Scammed

[rh71]

I don't know why Anydesk hasn't made a more proactive effort telling people to beware of scams utilizing their software. It is a very common theme by now. Well, we can guess why, but it's costing people a lot of money and Anydesk's name is in the shitter as a result anyway. My older uncle just fell victim to the classic Indian scammer (named Nathan this time) involving Anydesk, faked bank acct info, and driving to get a $250 Target gift card (which he provided to them all while leaving unattended access to his laptop). Ironically my uncle is in software development though an older generation and he still didn't recognize it to be a scam until I told him this morning. If I got his story right, it all started with his laptop freezing and he googled for an MS support number (fake), and they told him his IP was hacked and do all the above to resolve it.

Anyway, all I see on Anydesk's website is this page hidden in their Support -> FAQ: https://support.anydesk.com/knowledge/abuse-management They should do a better job warning people of such a scam either on their download or install screens. 1 sentence would even be enough to potentially save people thousands. Now I gotta spend an hour re-imaging WIN for him at the very least just to be on the safe side.

Separate question - the goal is usually the gift card money, but is there any chance his whole home network, including other laptops (they didn't access), or his router are compromised? Passwords are being changed and accounts frozen.

 

[Brainonska511]

I don't know why Anydesk hasn't made a more proactive effort telling people to beware of scams utilizing their software. Well, we can guess why, but it's costing people a lot of money and Anydesk's name is in the shitter as a result anyway. My older uncle just fell victim to the classic Indian scammer (named Nathan this time) involving Anydesk, faked bank acct info, and driving to get a Target gift card (which he provided to them all while leaving unattended access to his laptop). Ironically my uncle is in software development though an older generation and he still didn't recognize it to be a scam until I told him this morning. If I got his story right, it all started with his laptop freezing and he googled for an MS support number (fake).

Anyway, all I see on Anydesk's website is this page hidden in their Support -> FAQ: https://support.anydesk.com/knowledge/abuse-management They should do a better job warning people of such a scam either on their download or install screens. 1 sentence would even be enough to potentially save people thousands. Now I gotta spend an hour re-imaging WIN for him at the very least just to be on the safe side.

It certainly doesn't help that search engines take zero responsibility for misinformation that has been engineered to appear near the top, and legitimate sites get buried because they don't pay the ad ransom to appear first.

 

[rh71]

It certainly doesn't help that search engines take zero responsibility for misinformation that has been engineered to appear near the top, and legitimate sites get buried because they don't pay the ad ransom to appear first.

Agree with this also. In all my years of internet searching, I haven't been led toward a scammer site (torrents excluded). Malicious phone numbers however are hard to detect since they are easily changed and new ones pop up. It can be reported after the fact, but it's the least of his worries right now and another one will just pop up in its place.

 

[nOOky]

I'd love to see a Jason Bourne movie where he takes a building full of scammers. I hate that people fall for that shit. I hate even more that people can do this to other people, and obvious scammers are not filtered out before they even get to an individual.

 

[Motostu]

It's not Bourne, but check out The Beekeeper.

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

 

[WilliamM2]

I have little sympathy for anyone that falls for these scams. I have never heard a scammer that was even slightly convincing.

And what legitimate business would want payment in gift cards?

 

[manly]

I just started reading this one:

NYT - How One Man Lost $740,000 to Scammers Targeting His Retirement Savings

 

[nakedfrog]

I just started reading this one:

NYT - How One Man Lost $740,000 to Scammers Targeting His Retirement Savings

Oof, multiple people along the way tried to warn him, too.
Anything involving a wire transfer makes me nervous as all get-out, even when I was making one to buy my house a few years ago.

 

[VirtualLarry]

And what legitimate business would want payment in gift cards?

The FBI?

 

[nOOky]

I just started reading this one:

NYT - How One Man Lost $740,000 to Scammers Targeting His Retirement Savings

Ouch he was a lawyer, didn't have much for retirement anyway, and he was scammed out of it. How sad.

 

[Brainonska511]

I just started reading this one:

NYT - How One Man Lost $740,000 to Scammers Targeting His Retirement Savings

Reminds me of a few weeks ago: some jackhole called my mom claiming to be Bank of America and talking about a wire transfer that was initiated from her account, and then telling her the FDIC would be following up by phone the next day.

She was initially worried and called me to ask what to do, because its obviously a scam playing on urgency. I had her call her bank (which wasn't BOA) using the number on the back of the debit card. And then as I thought about it more, once I gave myself time to think, the whole thing sounded sus. The FDIC or other federal agencies are basically never going to reach out by calling. And then when she got in touch with her bank (and also BOA because she has a credit card there), it turns out there were no wire transfers at all. Just an elaborate ruse to try and steal money.

The scammer(s) of course tried to follow-up in the following days using spoofed numbers, but with my mom equipped with knowledge, knew not to answer those calls and just monitor her accounts.

I know that some of the people doing the scamming are themselves victims of large criminal enterprises. However, a part of me wishes for someone to slowly rip out the fingernails of the people that are directing such enterprises.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

These motherfuckers just prey on the elderly. Was at my parents' house when my dad was trying to setup a new Alexa device and he just downloaded the first thing on the Google Play Store that said Alexa, installed it, and it gave him a phone number to call. I was out back because my mom was showing me her garden, I walk inside and hear him talking to an Indian guy from "Microsoft" with Team Viewer open. I told him shut his fucking computer down right then, hang up, and then the fuckers called back like three more times. Would I love to take a baseball bat to those scam callers and especially to their bosses.

