Scams like these

[ayebee]

Not replying to any specific post, but recently I have found this thread to be very informative.
Also there is concern this has evolved from laughable "nigerian" scams to many more serious and specific targeting.
So, thanks to all contributing here.

 

[SYD]

So I received an Apple survey email on my experience with iPhones. It appears to be legit, but totally out of the blue and some what random, so I just assumed it was a scam. What hope do we have…

 

[Forg]

National anti-scams centre set to open in July, as Australians lose billions to fraudsters​

'Hit squad' to target fraudsters as part of $86m national anti-scam effort

A national anti-scams centre is being established to help combat scams and online fraud, after Australians reported losing billions of dollars to fraudsters last year.

www.abc.net.au

 

[VPS]

I feel very blessed and honoured

Greetings to your personality

Greetings to your personality and much sincerity of this purpose. I am Mrs. Patricia Alamini, a Christian born on August 22, 1956 in Kenya. I had to contact you in this way because I want to get rid of a burden that is most important to me. Indeed, my heart is sick because I am affected by an illness that has been degrading my life for almost a year. According to the Doctor the Blood Ball that settled in the brain is at a very advanced level and therefore any surgery would be a failure in advance.I am afraid that the rest of my money will be about five million euros 5,000,000.00 Euros will be a mess after my death of course after a long reflection and through my prayers, I made this decision to contact you. This fortune better serves elsewhere and lets others benefit from it more in need than in care that actually only ruins my life. I want you to accomplish my wishes by building help centers, orphanages, hospitals and churches then keep 30 percent of it for your retirement.

I am currently in the United Arab Emirates Dubai receiving treatment but my health is not good therefore get back to me if you are ready to make good use of the money. I'm not always online due to my health and again money means nothing to a dying soul but life is for the living. Please treat this as very legitimate as I await your confirmation of your legal names, address and contact telephone number. My health is very bad now.

Regards
Mrs. Patricia Alamini
Dear beloved in Christ i trust

 

[prozac]

I feel very blessed and honoured

Greetings to your personality

Greetings to your personality and much sincerity of this purpose. I am Mrs. Patricia Alamini, a Christian born on August 22, 1956 in Kenya. I had to contact you in this way because I want to get rid of a burden that is most important to me. Indeed, my heart is sick because I am affected by an illness that has been degrading my life for almost a year. According to the Doctor the Blood Ball that settled in the brain is at a very advanced level and therefore any surgery would be a failure in advance.I am afraid that the rest of my money will be about five million euros 5,000,000.00 Euros will be a mess after my death of course after a long reflection and through my prayers, I made this decision to contact you. This fortune better serves elsewhere and lets others benefit from it more in need than in care that actually only ruins my life. I want you to accomplish my wishes by building help centers, orphanages, hospitals and churches then keep 30 percent of it for your retirement.

I am currently in the United Arab Emirates Dubai receiving treatment but my health is not good therefore get back to me if you are ready to make good use of the money. I'm not always online due to my health and again money means nothing to a dying soul but life is for the living. Please treat this as very legitimate as I await your confirmation of your legal names, address and contact telephone number. My health is very bad now.

Regards
Mrs. Patricia Alamini
Dear beloved in Christ i trust

Bless her.

 

[OATEK]

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

I feel very blessed and honoured

Greetings to your personality

Greetings to your personality and much sincerity of this purpose. I am Mrs. Patricia Alamini, a Christian born on August 22, 1956 in Kenya. I had to contact you in this way because I want to get rid of a burden that is most important to me. Indeed, my heart is sick because I am affected by an illness that has been degrading my life for almost a year. According to the Doctor the Blood Ball that settled in the brain is at a very advanced level and therefore any surgery would be a failure in advance.I am afraid that the rest of my money will be about five million euros 5,000,000.00 Euros will be a mess after my death of course after a long reflection and through my prayers, I made this decision to contact you. This fortune better serves elsewhere and lets others benefit from it more in need than in care that actually only ruins my life. I want you to accomplish my wishes by building help centers, orphanages, hospitals and churches then keep 30 percent of it for your retirement.

I am currently in the United Arab Emirates Dubai receiving treatment but my health is not good therefore get back to me if you are ready to make good use of the money. I'm not always online due to my health and again money means nothing to a dying soul but life is for the living. Please treat this as very legitimate as I await your confirmation of your legal names, address and contact telephone number. My health is very bad now.

Regards
Mrs. Patricia Alamini
Dear beloved in Christ i trust

Always a Christian, always born in Africa, always has lost her loving hubby.
===
Re: Forg's reply from yesterday:
What will they do/can they do about >>>the fake visa (credit card and also immi visas) calls, the fake problem with internet/fake AFP/fake ATO/fake mygov./fake SAgov and all these?
My parents get a certain phone call, everyday like clockwork, around lunch time ADL time, from the "visa scam service line" or something like that.
Every weekday!

 

[Forg]

Re: Forg's reply from yesterday:
What will they do/can they do about >>>the fake visa (credit card and also immi visas) calls, the fake problem with internet/fake AFP/fake ATO/fake mygov./fake SAgov and all these?
My parents get a certain phone call, everyday like clockwork, around lunch time ADL time, from the "visa scam service line" or something like that.
Every weekday!

