The Cellar / FBI Needs Help

**Posted by xoxoxoBruce** 12/26/2023 1:05 am

The internet has given crooks a bigger pond to fish in, and lots of suckers in it.
Most of the people who get taken say "I never thought it would happen to me"
Maybe it was that feeling that let them be fooled. There are cases where they get past the firewall.
Sometimes they can steal enough info to rob your bank or investments.
Some times the encrypt your files and hold them for ransom or blackmail with threats to publish your files.
BUT, an awful lot of thieves talk people into giving information they should never reveal.
They pose as government, bank, IRS, Ups/Fedex, Amazon, etc. When in doubt, don't.
The FBI wants information about any suspicious activities at https://www.ic3.gov/

I found them very friendly and helpful, they seemed grateful when I gave them your name.

**Posted by griff** 12/26/2023 8:38 am

Explains the ghost of J. Edgar on my porch last night.

**Posted by tw** 12/26/2023 5:30 pm

To see a potential sucker, watch so many who even buy coffee with a credit card. Or even worse, a debit card.

**Posted by Pete Zicato** 1/16/2024 7:06 pm

tw wrote:
To see a potential sucker, watch so many who even buy coffee with a credit card.

Not necessarily. We have a card on which we earn points. That card also charges no interest as long as we pay off at the end of each month. Which we do.

**Posted by glatt** 1/17/2024 10:50 am

I've been impressed with Apple Pay on my phone and accompanying credit card. I feel like the facial recognition at the point of purchase is a great feature. Add to that the 5% earning on rewards earned and banked in the reward savings account, and it's pretty appealing. That's more than my bank pays.

And when we went to Scotland, it was the only payment method that did not charge a foreign transaction fee that is standard with credit cards today. That probably saved us $50-$100 in fees for all the hotels and meals out those two weeks.

I am leery of Apple, however the the multiple slight advantages of it have me convinced.

The only downside is that it is so easy to just pay with a phone that I wonder if I even know what I am spending. Pull out my phone, double click the side button, hold it up to my face for a split second, and bring my phone to the reader, and I am out the door. Magic.

**Posted by tw** 1/17/2024 10:55 am

Pete Zicato wrote:
Not necessarily. We have a card on which we earn points. That card also charges no interest as long as we pay off at the end of each month. Which we do.

Do you keep and verify those receipts? Major profits are obtained by simply adding small charges to accounts. When unverified charges go undetected, then the next step is to move in on information attached to that card. A slow and successful process also called ID theft. A problem created by constantly using electronic transactions when every transaction is unverified when the bill arrives. Recepts are necessary at the end of the month.

Last edited by tw (1/17/2024 10:56 am)

**Posted by Pete Zicato** 2/13/2024 7:23 pm

tw wrote:
Do you keep and verify those receipts?

Not me. I don't have the patience for that. But Mrs. Z does — every month when the bills come in. It's one of many things that make our marriage work. She's good at the stuff I'm not and vice versa. We make a good team.

**Posted by fargon** 2/13/2024 8:46 pm

Pete Zicato wrote:
tw wrote:
Do you keep and verify those receipts?

Not me. I don't have the patience for that. But Mrs. Z does — every month when the bills come in. It's one of many things that make our marriage work. She's good at the stuff I'm not and vice versa. We make a good team.

Same with Keryx and I.

**Posted by toranokaze** 5/19/2024 3:52 pm

Just another reason why you should use cash

**Posted by xoxoxoBruce** 5/30/2024 12:04 am

Because I traveled a lot for work, usually 8 to 10 weeks at a time, my wife took over the books.
It wasn't until we divorced I discovered she had 3 secret credit cards and was paying the minimum on all the cards including mine.
I try to do cash when possible and have an ATM card that expires in another year. They sent me anew card and when I asked why, they said this is an ATM and a credit card. No, no no no, I feel it's just a chance to get ripped off for more.
Got a letter from my credit card wanting to up my limit to $21,000. Since I found out I can't use it for bail I don't see the need for that much credit.
All these ads on TV for ways to boost your credit rating so you can deeper in debt are followed by ads for companies that will reduced your debt. Round and round she goes.