A side comment - there is nothing verified about caller ID and it can be made to display any number the scammer wants.
Spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. Scammers often use neighbor spoofing so it appears that an incoming call is coming from a local number, or spoof a number from a company or a government agency that you may already know and trust. Caller ID Spoofing | Federal Communications Commission
On my Comcast land line, when calls come in, they are labelled [V] for verified, or SPAM?
Verified tells me that it’s a real number–though the call may not be coming from that real number, I know that.
Also, most of us know what spoofing is. Thank you for sharing.
The other day the doorbell rang. When I answered a guy with a clipboard asked “Do you know Diane four doors down? I just met with her this morning to get solar installed.” And he went on to begin his pitch.
Actually I do know the neighbors four doors down and nobody named Diane lives there. Two months ago when the doorbell rang it was “Sandra down the block” who apparently was having her yard sprayed.
I guess I’m supposed to think that if my neighbors are hiring them, why, it must be a reputable upstanding company and I should too! Also it’s a little sad that in the suburbs where I live scammers can reasonably assume people who’ve lived in the same house for perhaps decade(s) don’t even know the names of the people a few doors away.
When you say that you texted “Jenn” do you mean her phone was hacked too? Otherwise wouldn’t she have just said that there was no car when you first texted her?
I got a text the other day and it was from an L.A. number, asking if I could dog sit on the weekend. I was stupid and thought it really was just a wrong number so texted that it was a wrong number (feeling sorry for the doggies). I guess this is just a way to find out if this is a cell phone. Dumb me. I blocked the number, but expect more spam.
I guess so. I can’t imagine FB messaging someone I know well enough to say what is or isn’t in character. I’ve fb messaged old school pals I am no longer in touch with and semi distant relatives I don’t see and whose number I don’t have. Can’t imagine using it to communicate with a real life friend. If they post something on fb I want to respond to I call or text their phone.
I use FB messenger all the time to communicate with people. It’s the main way my daughter and I converse. I never thought anything about it. It’s convenient and fast.
Gotcha. So messaging. Not texting. . I’ve never used it for anyone whose number I have. I guess this is a good reason not to since fb seems to get hacked regularly when cell phones are less likely to. ( though incoming calls can be deceptive).
Ugh…. while making an online hotel reservation, I did not realize I’d been redirected to HotelsOne website (impersonating that hotel’s website). My intention was to book directly with the small hotel, avoid Booking. com middle layer.
Now it happened to be a pay-later flexible rate. So no immediate credit card charge. I cancelled a few hours later, after getting suspicious and retracing my steps. Got a cancel confirmation from “hotel” right away. Not certain HotelsOne is always a fraudulent site (all the emails look sooo believable). But I found enough reviews to be wary.
At Chase website I did setup to get emails for any charges over $50, any international charges etc.
There is a nationally syndicated columnist in the Sunday paper that writes about solving travel problems for people (Chris Eliot??) He warns constantly about using Booking.com, expedia, etc., for booking hotels because if there is a glitch and you call the hotel you will be directed to the booking service, and sometimes communication and coordination becomes an issue.
For example, hotel chains issue refunds to the booking site, which then refunds the consumer. This doesn’t always go smoothly. Almost always companies dig their heels in, until the writer contacts them, and the fear of bad press/PR forces them to do the right thing.
I hope the cancellation works out well for you. I will use the aggregation sites to see what accomodations are available in an area, but go directly to the hotel website to book.
Ironically I was aware there can be complications with 3rd party booking (especially regarding cancellations, room types - big factors for me on the planned trip). Thus I was researching at Booking. com, then seeking out the direct hotel website. Methinks I’m the target audience for this kind of thing.
Per my google meandering last night, Booking .com can sometimes be a bit troublesome. But many travelers have use them often (sometimes dozens or hundreds of times) without major incident. Expedia seems less trusted.
Other sites such as HotelsOne can actually be financially scammy. Examples include extra hidden fees, no room available on arrival (but still charged), double charge (once by hotel, once by HotelsOne), refusal to refund money for valid cancellations on rates advertised as refundable. They have a sneaky way to present themselves as if they are associated with the direct hotel website.
We’ve used Booking just fine for hotel reservations in Stockholm. When I had status with Expedia back when we travelled a lot, I had no issues canceling or modifying bookings. I have not used them
Since before the pandemic. These are legit businesses. Any business that pretends to be a hotel’s own website by gaming Google analytics is a scam IMO.
OK, here’s a scary one from a friend who is pretty savvy.
He got a text from his bank about a possible fraudulent $54 charge. Then a notice that there had been a $7,400 wire attempt and he needed to contact the bank immediately. Instead of replying to the text, he went online and saw the $54 charge, so he thought it was legitimate.
Thank goodness, he decided to go down to the bank in person. It turns out that the scammers had gotten hold of his debit card number and made the $54 charge themselves, so they could then notify him of that charge and reel him in when he contacted them about the wire! The bank employee knew right away it was a scam, because the text came from a weird phone number.
My friend said, “You know, I almost fell for it…” Argh!
I read that the legit places- bank, credit cards, investment finds use a 5 digit number. But, I always wondered if scammers figured out how to do that?