Every single day I get emails like the one above. Plus, I get texts from “UPS” or other delivery services that say they can’t deliver my package. It’s being held until I make a payment.
Of course, I don’t fall for them. But I wonder how many people do? Especially senior citizens, our youth or naive.
When I get the daily half dozen fake PayPal emails I forward them. Here are the instructions from PayPal — the real PayPal.
Phishing email/message
Received a suspicious email, or message or been directed to a fake website? Forward it to phishing@paypal.com and then delete it. We’ll investigate it for you.
Don’t reply, open links, download attachments, or call any listed phone number.
https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/what-are-common-scams-and-how-do-i-spot-them—help201
My friend in Santa Barbara does lots of errands for her next door neighbor who is older and has sight issues. My friend began to worry when she’d take her mail to the post office and realized she was mailing out dozens of letters each day addressed to sweepstakes. She discovered her elderly neighbor was mailing dollar bills to “win prizes.” She called the neighbor’s daughter who lives in another state and they finally put a stop to it. She would pick up the letters and pretend to mail them, but hold onto them, eventually returning the money.
Another scam I heard about happened during my daughter’s last year in college. One of her friends, who is book smart and was high school valedictorian, got a phone call from the “IRS.” He was instructed to buy Apple gift cards and mail them to an address that was supposedly the government agency.
He emptied out his college account, which had his last semester’s tuition of $1,200 and bought gift cards at the local grocery store. (Yes, he had several scholarships is why his tuition bill was so low.)
The cashier questioned him but he insisted on buying the cards. Then he mailed them.
You can only imagine the teasing he received from his college mates after that! Today this young man is a doctor. Yikes.
What scams do you see in your inbox? Have you heard of any other ones I didn’t mention? Are you worried AI will lead to more scams?
