Time-Wasters Update

It seems that everyone is getting numerous emails and text messages about DHL deliveries, Post Office parcels etc. Usually the message claims some piece of information was wrong and prevented delivery or there is a surcharge to pay. This latest one is clearly by an idiot. It claims to be from DPD couriers but the sender’s email address is trybpstabiizer.com and it says an APPLE iMac 24 inch laptop is due for delivery if I pay the outstanding £1 delivery charge. When someone sends such an item they get the delivery charge correct – it’s not a matter of guesswork. Just a dumb scammer.

“Grandpa Robert Miller lost 63lbs with no effort” – apparently with no exercise and eating whatever foods he liked. All this because he carried out an 8 second ritual each evening. This is the typical rubbish that scammers put in their emails about magic weight loss remedies. It’s hard to imagine anyone taking this sort of thing seriously but the messages continue so maybe someone does or maybe the scammers are too stupid to recognise their failure. As usual the magic remedy is supposed to be a carefully guarded secret, but 159,000 people are already using it. Pathetic.

Another 419 scam email arrives claiming to be from the FBI. Apparently they have tried to call me about the $2 million they have to send on to me, but couldn’t get through. That’s an old story that doesn’t work nowadays that everyone uses smart phones that automatically go to answer phone if not answered. Anyway, the FBI don’t even know my name as the email starts with Dear, The money is apparently compensation for something unspecified. Just the usual pathetic rubbish.

An email claiming to be from Amazon tells me my account has been suspended due to failure to pay Amazon Prime subscription charges. It’s an obvious scam message as it is actually from r0ggqpgxsmxcybu-uhu49mnok2accmxe which is clearly not Amazon, plus I don’t have an Amazon subscription.

Lots of fake messages arrive supposedly from Chinese companies offering various engineering products such as transformer coils. Some of these scammers also add fake mail delivery messages so you get an email with a title such as ‘Returned Mail Delivery Failure’ which looks like one of your messages wasn’t delivered, but it’s fake. The endless details are just copied from authentic delivery failure messages and the point for the scammer is to get you to open the message and click the link to see your original message but that’s where the payload of malware is hidden. Do not trust such messages.

September 17, 2021

KB Says Trust Your Gut

Post by K.B. Beaumaaks

I am 52 and considered to be of the baby boomer generation. We were raised in a world without the internet, taught to respect our elders and certain professions were considered very trustworthy. Examples are doctors, teachers, police officers etc…. we were raised that these are people we could trust no matter what and for the most part this was absolutely true.

I had not one but two similar situations happen to me and I am an educated professional with an upper level income. My scams occurred not with an outsider but a partner…. yep first with my ex husband who was a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine then to a boyfriend who was a Police Officer. Two professions that were “trustworthy professions” I was blinded by the scammers that they were. My point is to trust your gut no matter who the person is. If it feels wrong…. chances are it is wrong.

See below for KB’s posts about her first and second husbands

https://fightback.ninja/kb-married-to-a-scammer/

https://fightback.ninja/kb-and-the-police-officer-scammer/

Generally, the geriatric or elderly community were the ones that were scammed by door to door salespersons or telephone scammers. Today people believe the less educated, the lower income, elderly community are the ones prone to scammers. This is absolutely not true according to The Better Business Bureau.

People today believe what they read on the internet, they impulse shop, they receive emails and phone calls about tax issues or debt collectors and we fall for it believing oh if it’s on the internet, it must be true.

I have written a book called The Preah Secrets and it deals with my veterinary husband and how I discovered his heist and how I followed my gut to eventually discover his intentions of deceit. I prepared and eventually sought justice for myself. I hope the book inspires others to follow their instincts and remember, scams can happen to anyone by anyone.

Do leave a comment on this post – click on the post title then scroll down to leave your comment.

September 16, 2021

The Search Engine Submission Scam

The email is titled: “Domain Notice”

“Notice for Registering your Domain with All Major Search Engines”

It lists one of my Internet domain names and the date the domain name will expire (unless I renew the registration).

In reality, this is just a sales pitch for search engine optimisation dressed up to look like domain name renewal.

When you have a website, you will want the search engines (Google, Bing etc.) to know about it.

The basic ways that the search engines get to know of your website are

The search engines come across links from sites they already know, to your site and then they search your site and add it to their lists.
You submit the domain name to each search engine
You use an online service to submit your website to hundreds of search engines – most of which almost no-one uses

The email continues:-

“Submitting your domain to search engines is essential in order to make it more visible on the web. Failing to register with search engines makes it difficult for visitors to search your business on the internet. That’s why we are sending this friendly reminder to submit your domain to all major search engines for better visibility”.