 

[Brainonska511]

These motherfuckers just prey on the elderly. Was at my parents' house when my dad was trying to setup a new Alexa device and he just downloaded the first thing on the Google Play Store that said Alexa, installed it, and it gave him a phone number to call. I was out back because my mom was showing me her garden, I walk inside and hear him talking to an Indian guy from "Microsoft" with Team Viewer open. I told him shut his fucking computer down right then, hang up, and then the fuckers called back like three more times. Would I love to take a baseball bat to those scam callers and especially to their bosses.

And once again: big tech right in the middle of it. Hosting scammy apps that they allow to be promoted to the top of search suggestions that just open up unsuspecting people to getting ripped off.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

I have little sympathy for anyone that falls for these scams. I have never heard a scammer that was even slightly convincing.

And what legitimate business would want payment in gift cards?

You know one day you're going to get old too. Well, best case you will.

 

[manly]

Reminds me of a few weeks ago: some jackhole called my mom claiming to be Bank of America and talking about a wire transfer that was initiated from her account, and then telling her the FDIC would be following up by phone the next day.

She was initially worried and called me to ask what to do, because its obviously a scam playing on urgency. I had her call her bank (which wasn't BOA) using the number on the back of the debit card. And then as I thought about it more, once I gave myself time to think, the whole thing sounded sus. The FDIC or other federal agencies are basically never going to reach out by calling. And then when she got in touch with her bank (and also BOA because she has a credit card there), it turns out there were no wire transfers at all. Just an elaborate ruse to try and steal money.

The scammer(s) of course tried to follow-up in the following days using spoofed numbers, but with my mom equipped with knowledge, knew not to answer those calls and just monitor her accounts.

I know that some of the people doing the scamming are themselves victims of large criminal enterprises. However, a part of me wishes for someone to slowly rip out the fingernails of the people that are directing such enterprises.

I'm worried my dad will get scammed, because he answers phone calls from randos for no reason whatsoever. His father had Alzheimer's, but my dad denies that will happen to him (we already know it will). The whole drama over Joe Biden's terrible debate felt closer to me than just politics.

Obviously seniors are relatively easy targets for scammers; victim blaming because "there's no way you should fall for these obvious scams" is pathetic.

 

[Brainonska511]

I'm worried my dad will get scammed, because he answers phone calls from randos for no reason whatsoever. His father had Alzheimer's, but my dad denies that will happen to him (we already know it will). The whole drama over Joe Biden's terrible debate felt closer to me than just politics.

Obviously seniors are relatively easy targets for scammers; victim blaming because "there's no way you should fall for these obvious scams" is pathetic.

You should consider asking him to give you access to his accounts to help him manage them/help him keep an eye on them. I know older people can be recalcitrant to such suggestions, but it really is for everyone's own good (I know my 68-year-old mom falls into the recalcitrant category; at least she asks us for help managing her finances, though she hasn't given anyone direct visibility through some of the tools Vanguard offers)

 

[manly]

You should consider asking him to give you access to his accounts to help him manage them/help him keep an eye on them. I know older people can be recalcitrant to such suggestions, but it really is for everyone's own good (I know my 68-year-old mom falls into the recalcitrant category; at least she asks us for help managing her finances, though she hasn't given anyone direct visibility through some of the tools Vanguard offers)

I've mentioned this to my sisters, because we know it'll happen. Would rather not have to get a court order, of course.

He's pretty much recalcitrant to everything, so it's a tough nut to crack.

 

[Brainonska511]

I've mentioned this to my sisters, because we know it'll happen. Would rather not have to get a court order, of course.

He's pretty much recalcitrant to everything, so it's a tough nut to crack.

Maybe he'd be open to at least allowing people to be authorized viewers. No direct control, but at least they could keep an eye on stuff.

Of course, that could still be difficult because he might not want to feel like he's being "babysat".
---

I'm just glad I was able to finally get through to my mom: don't answer the phone for numbers you don't know, and be wary of numbers that appear legitimate because they're easy to spoof. And when there is any doubt, just hang up and call the correct number yourself from a trusted reference (like from the back of a credit card or a paper statement). My mom's had a bit of a learning curve with the finance stuff because it was always my dad that handled the investment side of the household, and when he died, it was left to my brothers and I to help her navigate that.

 

[rh71]

I just tried to Teamviewer (QuickSupport) into my phone and there's an instant pop-up that warns of fake payments, refunds, and gift card scams, before accepting the connection. Do the same, Anydesk.

 

[rh71]

You should consider asking him to give you access to his accounts to help him manage them/help him keep an eye on them. I know older people can be recalcitrant to such suggestions, but it really is for everyone's own good (I know my 68-year-old mom falls into the recalcitrant category; at least she asks us for help managing her finances, though she hasn't given anyone direct visibility through some of the tools Vanguard offers)

My mom's default reaction any time she has a PC/laptop issue is to call me for help. And I guess this is a good reason to do so. Can't get scammed that way.

 

[WilliamM2]

You know one day you're going to get old too. Well, best case you will.

I'm already getting old. And I'll never fall for any scammer asking for gift cards.
Or any scammer for that matter, I get a dozen calls a day from these idiots, they are not the slightest bit convincing, even when you can understand them.