Scamateurs

(affiliate links to my designs)

I posted a photo of my finished January/February temperature snake on my Snowcatcher FB page, and I was immediately flooded with offers to buy it. But they all wanted me to send them information about various pay methods. And they all wanted to make the purchase immediately, even though I repeatedly said I wasn't sure I was going to sell it.

I posted a photo of the completed quilt for my friend's first granddaughter, and I was immediately innundated with requests for extremely simple quilts anyone could make. I explained I am not in a position to be able to complete any custom orders at this time because I am a full-time caregiver. Each told me, "That's okay, just make it when you can, and let me pay right away. Just give me your financial information."

I received a direct message from a potential buyer claiming to be interested in one of my Etsy shop items. I responded the item was available in my Etsy shop. The reply came with an attachment I was asked to click to see proof of the buyer's purchase. Of course, Etsy showed no sign of anything in my shop being purchased and sent me no notification.

I knew from 30 years of electronic communication at my job (now retired) to never click an attachment unless I know and trust the sender. However, Etsy and FB were new territory for me as far as security goes. I looked up the need to purchase things immediately and via channels outside the official pay method, and my goodness, did I get a quick education!!!

I'm disappointed to learn Etsy and FB are so rife with scam artists. It breaks my heart to ponder how many innocent people are scammed on a daily basis because they don't know or expect such thievery. But it also feels pretty good to be able to share what's happening to hopefully put others on alert so they can avoid being scammed.

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Gotcha

Last year, I reported (both here and on Farcebook) scam ads with fabric, yarn and sewing machine "sales" just too good to be true. You'd think I'd have been wise to Round 2 this year.

I donated quite a bit of stash yarn to a senior center that crafts winter items for veterans years ago. Much of what was left was ruined in one of my frequent basement floods. (Finally fixed for once and for all last year.) Ever since then, I've sort of been hoping for a yarn sale which would allow me to replenish at least a bit of my stash. You know, just in case I ever decide to do a real temperature afghan...

So when I saw the JoAnn Los Angeles ad (NOT on Farcebook) with awesome savings on fabric precuts and yarn, I assume my common sense got trampled by my wishful thinking. I'm not sure there was any kind of logical thinking going on in my brain at that moment. I can't believe now I fell for it. I can't believe I was that stupid.

The very next day, I was alerted by my bank of a foreign transaction. I didn't have to look it up. I knew which expense was being questioned.

I was able to get a refund. Hopefully the "merchant" is being blacklisted by financial institutions now. (Unfortunately, the scammers expect this and change names and websites frequently to keep the scam alive and kicking.) I will have to settle for a regular sale one day to replenish my yarn stash. All I can do is try to warn people not to make the same mistake. And perhaps keep warning. I don't think it's going to slow down or stop. It's probably going to get worse.

In my post-scam research, I discovered anyone can learn how to set up fake delivery schedules and notices. Unbelievable. I will never understand why anyone would put so much trouble and effort into hurting fellow human beings, but I guess that's the world we live in. All we can do is try to be smarter, and keep trying to make the world a better place. In spite of the trials and tributations.

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Gut Punch

With the recent headlines of a major craft retailer hitting financial trauma, fake ads are bound to surface.

During the Memorial Day Weekend, I clicked one such ad. I knew better. But I wanted to make sure. You see, it seemed like EVERYONE was tagging their sewing aficionados, and the ad had been shared hundreds of times in just a few hours.

Sure enough, the party behind the ad was NOT the business being advertised, and the ad displayed way-too-good-to-be-true sewing machines for $29.99. It made me sick to my stomach.

Of course, because I clicked the one ad, I got inundated with scores of immitations, all with merchant misspellings.

I reported every single ad. Every. Single. Ad.

Last week, I was notified by our illustrious Farcebook bots that each ad had not been removed, but I wouldn't see them anymore.

Because, we all know how critical it is that Farcebook keeps its revenues flowing.

Such an absolutely joke. Please be safe out there. Please don't go clicking ads with unbelievable offers, and definitely don't fall for them.

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Again.

They say scams are on the rise. In my personal experience, you can't say that loud enough, bold enough or often enough.

