sadly my voice is readily found online so my own parents might be a target of this

      • EmmaGoldman [she/her, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        34
        ·
        4 months ago

        Job scams are incredibly common. You’ll apply to what looks like a real job at a real company on a job site, and they’ll send back an offer letter and have you sign fake paperwork to get your personal info.

        They might have you pay for a fake background check or credit check to confirm your eligibility. They might steal your card info, or just take some smaller amount and use that to help hook you into the scam to get more money later.

        They might tell you that you need to purchase a computer or pay for training from them to start a Work From Home job, only there is no computer or training.

        They might use you to launder money out of accounts with stolen banking info or just send you a fake cheque and have you “send salaries to other employees” as part of your job duties which will mean you’re transfering your money to someone on cash app or another digital banking app and then the cheque you deposited will bounce.

        They might have you repackaging and reshipping stolen goods.

        They might pretend to be a company that helps you resell goods and set up an order for some product for you to sell, only it never shows up.

        • charly4994 [she/her, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          14
          ·
          4 months ago

          My mother signed me up for so many of those when I was younger because they offered immediate employment and then when I was placed on the call it was the shadiest sounding shit, then there were the non-scam but also scam sales rep things where they called you a manager, offered intense executive training to fast track you to the top of the org but you were just going door to door trying to sell some shitty product.

        • SpiderFarmer [he/him]@hexbear.net
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          4 months ago

          Had a similar experience. And that check bounced right before rent was due. I was definitely younger and inexperienced, now sadder and wiser from those moments.

      • LanyrdSkynrd [comrade/them, any]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        4 months ago

        A lot of young people are getting caught in sex scams. They get flirted with on discord/social media, get invited to Skype calls where they engage in sex chat. Then they get told by the “father” that the person was underage, and if they don’t send money they’ll send the videos to the police and their family.

  • TheDoctor [they/them]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    24
    ·
    4 months ago

    My dad has given thousands of dollars to scammers and I don’t think people understand how bizarre some of these scams are. Not necessarily as sophisticated as this, but very personalized.

    • bigboopballs [he/him]@hexbear.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      12
      ·
      4 months ago

      My dad has given thousands of dollars to scammers and I don’t think people understand how bizarre some of these scams are.

      like what? does he respond to phonecalls/emails demanding money or what?

      • TheDoctor [they/them]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        15
        ·
        4 months ago

        He now believes he is dating several celebrities who will take care of him if he can help them with elaborate tasks which happen to involve buying electronics and gift cards. He’s essentially been groomed over years to trust a variety of people that are likely just a single person. And all of them feed into his delusions.

  • fubarx@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    14
    ·
    4 months ago

    Have been getting a ton of targeted texts, offering jobs. The texts have become pretty specific, as if someone has been scraping linkedin.

    Insta-spam report and block.

  • Assian_Candor [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    4 months ago

    Feeling vindicated for my extremely paranoid brained decision to stay completely off social media for the past 15 years. Still have LinkedIn unfortunately bc you kinda need it.

    Still we’re all just one google breach away from mayhem. I think I’ll set up a code word with my family that only we know to give each other in case we need help.

  • marxisthayaca [he/him,they/them]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    edit-2
    4 months ago

    A lady I worked with got scammed by someone pretending to be the FBI claiming to have found her vehicle in Mexico with a bunch of drugs and porno. She told me they had tons of identifying information and were demanding payment, and she complied.

    I was just aghast, cause if anybody called claiming to be the FBI or some other law-enforcement agency my first instinct would be - speak to my lawyer (don’t have one).