SCAM! SCAM! SCAM!

[old man emu]

With so much stuff being bought on-line and delivered by Auspost and various courier companies, it's a green field for scammers. 

 

This popped up in my Inbox this morning: (Click on the image to be able to read it)

 

Now, I'm expecting a parcel to be delivered by Austpost, so I clicked the <START CHAT> button which brought up a screen with something like those chatroom thingies. I should have twigged when I was asked to confirm the tracking number they showed. It didn't look like an Austpost number, but I am expecting a parcel from another reputable supplier , and that tracking number is not a typical Austpost one.

 As I went through it I was shown a picture of a parcel. I noticed that the parcel was blue - not the usual white that everything else that I get is. When I got to the bottom of the page, there was this:

 

Notice the last paragraph and the $3 fee. I did and immediately realised that this was a scam.

 

As I was writing this post, I decided to click that red button. and this is what I got

 

The cruncher came when I looked at the sender's email address

HTTP//          .ninjaboywonder.com/14191/110345?tc=9489dceef41244c5ab093b1cfdfaecdc&aff1=10-3991&firstname=&lastname=&address=&zip=&city=&email=&phone=

 

 

[red750]

The red flag was there in the first image...     DISTRIBUTION CENTER .   Aus Post should say Centre. At least enough to make you wary.

[octave]

1 hour ago, red750 said:

The red flag was there in the first image...     DISTRIBUTION CENTER .   Aus post should say Centre. At least enough to make you wary.

 

Yes we have been getting loads of text messages claiming there is a parcel for delivery.  The first sign of a scam is the interesting spelling.    I had one that claimed to be from DHL.  You would expect a link from DHL would contain that name but these links are clearly not from that company.  I wonder how many people fall for it a click on the link. 

[Dax]

20 minutes ago, octave said:

Yes we have been getting loads of text messages claiming there is a parcel for delivery.

I never get anything like that, some times get a call from an unknown number, which never answer and they never call back, once or twice had a supposed voice call from an unknown number but never respond, but never txts.

 

I put that down to never doing anything through my phone, except a small bit of online searching and even if someone got into my ph, they would find nothing as there is nothing of my personal life in my phone. I use signal for communicating, because it's open source, highly encrypted and being a Linux Ph and not android or apple, it's extremely safe and secure.

 

Same with computing, never get any scams or spam, use Linux which is extremely safe and there is nothing personal on my computer either, other than some photos which give nothing away as they are all non personal and stored on a separate drive. If you knew my name and searched for it on the net, you'd find nothing as everything I do online is done incognito, even with banking, totally private and secure.

[octave]

10 minutes ago, Dax said:

I put that down to never doing anything through my phone, except a small bit of online searching and even if someone got into my ph, they would find nothing as there is nothing of my personal life in my phone. I use signal for communicating, because it's open source, highly encrypted and being a Linux Ph and not android or apple, it's extremely safe and secure.

 

A lot of these use random numbers so it is very much the luck of the draw.  I did get one from Craig Kelly (who is using random number generation)   Hacking Kelly: how to let Craig Kelly, spammer, know how you feel

 

I don't bother answering my phone if I do not recognize the number, if it is important they will leave a message.  I tend to use text much more than voice calls.   Don't really get internet scams and the few I get are pretty obvious.  

[red750]

I've had a couple from Craig Kelly which I delete without opening. This morning I got a call on the mobile that said No Caller ID. I answered it and got beeps. 10 seconds late the house phone rang, but it goes to voicemail after 4 rings. There was no message left, and when we checked the last number, it said Anonymous.

 

You can enter any unknown number into your address bar and it may tell you if it's a known offfender. It may just list similar numbers. Australian Reverse Loop.

 

I also get lots of spam emails, but my wife gets 50+ daily. Even when you unsubscribe they don't stop. Some are vile - African Mens Secret, Get Harder Longer, Make Her Moan, Squirting School are just some that she gets, along with the bitcion, Kogan and other garbage. 

[old man emu]

Yeah, the random number generator method usually involve a call to your phone. If you answer, then the software records the number as a live connection. The operators of the software sell off the lists of live connections.

 

I didn't notice "center", but that is a kown trick of our minds. If the pattern of the letters approximates what we know the correct spelling to be, then out minds accept it and carry on.

 

What I hate is that these callers have forced us to attach phones to ourselves at all times, especially if you are separated from family, or if you have asked people to make on-going enquiries and are waiting for a result. Now I have to have my mobile and my cordless phone outside with me at all times so I don't miss those important calls. What peeves me is that if I have walked outside and forget to the the phones with me, I have to drop everything and raced back inside before the phone stops ringing, often only to see that it's obviously one of these annoying calls. 