I'd just had my credit card replaced, thanks to a scammy scheme by mygiftedpen.com. I've been replacing my auto payment information as merchants inform me that my regularly scheduled transaction failed. You know, homeowners association fees, water, monthly Etsy fees, dairy, internet provider, wireless provider, that kind of thing. So I was in the appropriate fear and apprehension mode when I received an automated phone call from a company "representing your power provider", declaring my service would be disconnected for non-pay in the next 30 to 40 minutes unless I pressed 1 immediately to speak to an agent.

My first thought, of course, was, "Oh, no, not again..." But before I pressed 1, I realized my electrical provider is not connected to my credit card. And my provider likely would have notified me in a more traditional manner with more than 30 minutes' warning. I did not press 1. I hung up. I checked my electric power account. Sure enough, it is not delinquent. I fumed!!!

How many people are being scammed on an hourly basis by idiots like this?!? Especially right now, when so many people are financially stressed? Please be warned. Please do not fall for this kind of crap. Please don't press 1 (or any other number) unless you know for sure the automated "service provider representative" or "collection agency" call you receive is from the real company. And always know, a reputable provider is not going to force you to pay over the phone in the next half hour!!!

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One Hack of a Week

First some scam artist tried to bully me into a website marketing ploy.

The very next day, my daughter's credit card got hacked.

The next day, MY credit card got hacked. My bank caught it right away and cancelled the card. I spent the next week having to update information on all my auto pay accounts, only to have to turn around and repeat the process ten days later when the new credit card was received.

An attorney had suggested I freeze my credit when I told him about the phony attorney accusing me of plagiarizing content, just to be safe. He also suggested I contact my hosting company to make sure security is in place, just in case someone tries to hack my website, and he suggested I change the passwords to all my websites.

When I contacted my web host, I was shocked to discover the company had been sold, and reviews of the new conglomerate were not too favorable. I learned the annual fee their "partner" charges to "protect" client websites is prohibitively high, and I learned one of the methods the "security" partner regularly pulls on those who sign up for the "protection" is a false hacking scare in which they try to suck even more money out of the client, when the "problem" is easily fixed by the deletion of a file on said website.

I looked up reviews on web hosts, hoping to find a less shady company, but the nightmares experienced in moving a website sounded too intimidating for me right now. I'd gone through that process several years ago when I moved from a free blogging platform to my own website, and the process then wasn't much better than it apparently is now. I don't have the time to devote to it right now, so I'll have to stay put for a while. Needless to say, I felt as if I'd been scammed all over again.

I changed as many accounts as I could remember from my 1994 email address to my current email address back when I set up the current email address. (I can't remember now how long ago that was.) I had to change email addresses because my nearly lifelong provider had decided it didn't want to be in the business of email anymore and was therefore charging $25 per month for the service. Choke, choke!!!

No, thank you!!!

Every once in a while, I'd get a snail mail notification of another account I'd forgotten. At the end of "hack" week, I received yet another notification from a subscription I've been paying for monthly for at least four years but perhaps as long as six years. The company notified me via my backup email address that my card was declined... the very same card that had been hacked. I'd forgotten to update the email and the card on that one.

Customer service was a hoot. I had to contact them because there was no method on the website to update an email address OR credit card. It didn't take long for me to understand that's because the company wants to phase out all the grandfathered accounts from the really decent-priced package that is no longer available. In other words, they wanted more money.

Oh, well, it's a service I need, and I do use it every month, so I'll sign up for the bump up. But in changing my old email address, the CS rep mistyped .com as .con. Then couldn't understand why I wasn't receiving the confirmation emails. In the end, I had two accounts with the company, one with my paid .com address that wouldn't allow me to log in because my credentials matched the second, unusuable address, and one with a 7-day free trial .con address, which was the one showing my payment had been made and yet said I still needed to purchase a subscription. Yet another nightmare to solve!!!

Everything's up to date now, as far as I know. Until the next notification that I've forgotten to update something!!!

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Takedown

I disappeared unexpectedly and without a word last summer when my world seemed to fall apart. Many friends and readers worriedly used every contact means possible to make sure I was okay. I was. Down and out, but I was doing everything I could to hang in there and survive.

