Am I being scammed?

[prowla]

Did you click on the link in the mail?
If so, they at least know you exist.

 

[Rib 13]

Scam Scam Scam Scam Scammity SCAAAAAM

 

[Knavery]

ALWAYS look at the reply to address. I get several of these types of things a day. 99% are scams. My email address was sold and spread around to some pretty bad people recently. It's impossible to stop it if you have it long enough. I just delete, delete, delete all day.

 

[BigBadBen67]

URL typo in the first one?

Yeah, "Paypal.com"

 

[Alkali Ike]

I get roughly 100 scam emails a day. The volume of these things has exploded recently. They seem to come in waves.

Do I win something?

Luckily my email client is 99.99% accurate at delivering them all to the Junk folder. All I do is a daily mass deletion, without looking at them. Yes I know there's a 0.01% chance that a real email will be misidentified as junk.

 

[superheavyfunk]

This morning I found in my e-mail something from this sender
">"FedExShipping..." <[email protected]>, purporting to be a notification of impending delivery and requesting a customs fee of $1.95. I went through the sequence of steps and got as far as filling in my personal information in the boxes, but then common sense took over and I did not submit the information but instead closed the e-mail. But it got me thinking.

I do have a weekend bass purchase through Reverb on which I am awaiting delivery, but it ships out of Moultrie, GA, and why would there be a customs fee on an item shipped from one adjacent state to another? And what kind of customs fee is a charge of only $1.95? And that sender address was starting to look suspicious.

So I logged into FedEx.com and ran my tracking number through their system. FedEx
could find no such number in their files. So, is this a scam, and did I compromise my personal information by filling in the boxes even though I did not hit "Submit"?

Generally speaking, if you think you might be being scammed, you probably are. Trust your gut.

 

[H K]

yes.

sorry I didnt even look at the ad at all, but if u have to ask

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Everyone should look at
Haveibeenpwned.com

 

[Hummergeist]

If in doubt, just don't answer them. If it's legit, they'll be in touch again.

 

[stigbeve]

Right after I read this I got this email:

Your email has been randomly selected for a donation from the Kirk Douglas Foundation, I am giving away to 5 random individuals. If you receive this email in your mailbox, your email has been selected. for more information about the donation, reply with the donation code: MW207143.

Sincerely
Michael Douglas
Douglas Foundation

 

[whero]

If I had a dollar for every scam email I got purporting to be from my national post carrier, or a local or international courier, well, I'd have so many extra dollars that I could probably afford to be scammed.

But yeah, that email address. If I get an email purporting to be from FedEx, and the email address is anything other than @fedex.com (or, locally, @companyname.co.nz, etc.), I'm backing out and clicking my email app's "report as phishing" button.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Right after I read this I got this email:

Your email has been randomly selected for a donation from the Kirk Douglas Foundation, I am giving away to 5 random individuals. If you receive this email in your mailbox, your email has been selected. for more information about the donation, reply with the donation code: MW207143.

Sincerely
Michael Douglas
Douglas Foundation

I'd ask what it was a donation of. It might be his navel lint from 1959 for all I know.

 

[Panek]

My best look suggests they are not, which means any electronics are going to have to be extracted through the f-hole. None of the pics show enough of the back to reveal a back panel, but I doubt there is one.

Man, those f-holes are really painted on. For realskis.

 

[sgiacomo]

Yeah, "Paypal.com"

Sorry man can’t help it my day job used to be application development!

 

[Barmy]

Sorry to read about papal.com in connection with scams. I'm disappointed that His Holiness would stoop that low.

 

[Ric5]

The other day I got a call on my cell phone saying my cell phone service was terminated ... My response was ... "I don't have a phone"

 

[Jeff K]

i don't know if you were "compromised" but i've gone as far as you did, didn't hit submit, and was overcome with the same "common sense" (scared - less! ).

my wife and i have been so inundated with scam "emergency notices" that i've learned to smell them coming...

logos that scammers have used on us include:
- UPS
- USPS
- FedEX
- paypal
- ATT
- amazon
- SSA
- and maybe a few others (?)

i got another one this morning from "amazon," in this case a repeat (from a different scammer than last time) --- "your account has been locked for suspicious activity" --- "follow this link now to unlock your account."

I've gotten that same Amazon scam email about 3 out of the last 4 days. I report and delete them, but they keep coming. I also get the Paypal one a lot...

 

[Ric5]

There is a joke I want to try on a phone solicitor some time ... When they call I warn them I have Turrets syndrome ... and then randomly yell profanity at them ... The problem is I am not mean enough to do it.

 

[GretschWretch]

Okay; you guys have persuaded me I need to upgrade my protections on my computer. I already have Microsoft Defender, Malwarebytes, and CC Cleaner, although I probably am going to drop CC Cleaner since they have added on a CC Browser which I do not want, especially if I have to pay for it.

So what should I change/add? It is not hard to find recommendations lists on Google; but competence, credibility, and bias of the reviewer come into play. This link seems a good place to start, although I am open to other suggestions not on the list.

7 Best (REALLY FREE) Antivirus Software for Windows in 2023

Free is nice, although I am perfectly willing to pay for a service as long as the subscription fee is not excessive.

I believe I still am running Microsoft 10, if that makes a difference.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Sophos, Eset, Bitdefender, Webroot.

As to free? Avast, Avira, Bitdefender

professional experience says steer clear of McAfee, Norton/Symantec , and Kaspersky