Generally, once your website is listed by Google and Bing there is little point in trying to register it with the small search engines unless there is a search engine specifically for the niche that your website occupies. E.g. if your website is about GIF animated images then you’ll want to register it on the GIPHY search engine which only searches GIF animated images .

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September 15, 2021

Safety On The Doorstep

There are many genuine trades people and sellers who knock at your door offering legitimate services and products. But, there are also many scammers who want to talk you into bad deals or just steal your money.

For many older and vulnerable people, doorstep sellers can be frightening or too convincing.

If you don’t feel safe answering the door to someone you don’t know then don’t. Someone calling unexpectedly has no right to your time or courtesy. It’s your choice to answer or ignore.

The following precautions may help:-

Keep your doors locked even when at home
Have a chain on your front door so you can safely open it just a few inches
Have a spy hole (or electronic eye) fitted in the door so you can who’s knocking
Get a Trading Standards sticker ‘NO COLD CALLERS’

Trading Standards say you should never sign anything on the spot, never agree to allow any work to start right away and remember that you normally have a 14 day cooling-off period during which you can cancel any work and receive a refund of money paid.

They also say that you should never agree to have work done by someone just passing by. If some work is needed, get at least two quotations from reputable traders. Your local Trading Standards Service may operate an ‘approved trader scheme’ or use check-a-trade or similar review website.

Bogus callers may turn up on your doorstep and say that they have come to investigate a water leak or they are lost and need a drink of water. Sometimes they may say they have a child who has lost a ball in your back garden. They are probably trying to trick you to let them into your home so they can steal cash and valuable items. Don’t let them in.

It isn’t rude to ask someone to leave – it is your right.

The presence of Neighbourhood Watches does seem reduce this type of crime. This is largely because people are more aware of possible crimes and do keep an eye out for unexpected visitors to their doors. Also, door-to-door crooks tend to avoid areas where there are any signs of organisation against crime.

Stay Safe.

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September 13, 2021

The Magic Letter

This scammer tells a story about a magical letter which will transform anyone’s life.

Supposedly, Charlie was down on his luck and had lost everything but then he came into contact with ‘The Letter’ and within 8 hours he had used it to manifest $11,900.

The email goes on about all of the benefits of making $12,000 every day and transforming your life – a new home, your dream car, your dream partner etc.

It ends with the message “This is why you deserve to have this secret letter for yourself.”

You just have to click to see the letter for yourself.

Really, this is not very imaginative stuff – must be a very dull minded scammer.

After all, fairy tales are much more creative and probably more likely to be true

e.g. I have some magic beans, which when planted will grow into a giant beanstalk that can take you to a castle where there is a goose that lays golden eggs

or I found a lamp, rubbed it and a genie appeared who offered me 3 wishes for anything I wanted

or the location of a cavern in the desert that contains gold and precious gems and a magical flying carpet

I’m sure you get the point.

If you have any experiences with these scams do let me know, by email.

September 12, 2021

Stupidest Spam of the Week 110kg ATM Card

This is another 419 scam i.e. the scammer promises a fortune in cash or diamonds or gold etc. and to get it you just have to follow some simple instructions. There is no fortune of course.

In this case, the scammer claims to be Janet L. Yellen of the United States Treasury. It is true that Mrs Yellen is the genuine United States secretary of the treasury, but the scammer who sent the message is not her.

“This is to inform you that your courier service delivery man carrying your consignment box containing an ATM card valued $10Million dollars is now at the Washington Dulles International Airport”

That is to get my attention, then there is a long story about something called the “West Africa corrupt Government agency” that supposedly has mishandled getting me the money I am owed.

There’s no explanation as to why anybody owes me $10 million.

Then it goes on about the delivery man is carrying a tamper proof metal consignment box that weighs 110 Kg and contains the ATM card worth $10 million for me.

I am supposed to provide instructions for how the delivery man can get from Dulles to the nearest airport to me. Does he not have a smart phone to look it up and why is he sitting at Dulles airport instead of in an office?

The point of this scam email is to get my confidential information so there’s a list of information I have to provide, starting with my name, which of course the scammer doesn’t know.

The email starts with Dear consignment owner and the sender’s email address shows as United States Department of The Treasury but is actually a Gmail address for the name Barry Dunderbolt14

Sorry Dunderbolt – your scam is pathetic as anyone would realise there are numerous safer and easier ways to give someone money than sending a delivery man with a 110Kg metal box thousands of miles.

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