Unusual scam making the rounds
 

I went to ACE Hardware in Lady Lake last week. I like that store and the people in it. The next day I got a very professional looking message on my IPhone from ACE saying my name was selected to win a power drill. It looked really good, even though I would have to pay shipping, So, I clicked on the link in the message (I never do that but, hey, ACE Hardware?). The clicked-on link took me to another professional looking page where I was to claim my prize. I answered some innocuous questions (name, address, phone number), and then they asked me how I wanted to pay shipping (about $4.50). They had my three credit cards and PayPal listed, just as if I was buying from Amazon. But I had shut down one of those cards months ago. For fun, I clicked on that choice and sat back to see what would happen. In a few minutes "they" came back saying that credit card would not work, and would I please send them my social security number and bank account information so they could fix the card for me. Again, it looked very professional, but there was no way I was going to give information like that to strangers on the internet. Now, since then, I get dozens of text messages a day. I can tell they come from foreign countries because they use the +1 USA country code when they dial my number. Some of their messages are funny: The latest of these scam messages said that they could fix me so that I could "last" more than 10 minutes, and that my lady friend would really appreciate it. LOL
Now, there are two reasons for posting this thread. The first is to clue Talk of the Villages denizens into this scam. The second is to ask if anyone knows how to clear my phone so that these text messages stop.

Since messages are essential free, the scammers pick familiar companies. Eventually they will hook somebody. If you get an email you can "hover" over the address. Many times, it will have a "gmail" account. Multibillion million/billion $ companies do not use gmail.

By responding to the message you confirmed that it was a valid number and I am sure it has been sold many times over. You can contact your carrier but I doubt there is anything they can do.

And....they are not that unusual.
I get several each week from alleged Costco, Sam's, Home Depot, Ace.......just like the many phony caller id's we all get on our phones.....these name brand "freebies" are out trolling for suckers.

If they are not in your contact list DO NOT ANSWER!

By email mail, text if they are offering something free....DO NOT RESPOND.

The scammers know seniors favorite word......FREE!!!!!!!!!!

_____________________________________________

:censored:

Thanks for the head's up.

You probably got scammed by malware in ACE hardware Wi-Fi system searching for info on unsuspecting customers. Cell phones continually send out location signals whether your trying to place a call or not.

I started turning on my "do not disturb" setting, with the exception for numbers in my contacts list. So, I only get calls and texts from numbers in my contacts. It works great except when someone you know calls who is not in your contacts.

OP, you should also be able to add the phone numbers to your blocked call list.

That only works when the scammer uses the same number when they call. But, most scammers will spoof a different number every time they call. The blocked call list is worthless against spoofers.

Nothing unusual about it. They are trying to get a bunch of different things from you. It looks like they succeeded with around half of those things, because you a) clicked the initial link b) clicked the next link c) confirmed that it really is you and that c1) you aren't an AI response system, d) that you have credit card numbers stored in your cell phone which could possibly be valid and e) that you will fall for these scams at least enough to get through a, b, c, c1, and d.

And now they can use that information for themselves, sending you cleverer and cleverer texts that look more and more official until you actually get suckered into an expensive scam, or sell that information to listing services that feed it to other scammers who will do it instead.

first rule is never to engage scammers, as they note that you have engaged in the past. Never answer the phone from a number you don't know, they can leave a message. . . Second, with text messages, block number and delete text. Doesn't matter that they change numbers, they realize you block numbers, and don't respond. . . . . .

engaging just makes your life more noisy with more distractions

They can spoof other numbers. I've had phone calls with caller ID saying it came from my own phone.

Some of them also use caller ID block. Unfortunately, so do a couple of my friends. So I have to answer the phone in case it's one of them.

Just a coincidence. I get those also and I never walk into ACE. They also send out crap about packages from UPS, Fedex ... IRS notices, etc. If they send out a million "your UPS package can't be delivered due to a bad address" they will make contact with a LOT of people expecting UPS packages. And some of those will fall for the scam ... as you did ... at least as far as you went..

I fell for the same scam last month in my desktop email
 

First clue should have been the tag line "ace" instead of "Ace". They will bug you 2-3 times per day for about 2 weeks, then back off to once a week to "confirm your purchase". They never got my card # but the contact sure does cause me to kick myself in the a$$ for falling for it. I get one every 10 days or so now. I tried everything to block it, but since it is waning in frequency, I assume it will stop. Annoying? Yes, but it now serves as a reminder that there are idiots our there just looking to suck information out of you. Don't let your guard down.

I started to receive Emails that say no sender. Ace,Kohl’s and so on. You can’t block the sender because it has no sender. When you try to unsubscribe it just takes you to another sales pitch. I just move it to junk that’s about all you can do.

I got 3 emails about my free ACE drill last week...... went to google, then gmail.... clicked on the emails and hit the exclamation symbol in the octagon. That marks it as spam and hopefully it's the end of it.

Do people EVER learn?

