Is it possible to scam you? Or would you never fall for something like that?

[silverycurtains]

Inspired by another thread, I watched a couple episodes of the TV series about romance fraud. I couldn't bear to watch after a while, totally gobsmacked at people (mostly older women) who'd given away hundreds of thousands of pounds to 'boyfriends' they'd never met. Admittedly I thought 'how could you be so DAFT?'

But then I remembered the time that I was nearly taken in by a low level scam myself. My FB account had been hacked and as it had loads of pictures saved that I hadn't yet backed up, I was desperate to get back in. FB weren't responding to my messages so I tweeted and asked if anyone knew a way to reach FB. This guy (had a locked Twitter profile) responded and said his friend had the same problem but had a business dealing with FB and could definitely help. In a DM he gave me his 'friend's' email address.

I have no idea why but I was so fixated on getting my pictures back, I emailed this guy. He responded really quickly from what appeared to be a legit business email and asked for a screenshot of my FB (which I sent). Then he said he could fix it in about 30 minutes and it would cost $50.

Thankfully at that moment I suddenly realised it was a scam. It took me a full 20 minutes before it dawned on me though.

I now realise that my desire to get access to my account totally just smashed over my usual common sense. I can't actually ever imagine progressing from that point and handing over HUGE sums of money but I had new empathy for people who did, especially if they weren't tech savvy or vulnerable/lonely etc.

I think we're all capable of doing dumb ass things when we're vulnerable in some way. I also think that having watched some of the programmes, that for some people it almost becomes like a gambling addiction...'if I just give this last bit of money, I'll get my happy ending'.

Have you ever been scammed? Do you think there's a possibility you could fall for one? Or is that just not a possibility at all?

We had my 90+ late MIL so well trained she'd even tell legitimate callers to "Bugger Off"

Yes I've been scammed many times, but in person, not online (afaik). The pretending to be single scam. The crying her eyes out because she's been attacked/pregnant/whatever scam. The "let's leave here and go to another party" scam. The taxi driver taking me to the middle of nowhere scam. All sorts.

I think anyone can be scammed. It just takes the right combination of vulnerabilities and circumstances.

I've never fallen for the same scam twice, though!

I don't think there's anyone who definitely couldn't be scammed, given the right scam and the right timing.

Before the days of the internet, relatives of mine were conned into signing up to direct debit payments for decades a timeshare, which on closer inspection would cost them substantially more each year than a 5star foreign holiday for an off peak week self catering at the UK seaside. They'd been approached whilst on holiday with their grandchildren and invited to a free family fun day. They were apparently cynical initially but were told they would just be asked for feedback on some plans for a family focused holiday park so the activities etc being offered were just a way of understanding what families like and how to improve what they offer etc. My relatives would usually plan all expenditure incredibly carefully and I'm sure would have said that they could never fall for a con, but at the time they were dealing with some difficult matters in their lives and really enjoyed the lovely sunny day, with happy grandchildren etc. The staff seemed lovely and sold them a dream of being able to take the whole family to the resort (or even swap for other resorts all around the world) and recreate this lovely time whenever they wanted. Details about restrictions etc were glossed over. When they got home and realised what they'd done they tried to cancel (which even then they had the right to do), but the company told them they had no right to cancel and became very threatening- including threatening to charge extortionate penalties if they cancelled the direct debit and to take their house if they couldn't pay. It was only when they involved a lawyer that they backed down, so I imagine a lot of people just paid up.

Of course there were scams long before the internet - since humans came into being, I don't doubt, but the internet really is a scammer's wonderland.

All these people who sing the praises of a 'cashless' society seem oblivious to the fact that, before instant electronic payments were available, scams were relatively uncommon and the ordinary person going about their daily life didn't feel as though they had to be constantly on the alert for them.

Nobody's mentioned the scam that happened to me yet. Somebody hacked an email conversation I was having with my builder to ask for a deposit for materials. The email came from the builder's address and I hadn't paid him anything yet so no way of knowing the account details were wrong. This was before banks checked the name on accounts so it wasn't flagged up when I put the builder's name but the scammer's acct details.
The point is, anyone can fall for a scam they haven't heard about if it's convincing enough.

Yep, nearly fell for a (not) Royal Mail one. I was expecting a parcel anyway and just wasn’t thinking. And the (not) Royal Mail website the text took me to looked absolutely perfect. Luckily I did stop helpfully entering absolutely all my identifying information when it asked for my date of birth. Slowly dawned on me then.

