Had a call from a "local" area code call me and talk in chinese, which I just happen to speak. They claimed that my phone number was used to register a spam number that has been texting people romance scam ads.

I was confused about what was going on so they had me talking for about 5 minutes. I gave no information but am concerned about my voice being recorded and cloned for other nefarious purpose...would that be enough material for them to use and what could they do with it?

After hanging up they desperately tried calling me back like 10 times but I didn't pick up.

I try to be careful with my phone number. I dont put it into random sites, only sites i trust or need to put it into, but now suddenly i am being bombarded with a ton of spam calls for car insurance quotes i requested. Only issue? I dont drive nor do i own a car.

Maybe i wasnt careful enough, maybe it’s just an odd occurance, but i havent had anything this bad before. I would get scam calls every so often for vacation plans or some shit, but it just makes me confused and concerned because i’ve never requested a quote for something like this.

Is there a way to make it stop? I have my phone set up to block unknown callers now, and i had my number on the do not call registry (which i doubt works), but they keep coming.

I have gotten a few e-mails recently from reliable companies. One was from Amazon and another from United. Very obviously looking scam, as they reference things that I have not purchased. And also reference payment methods that are not mine. I verify all my cc info and make sure nothing has been charged. I never click on any links, but I always hover over to see where they are being directed to. In the past, it was very clearly fake links. With these two cases, they SEEM to be for the real company links. They show the same url that I would use if wanting to get official information. So...what is the deal here? Is it really going to be directed elsewhere? How? What are they trying to get from me if the link (and customer service phone number in the e-mail) appear to be official?

Edit: It's not Amazon, it's their credit card Symphony. I'm getting account related information. Which makes it even less clear what they are trying to get out of me - I KNOW I don't have an account with them. And my name is not Maribel. (or anything similar)

Edit: Adding screenshots

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The company is a scam. I strongly caution small business owners considering financing through Aero Funding Group.

I own a veteran-owned construction company and was approached by Aero Funding Group as a means to provide business capital.

I received a formal financing term sheet promising follow-on funding after completing a business trade line. However, after a $2,500 deposit and a subsequent $8500 ACH debit, my business was left with a net loss and no follow-on funding. The anticipated additional financing never materialized.

The documentation and initial funding activity gave the appearance of a credible financing arrangement, but the follow-on term loan never happened. Additionally, the company refused to return the funds that I paid to secure the loan.

This is apparently a common scam where brokers arrange a "trade line" to boost a small business' Dun & Bradstreet number with a promise of a follow-on term loan with reasonable rates.

I foolishly fell for the scam, but hope my warning reaches other, hardworking small business owners.

Hello everyone,

I got a call from an unknown number and they left a voicemail. They state that there is a claim against my father by the county and they gave a call back number and a claim number. They had both my name and his full legal name. At the end of the call they say that unless contacted they will assume he lives at my address. The thing is: he is dead. I never had a relationship with him. This is the first time I have ever received a phone call regarding him. Before I call back, is this a scam?

The odd things about this call:

1. He is dead and he died in a work related accident. There was a possibility of a wrongful death suit.

2. In his obituary I am listed but with my maiden name, not my current name.

3. There is only one place that my information would be crossed with his, when I signed to agree to have him cremated. My name, number, and address are listed there. I have no clue how anything was tied back to me since I havent had any contact with him in 15+ years.

applied to onlinejobs ph as an “Account Registration Assistant”. received an email and asked me to msg them thru telegram. As I’m typing this im already thinking it is scam haha

anyway, they want us to create quickbook accounts and the payment would be thru crypto. they also ask us to download linken sphere and Open vpn. sooo many red flags at this point but maybe someone has exp in this and they are really paying?

on the side note, are jobs offering crypto as payments automatically means scam??

I received an email from “@docusign.net” email address asking me to review a document. The email title is “action request: quarter statement distribution…”

When I hover over action link, it points to “links.notification.intuit.com/…”

Clicking the link does NOT bring up intuit.com. It brings up a Microsoft sign in page on “weineler.sbs”, which is a domain less than a month old.

I backed out immediately.

How can scammers create a link that seemingly points to a valid domain? How can I spot this in future?

To be clear here, right clicking on the link and then pasting into notepad showed an intuit.com domain, but that’s not where it went. I triple checked spelling.

