People need to get real jobs.

Glad you were on to him. I've had that happen a few times and I hang up.

Oh my gosh, I’m so glad that you saw right thru their scam!!! Smart Lady👍

We just had someone try to scam us regarding our fifth wheel that we have up for sale now. He said that he couldn’t talk on the phone because of recent surgery on his throat, but wanted to email back and forth instead. That was the first red flag for me. Second was that he wanted to buy the RV, without seeing it in person; just saw many photos. Foolishly, my husband gave him our mailing address (I was furious that he did!). My hubs, by this time, just wanted to see just how far these scammers would take this. Next, a check arrives from a ”bank” in Pennsylvania. I googled it and it was actually a grade school. And - the kicker- the amount on the check was for about $10,000 more than the price of the RV! They honestly thought that we’d buy into the old scammer story of ’Ooops, I accidentally made the check out for the wrong amount! Please send me the difference back right away!’

Ah, nope (LOL)!

But, we’re averaging at least one scam letter/bill/etc. a month lately. It’s both sad and alarming!

Just think how productive and accomplished people could be if they would spend all that time and energy doing something above board instead of scamming others. Glad you didn't fall for that one!

Good for you for quickly catching on!

WOW! YOU didn't get "taken". Glad you survived and got a new card so fast.

I get these creeps calling to buy my houses. Then emails with the old, if only the king could get his money out....and you can help. Old scams, new scams, they must work on someone.

Lynn, do you think these scammers know how old we are and targeting our age group? Your husband sounds just like mine.

I'm not a regular viewer of Dr. Phil but I have caught some of his shows where an older person got scammed out of all their money because of the example you gave. So thank you Dr. Phil. :)

So frustrating!

Make sure all your accounts are set up with two-factor authentication. it’s best not to take calls from numbers you don’t know. These guys now know you pick up the phone and engage. Expect more calls. Finally, do not read any texts that come through. Apple has a feature now that allows you to delete and report spam Without reading a text.

I hate those calls. The other day Ingot a call from a man who said Hello, Grandmother? I dont have grandchildren but decided to listen to his story.He told me how he went to visit his friend Eric in Baltimore and was in a car accident. Could i send money quickly to save him? Thats when I gave him the raspberries and hung up.

Spanish, caller i.d. said it was from Ch card services, of course I was going to pick up the phone. Had I not I would've never known they had access to my account information.

I don't text but when I get a suspicious email I read and delete. Never do I open a link. I've been online for 35 years and this was the first phishing call I've had & I'm glad I caught them.

Ded, I've heard about that particular type of scam, along with your child is in jail. Absolutely disgusting.

Ded, on the most recent 60 Minutes there was a segment about scams targeting seniors, and that exact “grandma scam”. Scammers now can use AI to impersonate the voice of someone you know! Worth the watch.

Ugh, also watch out for the ”wrong number” text scam. Don’t engage with them either. Just block/report.

A senior in our area was recently scammed out of $7.5 Million in a cryptocurrency scam. I feel so bad for her.

They had an interesting story on theToday show this morning on how people's photos are being used to impersonate them and scam others. I've seen it with celebrities but these are also somewhat regular people (I have no idea how many followers they have etc).

Similar to what Oakley posted, in the story the scammer said to the real person "You're ruining my business!"

Just watched a short video about how people are now getting phone calls from scammers using AI. This one woman would have sworn up and down it was her daughter crying on the phone (kidnapped, he wanted ransom) but she was upstairs in her room.

This is all over the morning shows I guess. Just watched a segment on CBS and it happened to an older lady. She got a call or text from CH, but she ended up giving them more info and lost almost $200,000.

They said two factor identification isn't strong enough anymore. The problem I see is too many older people aren't savvy about this stuff.

It ended by saying call CH from the number on your card if you get a call or text from them. ;)

Just like out of wallet questions from the past, fraudsters continue to find new ways of bypassing security. Two factor authentication can be overcome if they have also taken over your smart phone, for example. They re-route your text messages to gather that information. You will never be aware that they went missing.

One thing to know is that if you open/read emails, texts etc, they know you’ve engaged. All of that is trackable. So an active engaged person - even if they don't click a link - is going to be targeted more often because the likelihood of making a mistake is higher.

MIL just got a variation of this today. Told her to change her password just in case it’s on some kind of compromised list.

In my email, I can hover over either the "From" or "Subject, right click then choose "view" and "view message source . This is how I can see that a message is a scam, even if it appears to be from a legitimate business that I deal with - with a spoofed sender address - without opening the email. Most of the information (code) that "view message source" shows are gibberish to me, but it is easy to go through them and see that the sender is not who they pretend to be, that the IP address isn't from the business, and even often that the email was filtered through 2 or 3 different IP addresses and senders before landing in your email. About half the time the text of the message can be seen also - that is usually the ones from the wealthy former ambassador with cancer asking you to help them distribute their estate (or some such baloney!)

