap, pay with a big bill, then while i'm giving them change, start swapping bills, and asking for different denominations, totally playing me. he was very good, he had this routine worked out, and was excellent at social engineering. someone like that can probably walk around pocketing thousands of dollars a day just using their wits. that's kind of impressive.

after he left, i realized the dude somehow got me to give him $100, i cursed, went to the ATM, took out that much out of my bank account, and put it back in to cover the loss. felt like an idiot. sometimes you gotta mess up to learn what to look out for. keep your wits about, lot of scammers and con artists around...
 
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Don't feel too bad. I bought a motorcycle with what was thought to be minor electrical issues. Re-wired the stator, then replaced the entire charging system. Re-wired front lights. Still having issues. Couple weeks from now I'm going to look over the ignition and dropping entire circuits out to trace the problem.

It happens, people suck.
 

iconmaster

Banned
there was this one trick someone pulled, they would buy something really cheap, pay with a big bill, then while i'm giving them change, start swapping bills, and asking for different denominations, totally playing me. he was very good, he had this routine worked out, and was excellent at social engineering.

I've heard about that one. Taking advantage of a young cashier trying to make the customer happy while also keeping the line moving is 1) clever and 2) dirty.
 

888

Member
I assume anyone contacting me that I didn’t request is a scam. Or someone that is trying to sell me a warranty for my cars.
 

DESTROYA

Member
Calls I got that were scams this week alone.

My APPLE account was compromised even though I have no credit card info on them.
My Microsoft account has some sort of virus. How the hell would they even know if it did anyway?
I usually just mess with them until they get pissed off and hang up.
Scumbags try to take advantage of people.
 
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godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
That’s nothing OP, be happy you still have your job, and are wiser now.

At the company I work for, someone in the finance department emailed 200 W2 forms to a scammer pretending to be the CEO. The employee got terminated for the monumental fuckup, everybody in the company got 5 years of identity protection, and we regularly go through trainings to avoid being hacked again. I just spent one hour of my life last week solving the latest cyber security quiz. It’s pretty common.

Also, IIRC the employee got terminated because she did not immediately confess; a lot of people got their social security numbers sold online and mentioned attempts to get credit cards open on their behalf or their tax returns stolen. If she had mentioned the issue earlier a lot of problems could have been averted.
 
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TacosNSalsa

Member
Is it? Did not know that. Had one call me this morning and I just hung up on them. It's crazy how they can easily obtain these info from you.
In my experience all but 1 of the calls I've gotten started with "Our records show that your warranty is going to expire soon..." My car is 02 so that warranty expired 12-13 years and like 60,000 miles ago ..lol..SO I'm not 100% sure it's a scam but it would probably be best to assume that they are and just ignore it ...
 

nbcjr

Member
That’s nothing OP, be happy you still have your job, and are wiser now.

At the company I work for, someone in the finance department emailed 200 W2 forms to a scammer pretending to be the CEO. The employee got terminated for the monumental fuckup, everybody in the company got 5 years of identity protection, and we regularly go through trainings to avoid being hacked again. I just spent one hour of my life last week solving the latest cyber security quiz. It’s pretty common.

Also, IIRC the employee got terminated because she did not immediately confess; a lot of people got their social security numbers sold online and mentioned attempts to get credit cards open on their behalf or their tax returns stolen. If she had mentioned the issue earlier a lot of problems could have been averted.
If she didn't confess no-one would know.
 

Caffeine

Member
Ye I used to work as a cashier and this guy came up and wanted me to charge $500 from a credit to a gift card little did he know i honestly didnt know how to do it lmao, he looked shady as fuck I had to call my manager over anyway.
 

godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
If she didn't confess no-one would know.

She confessed once she was exposed by another employee. Apparently, she tried to cover her tracks once she realized her mistake, and that is when she got caught.
We would run audits for documents accessed back then, but they were not as strict as they are today.
 
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Wings 嫩翼翻せ

so it's not nice
She confessed once she was exposed by another employee. Apparently, she tried to cover her tracks once she realized her mistake, and that is when she got caught.

She deserves it even more, then. I saw it as somewhat forgivable and innocent until this part. Like, imagine hearing that someone in your company sold you out to scammers and tried to hide it.

She would definitely not enjoy being around me in that office...
 

DiscoJer

Member
I'm actually surprised they sold you the gift cards. I recently had to go through register training at Walmart and they have a video on gift card scams. We have to inquire if the sale is over a certain amount (I want to say $500, but maybe $250) and if it's a scam, point out its a scam and refuse sale.
 

iconmaster

Banned
I'm actually surprised they sold you the gift cards. I recently had to go through register training at Walmart and they have a video on gift card scams. We have to inquire if the sale is over a certain amount (I want to say $500, but maybe $250) and if it's a scam, point out its a scam and refuse sale.

Even just the cashier pointing out that hey, this might be a scam could have turned me around and gotten me scrutinizing the communications a bit more.
 

TheUsual

Gold Member
The same type of scam attempt happened at my job. Knew it already was weird when the supposed CEO of a global company would send a lowly employee in purchasing to get gift cards. The email came en masse and everyone around me started laughing at the email.
 
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Northeastmonk

Gold Member
https://haveibeenpwned.com/ I’d check that and change any passwords if you’ve been in a Collection or data breach.

This type of thing is common. My work had someone try to get iTunes cards. Someone over heard her and stopped her because she was using her pc to shop for them.

