Safety Warning: Spotting Scams
Share this info with anybody you think might be vulnerable to this type of scam.
I've seen about half a dozen posts today (on this forum and others) from people taken by task scammers using eBay's name. These scammers can mention eBay or any other company. Do not fall for it. Do not reply. If the messages come via text or email, use the "report junk" and "report spam" options made available by your service providers.
If someone tells you that you will be employed by eBay and eBay will pay you to share affiliate links, write reviews, survey products, process orders, or perform other basic digital tasks, this is a scam, and they are setting you up to steal from you.
The scammers will earn your trust with fake proof of their system, perhaps even let you withdraw very small payments. They may even connect with you through a video call to gain your trust. Once you're hooked they will tell you that you have to give them money to be able to withdraw more payments. They'll use made up reasons like tax withholdings, account verification, distribution fees and more.
This is called a task scam and it has nothing to do with the real eBay; it's run by scammers that are illegally using eBay's name. These scammers sometimes refer to the company as a variation of eBay VIP or eBay Mall, or they may tell you they work for eBay directly.
eBay doesn't recruit people to share affiliate links, write reviews, survey products, etc. No legitimate company pays for this type of "work."
If the scammers ask you to sign up for a cryptocurrency account, don't do it. Don't give them any money; you won't get any of it back. More info: https://malwaretips.com/blogs/ebay-job-scam/
wastingtime101
OP1 year agoThese always make me laugh - like what are the odds someone has a BoA account and uses FanDuel and will fall for this with a German website link and a "no subject" header in a text message. Well I guess the idea is someone thinks it's a fraudulent charge on their debit card for FanDuel, so they're supposed to click the phishing/malware link to "cancel." Still funny when the recipient doesn't have a BoA account.
simba6
·1 year agoThe old envelope stuffing scam updated.
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoI have the most fun with the one's purporting to be from the government, particularly Revenue Canada.
I usually just demand to speak to a francophone "comme mon droit d'une citoyenne canadienne"!
I can keep speaking (very bad) French for several minutes, although at times I have had to resort to the lyrics of Sur Le Pont d'Avignon.
If they get really annoying-
Works with banks too, since most seem to have HQ in Montreal, they should have francophone personnel available.
simply-the-best-for-you
·1 year ago@wastingtime101 You're right about the Task scam. It was just so good, I thought it might be relevant there, though most of the posts I see there are about the car scam. Great overview!
simply-the-best-for-you
·1 year ago@wastingtime101 Have you posted this to the buyer's board? Seems like a good place for it. Most of us get these constantly, but the buyers are the ones who seem to fall for scams a lot. Might be good to post this over there.
I get so many with my own name it's not even funny, both by phone & email. Those are the easiest to spot LOL. I do what @sin-n-dex does every time I get a CC company call that they are concerned about a tx. I always hang up & call THEM from the number on my card. They've all turned out to be legit, but better safe than sorry.
I've not run into the employment one, but I've been reading on Reddit about so many people who thought they were on real job interviews, some of them doing 3 Zoom 'interviews', luckily most get suspicious when they're asked for money. But what a horrible waste of time, energy & emotion if you're actually looking for a job!
wastingtime101
OP1 year agoNah. It's people looking to earn $ that fall for the task scam and most often those posts appear here on the selling forum from people questioning if it's real or not. Sometimes they appear on the payments forum as people that got sucked in want to know how to get paid before they learn it's all a scam.
I suppose I could post just the package scam & account scam images on the buying forum - maybe throw in info about car scams - but I don't think the task scam (meat of the OP) is relevant to the buying board.
I'll keep it in mind and maybe put a buyer-specific scam warning post on the buying board in Sept/Oct as we get closer to holiday and buying increases.
roccotacodad54
·1 year ago"But what a horrible waste of time, energy & emotion if you're actually looking for a job! "
Unless you're this retired guy (me) that relishes wasting as much of their time as I can before the scammers catch on and hang up on me. "Yes I downloaded the remote access software just like you said. the problem must be on your end." or "OK I've bought the gift cards like you said but I don't feel comfortable putting the numbers out there for someone else to intercept. Give me your address and I'll overnight them to you."