We are in the midst of a puzzler. Dh used to have a home repair business, and still occasionally gets calls. He had one a couple of weeks ago, to replace two interior doors. The caller said he'd had surgery and was in rehab, but wants it done before he goes home. Quote was for $250, doors to be provided by the customer. He wanted to pay in advance, DH gave him our address. 😖

Check arrives, a bank check out of New Jersey, for $1850. Both the bank and the company name look legit based on NJ secretary of state. Of course he's not depositing it. But the real puzzle is that it was sent registered mail, signature required. He had to go to the post office to get it. What scammer takes the extra expense and time to send registered mail??

That's a doozy. I'd call the bank who issued the check and take it from there. Good luck!

He tried going to a local branch to see if it's good. They said he has to ask the issuing branch in NJ. He called them and was told that they can't give him any information because he isn't the owner of the account.

Not surprisingly, the initial "customer " doesn't seem to be in any hurry, except for us to deposit the check. 🙄

Keep the check, write void on it, and never accept contact with that customer again. Too fishy for my taste.

My thought exactly. DH seems more inclined to string it along.

I'd have a talk with your local police and/or DA's office before you do anything else. They would like a crack at bringing a bad actor down.

I was at the bank and couldn’t help but overhear the gentleman ahead of me making a withdrawal. He told the teller he’d gotten a call from the county courthouse saying he’d missed a jury summons and had to pay a fine by sending a Visa gift card, bought with cash. I caught the teller’s eye and shook my head, warning her, but she already knew. She kind of questioned the man and told him it didn’t sound legit, but, well, you can’t stop someone from withdrawing their own money. He was heading over to the drugstore to buy the Visa card.

Next time I was in the bank, she told me he had come back to tell her that he’d been to the drugstore, told the cashier his story, and the cashier told him it was a scam and showed him a police warning they’d received about it. He came back to thank the teller for trying to warn him.

At 2:00 this morning, I was thinking about this check. I thought about calling the business on the check, in case they had been hacked and their name was being used for nefarious purposes. I also thought about reporting it to the post office.

Then I realized that they have our address, and decided that I don't want my house firebombed.

Regarding the vulnerability of the eldery, my friend’s mom got the “this is your grandson and I need bail money“ call. Her grandson is a police office! She still fell for it. Luckily, the bank teller stopped her from withdrawing the money.

Another friend works at Social Security Admin and she has plenty of sad stories of people being scammed. A recent funny one was they needed to confirm if someone was alive. Her inexperienced co-worker called and the woman hung up on them. And rightly so, because SSA always tells people we NEVER call you so don’t respond to calls. They sent her a letter and she came in (and told them well someone called but I hung up). Kudos to that lady for knowing to hang up.

@aok27502 what harm would come from depositing the check? You will learn quickly whether it’s good or not. If it’s bad, no harm to you. If it’s good, no harm to you but a job for hubby if he wants it. Perhaps the check includes $ for purchasing the doors if he was unable to get that done? If I sent a large check, I’d be anxious for it to be deposited, too, just so I wouln’t have to deal with it going astray.

Aok, here is something from the department of justice that tells what that customer is up to.

The scams work like this: Someone responds to your posting or ad, and offers to use a cashier's check, personal check or corporate check to pay for the item you're selling. At the last minute, the so-called buyer (or the buyer's "agent") comes up with a reason for writing the check for more than the purchase price, and asks you to wire back the difference after you deposit the check. You deposit the check and wire the funds back to the "buyers." Later, the check bounces, leaving you liable for the entire amount.

I am still shocked by the depths of awfulness in people.

I'll repeat myself. You are the almost victim of a crime. Please report it.

I understand the scam JoJo is referring to, but since you know of that scam and would not refund any money to him (nor is he asking for it, I assume), I wonder what the risk is, if it might be a legit attempt to hire AOK's husband.

I'm not a betting person normally. But I'd bet my last nickel that this is not somebody trying to hire AOK's husband. If they haven't explained what the extra money is for, then it's just an elaborate method of doing that same scam that JoJo described. I'd go to your own bank and ask them to check on the business, or report it as sushipup recomments. But seriously: this is not legit.

I'm sure it's not legitimate. This has been going on for nearly a month. There is no urgency on the part of the "customer ". The replacement doors would be maybe $100, so the amount makes no sense. And DH made it clear that he was not providing them.

No chance that I'll deposit the check in our account. I'll see if DH wants to report it.

Generally, a bank will tell you if there are sufficient funds to cover a check. Perhaps call back to the issuing branch and ask if there are sufficient funds to cover the check. I still wouldn’t deposit it, but it might give you a better sense of whether or not it is legit. But who in the world pays a tradesman before the work is done?

He tried that. Both at a local branch and by calling the issuing branch. They said they couldn't give him that information.

You could always tell him you deposited the check and see what he says. When he asks for the extra money just tell him you're waiting ten days for the check to clear.

You are dealing with a conman, certainly not acting alone. Please don't kid yourself into trying to out-think him, or make excuses, or pretend that maybe it is real. It's a crook.