Scam of the day – September 18, 2024 – New Variation on Old Phishing Scam

by | Sep 17, 2024 | Scam of the day

Most scams follow long established patterns, but as time goes on and technology evolves these scams evolve into new forms.   The phony invoice scam is a common scam popular with scammers because it is quite effective.  It starts when you receive an email that purports to be from a popular company with which many of us do business that indicates that you owe them a significant payment.   The scammers count on people being concerned that they are being wrongfully charged for a product they did not order.  You are provided a telephone number to call if you dispute the bill. If you call the number, you will be prompted to provide personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft.

In an updated new version of this tried and true scam an Arizona man received an email that appeared to come from iMyFone, a company with which the man did business. The email indicated that $199.99 had been deducted from his account and that it the withdrawal was a mistake, he should call a phone number provided which the man promptly did.  When he called the number, the scammer, posing as a support person asked him to  install software on his computer to give them remote access to his computer in order to facilitate expediting the refund, which the trusting Arizona man did.  With this remote access the scammers were able to transfer money from his savings account to his checking account which made it appear as if he had gotten a refund, however, the money credited to his checking account was not $199.99, but rather $19,999.  The Arizona man was then promptly notified by the scammer posing as a iMyFone employee that a mistake had been made resulting in the excessive payment made and requested that the Arizona man wire the excess payment back to them at an account they provided him with.  Since everything appeared to be legitimate, he complied and it wasn’t until later that he realized he had been scammed.

 

TIPS

Once, I received a large invoice from a company with which I do business for goods I did not order, but rather than click on the link provided in the email, I went directly to the company’s website to question the invoice.  When the website came up, the first thing I saw was a large announcement that the invoice was a scam and that many people had received these phony invoices.  If you ever receive a phony invoice such as this and you think that it may possibly be true, don’t click on links or call phone numbers provided in the email.  Rather, contact the real company directly at a phone number or website that you know is legitimate where you can confirm that the phishing invoice was a scam.

Never click on links or download attachments in emails or text messages unless you have absolutely confirmed that they are legitimate and don’t call companies at telephone numbers that appear in the email such as this one.  Instead, if the email appears to come from a legitimate company, you can call them at a telephone number you confirm is legitimate .  Don’t call the number that appears in the email.

Another indication that this was a scam was that the initial email came from a gmail account.  Most businesses to not use email accounts.  iMyFone’s email address ends with @imyfone.com.

As for giving anyone remote access to your computer, the risk is far too great to do this.

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