#scams #hackers #spoofing
Scams, timeshare scams, political scams, so many times of scams out at the disposal of those out to do no good. There has been some alarming quick rise in the amount of scams these days that people for some unknown reason fall for. It is always a too good to be true sort of deal, or some form of good Samaritan help line asking for help, or just some form of information. Its time to take them down, knock down some doors, and take some scammers offline. Let us loosen up, put on our thinking caps, and break down what it is they do, and how we can help.
Targeting ignorance with Social Engineering is the primary target of your modern day scam artist, those who do not know any better and are willing to trust are often raked over the coals by these modern scammers. They do so by offering up something that the person on the other end greatly desires, or disguising as an innocent pole for political reasons, or what have you. Here are a few primary examples.
Political Poll:
Now this is a new scam that, we here at GoblinByte got a phone call for. Our oh so pleasant poll taker calls stating they are making calls in regards to a political poll. Fine, sounds safe enough, seeing as this number is on the do not call list, kind of obvious its not a legitimate call, so might as well just investigate for the sake of science, and our readers. The caller asked to verify if the person on the phone (myself) was of the age 18, and then proceeded to ask questions. Well, I am not going to answer any willingly and eventually just hung up. If the phone was not hung up what would have happened is as follows. The scam artist would ask very detailed questions both about politics, and the individuals personal life. Most of us are generally witty enough to realize when a scam is occurring, and will most likely hang up the phone before we willingly gave out our social security or home address.
Not everyone out there is really quick enough to figure it out, which is kind of sad, this is one way that a lot of peoples identities get stolen. I wish that were not the truth, but more often than not, it is a sad and painful truth.
You Won A Prize:
Ah here is a fun one that is so simple, yet so destructive. The scam artist will call up and proclaim that the person on the other end of the phone is the winner of some sort of prize, elated in their joy the caller takes advantage. First they say they need verification of that individuals social, and home address, just like the other scam, and all too often in the moment of excitement they willfully give over personal information and wait patiently for their prize to arrive.
That prize will never arrive, because once again sadly this is a break down of the trust system, and loss of personal identity. As a matter of fact big box store Best Buy was hit with this a few years ago, where the caller would state they needed verification, and as soon as the process was done, a gift card at their nearest Best Buy store would become activated and ready for them to pick up. Personally I witnessed this occur, as a line of people began filling the store asking for their gift card. The primary target, in a vast majority of cases, were the elderly, who come from the generation where you can trust the phone man not to steal from you. The times have changed, and the world is not as safe.
Scam Prevention Tip #1:
Do not give out any personal information over the phone if you do not know who the person on the other end of the line is. As we can see but the above two examples, scams target those willing to trust, and the elderly.
Can I Report The Number?
This is one of those options that you see in message boards all the time "just report that number to the police, they will take care of it." But will they is the real question? Actually that is not the real question, and that option is really just a moot point. In the internet age where everything is online, VOIP solutions allow for would be attackers to mask their phone number. It may look like 612-291-1000 is calling you, and if you call back you will get a legitimate business but it could, in most cases, be a masked phone number.
By providing a legitimate phone number, when they call you back, you are more likely more inclined to respond and give up the information they ask. They expect you to do a little research, find out the company is real, and when your all happy and feel cozy inside, they take advantage of that. The phone number itself is real, but the person using it is a scammer. So will will running that phone number through the cops really do? Nothing, it may hurt a legitimate person, or hurt a legitimate business. These phone numbers you receive phone calls from, are not "real" in the sense that the legitimate owner is using them. So do not waste your time.
Best Way To Get Revenge?
The revenge portion does not really happen after the fact, it more so happens during. The thing here is you will be doing a public service, all while having a good old fashion laugh. Unlike any regular telemarketer, scam artists are allowed to hang up, a telemarketers by contract is not allowed to do so, they are employed to get a sale at all costs. As a way to have fun, do what I do, just annoy the heck out of these people. Many of us will pick up the phone, say "stop calling me" and hang up, that does not remove you from any calling lists, it just increases the incentive to keep calling you. You will get more and more calls as time goes on by more and more random numbers.
What you need to do is poke, prod, and make that call not worth the time, do what Jack Vale does. Jack vale may be a professional comedian and funny man, but to be honest, his tactics aren't just funny to watch, they are actually pretty funny to do. By making their ordeal with you so torturous and demanding to do, it is more probable that these scam artists will be removing you from their lists. The joy does not just stop there, oh no by wasting their time, you are saving someone else the heart ache of getting duped by these guys. As far as I am concerned, by tormenting a scammer, you would be performing a public service and making everyone else lives easier. Honestly imagine if everyone was doing this as well, eventually the scam calls would stop, there would be no incentive to attack keep trying if they know their time will be nothing but wasted for 45 minutes because someone "could'nt hear you" over their bathroom noises.
Conclusion
If something sounds to good to be true, it most likely is. Unless its publishers clearing house showing up at your front door, it is not real. Do not give anyone information if you do not know who they are. If you catch someone who is taking advantage of you do what you can to waste their time, it is very fun, and you will be doing everyone a favor.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, let us know in the comment section below. And as always, be safe my fellow goblins.
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