HAckers everywhere.. block the number from your phone/texting messages, you should have the option pop up when you delete the text .. . I do this with every call that is tella/scammer

We just got a text with the typical your account is locked, blah, blah blah, and it had 20 consecutive phone numbers. To block the source number, you had to scroll to the bottom of the list. insta block and delete + report junk

just a first world issue

Why in the world would you click the link now they have your IP address if you were home on Wifi.
Even if you weren't home they could of put Malware on your phone.

That's why I hate all these rewards programs that want all your personal information and then somehow gets sold.

When I get a text or email saying I won something, or getting a free gift I just delete it. Nothing in life is free...

Never, never, never.

Tanstaafl

I did that for while until I had blocked about 100 numbers, but it didn't seem to reduce the number of spam calls at all. The same people kept calling using a different caller ID. The only thing that worked was to keep my phone on "do not disturb", but to allow numbers in my contacts list to come through. The only issue is when someone calls that is not on my contacts list and they need to leave a message. My phone also has an option for "repeat callers" whereby, if someone calls 2 times within 15 minutes, the call will go through.

And that is what voice mail is for :icon_wink: I do the same with my email. Only those from my contacts or safe list make it into my inbox. The rest go into junk which I review before I delete.

Scams
 

I never open those emails. They do look interesting but when they have your information your done!

Try making the sender a listed contact and then blocking that contact. If you have AT&T, copy one of the offending texts, paste it into a text addressed to 7726 (SPAM) and AT&T will answer asking for the senders address or phone number. Copy and paste that into your reply. Also let the store know about this, they’re systems have obviously been compromised.

YOU NEED TO CONTACT THE THREE CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES and FREEZE your CREDIT! It’s FREE

When my sister, parents, doctor, or spouse call me, it's because they need to speak with /me/ and not leave a message. The only time no one can reach me is at bedtime. That's when I shut my phone completely off.

It has little to do with the store's systems and more about the global GPS system and the location services in your cell phone. If you are at a place, and your location services are turned on, then the spammers know you were in that location.

They track locations, not store systems.

Next time you get a text, I think you can click on the 3 dots in the corner and there will be a choice to block that contact.

If you have the number for your sister, parents, doctor, or spouse in your contacts then your phone will ring. The only time it will not ring is if the number is not already in your contacts (and even then it will ring if you recently called that same number).

The only time I've had a problem with the "silence unknown callers" feature is when I call a main number for a business and the return call is from a cell phone or another line in the business. Since the number calling me isn't in my contacts and isn't the number I recently called it is directed to voicemail and I need to start over.

"Never, never, never."



The absolute best advice.

Unfortunately however, the combination of human nature being curious and loving something that is supposed to be "free"...means the scam will work on a lot of people.

My health insurance is FloridaBlue. They use remote employees with something similar to burner phones, each with unique phone numbers that aren't affiliated with FloridaBlue. So the caller ID on those comes in as unknown, just the phone number, mostly from a Florida area code (but not always).

MY phone number has a Connecticut area code. But there are only a few people in Connecticut that I have need to communicate with anymore, since I stopped living there three years ago and most of my friends live elsewhere now, with new phone numbers.

So if a call comes in from a Connecticut phone number and I don't recognize it, I don't take the call. There are a couple of other area codes I recognize as being spam, so I don't take those calls either. All the other ones that I don't recognize, I answer "Digame" (pronounced DEE-ga-Mey) which is Spanish for "Talk to me" and the common phone answering phrase if you're in Puerto Rico.

If it's someone who sincerely needs to speak with ME, personally, and not merely "potential victim #499723, then they'll identify themselves and ask for me by name. If not, their number gets blocked.

I don't engage in conversation with callers until I know they're people I /would/ have any reason to talk to. The guy from Pakistan who says my computer password is compromised and is about to be shut down - is not someone I /would/ have any reason to talk to.

You say “hey, Ace Hardware?” Don’t understand why you trusted just because you like Ace. Did you think scammers can’t use the names of businesses you like?

Caveat emptor. Always. Face it: we're targets.

Rules I follow:

I never answer any calls unless I recognize the number. On those I don't, I assume that the caller will leave a VM if important enough. If they don't the number is immediately relegated to the spam bin and all future calls from that number are blocked.

I NEVER click on email links. If the email looks legit, I will look up the company online and call their Customer Service number to verify (or not) the legitimacy of the original email.

If it looks (sounds) too good to be true, it probably is.

I don't know why, but I can always tell when the caller is a computer voice, not a real person. I guess the scammers need to develop a more lifelike voice.

I was thinking it may be connected to Location Services- if that is turned off, are you better protected?

The call was probably completely random and it was just a coincidence that the OP had recently visited Ace hardware. I get these kinds of things all the time from stores I haven't visited and banks I don't have accounts at.

Yea, I got the same exact one but the shipping cost was $12.95. To make a long story short I put the message in file 13. The sad thing is by looking (opening) at the message they knew they had a live person on the other end of the line. Now they’re still sending me deals & I’m still filing them under file 13. Thanks for sending your thoughts & how you handled it!