# Scam (Internet and Otherwise) Omnibus Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265 "2022-04-04T18:23:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 36
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/701 "2024-02-09T16:02:54Z")
(earlier this morning) > Hello son I’m not your son. I’m likely older than you. What do you want? Peter Mosse > Mosse the transaction is not fond > (screenshot of Moneygram page showing a failed transaction) > The reference number is not correct Then how did it get picked up? Peter Mosse (with the confirmation from a few posts up) > That’s not a reference number > And he haven’t picked up anything, the reference number is not correct Don’t give me that shit. I always get a confirmation when I send money and you can see it was picked up. Peter Mosse > I don’t understand what you’re saying, where did it show it was picked up The scanned ID shows it was picked up. Peter Mosse > But I showed you a picture saying the reference number isn’t correct Because it had already been picked up. Peter Mosse > Peter are you still there Yeah. Peter Mosse ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/702 "2024-02-09T20:23:21Z")
> Have you confirmed it, the money is still there and the reference number isn’t correct That’s the reference number Moneygram gave me. This is now a you problem. I need to hear from Moneygram regarding this. > Make a complain, tell them that the reference number isn’t correct, the money is still in your account right? It never left No, it’s not in my account. You’re the recipient. You make the complain. Peter Mosse > It’s still in your account, here’s my direct account, just send it to me directly, I don’t want any mistakes this time > Surname : Imariagbe Moses > > IBAN : FR7628233000010926411182492 > > Bic REVOFRP2 > > Bank: Revolut > > Adresse : 97 avenue sciences 13000 Nice > > Country : France My bank doesn’t do international wires. I’ve heard something about bitcoins, does that work overseas? Peter Mosse > You want to send it true Bitcoin? I don’t know, is it better than false Bitcoin? Peter Mosse > 1JUdbxYEndeDzpx9puLdpE4ztaYQWvUVNn [![](https://i.imgur.com/HGAockA_d.jpg?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high) ](https://i.imgur.com/HGAockA_d.jpg?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high) ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/703 "2024-02-09T23:37:54Z")
Phone call today: Me: Hello? Caller: Hi - this is your nephew calling. Me. Hi - which one? Caller: Guess. Me (picking a random name that doesn’t belong to any of my nephews): George? Caller: Right! Now I need your help. Me: I hope it doesn’t involve money. Caller: Unfortunately it does. I hung up at this point, so I didn’t hear a bail bond story or something similar. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/704 "2024-02-10T19:59:56Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > All my spells are Guaranteed and has no negative effects. let me correct that: _All my spells are Guaranteed and has no effects._ ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/705 "2024-02-13T22:40:18Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > The most common text scam I get is the one from FedEx ( see the related one from post #27, same thing but with USPS and via email instead of text) where I have something that was supposed to be delivered but was unable to be done. Of course, for a small fee, $1.99 being common, they’ll redeliver it for me. I got my first two text scams in the last two weeks. One was from PG&E warning me that my electricity was about to be turned off. The other was from USPS, who couldn’t read the address on the package they wanted to deliver, but fortunately they knew my phone number. Oh, did you know that USPS uses a hotmail address? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/706 "2024-02-13T23:09:14Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Phone call today: > > Me: Hello? > Caller: Hi - this is your nephew calling. > Me. Hi - which one? > Caller: Guess. > Me (picking a random name that doesn’t belong to any of my nephews): George? > Caller: Right! Now I need your help. > Me: I hope it doesn’t involve money. > Caller: Unfortunately it does. > > I hung up at this point, so I didn’t hear a bail bond story or something similar. Man, they aren’t even trying anymore. No screaming or panic by your putative relation, all said in a monotone no doubt. “Yeah Auntie I’m in a jam can ya bail me out thanks…” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/707 "2024-02-14T18:21:46Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > > You want to send it true Bitcoin? > > I don’t know, is it better than false Bitcoin? > > Peter Mosse > > > 1JUdbxYEndeDzpx9puLdpE4ztaYQWvUVNn > > [https://i.imgur.com/HGAockA\_d.jpg?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high](https://i.imgur.com/HGAockA_d.jpg?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high) Looks like he figured out the bitcoin was fake. Oh, well. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/708 "2024-03-20T10:44:45Z")
This has to be one of the most low effort IDs I’ve seen. Yet some people will believe it’s real. [![](https://i.imgur.com/l428LSW.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/l428LSW.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/709 "2024-03-21T02:45:49Z")