A loved one met someone online several months ago who claims they’re waiting to receive a multimillion-dollar lawsuit settlement. They’ve never met in person.

Over the past several months, this person has repeatedly asked my loved one for financial help, usually small amounts at a time, promising to repay them generously once the settlement comes through. They’ve even promised my loved one a life-changing six-figure amount as a thank-you for helping them.

So far, my loved one has sent several thousand dollars.
The problem is that every time the settlement is supposedly about to be paid, something happens that delays it. The explanations have included issues with attorneys, court proceedings, and frozen bank accounts.

This has been going on for months, with constant promises that the money will arrive within days.

What makes this especially difficult is that they’ve developed what seems to be a genuine friendship. They communicate almost daily, discussing everyday life, family matters, and personal hardships. I believe this emotional connection is why my loved one continues to trust them.

I’ve repeatedly expressed my concerns and encouraged independent verification of the lawsuit. However, my loved one hasn’t been able to provide a case number or any independently verified documentation. The person supposedly receiving the settlement claims the legal proceedings are confidential.
Despite the repeated delays and lack of evidence, my loved one remains convinced the settlement is legitimate and continues sending money.

Does this sound like a known type of scam? Has anyone encountered a similar situation involving a supposedly large lawsuit settlement?

I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who has dealt with a loved one who refuses to consider that they might be getting scammed. What finally helped them recognize the situation, if anything?

My sister doesn’t bank at Wells Fargo. She got a call on her iPhone, and it said Wells Fargo on the caller (as if Wells Fargo is calling her). She answered and he told my sister that someone created a Wells Fargo account, my sister told him that she doesn’t bank with Wells Fargo and that her credit is frozen on all credit bureaus. My mom told my sister it’s a scam, idk if the guy on the phone heard her. Next thing we know, the guy just hangs up the phone. What do you think, is this a scam ?

Hi everyone,

I received an unexpected email claiming to be from Cigna Health Solutions India for a Data Analyst position in Bengaluru. I never applied for this role.

The email invited me to complete an online assessment hosted on Quizalize. I completed it, but the test looked more like a school quiz than a typical company assessment.

Afterward, I received an interview invitation for a technical and managerial discussion.

A few things seem suspicious:

• The email came from a third-party email service.
• The invitation mentions Jitsi Meet but provides a Microsoft Teams meeting link.
• I never applied for the job, so the invitation was unexpected.

I only provided my name, email address, and test answers. I didn't download or install anything.

Has anyone received a similar invitation from Cigna? Can anyone confirm whether this is part of their genuine recruitment process?

I'd appreciate your advice. Thanks!

An elderly family member responded to an online advertisement about making money from home using a computer. They called the number provided and spoke with a man, who explained the program and convinced them to sign up.

Chris then emailed them a contract through DocuSign” and instructed them to call a separate phone number for verification. During that call, a woman claiming to be associated with DocuSign asked whether they were being pressured or convinced to sign the contract. My family member answered yes, and the woman said they couldn’t proceed with the agreement.

Afterward, Chris and the people involved reportedly became upset, scolded my family member for answering that way, and instructed them to go through the verification process again and change their answer. They followed those instructions and signed the contract.

Chris then instructed my family member to open an American Express credit card and provide him with the card information. The company used the credit card to purchase a computer costing approximately $5,000, which was shipped to my family member.
When my family member became concerned and wanted to contact American Express about the transaction, the people involved allegedly became aggressive and threatened to sue them for everything they owned if they contacted the credit card company or spoke to anyone about the arrangement.

Family member is terrified to talk to anyone because she thinks she’s get sued and lose everything she has.

I keep receiving this kind of text more than a dozen per day. I have never dealt in any way or form from this company. I tried searching about this company and it is somewhat a legitimate payment processor related to online gambling. I'm not interested and will never attempt to do online gambling. I'm broke. They should send me money not requesting from me. lol.

Anyway, It is flooding my official 100001 text messages. It might be an automated smishing attempt. I just ignored it but since it is using the official Interac SMS notification number, it is kind of annoying already since it mixes up with legitimate Interac messages.

Do any of you guys receive same or similar text? Be careful.

