[Tully]

About a week ago, my mom got a call from the government, saying that we'd been selected to receive a grant of $8000 or more (good news, since we're pretty short on money right now). The man who called already had a great deal of personal and banking information about our whole family, so my mom figured that he must be for real--I don't know why she wasn't more suspicious, but I digress. Anyway, they verified the information with my mom, and said that we were all set up for the grant. A couple days ago, a PayPal transaction of about $10 declined, which didn't make sense, because my dad's paycheck had just been deposited. So my mom when to the bank to check it out, and it turns out that some SOB took at least $5000--thank God it wasn't more, but it still sucks. I guess the morals of the story are that grants aren't given randomly, that you cannot trust people who have a "swell deal" for you, and, likewise, that if it sounds too good to be true, it certainly is.

 

[chicodude]

how did they get into your bank acount?

 

[Tully]

how did they get into your bank acount?

I wish I knew, but I would assume that they bought/stole/otherwise obtained the information from an online retailer from whom we have purchased something. But that's just a guess; I really have no freakin' clue.

 

[chicodude]

so, what does getting five grand jacked from you have to do with the grant? do you know who stole all that cash?


either way it still sucks

 

[MMike]

If your bank is worth anything at all, they will likely give you your $5000 back. My wife had her chequing account wiped out a few months ago. Somehow here aTM card had been cloned. All of a sudden transactions in Vegas started showing up. They took about $3000. But BECU gave it all back to my wife.

Also, almost a year ago now, someone charged $1800 CDN to my Visa. (Sony of Canada)....a weird coincidence that is was in Canada. But it wasn't me. BECU refunded my money.

 

[Tully]

so, what does getting five grand jacked from you have to do with the grant? do you know who stole all that cash?


either way it still sucks

The grant, of course, was a guise to get my mom to confirm the banking info, so that they could get into the account and credit card. We have no idea who stole the money, and probably never will, but fortunately, the bank is going to refund it all.

 

[Repack]

The grant, of course, was a guise to get my mom to confirm the banking info, so that they could get into the account and credit card. We have no idea who stole the money, and probably never will, but fortunately, the bank is going to refund it all.

I have heard of that scam. It was on the news in Boston. The scammers are able to get all but your most secure info- such as finding your CC number, but not able to get the security number on the back. They'll call you up and tell you any one of a number of storries. Then they start asking about verifying your info. They are telling you what the info is to make it seem legit. Then they pull the, "Oh, this is strange, we are missing this number..." Since they have alreay told the victim what their CC number is, the victim feels safe giving them the missing pieces.


Moral of the story: If it sounds to good to be true, it usually is.

Scams are scary. So far I know 2 people who have been contacted in regards to purchasing bikes as part of money laundering schemes. Both have been the "I'll send you $X,XXX via Western Union and you send me the bike and the change."

 

[mack]

dont do western union, and be weary of everything, if your not sure call pay pal to conferm, or in this case, uh, the government. Im not really sure how one would call the big G though.

 

[Tully]

I'm aware of all the crap going on with Western Union. I guess the one thing that gave away that it was a scam was that they offered a special deal with Verizon Wireless--which is rediculous, since the government cannot associate with a single company.

 

[BikeGeek]

Dude, that sucks. Glad you got the money back.

It doesn't matter now, but the only way I know of to get a grant is to apply for one.

 

[LordOpie]

i'm glad the situation is getting resolved.

But consider this... if someone can steal $5k from you, then you're not short on money.

 

[Knuckleslammer]

I don't buy sell anything used unless it's a or someone that is well known on any other forum I frequent. I don't release anything unless I have the money first, and when the Nigerians start on me, I give them my cell phone number and have a blast with them. Love that sheit. Remember nothing is free, nothing. Welp, I've sold a bunch of stuff to 's and others and have had no complaints, but it's money first, then ship product.
Knuckle

 

[Tully]

i'm glad the situation is getting resolved.

But consider this... if someone can steal $5k from you, then you're not short on money.

Most of it was on the credit card, which we don't often use, so it didn't decline.

 

[DR. Dirt]

damm boy