# Fucking scammer motherfuckers **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 28, 2022, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240 "2022-12-28T21:57:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 34
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2025, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/661 "2025-06-06T04:34:03Z")
The Economist Magazine reports that 7000 people were released from scam compounds in Myanmar last February. This is out of an estimated 120,000. One expert thinks this represents a pruning of the workforce. At one time, workers were recruited for fake jobs to Thailand, then kidnapped and brought across the Myanmar border. That still happens, but many today know what they are signing up for. The Chinese government got pissed off earlier this year when a famous actor ended up in a Myanmar scam compound: they pressured Thai and Myanmar officials to act. The United States Institute of Peace issued a report on these criminal syndicates in Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, whose activities may constitute 40% of those countries’ GDP. They characterize this as a national security threat: I agree. The Trump administration illegally shut down the USIOP earlier this year, so their anti-scam reports are no longer online. The Institute has since been returned to its rightful leaders, so perhaps we’ll some more small-bore efforts. USIOP had an annual budget of $55 million in 2024. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/662 "2025-06-16T20:01:31Z")
Another "grandparent scam"mer goes down. > **[Canadian Man is the Sixth and Final Defendant Sentenced in a Grandparent Scam...](https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdky/pr/canadian-man-sixth-and-final-defendant-sentenced-grandparent-scam-targeted-kentucky)** ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/663 "2025-06-16T20:41:14Z")
Second time in two months I received this email. Out of curiosity I clicked on the “Update Billing Info” button. It sent me to a page that asked for my email address and Netflix password. After entering fake info, it sent me to a page asking for my credit card info. [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54594437110_28754a150c_z.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54594437110_28754a150c_z.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/664 "2025-06-16T20:42:59Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Out of curiosity I clicked on the “Update Billing Info” button Now that they know your address is valid, it gets to go on more lists. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/665 "2025-06-16T20:55:14Z")
possibly, but they may just be harvesting the email address that he input. I do like the list of names in the “To” line; all of them are ‘Do not reply’ & for other companies that have nothing to do with Netflix. Weird list. (& of course, any company sending you anything legitimately is going to put a bunch of other people in the “To” line 🙄) ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/666 "2025-06-16T20:57:24Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > possibly, but they may just be harvesting the email address that he input. True. Still seems risky but as you say, they might not be tracking who clicks the link. > [@Spiderman](#): > > I do like the list of names in the “To” line I found it weird also. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/667 "2025-06-16T21:00:37Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Now that they know your address is valid, it gets to go on more lists. I doubt it matters much. This isn’t like the old days of some call center trying to find people who answer their phones. These days you just give an email program a gajillion names and let it rip. You’re not really wasting time on the failed/filtered sends. Also, any email address that’s more than a year old is probably on a million lists anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/668 "2025-06-16T21:05:32Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > of course, any company sending you anything legitimately is going to put a bunch of other people in the “To” line Or, a few posts up… > [@Skywatcher](#): > > Scams would be a _little_ more believable if the same invoice number wasn’t sent to 190 different email addresses simultaneously. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/669 "2025-06-16T21:27:50Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > I do like the list of names in the “To” line; all of them are ‘Do not reply’ & for other companies that have nothing to do with Netflix. Weird list. I suspect this is an attempt to make email programs and providers think it’s a legitimate message. Without knowing how they detect spam, I have no idea if or why it would be successful. But spammers probably know more of the tricks than me. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2025, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/670 "2025-06-17T15:30:44Z")
Anoter variation on a common scam theme: I just got an e-mail notifying me of a $299 payment I supposedly made for a Geek Squad Protection Plan, which I can contest by calling Geek Squad customer service (the number provided is of course not an actual Geek Squad customer service number). An additional possible scam clue is that the e-mail came from someone or something calling itself “During Ration”. No, I will not be calling the provided number to give my financial details so they can “refund” the money. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/671 "2025-06-18T19:05:23Z")
