Uh-oh, my account is overdue and I need to call the number texted to me or they will take further action. What should I do?
I just got a text from an overseas number that UPS couldn’t deliver a package. I’m about to call and find out what I need to do to get it.
The correct procedure in all such cases is to immediately call the number and do whatever they say. That may include going to a designated website and clicking “allow” to anything it asks, or following the instructions from someone who for some reason speaks very poor English that end up enabling Windows Remote Desktop for them.
I’m amused by the occasional messages I get that due to taxes I owe, the Canada Revenue Agency will shortly be dispatching police to arrest me unless I take Immediate Action™. I do wish that the denizens of Punjab or Guangdong or whatever the fuck shit-hole they languish in would at least take the time to familiarize themselves with the customs and legal procedures of civilized countries. Also, no, the CRA doesn’t accept Amazon gift cards.
We had a big one here in MA where basically everyone I knew got a text saying their EZPass account was overdue by $6.99. I assume some people fell for it, many of us actually have EZ passes.
I’m in Florida and I also got that text. My one didn’t mention an EZPass account or any other specific toll system. It did say “reminder, your toll account is overdue by $6.99”, though. Of course, not having taken toll roads in over a year, I ignored it.
Ah, interesting…mine didn’t say “EZ pass”, but the fake link was to a website that incorporated ezdrivema as part of the URL. I wonder if that varied somehow.
I don’t look at email very often. Luckily, my wife tells me whenever one of these things appears so I can deal with it.
A number of years ago we used to get similar fake calls from the IRS pretending that you owed money and the FBI was going to be coming after us (through a recording of course, not a real person on the phone). And for a while I got a few in Chinese. The only way I knew what they were was because I had a coworker from China who was able to translate for me.
I got an email about a $499.00 billing to my PayPal account for some sort of “Policy Update”. The email is asking me what I mean by a policy update, and requests that I contact the billing department to clarify. Note that the email is not from PayPal and includes an attachment of an invoice, but the name of the emailer does not match anything on the invoice. Very confusing, and I am completely ignoring it.
It shouldn’t be confusing, those are just obvious signs that it’s a scam.
Most of the scams I’ve been exposed to in the past regarding questionable payments have been of the “confirming delivery of your Amazon order” or “we were unable to deliver your FedEx order”. This one makes it sound like I have asked for information from them, and they need clarification.
It’s definitely not the usual, but I’ve seen variants of it as well. By putting the onus on you, they are hoping that you will be more inclined to contact them to “clear it up”.
My guess is that they are trying to get your information, as a kind of phishing attempt, as they ask to “confirm your information”.
Getting my identity stolen—twice—was about as enjoyable as getting a root canal without anesthesia. The first time, I’m pretty sure some nimrod used a gas station skimmer to clone my card so they could go wild at Walmart for a few hundred bucks’ worth of who-knows-what. Maybe a lifetime stash of mozzarella sticks?
The second time’s hard to beat. I got hit with a $10,000+ bill from a plastic surgeon in Miami. Apparently, someone decided I was in the market for a breast augmentation. Now, as a divorced, middle-aged dad with a young daughter in northeast Florida, I can say with confidence: if I were suddenly inspired to get breast implants, I’d probably stick closer to home. The investigator seemed to appreciate the situation.
Both cases eventually got resolved, but what a nightmare. If there’s ever a hell specifically for endless paperwork and waiting on hold, I’ve earned my front-row ticket.
My two cents: keep an eye on your credit cards, freeze them when you’re not using them, and never trust a shady gas pump that looks like it’s held together by duct tape.
Then there was that call from an agent named Steve Martin, with a thick Western Asia accent, from the Treasury Department in NYC who warned me that FBI agents were en route to throw me in the slammer for back taxes. His solution? I needed to high-tail it to Walgreens and purchase five grand’s worth of gift cards to avoid an orange jumpsuit. I thought that one was legit, until he butchered my middle name.
Well, excuse him!
And here I thought he would insist on you wearing a fake arrow through your head.
Or force you to go bowling for shit.
Because the authorities always let you know, in advance, when they’re coming to arrest you, assuming you’ll gladly wait around for them to show up & haul you off & that no one would take that opportunity to GTFO. 
It may not be very nice of me but when I get scam calls, from folks with Westen names and Indian accents I always hang up after asking how the weather is in Mumbai or Kolkata.
…Or swing his phone over his head and cluck like a chicken…?
It’s perfectly nice of you. Those fucks don’t deserve any consideration.
I certainly felt no guilt about stringing along a scammer some years ago, even though it appeared to be a domestic scammer and not from Mumbai or Punjab. They called at what was (for them) the worst time – I was simmering something on the stove that would take a long time, and was feeling good after a few glasses of wine, so I had time to kill and played along.
I don’t remember what they were selling but it was some sort of ongoing service for something that required a credit check. I listened as they described all the awesome benefits, and I expressed more and more enthusiasm. I said I could hardly wait to start.
At which point, all delighted, they said they just needed to do a simple credit check, and asked for my date of birth. I said I didn’t know. But I helpfully added that I might be able to look it up somewhere, or ask someone about it.
This seemed to create a brief pause, but only a brief one. There were a few other similar points of discussion, but dang, they just wouldn’t give up. Finally, they asked if there was someone else there that they could talk to do.
By this point quite a bit of time had passed and I’d had a few more glasses of wine and was feeling quite cheerful. I said normally they might have been able to talk to my wife, but she walked out of the house last night carrying a couple of suitcases, and I thought it was likely that I’d never see the bitch again, and would be the happier for it.
At this point they said they would call back later, and hung up. They never did, though.