ALMOST caught by telephone scam

So last evening, Monday, we get a landline phone call. The voice says, hey! Surprise! Guess who? The voice sounds slightly familiar, but I can't remember the name I'm thinking of. So, I ask, do you live in Montreal? Yes. Did you used to own a bar? Yes. Oh. I discreetly check with my wife and she says, it's Johnny. But she doesn't think it really sounds like him. [She knows him longer and better than I do.]

Anyway, turns out Johnny is coming to Ajijic the next day to look at a house a friend of his is selling. There were some early warning signals, like his friend's address was ours, but hey. It's confusing.

This morning [Tuesday] we get a phone call that he's in Mexico and about to go through customs and immigration [second ignored signal: they don't let you use cell phones then. ] Next thing we know we get another call that he's being held at customs because he had more than $10k in his suitcase and got the red light. Can I vouch for him. Sure. I explain who I am, and say I've know him a long time. No matter - he has to pay tax on the money - P$39,900. He doesn't have that, he 's not allowed to use the money in his bag as it all has to be carefully counted and paid back. ATM will only give him P$5,000.

We can rescue him if we go to an HSBC branch and pay the tax. I'm given an account number, and a phone number to call when it's paid. Now Diana, my wife, scribbles a note: Ask him how many children I have. I get back to "Johnny" and say, Look, I'm sorry, but this is a lot of money. How many children does Diane have? He mutters something like, Oh for crying out loud, and hangs up. Broken connection? I call back the number the "customs officer" gave me. He answers, and I say I want an office number. He gives me the same number Johnny called from.

The penny finally dropped, and the day was saved by my ever so clever Diana.

Moral: 1] don't play guessing games. 2] do a verification question right away. 3] be suspicious. 4] marry a smart woman.

Cheers,

Michael

You are not the only one. There is a lot of this going around. There is a thread about it on TOB called Creepy Phone Call.
Thank you for further spreading the word about this.

Some friends of mine received this phone call today.

Looks like Ajijic is the current target territory.

Use Caller ID, hamg up, don't engage. . .

We got the same customs scam phone call a few years ago saying that my brother in law was being held at the GDL customs,I called the aduana,they said it was a common scam and to ignore it.
Most of these calls originate from cell phones smuggled into prisons.

This has been going on for years locally. They even sent someone to my house for credibility.

Z

We are a 'target rich' environment! jajaja

Trailrunner wrote:We are a 'target rich' environment! jajaja

Or "target naïve" at best and "target stupid", at worst.

I think naive describes most of those who get caught up in these. They have not lived in a world were being on guard and suspicious of others intentions is necessary. Luckily, they usually catch on in time to pull the plug.
Then there are the ignorant who just do not pay attention to the world around them and how it changes. They are content in their bubble where the world seems to be just fine. They sometimes slide over into willful ignorance. They are more likely to be taken in scams.
I choose to believe that the category of low intelligence is the much smaller percentage, but they are the true targets of the scammers and schemers. They can be talked into (or out of) anything. Bless their hearts as we used to say.

Having been almost caught I suggest we not judge too quickly. All it took for me to begin down the path was a moment's inattention, and the rest followed smoothly. I am not ignorant or, usually naive, but this time I slipped. Fortunately, we caught it before it was too late, and have done our best to spread the word.

Good catch Mike and nice job warning others. My friend almost got caught too until I warned him.

CanuckBob wrote:Good catch Mike and nice job warning others. My friend almost got caught too until I warned him.

Of note:  For many of those who are far from family, a call pretending to be a family member can knock people off center, whether naive, dumb, smart or senile.  (So far, I've been lucky.)  The smartest approach seems to be asking a question that only the real person would know the answer to.  

I've been emailed lately by a website called "My life.com" (which has been labeled as a scam). It tries to sucker people in by revealing a few facts about them and then trying to get them to sign up with a credit card to find out more about who's been looking for them, etc.  I read that some people have had much more deducted from those credit cards than the scammed ones intended. In my case, it was pretty easy to tell it was phony since the last address they had was one from back in the states over a dozen years ago.

Piracy is alive and well.

