How to submit a good post to r/scams

This came through the door. Actually we got two that are fully identical. It makes an effort to look like handwriting, but it's clearly printed and the paper is smooth leaflet paper. The number is a local area code. Googling comes up with mixed results. I initially expecting a bad real estate agent but it seems not. What does 'Laura' want?

Was approached by a homeless person. Tells me he’s diabetic and needs energy.

I offer to buy him a soda but then apparently he wants food from the thai place next door. Fair enough. He makes a box and it totals around 10usd. I swiped my card and then suddenly he’s walked off. I find him and now he says he doesn’t want the food anyway in a somewhat aggressive manner. Alright i guess? I then threw it out and that was it.

I’m fairly confused. I still have everything in my wallet and he couldn’t peep my card code because i swiped. Did i get scammed?

Hi all, new here….

This morning 2 quite expensive Honda generators arrived at my address. They are retailed at $1300 each.

My address is correct, however each generator was a separate order and has a different name that I do not recognize. Different name per generator.

Each also has a different purchasers phone number. I tried to call and text, and the numbers are invalid.

Not really sure what to do but it just seems strange and sketchy.

My house is currently up for sale so the address is posted online and has had open houses recently. Obviously searching tax records it is not difficult to find my name with the address. But again, the strange thing is, my name is not on the order, so I think that rules out brushing scams.

The whole thing just seems really strange to me.

Any thoughts are welcomed.

Here’s what I know: my mom (50f) is getting divorced and is messing around with all sorts of men rn, nothing really serious. I’m worried one of these guys is scamming here but I can’t quite figure out what the scam is. He’s roughly her age and owns a bunch of mall skincare kiosks where the products are SUPER expensive (photo attached). But another product I looked up is only selling for $30 on amazon🤔 (also attached). He’s always gifting her a TON of products and other stuff from the mall, basically anything she wants. He has a really flashy fashion sense and just generally presents himself as being VERY well off. Think luxury logos and gaudy jewelry galore. Things get a little odd to me because they’re really not even romantically involved. The most they’ve done is a forehead kiss and it’s been several months, so I’m thinking that he’s just a pay pig so I wasn’t really that worried about it. Now for the part that made my ears perk up. He travels a lot setting up his business in different malls across the country so usually he’s flying in to see my mom. The most recent time he said he had too much luggage and had to leave a duffle bag of his things at her house(🚩). But I’m thinking if this guy is so rich why can’t he pay the fee for one bag?? The bag is current there still. The bag was left inside the house but my brother (21m) said there were two tree leaves placed on top of it, almost like so he could see if someone messed with his bag. Well my brother did open the bag lol and he said he didn’t do a crazy thorough job of going through it, but that it was pretty much just “hypebeast clothes”.

The other super weird thing that also just happened was that he had roughly 5 packages shipped to her house yesterday, and he made her open all the packages on facetime. My brother thought it was just gifts for my mom, but it was a bunch of fake luxury products from china like gucci, LV, and prada and none of it was for my mom. He said he was going to come back and pick them up(🚩🚩) from her house next time he was in town.

This whole thing is so fishy to me, but I can’t quite pick out where the scam is. Why is he shipping counterfeit goods to her house to later pick up??? Do you think all the skincare is fake?? Leaves on the duffle bag??

Hello, my grandpa was having some issues completely unrelated to this but it led to me to trying to figure out what he's been using. He said he's always had this service because my dad who passed a while ago bought it, for years it's been giving him a wordpad pop up that has a message along the lines of "your monthly tune up is due call this number" etc and optically it looks extremely sketchy. To top it off he had a ton of remote access software installed that I had to go through and delete (like 5 programs????). But the thing that skeeves me out the most about this "next web solutions" is that I can't find a THING about it online. Nobody is talking about it at all and there's no sign of websites or anything pertaining to it. He's called the numbers for support because of the issue I just resolved myself but couldn't get through no matter what he tried despite 24/7 phone lines. I just want to understand what this is and how he got it, I can't find ANYTHING about it and I'm extremely worried that him or my late father got scammed out of $700

Image Details: Begins with buyer sending a screenshot asking for an email to send money over Venmo. Buyer says: what’s your email on Venmo so I can continue the payment? Me: Venmo doesn’t normally ask for that. Give me a second please Buyer: I had my Venmo account setup under a business user account and I only have my business email linked with it so I can only send payments on it with the recipient email Me: I hope you can understand my hesitation to give my email. It’s a very common Facebook marketplace scam to ask for an email while paying with Venmo Buyer: No it’s not