There also were a slew of nasty emails and hurtful comments on sites such as Ravelry, where my patterns are listed, because the "supposedly free patterns" had disappeared. The horror!!!

That alone made it a bit difficult to come back when I did. But I gave it my best shot, and it's been worth it.

Now I have an official DMCA takedown notice from an attorney in New York representing an international client who claims one of my photos is not mine. My first reaction was it must be a scam because I've filed a few takedown notices of my own. I've always had to supply the exact link to the stolen work. All I received was a link to my entire website. No help!!! Dude, I'm not taking down my entire site for one image you didn't both to identify.

That doesn't give me the right to not act, however.

So, in the event I disappear again, please don't get angry. I'm doing everything I can to prevent my site from being shut down. But ultimately, I don't know what image I need to remove, and if they don't tell me, it is entirely possible they can shut me down for not removing said image.

I've been rather lackadaisical when it comes to screenshots of things that make me giggle, so one of the screenshot images I have shared in the past may well have been a copyright violation. I hope not. Just to be safe, I've removed a good number of humorous memes I shared last year in an effort to try to battle emotions provoked by longterm seclusion and societal unrest. I also will remove said infringing image if the attorney will be more specific than just a general link to my website, which is all he has provided to date.

Just know that I respect copyright law, and it has never been my intention to violate it. If my blog disappears again, it's not because someone destroyed me with words during a time when I have no real stamina to hold my ground. (I'm hopefully never going to be that rock bottom again...) It's because I may have shared an image I was not aware might violate someone else's copyright. I have links on the sidebar to the right and below about copyright law, plageriarism and my very own DMCA notice. I respect copyright law. Period.

BOTTOM LINE: Don't steal someone else's work. And if you find out you have inadvertently done so, remove it immediately.

UPDATE: There's a new scam in town!!! I finally heard back from the "attorney". I now would never believe he is an actual, practicing attorney if I hadn't looked up him and his firm prior to responding to the first contact. Second contact: "Oops, wrong website. Sorry. It was a different website. But my client is always looking for venues to post permanent links. Would you be interested for $25?" Apparently, this is a thing now. Read about a similar scam here.

NEW BOTTOM LINE: Do Not Give Out Personal Information When Responding To Unsolicited Requests!!! (I didn't!!!)

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: This story just keeps getting better and better. I worried I might have set myself up for a bad case of identity fraud just by signing my real name to my response. So I checked with a real attorney. He thinks, due to grammar, punctuation and law citing, this was either a very sloppy attorney moonlighting as scam artist or scam artist posing as an attorney. He gave me some steps to protect myself, which I am taking. And he asked if I clicked any links. (I didn't!!!)

What if this guy had sent a supposed link to said image, and the link wasn't really an image from my blog but a dangerous download or website? I had deliberately asked which photo, so I was literally asking for trouble without knowing it!!! (I do routinely check mouseovers before I click any link, even links I know and trust.)

NEWEST BOTTOM LINE: Never, ever click on links from sources with whom you are not familiar and whom you do not trust. Sometimes even from those you do trust!!!

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Friday Funny

I'm hesitant to call this humor because people obviously fall for this scam... I've found warnings about it all over the internet. But I had fun altering the scam a bit in Photoshop to suit my purposes. I typically save stupid stuff like this to one day create a Christmas tree with decorations representing every scam and too-good-to-be-true offer I've ever received in the mail. This one might be too big to hang on the tree, so I'm hanging it on my blog.

What really gets under my skin is some business in my local area paid big bucks to sucker punch potential customers in my area. In this day and age. When people are already struggling. If I had a phone number and email address I don't mind opening up to the plethora of scams that would follow, I'd call this number just to find out what business is this stupid, and then I'd broadcast loud and clear as far as I could to let others know this is the type of thing we need to boycott.

Treat others kindly. Don't try to scam anyone. And have fun finding the humor in my Photoshop efforts.

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Holiday Out

Twice now I've been contacted by a corporation I actually do business with to inform me my name has been selected in a celebration of something or other and that I've won a free trip to one of five "phenomenal" destinations.

