Post by mailartist on Mar 26, 2018 17:25:37 GMT
A thread to discuss nuisance/criminal communications, regardless of media (telephone, email, snail mail, etc.):
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So I'll start:
So far this month, we've gotten mid-night prank phone calls (likely from "truth or dare" kid sleepovers), and a series of phone messages, supposedly from the US Internal Revenue Service, claiming a warrant issued for our arrest, and please call the following number to settle things, etc.
[Now, my understanding is that arrests are usually issued by uniformed humans on one's doorstep sporting badges and handcuffs -- not pesky robocallers -- so we ignored these calls. (And yes, we were once randomly selected for an RS audit, so we've had the detailed, regimented, and legitimate experience before. We are current and honest in paying all legal taxes.]
Those "long-lost relative, multi-million-dollar inheritance unclaimed" missives have long come through email (usually with misspellings, and usually ending up in SPAM before they're even seen), but today not only brought one to our snail-mail box, but one that "gave all appearances of" being foreign (from Canada), while obscuring any details as to where it actually came from.
There wasn't a separate stamp on it, just a printed "Postes Canada/Canada Post" bar, and the only marks on it were on the lower bottom, where the USPS put the zip code reading. No address or phone number on envelope or letter (the signature was scanned and so generic as to be illegible), but a request to contact some supposed "account manager" from a bank in Ontario, Canada, but at this individual's private email. (The email included this account manager's personal name, but it probably should have more accurately read "weirfelons@gmail.com").
I did an internet search for this bank (not even sure it existed), and it appears (from discussion boards) that they have a whole raft of "account managers" (extortioners?) of differing names, and a dizzying amount of unclaimed inheritances (all valued at $9.2 million dollars -- if you can imagine that ever happening).
No real news here, since we've all seen this drivel before, and been advised away from it. What was new was its appearance in snail mail, and with supposed foreign postage. It certainly doesn't look (in franking) like any other letter that's come from Canada (it looks so totally like typical bulk, postage paid US mail), so I am not convinced that this letter has ever seen foreign shores. BUT international letters do tend to capture people's attention, and get opened, so perhaps this type of thing will continue.
Anyway, criminals are becoming more creative/desperate, so be wise. If it smells stinky, then take a wide step around it. Or, as my mother always used to say, "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is."
EDIT: The US post office has a way to submit suspected cases of mail fraud. I reported this "bank" today.
______
So I'll start:
So far this month, we've gotten mid-night prank phone calls (likely from "truth or dare" kid sleepovers), and a series of phone messages, supposedly from the US Internal Revenue Service, claiming a warrant issued for our arrest, and please call the following number to settle things, etc.
[Now, my understanding is that arrests are usually issued by uniformed humans on one's doorstep sporting badges and handcuffs -- not pesky robocallers -- so we ignored these calls. (And yes, we were once randomly selected for an RS audit, so we've had the detailed, regimented, and legitimate experience before. We are current and honest in paying all legal taxes.]
Those "long-lost relative, multi-million-dollar inheritance unclaimed" missives have long come through email (usually with misspellings, and usually ending up in SPAM before they're even seen), but today not only brought one to our snail-mail box, but one that "gave all appearances of" being foreign (from Canada), while obscuring any details as to where it actually came from.
There wasn't a separate stamp on it, just a printed "Postes Canada/Canada Post" bar, and the only marks on it were on the lower bottom, where the USPS put the zip code reading. No address or phone number on envelope or letter (the signature was scanned and so generic as to be illegible), but a request to contact some supposed "account manager" from a bank in Ontario, Canada, but at this individual's private email. (The email included this account manager's personal name, but it probably should have more accurately read "weirfelons@gmail.com").
I did an internet search for this bank (not even sure it existed), and it appears (from discussion boards) that they have a whole raft of "account managers" (extortioners?) of differing names, and a dizzying amount of unclaimed inheritances (all valued at $9.2 million dollars -- if you can imagine that ever happening).
No real news here, since we've all seen this drivel before, and been advised away from it. What was new was its appearance in snail mail, and with supposed foreign postage. It certainly doesn't look (in franking) like any other letter that's come from Canada (it looks so totally like typical bulk, postage paid US mail), so I am not convinced that this letter has ever seen foreign shores. BUT international letters do tend to capture people's attention, and get opened, so perhaps this type of thing will continue.
Anyway, criminals are becoming more creative/desperate, so be wise. If it smells stinky, then take a wide step around it. Or, as my mother always used to say, "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is."
EDIT: The US post office has a way to submit suspected cases of mail fraud. I reported this "bank" today.