I think the caller is hoping to connect with an elderly person who has some dementia. They pretend to be your long lost friend. I have had the call twice and usually play along until the caller realizes I am jerking their chain and hangs up.

I answered an ad in the Ojo once for an African Gray parrot. After about 3 contacts I sadly decided they were scammers but decided to play along too. Pretty sure they were in Guadalajara. We got all the way down to me wiring them the money to Banco Azteca and they asked who the money would be coming from I said Mick Jagger. They didn't get it. I threw John Lennon in and they still didn't get it. I stalled with the money and they went on and on. Took them a long time to give up the ghost. They were not very bright.

I do wonder something about these calls though, are they cell or landline calls? Do they speak Spanish or English? If English, is it with an accent? And how do you think they are getting the phone numbers? I haven't had one yet.

Just in case you think you have heard them all, here is yet another way scammers have to part you from your money.

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2016/03/31/us-federal-court-you-didnt-show-up-for-jury-duty-scammers-slicker-than-ever/?utm_source=Naked+Security+-+Sophos+List&utm_campaign=01e1f7d7ce-naked%252Bsecurity&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_31623bb782-01e1f7d7ce-454800057

A little off topic but scam related.
3 weeks ago I clicked on an ad for flashlights that I saw on the CNN website,when I saw the price,50 usd,I clicked off,1 week later I recieved 4 flashlights from Switzerland via Correos Mexicano.
They were sent to "Bank America"to my address in Guadalajara.
I never provided ANY personal data.
How in the hell did they get my address??
I called BoA but they said I'd have to wait until the charge showed up on my account to dispute it,which it hasn't yet.
One week from Switzerland to Guadalajara??
The company is LightStrike 360.
Any techies out there know how they could have gotten my address?

Was there a return address? What was the postage on the package and how much was paid to send the package and from where?
Maybe stop by Correos Mexicano and ask them if they know anything. Report mail fraud and see what turns up?
Very disturbing story.

The return address is in Zurich Switzerland.
Don't see any postage fees,one of the things that amazes me is the one week delivery time.
BTW,they're great flashlights but there's no way I would spend $50 on a flashlight,let alone order 4 of them
Here's another twist,yesterday I filed my FBAR,filling out the form my address came up automatically, but my first name came up "bank"and my last name "america"....WTF

You might have some malware on your computer.

Ok. . .
+ 3 weeks ago you clicked on an ad and clicked off. Was this on the same computer you do your banking? Same computer you use to pay your FBAR?
+ 1 week later and 2 weeks ago you received a package with 4 of the same flashlights. You say 'via Correos Mexicana', did you receive it in your PO Box, did the correos guy on his bike hand it to you at your house, was it in your mailbox or garage at your house? How do you know it came Correos???
+ You say the package had no postage fee stamp on it but a return address in Zurich. Was there any postage stamp on it at all? If so, what does it say? What were the stamps?
+ Can you describe the package and packaging of flashlights? Was the flashlight packaging authentic looking, print in German or Swiss or?
+ Your credit card has not been billed for the purchase and your cc is BofA?

NO WAY did a package get mailed to you from Zurich for free, containing 4 flashlights for free - in 1 week. No way. Something else is going on and it sounds as if you've been hacked. And maybe by someone who is nearby.

Canada_Mike wrote:Having been almost caught I suggest we not judge too quickly. All it took for me to begin down the path was a moment's inattention, and the rest followed smoothly. I am not ignorant or, usually naive, but this time I slipped. Fortunately, we caught it before it was too late, and have done our best to spread the word.

Thanks Mike. Yesterday we got a scammer call. When I put John on the phone the scammer promptly hung up.

The package was delivered by the moto guy from Correos Mexicano.I wasn't asked to sign for it.
The package was normal and inside was a card,"Thank you for being so awsome buying the #1tactical military grade flashlight...".
Yes the same computer.
I do believe that I've been hacked,that's why I called BoA the day after I received them.
No charges on my account so far,I check it daily..
It's pretty bizarre.

Playaboy wrote:You might have some malware on your computer.

How do I get rid of it?
I do have an anti-virus system installed on the pc already..