I’m getting Careflight calls every day now … am playing the game where I’ll donate again if they leave a message … but they won’t, so they miss out. And I don’t need all the waste of another teddy-bear made in CCP-land either.

But I digress … I agree, I don’t think they can do much at all. Maybe a Thing here and a Thing there, but not much. Government can only react, and being government will react slowly … by the time they get around to actually doing something, the scams will change. And the only things that work in any way are things that make everyday life more effort for everyone … 18-factor authentication before you can buy a 50c bag of lollies at the corner-shop.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Think that Careflight does exist, ie, its a real charity, but their (all charities) bombardment by mail/phone calls (allowed by law)/sms etc, should be call capped.
Re: charities and their "gifts", yes, that is another thing that irks me.
The buying and selling of donor data from one Aust charity to another.
And they have no shame, they won't admit they do it, but they still do.
And to them, its a legit expense, where as to me, the money should go to help the client of these charities, not to fatten the profit of the other charity, by a few cents per name and address of the/a donor of charity A, suddenly, without their permission, becoming a "donor" of charity B.

 

[OATEK]

Just before we went overseas at the end of March mrsoatek made a donation to the cancer council charity in response to a friend's recent illness. After 6 weeks away we have come back to find (so far) 12 letters from other charities. Coincidence? We don't think so.

 

[prozac]

Just before we went overseas at the end of March mrsoatek made a donation to the cancer council charity in response to a friend's recent illness. After 6 weeks away we have come back to find (so far) 12 letters from other charities. Coincidence? We don't think so.

And what I don't like is you are generally dealing with a 3rd party collector. Less than around 10% of your donation gets to the charity.
I prefer to pay direct to services like Flying Doctor and outback mobile dialysis organisation Purple House that manage their own collections.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Unless you specifically say, no selling of data, I think they feel its ok to make "extra" funds out of one donation.
My elderly father, who does not believe in donations, never donated to the Salvation Army.
I have for a long time, my dad had purchased things from the likes of Magnamail, and got a plea letter from the Salvos.
I have in about 5 years now, now, told them several times, that I am not ever increasing my amount to you, ie, Salvos, because you used the money I donated to buy data.
Aust charities I don't know why, but all of the authorising authorities in relation to charities and privacy, don't feel there is a need to tighten the buying and selling.
I even contacted the ACNC and they said, o, its not a part of their remit to narrow down the buying and selling of data, contact the consumer affairs commission in your state, bah humbug.
From a while back, when I get a "gift" from a charity, I write a terse letter.
You can tell from the envelope, a CM (charity mail envelope), from Strawberry Hills NSW will be it.
Just return to sender, not at this address anymore, might work.
===
Send a letter to the 12 charities and explain how you feel.
They might take you off their list.
If you keep quiet, they will keep sending said gifts, or even sell you data to the 1500 other Aust charities that are unscrupulous in this respect/regard, ie, buying and selling of data.
Yes, its $1.20 per envelope, $15 tops, but otherwise you will be "bombarded".

 

[DejaBrew]

I want you to accomplish my wishes by building help centers, orphanages, hospitals and churches then keep 30 percent of it for your retirement.

Now wait just a second... keeping 30% of the "...help centers [sic], orphanages, hospitals and churches" could actually net you a significant amount of ongoing revenue. Not to mention all the tax benefits that come from being a registered "charity"

 

[stm1sydney]

Now wait just a second... keeping 30% of the "...help centers [sic], orphanages, hospitals and churches" could actually net you a significant amount of ongoing revenue. Not to mention all the tax benefits that come from being a registered "charity"

To be fair, that's how most charities/foundations work. They are a profit-centre for the people who establish/run them. Just look at the Clintons.

 

[OATEK]

 

[Hvr]

View attachment 329364

I guess you'll just chill then?

 

[Skyring]

[Netflix deactivated stuff]

This would have to be one of the smarter scams I've seen.

A thinking person just picks up the remote and checks if Netflix is still working. They see it's a scam and don't press the button or waste any time on it.

A hasty or non-thinking person, on the other hand…

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

O, Skyring, lets not forget there are some on Youtube who take it upon themselves to do just that, and phone back scammers and waste their time, scammers time that is, so those scammers are not hassling victims.
My mum got a "package couldn't be delivered" at 2.17am yesterday morning, from an Aust 04 phone number.
Deleted by me later today of course, she didn't reply to it.
She does not order things from stores, so we knew it was a scam.

 

[MelMel]

Quite convincing except a) I’m not expecting any parcels and b) I logged into MyPost and nothing there

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Spoofing and overstamping of sms senders should be made harder under the fed govt's $10 m funding of their centre for anti scams, or what ever name they had decided.
Can't remember the name of the orgnansation.
But they have put it onto the tel comms to do the barring.
Bah humbug, its really us the end consumers who have to do the work, ie, block and delete where we can, or just delete.
===
Edit: just wondering where the lead would go, www.life(dot)com?
---
Double edit:
$86 million funding from the Aust govt for the Aust Anti Scam Centre under the ACCC.
Lots of money, that one.