My wife says she can always tell by the twinkle in my eye (her words) and the slight tremor in my voice to make me sound even older if there's a scammer on the phone. LOL....Ahhh what fun I have...................LOL.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoI get the scam my 'payment declined...your Cloud is Out of Space'...sometimes 3 times a day.
Or...'Netflix...your subscription has ended"...usually every other day...LOL
And so on.
a_c_green
·1 year agoInteresting assortment of scam messages you have there. #1 is a task scam as you said. #2 is probably the nastiest of the three, as your accessing that third-party website triggers a malware download to your machine, with all the fun that can entail going forward. #3 is a straight phishing effort hoping to fool you into using your login credentials on a fake lookalike site.
wastingtime101
OP1 year agoHah, yeah I get a cornucopia of scam texts. I typically just tap "report junk" which auto-deletes the message, but I decided to take a few screenshots for this forum before deleting that group. Hope I hit enough variety to give people an idea of the various ecommerce-related scams they may see in their texts.
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@wastingtime101
I appreciate this post, especially the screenshots, which I forwarded to elderly family members as a red alert.
Unavailable member
·1 year ago@wastingtime101
Aside from those scams you posted there is another and it has to do with eZPass or tolls. The DMV never texts you if you have a ticket or your tolls aren’t paid you get a letter in snail mail. I received dozens of those texts over the course of the past 6 months.
This is just one of the texts I received. Every single one says Final notice.
I also get the package scam texts too.
wastingtime101
OP1 year agoIndeed @ebooksdiva . I receive more motor vehicle and bank scam texts than any other.
kensgiftshop
·1 year agoI get a lot of scam emails for banks and web sites I've never even heard of.
sin-n-dex
·1 year agoI've gotten 407 ETR toll messages telling me to pay for the toll (kind of like what you show above), since I only drive on the 407 once in a while and they snail mail me a bill which I pay at the bank, I've ignored these texts.
C.
soh.maryl
·1 year agoLet's make a VERY strong suggestion here that anyone who receives any of these messages should go to a reliable source (here would be an example) and inquire about it before jumping into something, especially something that will cost them money.
kensgiftshop
·1 year agoI got a text message 2 days ago saying i owed $400 some dollars to turnpike fee's.
I haven't used the turnpike in probably 10 years.
These scammers are always coming up with ways to try and steal your money and it's amazing how many people fall for them.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoI got that one!
And here's the scary part.
I parked my motorcycle on sidewalk next to the post office...was only in there for one minute.
And a traffic person started to issue me a ticket for blocking sidewalk.
I wanted to say what about the homeless with a shopping cart on sidewalk but didn't.
I mumbled a lie...my motorcycle wouldn't start and slowly walked it to the end of block not looking back and rode off around the corner.
And so I thought it was a real text...I even went online on DMV...LOL
toysaver
·1 year agoAnyone dumb enough to think they can work an hour a day for $500 is beyond hope.
sin-n-dex
·1 year agoOn the subject of scams, I'll share the call I got from the "bank".
So I get a call from what appears to be my bank (their number is in the caller ID), they tell me they're from the fraud department and they want to know if I sent an eTransfer for $300 (that's a Canadian thing, I don't know if you have etransfers, it might be what Venmo is in the US...) I told them I didn't send one.
They said they blocked it and need to ask some questions to verify. (I will point out they knew my name and phone number when they called, and their number is in the caller ID so it looks legit).
I said "no you can't ask questions, I don't know that you're really calling from the bank", and then they disconnected immediately. I expect the next questions will be what's my first pet's name, mother's maiden name or whatever security questions are on my profile.
According to others who got further with the scammers, the scammers know your credit card or bank card number (because they stole the info from a merchant that you used your card with).
My take away on this is if someone says they're your bank, politely end the call and then call your bank.
C.
wastingtime101
OP1 year agoExcellent warning @sin-n-dex - thanks for adding. I hope others will do the same.
Scammers have no problem spoofing a number. Sometimes my phone rings, I look at the caller ID, and it shows my name.
Any time that happens it makes me think of the classic horror movie line ... the call is coming from inside the house! 😂 🔪