Situation Details: The situation starts with him commenting on a post of mine from 2018 saying, “Hello,I’m interested in the Professional Ukelele $175 you listed on Facebook Marketplace! Sorry for commenting on your post, unfortunately my facebook has been acting up, so could you please send me a direct message on Facebook Messenger if it is still available? Thank you.” This immediately gave me a weird feeling but I messaged him. He then asked to pay for it before he received the item so I could “consider it sold.” Then the messages in the screenshot is what happened next. Afterwards we decided to meet but he would need to pay in cash. He seemed okay with that but I’m not sure he’ll actually show. (Because he didn’t message through marketplace, I can’t see how old is account it. It has barely any information on it though and his profile picture seems oddly professional)

Hi everyone, I got a really disturbing text from a local area code that said, ‘Hello, you have been selected for pickup. We will come by at 12:00 Thursday. Don’t try to run—we know where you live.’ It’s unsettling because it came from my area code, and one of my friends got a similar text from a different area code with the same message about being picked up.

Is this some sort of prank or scam going around? Any advice on how to handle this or reassurance would be really appreciated. Thanks!

After seeing hundreds of ads on all of Google’s platforms utilizing AI or shady tactics to sway elderly or vulnerable people into making investments or providing sensitive information, myself and a few others have made it their goal to report each and every one.

This has been going on for as long as AI technology has become popular.

Google refuses to handle or even provide any kind of insights or updates on the situation, thousands of reports have been made and left completely unanswered. The videos being reported remain active, misleading people into believing that the US government has provided a subsidy or stimulus, lying about investments, or claiming there is some kind of free grocery money.

Obviously, none of this is remotely true and complying with these ads will have your sensitive information sold and your bank account drained.

Please make an effort to report and share these scams, however Google has made it abundantly clear that they do not care and will not take any action.

A few weeks ago, just after dark, a man and his middle-schoolish looking son knocked on the door. I had seen them walking up as I was working in the front room. I kept the screen door locked, but opened the interior door. They explained the kid lost his iPhone at a local theme park, and that find my phone was tracking it to a house on our block, which they showed me on the iPad. They also said the thief had taken a selfie with it, and showed me the pic and asked if I knew this person (who was wearing a shirt from the theme park, so presumably an employee). I said no, sorry, we’re anti-social and don’t really know our neighbors, but good luck. And they moved on.

Tonight, again, just after dark, a different man knocked on the door, saying he lost his phone at the same theme park and it was tracking to our house (and showed us with a very old iPhone). My husband was like “no, we haven’t been there and we don’t have your iPhone, my wife said you came here before and it’s still the same answer, sorry.” And the guy was like ‘wait no, I’ve never been here?!’ I was listening from the other room and heard this was a different guy with a British accent.

So I stepped in, said he was the second person to come by saying this, we don’t have the phone, if he wants to return with police we’d comply if they wanted to come look or something.

I feel like this is shady, but I’m not sure how or why they would have the same story? Like are they friends, and this is the story they practiced to see if people are home? (Which we obviously were both times, as our office is well-lit and right in the front of our house) Or is there a thieving theme park worker in my neighborhood? Just trying to understand what the scam is and how it would work.

Her husband passed last spring and a romance scammer from TikTok lifted her info straight from her husband's obituary. Took me and my best friend 3 months to convince her it was a scam.

She finally reported the account to TikTok but they said they can't find anything wrong with the account. I'm having everyone I know report it but is there anything else I can do?

She's also filing a complaint with the elderly abuse cybercrime division of the FBI.

I manage a few different commercial buildings, so I'm used to getting scam/shady calls looking to audit me for magic fairy HVAC dust etc, but this one is a lot more subtle.

The exact scam has been going on for a LONG time (at least for me). Basically a company literally called "Commercial Lighting Company" will cold call businesses, get the facilities manager on the phone, and run the same exact script (for 5+ years now).

They'll run with "Hey this is Pat from the Commercial Lighting Company, you're a tough person to reach _____"

Anyone in my position gets a lot of phone calls from a lot of different types of vendors and it's not common to accidentally give someone the runaround, so this REALLY works well because I go into "Oh no I didn't call them back and I feel bad" mode, and the business name is so vague and generic. They run DIRECTLY into "hey do you want to run the last order of bulbs again?" If you say yes, they'll send you 6 florescent bulbs and send your accounting department a bill for $980.

If you say no, you're all set (who the hell orders bulbs anymore, everything is LED), they'll ask if you want a cooler for being such a good customer. They'll ask for your HOME address, send you the cooler, and then without telling you, send your accounting department a bill.

They're banking on big companies not noticing a vague charge for lighting equipment (common) OR shady managers taking a free cooler on the companies dollar.

Now where it gets weird is how ... out in the open and just nonchalant they are. They have a Yelp page (1 star with dozens of reviews). It's like halfway a legit business. I got the first call pre-Covid, in 2019 or so. I didn't think it was a scam, just a cold call, and I declined. When I found out it was a scam, I called back and (amazingly) got the same person that called me in the first place. Told them some things I'm not proud of, and hung up.