 

The one that makes me laugh everytime is the one with the Australian woman claiming to be calling from NBN about the connection being cut off. Who doesn't know that the NBN company never deals directly with consumers? I can accept some amoral Asian making these calls, but an Australian doing it is positively not Aussie. If she's found, she should be tried for giving aid and comfort to the enemy, like Lord Haw Haw or Tokyo Rose.

[octave]

My wife got a text saying a warrant had been issued for her arrest and that she should click on the link urgently.  

 

 

[red750]

The most repetative ones are the Indian accents saying "Did you receive the free gloes we sent you?" I told one caller "If I get hold of you I'll stick the phone and your globes up your ar5e."

[Dax]

34 minutes ago, red750 said:

I also get lots of spam emails, but my wife gets 50+ daily. Even when you unsubscribe they don't stop. Some are vile - African Mens Secret, Get Harder Longer, Make Her Moan, Squirting School are just some that she gets, along with the bitcion, Kogan and other garbage. 

As soon as I changed to linux, porn, adverts, pop ups, spam emails all stopped. Linux systems don't steal your data then sell it to morons, or leave your system wide open to intrusion, or hacking. Plus I use safe email providers not associated with microsoft and it's the same with browsers, without microsoft, apple or android, your systems are safe and private in every way and linux/unix runs more than 90% of computing on the planet and 100% off planet.

[Marty_d]

I know Google use your data (who doesn't these days, apart from Linux as Dax says) - but their Gmail is brilliant at getting rid of spam.  I've been using it pretty much since it started - 15 years or so - and don't get spam.  It all goes to a "spam" folder and auto deleted every so often, so I never actually see it.

Edited September 8, 2021 by Marty_d

[old man emu]

Dax, you might have the time to install Linux as your OS, and to search for install Linux-adapted software, but for the majority of us the OS is not relevant as long as when we boot up the CPU, the software we need to use loads and functions. 

 

If the nasty people at Microsoft and Apple are responsible for sending your information to these annoying people, how do you explain how people without computers still get unwanted phone calls?

[pmccarthy]

We have speakers with Google and Alexa on them for music. I have no doubt they are listening, because we often get related advertising on Facebook within an hour or so of discussing something. Doesn't really bother us, but it amuses us.

[octave]

2 minutes ago, pmccarthy said:

We have speakers with Google and Alexa on them for music. I have no doubt they are listening, because we often get related advertising on Facebook within an hour or so of discussing something. Doesn't really bother us, but it amuses us.

 

I agree although as far as I can tell that doesn't happen to us at least so far.   We made a game of saying to each other many times a day things like "It would be great to visit Paris" and various versions of that.  Nothing (I was disappointed. )     Targeted adverts are no problem for me and in fact often useful.  I find it odd that people are less bothered by an ad for a product they would never use.    I do  resent the ED ad I some times get "Stiffy in a Jiffy"  I can assure everyone that it is not based on any search I have done. 

[octave]

Just now, octave said:

I do  resent the ED ad I some times get "Stiffy in a Jiffy"  I can assure everyone that it is not based on any search I have done. 

Wait, perhaps a search my wife did!

[Fliteright]

Been around for ages these scams, Ive had several as I buy a lot of shit off Ebay etc, delete is yr friend:-) If you get porn stuff you've been naughty behind the scenes:-)

Edited September 8, 2021 by Fliteright

[Dax]

23 minutes ago, old man emu said:

Dax, you might have the time to install Linux as your OS, and to search for install Linux-adapted software, but for the majority of us the OS is not relevant as long as when we boot up the CPU, the software we need to use loads and functions. 

It takes less than 30 minutes to load a linux distro into your computer and it comes with the latest software, covering everything you need and at no cost whatsoever and there is software for anything you want to do, all free.  You can download a distro, put it on a USB or DVD and try it out before installing, without hassling your current system at all.

 

It's light years ahead of windows, which still uses last century code and that's why it constantly fails. You own your linux distro, you rent your windows and apple and they can shut it down any time they want. Examples of that is their failure to support older systems and trying to force people to their latest distribution including having to buy new hardware so you can run the latest windows. Linux is the opposite, it caters for all types of computers. I run old desktops and laptops which are well over 15 years old and they operate flawlessly. There are specific distros for just about any thing you want, I know of many companies who run exclusively on linux and never have a problem. Linus runs over 90% of all computing on the planet and 100% off planet communications and equipment.

 

37 minutes ago, old man emu said:

If the nasty people at Microsoft and Apple are responsible for sending your information to these annoying people, how do you explain how people without computers still get unwanted phone calls?

If you have an android ph google and don't turn off all the google stuff and get you add ons from the google play store, they have access to your system and constantly track you and sell your date to others.  If you have an apple phone, same thing. You can turnoff most of google stuff and get your add on's through APK, which doesn't track or collect your data. I have a linux ph, so no one has access to it but me and as I do all my ph stuff through Signal, no one gets nothing.