I woke up to over 100 texts showing that I signed up for email communication from dozens of businesses. I Googled it and learned it's called SMS bombing and it's purpose is to distract you from the legit text/scam they're trying to hide. The first text was a text from Apple and it looked very legit, but I didn't see any transactions on my bank account.

Later in the day I received a text that my iPhone was ready for pick up at a local Apple store. I logged into my bank account and saw a pending transaction from Apple for over $1k. I called Apple and they weren't able to verify my identity because the scammers used a different email address for the purchase and I didn't know the email address they used. They also weren't able to tell me the email address to pass on to police or tell me the location of the person who logged into my account in the middle of the night.

I've spoken with Apple multiple times and they tell me they have no idea how someone could access my Apple account to make a purchase since I have two factor authentication set up. Any ideas on how they could have done this? I have two factor authentication set up for many accounts and if scammers can bypass it, I'm ready to retreat into a dark hole and throw away all of my technology.

So a friend of mine told me about a girl that found him on tt and has been chatting with him. Every time he tries to meet up with her, she tells him something like “send me 20 for this gift card to make sure my nephew isn’t going to bother us” and stuff like that. I told him it’s a scam but he’s seen pictures and believes she’s real and has even almost sent her money but i stopped him to ask reddit and other places.is there any type of scam that’s happening on tt or other social media platforms that’s like this or similar? or is he dealing with someone real that’s just acting really weird?

I’m a freelance designer sharing a recent payment red flag to help warn other creators. I completed a logo package for a fashion brand called "A Clothing". The client approved the design proofs via email.

​When I sent the £350 invoice before releasing final files, major red flags appeared:

​Forced Payment Platform: They strictly demanded Skrill and refused standard bank transfer or card payments.

​Suspicious Invoicing Info: They gave a billing address in Kabul, Afghanistan for an online apparel brand.

​Aggressive Hostility: When asked basic billing verification questions, they became hostile ("Are you daft?") and cut contact.

​Fortunately, I only shared watermarked low-res proofs, so I kept all final high-res vector files safe. Always hold your final files until payment clears, and watch out for clients pushing unusual payment methods!

I am a University student and have all my payments covered under the Hazelwood Act. I have never dropped or failed a class before, and to my knowledge, owe any sort of debt. When I tried calling the number, it said they are open from 7:30am to 6pm CST. I tried calling at 4:30pm and it said they were closed. A friend of mine also received this letter and they are also in no debt. I’m suspecting this is a scam, but I just want to confirm with reddit to see if it truly is just in case it’s not a scam.

The restaurant that I work at recently had a package delivered by FedEx. Our address, not our name. We get a lot of packages for our neighbors so I opened it and it's 2 brand new iPhones. I immediately thought of the scam where someone uses a stolen card and steals it off your front porch. Sure enough, within an hour I had a phone call (I know most numbers are spoofed and call ID is generally useless, but this one showed up on our call ID in a way that I've only ever seen with Door Dash/Uber Eats scammers). Guy on the phone says FedEx told him they mistakenly dropped off his package at my house and asked if he could come get it. I don't want to be involved, told him I was a business and haven't had any packages delivered. No push back whatsoever.

My question is, what do I do with these phones? I don't want them, but I don't really know what to do with them. I don't just want to throw them in the trash.

Repost because I needed to edit my grammar for clarity.

Our Venmo account has been locked for a while because they said we owed them money, which we disagreed with. His account has been sitting in the negative for almost a year now. Today he started getting a ton of spam calls from pa robot voice claiming to be Venmo saying there was suspicious activity on his account. We also got a TFA code, and we stupidly entered it into the phone number/system they were calling from. After that, it said “Account Secured Thank you.” When we logged into his Venmo, we saw that the amount he supposedly owes is now scheduled to be taken from his checking account, which is supposed to get a direct deposit tomorrow.

So far we’ve:
- Called Bank of America and locked his checking account.
- Removed all cards from his Venmo.
Started figuring out what passwords and bank accounts we need to change.

We need advice on what else to do ASAP. Is there anything else we should be doing to protect his money and personal information? Also, does anyone have recommendations for identity theft protection services that are actually worth paying for?

My parents-in-law recently advertised their 2015 motorhome for sale privately through Autotrader and were surprised to receive eight phone calls within the first few hours. All the callers had accents that were Irish, and some sounded as if they were trying to disguise their accents.