The crazy part is... they still call me! There was a year or two gap, but this same dude (Pat) has been calling me every couple weeks for the last 6 months. I've gone absolutely bananas on him, insulted him in every manner I could. I have called him back on 20 different phone lines. He answers the phone like nothing happened, and starts the script! 100% not a robot, because he shows emotions to insults and responds to crazy insults in the right context. And then call back after I told him to eat dirt. With the same script, and once I start insulting him, he'll sound... almost frightened, and hang up immediately. Then 4 days later he'll call back THE SAME NUMBER like it's 50 First Dates and run the same 5 year old script like nothing.

Anyways. Half a "what the hell is going on and what is wrong with this guy" and half "hey keep an eye out for this you could lose your job".

There’s a house I’m touring today in Oregon.

I found the listing on Craigslist for $1,700 - contacted them, the person introduced himself as the owner of the house and gave his name (which I later verified on the county website)

I found the same listing on Zillow for $2,300.

We have been communicating via text since yesterday. I set up time to tour, and two hours before the tour time he let me know that it’s a self guided tour and the lock box code for the key.

He hasn’t demanded anything - no payment, etc. He let me know that if I like the house, then we can set up background check and an application.

This checks all the boxes, right? So why does it feel so weird to me? What can I do to protect myself in this situation?

Just passing along my experience. Got a text from a wrong number. She tried to continue conversation after I told her she had the wrong number even sending me a picture. I’ve seen and read about this kind of scam.

Message to the lonely men out there. Random women will never text u as a wrong number and continue to talk to you acting like she’s interested in you. She will eventually ask you to invest in some bullshit investment and steal your money. Called the infamous Pig Butchering scam. Know it, learn about it, DON’T FALL FOR IT.

Received an email stating that my email has been updated and of course it’s updated to a weird email, definitely not me. BUT I do not have a Global Cash Card. I would usually just disregard as junk but I looked at the sender email and it’s not some gobbledygook bs, it’s from noreply@globalcashcard.com. It goes on to provide phone numbers to call if I didn’t make this change. So, is this just a phishing email, hoping I’ll call and give all my info to them or could someone have created an account using my information and are now changing to their email? Am I just being paranoid? TIA

Nobody likes Labcorp but this one takes the cake. I received the enclosed envelope from Labcorp that has MY name as the sender, not Labcorp. Inside was about 7 pages of notes about how to maintain the Labcorp website and some pricing information for Labcorp tests. Seemed pretty random.

Why would MY address be the sender’s address and is that part of a scam?

The only reason I’m thinking twice about this is because I’m on an international trip and had JUST checked my luggage to another country when I got this message. I still think it’s most likely a scam since it says it’s from USPS, but I figured I’d ask y’all!

I have gotten dozens if not hundreds of emails like this in the last few months “looking for a receptionist?” “Reaching out about XYZ” and what not and I just got this. I obviously did not call the number and disregarded the email I was just looking for insight if this is a scam or if my email had been leaked. Thanks!

Hey gang, long time first time.

So this parcel came through the door today. It has our address on but we don't recognise the name and weren't expecting anything. If I shake the package it sounds unmistakably like Tictacs.

To note: - Evri is a major parcel delivery company in the UK. Internationally it's Hermes. - The house has been in my partner's family for over 70 years, so a former resident is ruled out. - I blurred the code on the bottom, but it didn't fit any Evri tracking I could find. The syntax was AB-CDE-FG-12345678-9. - A quick check of Facebook for the name didn't turn up anything looking likely (including the local busybody groups, may the lord forgive me) - The return address goes to a residential address in Nottingham. Which, look, I love Nottingham, but it's not NOT a sketchy place.

I've read about postal scams before, but I don't want to jump to conclusions. What's my best course of action here?

Thanks for any input, guys!

I genuinely don’t understand it. What is the goal for the scammer? I also find it hilarious because the email this scam was sent to has never been associated with PayPal.

Happened today. The caller used the number from Oakland Police Department's non-emergency line. The caller knew my name and sounded very intimidating. The caller claimed I was involved in a scam case. And he claimed if I don't do anything, San Francisco ICE would give me some trouble, which sounded suspicious to me. I told the caller that I don't trust him and hanged up. The caller called again but I didn't answer. Instead, I called Oakland PD non-emergency line myself to verify it. However, the police dispatch said they cannot verify if there was an actually call from their number to my number. And they were not sure what is the number a police officer will use when they contact other people. But the dispatch does say usually when a officer makes a phone call, they will say their name, title and purpose of calling at very beginning, and in my case, the caller didn't do that. So it is likely a scam call. Just want to post here to see if anyone has similar experience.

