It seems I’m always warning people about all types of scams. I’ve written about them here over the years, and at the bottom I’m going to link to those articles for edification.
Recently I’ve gotten a couple of scam correspondences, one email and one real mail. My way of thinking is that the people sending this stuff out must be generating a pretty good chunk of change, otherwise it wouldn’t be worth their time. Therefore, I’m going to share the two scams with you, how you should be able to tell, and hopefully you or others will never fall for something like this again.
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Lessons… why is this a scam?
First, because the idiots didn’t even know my name and let the form letter show it.
Second, because it assumes I’ve listed a resume somewhere, and even if I had, there’s not a single service that allows people to contact you except through them.
Third, there’s not a specific statement in the entire email.
Fourth, how many companies would have the executive assistant sending out an email like this?
Fifth… which you can’t see here but trust me on it, the link they’re showing isn’t the actual link and the one you’re supposed to click to unsubscribe also wasn’t the like you’re seeing (I have a program that highlights what the links actually are).
Sixth… because I do due diligence… the address listed is actually a law firm that specializes in placing lawyers at law firms across the country.
Yeah… scam… but not the only one, as you’ll see next…
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Lesson two… why is this a scam?
This was sent to Mom.
First, notice the last name is spelled incorrectly.
Second, their records don’t show that Mom hasn’t updated the service contract because she hasn’t had a service contract is 18 years.
Third, because her warranty expired 18 years ago, being “at risk” is a reality, not a possibility.
Fourth, actually it isn’t because the car’s off the road, insurance is canceled and it’s been sold.
Fifth, the “no other notices will be sent” is a lie because she gets the same notice every month.
Sixth… everything’s to be determined; where can I sign up?
Seventh; there’s no business name
Eighth, due diligence… the address listed is actually a management consulting company that… well, there’s a lot of mumbo-jumbo double speak as to what it is they do (which probably explains why they have no rank, since no one can figure out what they do lol)
Don’t be suckered by unsolicited mail or email; question everything. Sometimes call them out as I just did… the weasels! lol
Now, here are some other articles I’ve written on the topic of scams:
Determining A Scam Through Math
This last one is a bit different. It’s talking about scams where blog titles have the word “scam” in them but aren’t really scams…
When “Scam” Is A Scam Of Sorts
Here are some quick rules on how to avoid scams:
1. If it sounds too good, it’s a scam.
2. If it doesn’t really say anything, it’s a scam.
3. If your name isn’t on it, it’s a scam.
4. If you didn’t solicit it and you have to click on a link to learn more, it’s most probably a scam.
That’s it; protect yourselves! 🙂
Hey Mitch – due diligence is the word lol. We are so much surrounded by fraudulent things that we have to be very careful and certainly not believe in everything we see.
Thanks for the tips – especially I like this one – if it doesn’t really say anything, its a scam. So true!
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Jane.
Thanks for commenting Jane. I think by now most people know they haven’t been left millions of dollars by an unnamed relative they didn’t know they had, but I still hear about people who fall for stuff like this. I hope this helps some of them.
Hello Mitchell, you are right in saying that these days scam mails are with great content to attract the viewers for the place where nothing is found. And the way you compared the real mail with scam mail was really very helpful to the users to beware of scams.
I can only hope so Sandeep. We’ll see how many people learn the lesson I tried talking about today.
Oh my gosh Mitch,
I just got one of those pink letters in the snail mail that caught my attention. Without due diligence, I really could have fallen for this one. It was done so well that it looked like an “overdue” statement….until I looked at the tiny address at the bottom. Boom….Scam!
It happens online so much it is more of a commonplace. We have to keep our peepers open and not get caught up in the moment especially online with all the bells ad whistles still going on.
Thanks for this one!
-Donna
No problem Donna. True, some of those letters can look like the real thing but there’s always a “tell” that lets folks know it’s a fake. I know these people prey on the elderly most of the time, which is why we need to be vigilant on their behalf especially.
OH yes, there are tons of scams out there. It’s actually gotten quite scary. You’re right, they must be making money on this, otherwise they would stop. I so wish they would stop, though.
Same here Rich; got a couple of sneaky ones via email over the weekend. I knew they were fake, and I hope others know it also.
Hey Mitch,
Been into this internet life from last 7 years. I do confirm that I know it’s a scam when I see one.
Scam emails are all over the inboxes these days and there is always someone who become a victim of that scam.
I personally knew some of the victims of these scams.
I used to get many comments on my blog with one strange unreadable link which redirects to one Common website. That site is based on one strong niche “earn money from home”.
That 4 words can lure many visitors.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Mitch.
~Alok
I know what you mean Alok. It still surprises me when I learn that people even clicked on those links; luckily I haven’t personally known anyone who’s fallen for something, but I’ve heard stories. All of us need to treat a lot of these things with skepticism; it’ll save a lot of grief on the back end.
Yes, I have seen a lot of scams online and frauds that have happened over the past few years.But every person at this present era contains a mobile a high-speed internet they would first check out for all the things whether it is fraud or not.Anyways thanks for writing such an informative article.
You’re kind of correct. Most people have access to high speed internet but fewer people than you might believe actually know how to use it… and I don’t even mean older people. I’m always amazed at how few younger people have computer skills when I’ve had to interview them. The percentage of people who fall for scams like I mentioned is estimated to be around 22%; that’s a fairly high number. It’s estimated to be even higher via email because so many people click on links that either take them to scary places or drop viruses and such on their computers.
Mobile fraud is now trending and people are cheated on calls, so i think you must share this as well site like bestcaller add option to report such mobile number online so that other can find those number details online
I didn’t think about phone scams when I wrote this since, well, I didn’t have a letter like I did with the other two. lol You’re right though, many people are fooled by those as well. I don’t answer the phone if I don’t know the number, plus I use a service that blocks robocalls.
It can get pretty hard to tell these days. I like your four quick tips, definitely something I’ll be walking away with.
Good luck with it Patrick; I think they’re easy but I know some people find it hard to do.
Interesting and informative article..In my opinion, Everyone is vulnerable to scams so everyone needs information about how to identify them and avoid being scammed. Scrammers are cleaver and if you don’t know what to look out for, anyone can fall victim to scam. Kind Regards Daniels
Hopefully the article helps a few of those folks figure it out.