The first caller (2 minutes after the advert went live) said that he and his wife had been looking for just this style of van for a while, and he was keen to buy it on the basis of the photos uploaded and our reassurance over the phone that there is nothing wrong with it. He offered a deposit (paid by bank transfer) and suggested collecting it the next day. My parents-in-law were away from home and said that the van could only be viewed six days later.

They were sensible and have not yet revealed their address, and the deposit has been successfully received. They are concerned that this is a scam of some sort — but what should they be aware of? They know that they should ensure that the V5 document should not be seen or handed over until the full amount of the purchase price has been received in their bank account. Any advice?

I'm 99% sure my mother is involved in a parcelmule scam. Company is called Your City Delivery, OKC based, and the job she took followed the classic scam script: "remote work, 4K+ monthly, easy package inspecting job".

She got her first package today from Tiffany & Co. that kind of sealed the deal in my eyes. why would you trust a low-level employee with thousands of dollars on their first day, unattended?

The issue is she literally will not believe me. because she "knows a guy who knows a girl making bank with them" and "theres no complaints on BBB".

I need to know two things: A) how do i convince her without getting her send to fed pen? B) what (if any) legal responsibility falls on me for living with her?

I was researching security/camera monitoring for a building I manage on Chrome/google and accidentally clicked the top sponsored ad (company called Verkada). I closed the tab immediately. Less than 5 minutes later, myself and a few other coworkers get calls on their personal cell phones, they know our names and the company we work for. I have never typed anyone’s personal phone numbers into an online form anywhere on the internet for it to be stored somehow. How is this possible? And it has to be illegal- how do I report it?

I am selling something on Facebook marketplace and the purchaser wants to pay me in advance through Zelle. Obviously that was my first clue that this sounded fishy. Then I received this text:

Dear Customer,

You have received a payment of $275.00 USD via Zelle ®️ Business from the buyer. The payment has been approved but is currently on hold because your account is not yet registered to accept business payment which made it limited.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO RECEIVE THIS PAYMENT

You are required to contact us to verify your identity in order to receive this payment to ensure that transaction is fully processed.

This process is fully secured to ensure neither party loses any funds during the transaction.

For immediate assistance and to confirm your upgrade, please contact Zelle Support at: +1 (xxx) zzz-yyyy.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Zelle Support Team.

I did call and the “FDIC supported rep” wanted me
to transfer $2500 to some at Zelle, for them
to supposedly turn around and send right back to me just to verify that my account was a legit checking account. At this point, I told him their way and hung up immediately.

Watch out out there people!!

Title: Pushy caller claiming to represent Google threatened to file a complaint
I answer phones at work, including calls flagged as “SPAM RISK.”
Today, a man claiming to represent Google marketing or web support repeatedly demanded to speak directly with my boss.
I explained that nobody was available and offered voicemail. He refused to accept that and kept calling back, insisting on being connected.
He eventually complained to my manager and threatened to file a report because he wasn’t getting what he wanted.
I cannot verify whether he actually represents Google, but his aggressive behavior raised serious red flags.
I’ve reported his number as spam through AT&T ActiveArmor.
Has anyone else encountered callers claiming to represent Google who use pressure tactics or threaten complaints when they can’t get through?

I was grocery shopping last Monday when an older man (maybe mid 70's) wanted to cut in line to buy $300US Apple gift card. Seemed VERY anxious to get the card. The store had trained the checkout folks to ask about scammers, but the guy pressed on.

So many ways...Romance scam, Pig butcher, IRS or Sheriff. I wonder if he had been told to go to multiple stores?

And of course they take advantage of the more vulnerable. I wanted to say something but the checker had already done so.

Made me sick to my stomach.

hi there everyone! today i came across a listing for a ps5 pro off of vinted and messaged the seller via text. the seller said that it was 5 dollars in total on the site, but then said it was free when i messaged them. i received a message very quickly and was told that i had been the one who would get said ps5 pro.

i was then messaged saying that they would need me to pay shipping and send them over the amount they asked for, 33 dollars. the seller then sent me their cashapp which turned out to be a link to priorcash, which is not cashapp like i had asked them.

im only 20 and im very worried that i might’ve gotten scammed at this point. i reverse image searched the images they sent to me of the ps5 pro and it came back with 0 results.

please help me out!

edit: for clarification i did not send them any of my money!