What’s going around now are people who bought a bunch of passwords from a collection and they’ll email you telling you they have your password. So they want bitcoin in return. Cyber crime is a business. It operates just like white hats do. Never negotiate and always verify with someone that they are who they say they are. Negotiating will more than likely lead you nowhere, except broke and/or hacked.

A lot of times a hacker voices a sense of urgency and uses words like ASAP and STAT. If you feel like they are rushing you then 99.999% of the time it’s a hacker. You’ll see them spoof anyone’s email. If you examine the email’s header or have a spam filter, then look at who it’s really from. The IP can give them away too.
 
I once got scammed buying a DVD box set of LOST online. My mate was a big fan at the time and the forum he would read had an advert that he said had to be real because the forum was legit.

I questioned the storefront, it looked a bit iffy, but I didn't think to question my mate's judgment.

I reported it to the police but they said I had to go through Google, and obviously Google don't give a shit.

My mate felt right bad lol.
 

Cybrwzrd

Banned
I fell for a brain-dead and common scam: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/paying-scammers-gift-cards

As I relate the details, there will be multiple points where you can't believe I fell for this. You're not wrong.

My company was bought by a larger concern last December. I've been a little nervous about my job security since, and have had contact with only a few of the long-term employees (my immediate team).

On Friday, the company held an all-hands event/party that I was unable to attend because I was moving my son into his college dorm for freshman year. During the day, I received an email claiming to be from my CEO. Spoiler: it was a scam, but the scammer knew

My boss' full name and company email
My boss' email signature
My full name and company email

The email claimed my boss needed something done and requested my personal number. Nothing about this was terribly suspicious so far. I'm used to smaller companies and wearing multiple hats, and sometimes taking care of a quick thing for someone outside my department. Nothing really unusual about communicating over text, either.

We continued via text, with the scammer claiming (as my boss) that he was in a call and urgently needed some gift cards for a client. Here was my thinking at this point:

Company-wide event, everyone's tied up with it.
I'm not there, so I'm one of the few people freed up for extra tasks.
The CEO is probably in calls all the time.
Sending clients little loyalty gifts is a pretty typical thing for a company to do.

So I bought two $500 Best Buy gift cards and sent the full numbers and PINs, then asked someone at my job how to get those reimbursed. That's when I learned that multiple employees had received the same email. One card was already spent (guy bought an Apple Watch in Boca Raton, Florida) but I was able to report the second card as stolen and get it shut down.

Interestingly, if you buy gift cards through a third-party store, the issuing store can't refund or replace them. Good to know.

So I'm either $1000 wiser or paid $1000 for my job anxiety, or $500 wiser and $500 anxious. It's a blow, but I'll recover.

Beware texters seeking gift cards.

I mean, this sucks for you. And I’m sorry, but I do have a Nigerian prince friend with a bridge in Alaska that can send you million dollars tomorrow. What’s your SSN, bank account number and home address so I can be sure that the funds are transferred to you so we can keep your car warranty up to date? Also show bobs and vagene for evidence.
 
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petran79

Banned
Few days ago some guy with Indian accent called at our summer resort home and said he was from Microsoft support and wanted to do service on Windows for security reasons. Had I continued they'd ask for Login info, IP address etc
Should have told him I use Ubuntu
 
That's a lot of money OP but fortunately for you it isn't a life changing amount.

Losing upwards of 10K would be a huge hit for most, a couple thousand isn't that bad.
 

kingwingin

Member
Last scam I got hit with was a text from my cell carrier telling me I was getting a refund. When I clicked the link it asked me to log into my bank, next screen asked for social insurance number, address, mother maiden name. Third screen asked me to make 3 secret questions for account recovery.

There are some seriously shitty people out there
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
I was scammed out of $100, in a common diversity green card lottery scam, when I was looking to first move to the US. Only after paying the company did I research and find that a) you can apply direct for free and b) my home country wasn't eligible. This was a legal scam though, not outright theft.
Everyone falls for some kind of scam at some point. My local county administrator embezzled hundreds of thousands and sent it to a 'Nigerian prince'.
 

NeoGiffer

Member
7ca2d245c1f903221d8fd33655ca6cb08c12137a0c588996c3ebe3201b0c9f29.jpg
 

Sakura

Member
I'm actually surprised they sold you the gift cards. I recently had to go through register training at Walmart and they have a video on gift card scams. We have to inquire if the sale is over a certain amount (I want to say $500, but maybe $250) and if it's a scam, point out its a scam and refuse sale.
Really? We regularly sell gift cards where I work for pretty high values. I just figure that it's people paying for gacha. I guess that is kind of a scam still though.
 
Know the feeling OP, I'm usually really adamant about vetting potential scams, but even I managed to slip up, got scammed out of $40 today (which for me is kinda a big sum, here's why), thought that I found a good deal on the PC version of the new Modern Warfare (it's the only big release I'm looking forward to this year, and I thought I won't find a better deal for day one) on r/steamgameswap, was doing the trade with this guy, the worst thing is he had an aged reddit account and confirmed trades and "proof" of trades, but yeah, as soon as I sent him the money he blocked me and deleted his reddit account, so now I'm gonna have to wait a month for paypal to resolve the case (if it gets resolved) and I'm stuck with $40 short and no MW. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go bite my own ass. Hope you'll manage to recoup OP!
 
My sister fell for a $1600 tutoring scam of all things. Father said he was out on business, hired my sister to tutor his "daughter", wrote a check for 1600. $300 was hers, and the other 1300 was to be wired to an account to take care of expenses. She's an idiot.

She's one of those pot smokers that actually smoked herself retarded.
 
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