That looks worse than a 12 year olds effort to make their first fake id. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/710 "2024-03-21T07:01:46Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Me: Hello? > Caller: Hi - this is your nephew calling. > Me. Hi - which one? > Caller: Guess. My MIL called me, a couple years back, asking “Where is your son right now?”. Mentally thinking he meant HER son (i.e. my husband) I said “He’s downstairs”. “Oh good. I just got a call claiming to be your son”. IIRC from the call, he addressed her as “Grandma” (which is what he calls her; there’s an argument for using a cutesy name like “MiMi” or the like). She tried verifying he was who he was by asking “what’s my favorite animal”, and he said “Cats” which was a safe guess (and happens to be true). Not sure what else twigged her to the fact that it was a scam. I don’t remember whether the caller gave my son’s name, either; I’m sure some grandparent scammers have enough info to be able to provide that. “My son” was claiming to be in a nearby state, one which he could plausibly have been (though he was not; he was at college in our home state). ---
**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:** [March 21, 2024, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/711 "2024-03-21T12:59:51Z")
I think sometimes people volunteer the name, as in, “David, is that you?” That probably makes it easier for the scammer. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/712 "2024-03-21T14:59:12Z")
Gotta ask more specific questions, like the actual name of a pet. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/713 "2024-03-21T15:51:07Z")
Good point! And along the lines of “MiMi” versus “Grandma”, it’s not a bad idea to have some answers set up in advance that are NOT true. e.g. your favorite pet is a capybara named Mister Barky von Schnauzer or whatever. This would prevent even a diligent scammer from being able to come up with the correct answers. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/714 "2024-03-21T23:11:24Z")
You guys know all you are doing is tormenting some slave who will be beaten for wasting the master’s time. Please stop. You are not as funny as you think you are. Just block and move on with your lives. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/715 "2024-03-22T02:22:10Z")
At the store tonight, I saw that they put up warning signs about the gift card cons, including that government agencies don’t do that. Good for them ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/716 "2024-03-22T03:13:01Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > You guys know all you are doing is tormenting some slave who will be beaten for wasting the master’s time. Please stop. You are not as funny as you think you are. Just block and move on with your lives. Would you like to expand on this? Are you saying that the individual scammers aren’t worth bothering because the profit goes to someone else? Because, if so I most strongly disagree. These people are predators, and even if they share their profit with others, it’s _at best_ a comparison between the pirate robbing you as opposed to the pirate captain that pointed them at your ship. They’re both reprehensible criminals, and if someone wants to tie them up in knots, and take time away they could be going after the NEXT innocent, I’ll cheer them on even if I won’t do it myself. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/717 "2024-03-22T03:13:04Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > You guys know all you are doing is tormenting some slave who will be beaten for wasting the master’s time. Please stop. You are not as funny as you think you are. Just block and move on with your lives. - Fuck 'em, they know what they’re doing. Even if they’re not the boss, they’re hardly slaves. ---
**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:** [March 22, 2024, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/718 "2024-03-22T03:22:44Z")
FYI, [here is a link](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/17/world/asia/myanmar-cyber-scam.html) to a New York Times article about a forced labor camp in Myanmar where people are forced to work for gangs scamming money. (I tried to provide a gift link but for some reason, the NYT website wouldn’t let me.) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/719 "2024-03-22T03:39:07Z")
I can’t read it. Everything I get is almost all from around Nigeria or Uganda, both full of voluntary scammers. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265/720 "2024-03-22T15:02:51Z")
John Oliver had a long segment on this, including interviews with a couple of slaves who escaped. People are lured with promises of legitimate work, their documents are seized and they are given scripts and told what to do. If they fall out of line they are tortured. They no more make money than American slaves shared in cotton profits. The people making money never see your oh so witty responses. Seriously, the episode is on YouTube. It’s eye opening. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265.md?page=35) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-internet-and-otherwise-omnibus-thread/962265.md?page=37)