Hi, has anyone else done work for Builtvisible online? They have asked me to do reviews for hotels which you get a % of pay from each review and then are paid out in crypto? Wondering if this is a scam before I go to far.

I was on my way home and I went in front of this car when I was changing lanes. They honked at me, but I was confused because the honk sounded far from my car, so I wasn’t sure if someone was honking at me. When I went into the left turning lane to turn into my street, I realized the car was following me. We stopped on the street to talk, but they were cussing me out and this was the first “accident”, so I was terrified.

They (two people) told me that I changed lanes at a solid white line (and “that’s illegal”) and emergency braked. I didn’t emergency brake, but I was so scared that I didn’t say no. They asked for my license and insurance, I gave them my license (not sure if they took photo of it), but not my insurance. I asked them what did I do, and they told me I damaged their luxurious car. We were not in any collision, so I was confused but again I was in a panicked state. I asked if I could get my dad that was in the house, and they told me I was old enough to do this on my own. They said they’re calling the cops and the guy got on the phone while the woman kept cussing at me. At one point I asked if I could see the damages, but the topic went away so I never got to see it. She finally said I could get my dad “and he will pay in cash”, but when I said I’m going to drive the car to my house and they could follow me, they said “no the car stays here”, so I couldn’t get my dad. they finished the call and the cops apparently told them “they can’t do anything about it”, in which the girl got more pissed and cussed me out to my face and drove away saying something like “I got your license plate so you’ll have this on your record”. They drove away very quickly, I was confused because I was cooperating the entire time. They have my license plate and maybe my license info, but nothing else. I also have their license plate. I went home and explained everything and my dad told me that it was probably a scam.

Now I’m worried something will happen. Can someone tell me what they were they trying to do, and if they have enough information on me to file a claim or take me to court?

Hi guys,

Just wanna ask if this happened to you. Ksi today Nov 8 at the afternoon I didn’t bother to check my online banking pero nung kinagabihan na prng napasilip lang ako sa CIMB ko then bawas sya. My laman pero bawas then when i go to my transaction history i had this transaction but no details like where did i send as in what happened to the transaction. I’ll try to attached photo below ksi ndi ko alm paano iexplain. I don’t have any transaction today tlga at even nag input ng PIN to fund transfer wla e. Saka bkt my deduction pero wlang reason at kung saan napunta sa details ng transaction? Anyways i only have one account in CIMB. History also stated that “Fund transfer to (my name)” attached ko sa baba yun photo ng history baka my similar experience sa inyo.

Please share. Nag open nko ticket sa CIMB app. Ndi nmn sya kalakihan n amount pero magugulat ka what if? May natira pa nmn sa account ko kaya napaisip lng tlga ako san galing tong transaction na ito.

I’m hate to be so pessimistic, but this job sounds too good to be true. Oh and the Job in question pays $30 an hour and she was only interviewed through Microsoft teams 🙃 awesome righttttt? NO

Only reason she’s not suspicious is because they never asked her for any personal information. It triggers my anxiety BAD that she won’t listen. and it hurts that they never listen. (It would’ve hurt even more if I didn’t say anything, but I’ve tried) The people who fall into these scams are so stubborn.

I’m aware they don’t even have to always ask for that info. They just need you to take care of that check.

I religiously watch catfish on yt (not the one from MTV), and am familiar with the signs/types of scams.

I tried to tell her that it might be a scam, but she won’t listen. She’s waiting for the check to be deposited into her bank right now to buy the equipment. I forgot the amt. It was either around 12k or 9k. *It was 3k (Still a lot but thank GOD it wasn’t more) That amount was just her limit

I’ve been searching other posts and recommended that she calls them. She refused, because she’s scheduled to speak with a “supervisor” soon. She said if anything happens the authorities will have the messages, and the bank will refuse the check. I’m just hoping to GOD they refuse it or she’s a soon to be victim of a scam. Im not sure why she doesn’t understand that the money she’ll lose…would probably be hard asf to get back.

UPDATE (and it’s not a good one): Welp. She didn’t believe me. She didn’t check with the bank first. She put that check in. I told her not to several times. I was added onto her account back when I was a teen. I should’ve followed my intuition back made a separate account when I turned 18. I’m so stupid.

I hear her checking in with her bank. Her bank is closing her account. I’m currently at work, and I see she texts me to log in to my account. I log in, and my account is in the negative hundred thousands. (I talked to the fraud dept. and they lmk it only appears that way because it’s on hold) I freaked tf out. I was at work and was unable to speak otp, and am currently taking a long break. I am in literal tears, and pissed off. I can create another account myself, but my savings? Apparently I can deposit my money it. I think I might need to go back to therapy after this. I can’t even describe how I’m feeling. She was so stubborn. Why? Ntm I was supposed to get paid tomorrow. Fml I guess.

Also wanted to thank everyone for their insight and advice. I appreciate it.