We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

My gullible friend lost $75 to a swishing attempt on his Paypal account: Crafty scammer tactics!

Options
Just received a text from +441677423518 stating my PayPal is blocked for "security reasons", apparently I bought something from a website that is flagged as a fraudulent site. They're asking for a $75 "unblock fee" and want me to call +447500936299. 🚫📵 Scammers are getting crafty. When I log into my account it seems all is good. Has anyone else also experienced this?

Comments

  • MorningcoffeeIV
    MorningcoffeeIV Posts: 1,945 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 4 August 2023 at 11:59AM
    That's a very 1990s type of scam. I thought scammers had gone a little more hi tech than that!

    They'll be sending you chain mail next. ...
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 119,646 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    As mentioned above, that type of scam is an old long running one.  You see variations of it all of the time.


    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,920 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Ahh lovely pyramid chain mail.... Send $10 to the person on the top of this email and then delete that name and forward it
    to 5 or 10 friends... When they send $10 to the new person at the top and forward it again your turn will come around and your
    payout is likely to be 5 or 6 figures..

    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

  • nyermen
    nyermen Posts: 1,138 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Ahh lovely pyramid chain mail.... Send $10 to the person on the top of this email and then delete that name and forward it
    to 5 or 10 friends... When they send $10 to the new person at the top and forward it again your turn will come around and your
    payout is likely to be 5 or 6 figures..

    And yet people really didn't see the issue with it.
    I finally convinced a family member (who has a high IQ...) of how it doesn't work by doing the "number of people needed" maths to show them that the 12 layer would be 2.2billion people and so they would need to find more people than exist on the planet...
    Peter

    Debt free - finally finished paying off £20k + Interest.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.