[old man emu]

Getting spam and unsolicited phone calls is something that you learn to put up with if your use of the Internet is limited to participating in sites like this one, or using Youtube for whatever you need. However, you must remember that Microsoft and Apple operating systems are the lingua franca of digital communication.

[Dax]

55 minutes ago, old man emu said:

Getting spam and unsolicited phone calls is something that you learn to put up with if your use of the Internet is limited to participating in sites like this one, or using Youtube for whatever you need.

I watch an old western on youtube almost every morning and watch youtube music videos most nights. Don't get any unsolicited calls or spam from anyone. Never get email spam, phone spam, or anything else I don't want.

 

1 hour ago, old man emu said:

However, you must remember that Microsoft and Apple operating systems are the lingua franca of digital communication.

Only in the desktop, linux has about 95% of all phone communications, closed to 90% of all major world servers, runs all your smart devises, Ev's digital equipment, all off planet computing, most of the major media companies on the planet and just about all CCG;s you see, are all linux. Then there's major scientific organisations, military, weapons systems, aircraft and just about anything else that uses computing. NASA uses windows on the ground, because of their contractual obligations and to support USA junk. But off planet they all use linux. There are over 100 linux distributions, many are designed for specific uses. There are state of the art DAWS, CCG, scientific, retail, any business manufacturing, Pure CAD distros and many many personal distros that suit any ones taste. If you are good enough, you can customise it to what ever you want it to be. I run a number of distros, Ubuntu studio, Mint, Ubuntu server, Kali, Puppy, all for different computers and of course my phone, CalyxOS.

[spacesailor]

BUT

Can you put All those Linux distos on one computer? .

Long ago l had microsoft & Applemack on a PC that was series connected to separately powered hard drives. ( daisy chain )

FOUR HD,s, plus the one inside that had to be switched off when using the other HD,s

spacesailor

 

Edited September 8, 2021 by spacesailor
More added

[Dax]

9 hours ago, spacesailor said:

BUT

Can you put All those Linux distos on one computer? .

Yes if you want to and they are all compatible with each other, plus they are compatible with windows and you can run most windows software in every linux distro with a thing called wine, or now play on linux in many distros. I'm pretty heavily into music and video production, so have different computers for different things, except for my production computers, they are all at least 10 years old and do a number of functions for me. Have two computers in my studio, one runs the house, another my servers and one in my workshop.

 

Made a mistake in my last post, Linux does not control 95% of phones, it controls 100%, apple and android are both linux/unix, the windows phone is dead because it was a complete flop.

[nomadpete]

Dax, I'm curious about your Linux phone. When I did a quick search, it seemed that there are very few Linux phones on the market.

 

I'm looking to replace my chinese phone (never get one from there again), but I'm holding out until 5G catches on. Couldn't find a 5G Linux phone.

[Dax]

1 hour ago, nomadpete said:

Dax, I'm curious about your Linux phone. When I did a quick search, it seemed that there are very few Linux phones on the market.

There a few dedicated linux phones, those are very expensive and used by those wishing total privacy. Calyxos you download to your ph and install it over android, as do most linux ph distros. It allows me to have a system that is actually a desktop ph and can plug keyboards and monitors into it, plus you can interact with your linux desktop. Only certain types of ph will run it and that probably depends on the power of your ph, mine has 8g ram and 128g storage. What I like is it uses very little power, like all proper linux and I get days if use compared to the android ph I have that won't run calyxos because it is not powerful enough.  You can check it out at the link and if you search for linux ph operating systems, you will come across a few but I've found calyxos to be the best so far, but that will change as more and more experiment with linux phone systems. 

 

https://calyxos.org/

 

If you've ever heard of raspberry Pi, you will know the power of linux and there are now a number of systems that run on Pi and other similar systems on extremely small hardware that are fully functional. Linux is light years ahead of microsoft and apple, they are last century junk and you shouldn't have to pay for, get scammed, spammed, pop ups, adverts and have your data stolen and used against you in this day. When there are much more powerful and advanced computer easy to use systems that are free, you have full control over, so you get care free extremely safe and reliable computing and phone communications.

[Bruce Tuncks]

The only good thing about all this spam is that you get to treat genuine communications as if they were spam.

In the meantime, I blame the government...   for example, the ATO could do much more to do things differently and to publicise scams. Alas, the scammer is only too believable when they tell you that they are the ATO and that your name is on an arrest list etc.

Personally, I have no phone. When I have to fill in a number, I give them the wife's phone and tell them that she won't have a clue what they are talking about. As far as I know, I have never been rung up.

[pmccarthy]

Where I live (Central Victoria) you must carry a phone to use the Covid App. I didnt used to carry a phone but I have been forced to. Many businesses (including my barber) do not allow signing in on paper. That is because (I asked him) he can only have one customer in the shop with paper sign in but three with the app. So many shops just have a sign saying no app, no entry.