I received a text message, supposedly from Amazon, saying that a “routine quality check” had found an issue with one of our orders and that they’d issue a refund and ship a replacement. There was a link (in a short-URL format similar to what Amazon uses) to check the order details.
I had just gotten into an Uber, and my mind was busy planning my day so I wasn’t fully focused. We’ve ordered a bunch of stuff recently from Amazon, so I wanted to see which order they were referring to. Luckily, just before I tapped the link, I noticed it was a group message sent to about 20 recipients — and immediately realized it was a scam. I deleted and reported the message
FWIW, I’ve never received a “quality check failure” message from Amazon before. This really bothered me because I’m usually very good at spotting scams, and it showed me how easily I could fall for something when I’m in a hurry and distracted.
Ohmygosh! I had that same thing happen a couple of days ago. But in my case, I was in the process of dealing with Amazon and a third party seller with an actual quality issue and Amazon had agreed to give me a refund but was still showing that I needed to return the item… Anyway, I had every reason to think it was a legitimate text and I clicked on the link, and it was just a page with paragraphs in various languages I didn’t recognize (or maybe gibberish) so I backed out of that pronto. Both Amazon and the third party seller deny that they sent the text, but it fit my circumstance so exactly that it’s hard to believe it was fake. No fallout from clicking on the link so far, knock on wood.
(By the way, mine did not appear to be a group text. When I googled the number it came from, it was some vague “Amazon web services” that could be anything.)
Some of the Amazon delivery failures look real as well. Just like with your credit card, if you receive an email that wants you to link on something, log into your Amazon account and you’ll see if there is a problem. I thought I was being scammed due to problem with payment and went to my Amazon account and sure enough I had a payment problem. Somehow I had checked an old credit card that no longer works and had been replaced due to a previous fraud. I should have deleted that card altogether after the fraud use was resolved.
Interesting because I got a message that was actually from Amazon telling me that something I had ordered didn’t pass their quality control and they were canceling the order. Worked for me since it hadn’t been shipped yet and I just picked something else.
Last couple of days I’ve gotten texts telling me that I cannot receive my Trump tariff check (!) unless I contact some number and give them missing information.
Getting variety of e-mails about packages.
Need to provide more info so may be delivered, click link. They’re someplace with sohu.com email address, not really USPS or other delivery companies.
New text today to my phone not H’s from 29197 (note 5 numbers you are supposed to think this is OK). ‘QLC: Good news (H). Your GLP-1 journey has been approved.’ Then a link to continue. I looked up the 29197 and it said likely spam. H is thin and did not request this. We are shocked it had a 5 digit number!
My sister went back to Austin the last few weeks, visiting from their new home in Arkansas. She got a call saying she had missed jury duty. That seemed logical to her, since she had changed addresses. The person told her she would have to pay a fine, but it would be refunded once the judge “cleared” her. Of course, it’s a very long story, but she finally figured out it was a scam when they wanted her to put cash in a bitcoin machine in a convenience store! She was so embarrassed and annoyed. She lost a lot of time she should have been spending at the school in Austin she works for remotely.
The scammers pulled all their typical tricks. Caller ID had the correct phone number for the Sheriff’s Department, and when she expressed skepticism, they said, “Well, we have your private information - here’s your social security number.” !!! I told her she needs to freeze her credit right away.
She called the Sheriff’s Department. As soon as she explained she’d been scammed, the woman said, “Oh, did they say you missed jury duty?”
My sister is not the type to fall for things, but she hadn’t heard of this particular scam.
Not quite a scam, but kind of. I saw a charge for $19.99 on my husband’s CC this morning. It had gone through in the middle of the night. I really thought it was a scam. EVERGREEN.CO. Nothing came up for it. I called the phone number listed next to the charge, and it turns out that when DH bought me a Christmas present (a warming plate for a coffee mug), supposedly he signed up for a monthly “rewards” program for $19.99/month. Uh, no… I’m sure he checked a box or something, but ugh. I told him to please not order anything online again. I need to do it for him, even if it’s a gift for me, ha.
I’m thankful I get alerts of credit card charges on my watch now. I wouldn’t have caught this one for awhile, otherwise.
The box was probably checked by default. In a lot of these semi-shady or worse websites it’s on the bottom of the page well past the “place order” button so you wouldn’t see it unless you scrolled down the entire page. Or, worse, it might have been on another page that you would only see if you clicked on some link to bring it up.
Hmm. Don’t they provide any kind of training to scammers anymore? This one I received today didn’t even bother to fill in the email template… and forgot to move the 200 recipients to bcc.
Honestly, where is the quality control? If you’re going to scam people, at least take pride in your work.
Not quite a scam, but I got one of those letters today that try to mimic the look of official mail. The letter explained that I would be financially on the hook if the water pipe from the street to my home were to rupture and need repair. Of course, they offered insurance to protect me.
The thing is………..we, like many people in my area, have wells, so there is in fact NO pipe from the street to burst, leak, or be covered by insurance!!
Just got called by yet another person who was interested in a properly that H owns. He told them it’s already listed and he already has a realtor, so it was a short conversation.
