This is an annoying new form of spam....

cowman

cowman

Final Approach
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Cowman
Someone from a number I don't recognize texted me "I was sorry to hear of your father's leaving" worded exactly that way last week. Ok... he passed away 3 years ago so that's weird I wonder if.... hmm... lets see if they text anything else. Nope.

Then a few days ago this person started texting me the same 2 generic looking family photos. One doesn't even show the faces, just a generic silver haired man in a suit hugging someone at what appears to maybe be a wedding. Then another old photo of some kind of gathering in a home... not one person I recognize in there.

Of course, on the off chance someone I'm related to and don't know about was texting me it wouldn't be from that area code..... the one where I got my cell phone years ago after moving across the country from home.

I assume this is some bait, they send me generic photos and try to sell me an album or that they're a distant family friend in trouble who needs cash or something. I am somewhat curious but I don't want to confirm a live phone number for them by replying.
 
I'm sure your just waiting ,to find out how much money needs to be sent.
 
cowman said:
Someone from a number I don't recognize texted me "I was sorry to hear of your father's leaving" worded exactly that way last week. Ok... he passed away 3 years ago so that's weird I wonder if.... hmm... lets see if they text anything else. Nope.

Then a few days ago this person started texting me the same 2 generic looking family photos. One doesn't even show the faces, just a generic silver haired man in a suit hugging someone at what appears to maybe be a wedding. Then another old photo of some kind of gathering in a home... not one person I recognize in there.

Of course, on the off chance someone I'm related to and don't know about was texting me it wouldn't be from that area code..... the one where I got my cell phone years ago after moving across the country from home.

I assume this is some bait, they send me generic photos and try to sell me an album or that they're a distant family friend in trouble who needs cash or something. I am somewhat curious but I don't want to confirm a live phone number for them by replying.
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I may be 'an old grouch' but I have only a cell phone that I bought for my convenience, not that of spammers. Friends and relatives with whom I wish to speak are logged as friendly on my ten year old flip phone. Unidentified callers are presumed to be some sort of scam. I don't need that but I realize those running a business have to answer in case the caller should be a potential customer.

The scammers are having a ball baiting suckers. The prey on the old and infirm and are raking in millions in the process. It should be legal to shoot them on sight.
 
cowman said:
Someone from a number I don't recognize texted me "I was sorry to hear of your father's leaving" worded exactly that way last week. Ok... he passed away 3 years ago so that's weird I wonder if.... hmm... lets see if they text anything else. Nope.

Then a few days ago this person started texting me the same 2 generic looking family photos. One doesn't even show the faces, just a generic silver haired man in a suit hugging someone at what appears to maybe be a wedding. Then another old photo of some kind of gathering in a home... not one person I recognize in there.

Of course, on the off chance someone I'm related to and don't know about was texting me it wouldn't be from that area code..... the one where I got my cell phone years ago after moving across the country from home.

I assume this is some bait, they send me generic photos and try to sell me an album or that they're a distant family friend in trouble who needs cash or something. I am somewhat curious but I don't want to confirm a live phone number for them by replying.
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How can you be so suspicious of my texts to you? I'm just trying to be a friend...
 
I've gotten a few of those. Delete, done.
 
Maybe I'm a foolish optimist, but it could also be an innocent mistake. Tacky, but innocent. Of course, if you respond at all, you confirm a live number. Probably not worth it.
I was getting work-related texts on my company cell phone - for a different company. I finally clarified things when they said they needed me to buy stuff for the company picnic! That was innocent, but rare.
Far more often it's spoofed numbers - the person at the number may have no clue what's happening.
 
Zeldman said:
There is an email going around talking about the value of pork, salt, water, potato starch, sugar and sodium nitrate.

If you receive this email, don't open it because it's spam.....
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Maybe cut down on the happy pills...
 
Anymouse said:
Try googling the number. If it's a spam, more than likely others have reported it as such. There are several sites that do this.
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Not necessarily. Spammers often spoof non-working and even real numbers. I got a voicemail last week from Allstate in Mt Clemens, MI "returning your call". I actually called them back to find out if it really was Allstate, and it was. Since I had never called them, it's pretty clear what was going on there... :mad2:
 
My phone still has a number from my former home state, 1300 miles away. The "spoofed" calls almost always show the phone's native area code and prefix, with the last four digits random. Anybody in that town I care to talk to is already in my contacts list, so if a number from that area code shows up without a name, the call doesn't get answered.
 
Yep, about two years ago the scammers figured out how to spoof caller ID. Actually, it's always been quite simple. There's no security in it. The number is generated by the originating phone company. Back when you had a few well placed wire carriers and cell phone providers, there wasn't much opportunity for abuse. Now anybody pretty much can play the game. I can call you right now with any number I want to appear on your end. Note that only the number is transmitted. It is YOUR phone company that takes the number and looks up the name to go with it on their end.

Texts is a bit harder to spoof, but not as easy to trace.

Most of my calls don't get past the "Press 1 for Ron / Press 2 for Margy" prompt that our phone numbers have on them.
 
I've started getting, several a day, spam messages and invites on Google Hangouts. "Hello handsome" and the like. Sometimes with pictures of tarts, cleavage included. No way to stop, but I delete and block. On Google forums I see "known issue" "working on it". Irritating.
 
I wonder whether the E911 systems are subject to the same vulnerability.
 
Zeldman said:
There is an email going around talking about the value of pork, salt, water, potato starch, sugar and sodium nitrate.

If you receive this email, don't open it because it's spam.....
Click to expand...

Groan...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Pilawt said:
My phone still has a number from my former home state, 1300 miles away. The "spoofed" calls almost always show the phone's native area code and prefix, with the last four digits random. Anybody in that town I care to talk to is already in my contacts list, so if a number from that area code shows up without a name, the call doesn't get answered.
Click to expand...
And that was the case with my spoofing incident too. I used to live in nearby St. Clair Shores, and my number has the same area code, same first three digits. In this case, of course, it wasn't MY caller's number that was spoofed, but MINE.
 
THIS is an annoying new form of spam:
maxresdefault.jpg


Nauga,
who eats like a raccoon
 
I got a voice message on my cell phone from a rather irate sounding older man saying that he didn't know what I was selling, but I'd better not call him again. Sounds like my cell phone number got spoofed. I didn't call him back to let me know that he was now part of the real world.

Now, that email I got from someone claiming to be in Belarus and threatening me with exposure of all my nefarious activities on-line if I didn't send them $320 via bitcoin (I think). That's one I may share with the FBI in case they have an active investigation running. I really have a problem with attempted extortion...
 
Nothing is worse than having some collection bureau get your number because some deadbeat had it before you (actually in my case he had listed it as his work number).

Then again, there's also nothing like having the f#*$&%T COUNTRY MUSIC TELEVISION asshats give out your personal number as the number to call to donate money to victims of the Nashville flood.
 
spam texts happen all the time - and you can spoof those numbers too.
 
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