As everyone has said everyone can be scammed. I nearly fell for one through simple timing. I'd just walked through the door having had my COVID jab and had a phone call "calling about your COVID vaccination..."

As with a previous poster I have MH issues that includes paranoia as a symptom you would not believe how many security measures I have on my phone and devices and 2FA etc. Old accounts are met with an email asking for a GDPR data cleanse the works. I spent ages doing that during my last episode, only productive thing to have ever come from my illness

Would like to think I’d be hard to scam as we’ve had training on it in work.
However. I didn’t respond to requests Tom Twitter my account was being hacked and it actually was. I’m now banned 🙈

The point is, anyone can fall for a scam they haven't heard about if it's convincing enough.

And as we speak, there are scammers around the world thinking up new scams or variations on existing scams. No one should be complacent.

Like most posters I think I'm aware enough to be hard to scam but I haven't heard of ringing back from a different phone, how does that help?

I can't work out how that reduces the risk of being scammed

Like most posters I think I'm aware enough to be hard to scam but I haven't heard of ringing back from a different phone, how does that help?
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I can't work out how that reduces the risk of being scammed

Because the caller can stay on the line. So if you think you're calling your bank, you could still be speaking to the scammer.

I am quite sharp and dont use the internet a lot for shopping or banking and am very careful...A friend was scammed out of £800 to cure a laptop virus....call from India....I told them not to proceed and hang up, he gave card details and they took the money !....I do get the odd calls and I chat to them and ask them if they are the Yahoo boys, in ghana or nigeria and scamming people....one lad even told me he was and we had a little chat about it all !

In real life I am easily scammed - I would rush to help someone in the street who was faking something and I got scammed abroad by someone trying to help me with a ticket machine on the Underground (unfamiliar machine and they'd blocked the slot)

I couldn't get scammed on the phone because I don't have a landline and don't answer my mobile to unknowns EVER

And I couldn't get scammed on the internet as I only buy from a very few trusted sites and never believe phishing emails

In my present mind, I would say I couldn't be scammed. However, as I get older, who knows!

I cannot imagine me falling for a romance scam EVER though

The idea I'd con myself into believing some handsome bloke 20/30 years younger than me from a poor country was genuinely interested in how attractive I was beggars WAY TOO MUCH belief

I’ve just been discussing car insurance renewal with my DM (she’s had an email saying the auto-renew is due and that a ridiculous amount will be charged for her new premium, a week in advance of the renewal date) and it strikes me that online price comparison websites could be a very fertile ground for scams of one sort or another. Almost impossible to spot too, until you’re right on top of it happening.

I just told her to ring up and cancel, not to click on links or give any personal info. She’s sharp with people, but hopeless with tech as she’s never had to deal with computers.

Anyone can be scammed.

The thing is, romance scammers know who to target. They target women who are widowed, or divorced after long marriages - women who are grieving and desperately lonely.

Often these women haven't been on the dating scene for 30 or 40 years, perhaps - they are naive. There is no shortage of romantic fiction, especially of the 'Happy Ever After In the Cupcake Cafe' variety peddling precisely that myth - that there are plenty of rich, handsome blokes waiting to fall head over heels with average-type middle-aged women. The last time some of them would have been dating would indeed have been as 'hot' twenty-somethings attracting lots of attention from handsome men.

Scammers know all this and it's loneliness plus naïveté = cash prize for them.

You don't need to keep a second phone for that, you can just ring your mum (for example) to check but unless they are ringing on your landline which no one on here has had since 2003 how can they keep a mobile phone line open?

😂I think we must be related. I'm still a bit paranoid that one will get past me.
My Mum in her 80's got the "Mum I broke my phone" text this am, she text my Dh to ask what happened. Then blocked the number.

I have a landline - with a call-blocker, so any unknown callers have to press a number and announce themselves first. It stops the scammers because they use auto-diallers.

I have a landline - with a call-blocker, so any unknown callers have to press a number and announce themselves first. It stops the scammers because they use auto-diallers.

We have one of those as well. It’s brilliant. But the call I mentioned earlier was to my mobile.

a few years back I had a newborn and kept getting telephoned by call centres who would hang up as soon as I answered. After a particularly bad day when baby was woken time and time again someone on the other end answered back. I demanded their phone number to prove it wasn’t them making repeated calls through the day and as I had my laptop open I ran the number he gave me through google. I can’t remember what the scam caller said he was ringing about but I said ‘that number brings up those Microsoft scammers’ and he responded ‘that’s a different department ma’am’ 😂

Like PP I also have a call blocker now. If the phone does ring we generally look quizzically at one another wondering what the strange noise is.