new scam
#1
to let there's a new scam that says amazon just charged 399 $ to your credit car push one if this is incorrect . think there trying to get credit card info.
Jim
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#2
When I get questionable eMails, I hover the cursor over the links to see what they actually are.

Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to work on the touch screen machines (iPad, phone). Any techniques?
David
Moderato ma non troppo
Perth & Exeter Railway Company
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#3
I get these on my landline about as frequently as I get those, "grampa"  or "IRS" scams. Anytime you have to give your credit card number to someone that calls or sends you an email, it's a scam. Big clue, look at caller ID and the number is random and has nothing to do with your credit card company. Another clue is they way they say the numbers, "three, nine, nine, point, nine nine", like really official sounding they think.

I just called one of my credit card companies earlier today to report a false charge from Amazon, I'll let them deal with it. It wasn't a big charge, but sometimes a thief with your card number might charge something small to see if you spot it, then they'll go big. In my case, they are issuing me a new card number and will investigate the charge.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#4
I'd like to get rid of the one remaining credit card I have but it is really hard to function in today's world without one.
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#5
(05-01-2021, 08:34 AM)Tyson Rayles Wrote: I'd like to get rid of the one remaining credit card I have but it is really hard to function in today's world without one.

It's very difficult to get by without one. My problems is that I have way too many, but your credit rating can take a hit if you cancel any. Thanks to banks closing and store cards, (like Cabela's or Sear's), being sold to giants in the card business, I have a number of duplicates with the same card company. I asked them one time if I could merge cards, and they said I'd have to cancel one, again, risking a less than stellar credit rating. How important is a good FICO? Well, my last mortgage refi was a breeze and I got the best rate at the time thanks to a decent FICO score. I have a few cards that I may only use once in a month's time so if I have a problem with that card, I know where the source is.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#6
These days, it is safest to assume that just about everything is a scam until you are certain it is otherwise.  The cyber-security at the major corporations and places like Amazon is incompetent to defeat the barrage of hackers they get every day, and places like India and Pakistan are the among the biggest offenders.

Specifically addressing the Amazon issue, keep track of what you order.  If you don't remember ordering something, then you didn't.
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#7
You won't take a hit on your FICO for very long by canceling your cards. When I canceled several of mine my score went from 765 to 742. Within 6 months it was back to where it was and now 3 years later it is even higher. The main reason I keep the one card though is with my mortgage and car paid for it is the only regular payment I make (which I pay in full each month) and if you have no payments of that type your FICO will take a hit as no credit is worse that bad credit. The whole thing is a scam anyway as canceling your cards and lowering your debt should increase your FICO not lower it.
Nope Crazy Blaster Dodgy Curse
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#8
(05-02-2021, 06:33 AM)Tyson Rayles Wrote: You won't take a hit on your FICO for very long by canceling your cards. When I canceled several of mine my score went from 765 to 742. Within 6 months it was back to where it was and now 3 years later it is even higher. The main reason I keep the one card though is with my mortgage and car paid for it is the only regular payment I make (which I pay in full each month) and if you have no payments of that type your FICO will take a hit as no credit is worse that bad credit. The whole thing is a scam anyway as canceling your cards and lowering your debt should increase your FICO not lower it.
Nope Crazy Blaster Dodgy Curse

I have a few monthly charges, and yes, like you, pay my cards off every month. I do have some cards that I haven't used in years, one even lowered my limit because I wasn't using it much. How do they think lowering your limit is going to make you want to use it more? 35 You're right, this whole credit thing is a scam the way it works, but it's what we are stuck with. Just like, if someone has your bank account number, they can drain you account, yet every check you  write has it imprinted at the bottom for all to see, but the bank is not responsible.

How do you protect yourself, just not send money to a stranger that calls you, or as Jim pointed out, don't expect money back by giving your credit card number to just anyone that calls. Ask yourself, if they know there was a charge on a card, they should already know that card number. Ask them to give you the number. Why do we have to be so cautious to protect ourselves from scammers? Technology has changed the world, and not always for the good. Waiting
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#9
Hi gang
I use a card from a bank that has a program the assigns a virtual number when I use it on line. I assign a different number to each different vendor and that number is only good for that vendor so if someone gets that number, that is the only place that it works.  
I have had one card for over 30 years but I only use it once a year to keep it active. It is one of those cash back cards that didn't actually produce cash back on every purchase. The card I use I get 1.5% on everything including bills I pay so I use it, pay it every month and last year we got over 500 bucks back. It's nice to get money from them instead of the other way around, but you better pay it off every month because the interest will eat you alive no matter what your credit score. 
Charlie
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#10
Speaking of scams - here's a supposedly legitimate one. My local phone company has suddenly discovered that I am "not being charged the Frontier Internet Infrastructure Surcharge" of $6.99 a month. When I called them the danced around the question. I told them that I thought that was what I was already paying for. Not a happy customer.

Tom
Life is simple - Eat, Drink, Play with trains

Occupation: Professional Old Guy (The government pays me to be old.)
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#11
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, I will have to check my Frontier bill this month. I have been looking for an excuse to drop my landline and this may be it. I got rid of my satt. dish about a year ago and Frontier may be joining it.
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#12
We have a land line but it is through Straight Talk and works off Verizon cell towers. It plugs into a phone jack and you can add as many as 4 phones in your original jacks. We get unlimited nationwide calls for $16.38 a month (including the tax)  and it does work with our answering machine and they also have a voice mail that kicks in when the phone is busy. The quality is every bit as good as our AT&T land line was but it is a separate service and I set it up on auto pay. I am sure it depends on how good your home cell service is and ours here is not real good so they do a good job. We just switched to US Choice for cell phones which also use Verizon towers. My plan is 16.75 for unlimited talk and text and I only signed on for 1 GB data because I don't use my phone for data that often and most places have wifi. I could up it to 5 gb and still be under 20 bucks. Their family plan actually would cost way more so we went with separate services and kept our old numbers.

It's nice to not deal directly with Verizon and all their little add-ons for the bill. 
Charlie
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#13
There's an article in the AARP (old folk Icon_rolleyes ) bulletin about a guy that really knows computers and was able to turn the tables on these scammers. He gained access to their computers and monitored what the were doing and who they were doing it to. He also was able to use the cameras that they had installed to actually see them in action. Their scams run from the, "delivery ploy", to the "computer repair person", to scamming seniors that think they found a new love. He has been able to save many folks from sending big bucks to these scammers. It's just a pity that we have to be so vigilant not only on the Internet, but every time the phone rings.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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