I wasn't interested in any of the 20 locations (each list of destinations had back-up destinations)... Geez! Who would think I could be such a party pooper?!? What is wrong with me??? I don't want to go to Disney World or Disneyland or Las Vegas or Branson or somewhere in Mexico or even Great Smoky Mountains National Park???

As I told one salesperson (yes, a salesperson tries to sell the idea of a "free" vacation), nothing against Tennesee at all and I actually would like to visit North Carolina one day, but I live right near Rocky Mountain National Park and have been to Olympic, Mount Rainier, North Cascades, Crater Lake, Sequoia, Yosemite, Yellowstone and Tetons, not to mention every national park in Utah. The mountains of Tennesee aren't a tremendous temptation, especially if the "free" vacation could be spent in a different national park I'd rather visit... such as Glacier National Park, one of the top ten destinations on my bucket list.

The salespeople might actually be able to win me over if they were ever to offer me a destination I like, but that's not the point of today's rant.

Each time, after berating me for not wanting to take advantage of any of these "luxurious and high-demand" locations, the salesperson hangs up on me.

No big loss; trust me. But there is this nagging temptation to contact the corporation to cue them in to a little secret: The sales pitch and the salespeople are not earning them any brownie points. I'd even like to tell them one of the reasons I'm not doing as much business with them is because I have a sour taste in my mouth after chewing on such "special offers."

To be completely candid, I have not accepted any "free" vacations from this corporation, so I can't verify the offers are scams. They just feel like scams to me. And the etiquette of the employees attempting to bully me into something I don't really want doesn't speak highly of the corporation's ethics.


I tried researching to discover whether these "offers" are worth the heartache. I didn't find anything yet regarding the specific corporation hounding me, but I found some fun comments on an exposé about the "free" timeshare vacations that aren't actually free...

"South Park's 'Asspen' episode was a good portrayal of the nightmare that a timeshare presentation can become." - Guest

"Sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Can I get in on that?! -- if I send my SS number, bank info, birth certificate, marriage certificate, tax returns? Is it too late?" - SKS

"Probably even more people fall for this than for the Money-from-Nigeria scam, so this report is kind of a public service for the gullible." - Laughing Buddah

"What do you mean 'Money-from-Nigeria scam'? I'm waiting for my check to come in the mail! I had an unknown relative who died and left a ton of money over there. I am going to be rich!" - Skip

"There's no such thing as a free lunch (or dinner, or vacation, or anything else for that matter)." - DarqueSideOfTheMoon

"Yes there is, when it's made as part of a friendly sports wager." - Guest

"I got a call saying my name had been drawn. Drawn? By whom? Where? I asked, 'Where was this ballot submitted? I'm a victim of identity theft. The impostor has likely conned you into thinking he's me.' CLICK!!!" - derbradster

"Whenever these people call me, I tell them to leave their name and number and I will forward them to my lawyer. Most of the time I hear click and they hang up. Once - only once, the person asked me why I wanted to get a lawyer involved. Hahahaha." - Tom

"I own part of Prince Ibo Mugabuto's oil well in Nigeria now, all I had to send was $500 to show I was serious, and as soon as Exxon sends his check, he is going to send me $1 million. That was seven years ago, but these things sometimes take time." - Guest

"Never go to free giveaways. It's either crooks like this or cops trying to get you on an outstanding warrant." - DNice

"Won't argue your first point or ask how you know about the second." - Guest

"You guys are just having bad luck. I've been sending my money to a Nigerian prince who says he has a royal family inheritance he will share with me. I'm so lucky!" - Moops

"What?!? You, too???" - snowdogg

"Back in the 80s I got a 'free' set of steak knives. After traveling a 150-mile round trip and spending an afternoon listening to BS. I later found the same knife set at Walmart for $5.95." - Dave

"I just got a call on my cell telling me I won a cruise for two! Can't wait to get on that boat! Getting my $100 fee in the mail to them tomorrow! LOL." - Chris

"Most major corporations use third-party companies so they're not held responsible." - chris32280

"Lots of good lawyers would take this on in a heartbeat--if the company has any assets." - Mike

***
And then, a few days later, I finally found a review of the very same offer presented to me, and I am SO happy the "salespeople" hung up on me!!!

"A scary notion: Bamboozlement as a sales qualifying tool." - Sebastian Marshall

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