“Refund” scammers are now resorting to robocalling. One such call, from “Florida”, was in my smartphone’s voice mail yesterday: hold music, followed by a robotic voice about an “iPhone purchase” and to press “1” if the charge was not authorized. No identification of what company was supposedly inquiring. For fun, I called the “Florida” number from my work number; rang perhaps once then dropped. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/672 "2025-07-05T04:42:20Z")
I came a cross a Kitboga You-tube vid from March that showcases a bot army that telephones scam call center. He’s living the dream. **I Built a Bot Army That Scams Scammers** [Time]. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZDpo_o7dR8c/maxresdefault.jpg "I Built a Bot Army that Scams Scammers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDpo_o7dR8c) ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2025, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/673 "2025-07-09T01:13:45Z")
Have any of you seen this one yet? Gmail is usually pretty good about flagging and sequestering spam. It let this one through, though it did warn that it was suspicious. The “Invitation” is supposedly from a person I worked with about 20 years ago (red flag #1) but I thought it might be a notification of something like a retirement party for a former colleague, for example, so I opened the invitation. Red flag #2 is that to read the text, you are required to enter not only the email to which the invitation was sent (wait – don’t they have that already?) **but also the password for that email account**. Yikes! A quick on-line search shows that it is currently going around. If you give them your email credentials, the malware hijacks your account. XXXX XXXXX sent you an invitation with **AdobeOnline** ; VIEW INVITATION 1 message XXXX XXXXX [xxxxxx@att.net](mailto:xxxxxx@att.net) Tue, Jul 8, 2025 at 2:57 PM Reply-To: [xxxxxx@att.net](mailto:xxxxxx@att.net) To: **Special Invitation From** XXXX XXXXXX **ViewInvitation** ([https://specialdiscovery](https://specialdiscovery). com/) [https://www.punchbowl](https://www.punchbowl). com/invitation/9d959cab7e01efd6/t.gif **If you can’t see the above invitation,** [**click here**]([https://specialdiscovery](https://specialdiscovery). com/) [links broken] **NB : We believe your data belongs to you, so we use it only to display your invite contents only.** **Punchbowl, Inc** ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2025, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/674 "2025-07-09T01:24:59Z")
I would try entering a fake email address and password. I often use [example@example.com](mailto:example@example.com) when an email address is needed for guest WiFi. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2025, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/675 "2025-07-09T01:30:02Z")
Someone on Reddit who fell for it says the invitation just says “Thanks!” – which I guess is gratitude for letting them steal your whole address book. I’m a big chicken – not inclined to play with them any more. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/676 "2025-07-28T14:31:21Z")
Just found this in my spam folder: > [@](#): > > Greetings, > > This email comes from Elon Musk, Founder and CEO of SpaceX, Early Stage Investor, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla, Inc., Founder of The Boring Company and Co-Founder of Neuralink’s recent valuation is estimated to be around $9 billion, while OpenAI is valued at $300 billion Valuation & $40 billion funding. I am writing to you. Your email address was randomly selected from a database of emails in the US, Canada and Europe. > > I am pleased to inform you that you currently own 13,022 Tesla shares worth ($4,101,930) with each share valued at $315 (TESLA). This significant portion represents a significant value in your investment portfolio. > > I kindly request that you acknowledge the importance of this communication and promptly reply to this email for further instructions. Please take this email seriously and reply to it: [elon.musk.teamfounder1@redacted]. > > Warmest regards, > > Elon Musk. Fuck off, “Elmo”. If anyone wants to try communicating with “Elmo”, PM me and I’ll provide the domain. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/677 "2025-07-28T18:29:23Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Fuck off, “Elmo”. The real Elon would never be that polite. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/678 "2025-07-29T01:23:01Z")
Or move to Nigeria. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/679 "2025-07-29T22:40:48Z")
He’d never sign off with a period after his name. Otherwise, seems legit. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/680 "2025-07-29T22:55:08Z")
I’ve had to use my own phone for an accounting project and that involved clearing up some old toll violations for them, so naturally I got on a toll scam list. I am frequently bothered with a text message about how I need to pay an outstanding invoice, but the one I got today sounded a lot more threatening. I just report junk and delete until the next one. Before this, I almost never got a scam text, so that’s the most irritating thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240.md?page=33) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240.md?page=35)