@futurebird Your point is CRITICAL. As an infosec pro I have worked with scam victims and similar and the shame is such a huge factor in negative outcomes.

It’s why there’s a very conscious, if partially successful, effort to relabel “pig butchering” as “romance baiting” (the original term comes from China).

Also, Dad has dementia and has gotten scammed a few times (ie fake tech support). He knows I won’t judge him if he comes to me.

@suetanvil

Different tricks for different people.

Yes. YOU would never have fallen for that, but there are things you would fall for.

@futurebird @suetanvil And not getting scammed requires constant vigilance, which is exhausting. Anyone can have an off day where they’re careless for just a moment.

@futurebird Also FYI @pluralistic has a great post about having been scammed, and it’s a really important lesson that a privacy- and security-minded technologist can even get hit.

Some good concepts involved, especially “swiss cheese security.”

Pluralistic: How I got scammed (05 Feb 2024) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

(pluralistic.net)

@neurovagrant @pluralistic

OMG I almost got got by the same scam.

myrmepropagandist (@futurebird@sauropods.win)

@waldoj@mastodon.social In related news I got a new scam call this weekend "This is Walmart and we want to verify a $1400 charge." At first I was like "that's not a real charge" then she starts asking my name and other info so I say "I will call the bank back about this." "Please stay on the line." Calling back to verify the source is good practice the real deal would not object. Hung up so damn fast. There was no charge of course, but I was traveling and it scared me into almost answering the questions.

Sauropods.win (sauropods.win)

@neurovagrant @pluralistic

The call was very convincing and scary and I was very close to just telling them everything. But when I said I wanted to call my bank ... the way they didn't like that made me calm down and get suspicious.

If they were real they would have been like "yes please call your bank first that is wonderful"

@neurovagrant @pluralistic

I find it curious that both of us were targeted while traveling. For me that played a large role in why I almost answered the questions. I couldn't get to my files or computer and being away from home makes you feel more helpless.

Likewise when traveling getting such calls about charges is typical. And getting one about a fake charge is very scary and upsetting.

@jjLitke @futurebird @suetanvil I've gotten scammed by being too tired and just kind of mindlessly doing what was asked of me, in ways that I couldn't even explain in the light of day.

I wonder what the mental health toll is for a region of people who have to constantly be knives out for scams, how that exhausting vigilance erodes your sense of safety and community as a population.

@futurebird How we talk about scams needs to change.

I work for my local power company. I'd seen generic notices to the public about being wary about scammer, but nothing so direct about using the threat of a power shut off to extort $$. Always thought it was people trying to gain access to homes for robberies. Which also happens.

So when I got a call I almost fell for it. We are selling my aunt's property, and realtors have to pick unknown calls. Passed the call to me.

They were soooo skilled at manipulation. I looked passed the first few minor mistakes. It took insider knowledge to raise my guard. Even then I wasn't sure it was a scam until after I hung up and called the legit line. I owed $75, not $900.

Had I known they used power shut off as a lure, I'd have been more wary. They probably used the listing.

Be wary of scams isn't enough. You need to know the basic MO, which can be really creative. Once they have you it is really hard to get their claws off.

@futurebird I was **inches** away from being scammed by someone pretending to be animal control and saying they had my dog who had run away and needed a deposit for surgery, claiming she’d been hit by a car.

I absolutely would have given them my cc number. I was so scared and sad and relieved — just such a rush of emotions. But they asked for Zelle and it was just…off.

Like with you, part of what made it clear it was a scam was when they got mad that I tried to hang up and call them. I was like “dog people are not this mean.” Cause wow they were so, so mean.

But truly they would have had me.

@futurebird

I have a question for you. The person that I know that just had their email hacked apparently had two factor authentication on his YouTube channel.

As a matter of curiosity, what are the ways TFA can be cracked?

@futurebird my grandpa, who is literally one of the smartest people I know and knows quite a bit about computers professionally, got scammed because someone was able to use the email of a close friend of his. It can happen to literally anyone and people should talk about that more.

@neurovagrant @futurebird @pluralistic most of the time, these things will seem laughable, but some of the time - not necessarily often, but some of the time - you’ll be in a place out situation where you’re more susceptible.
I’m a software dev with security certs and consider myself generally pretty safe/smart about these things. I got caught once by one of those scam calls. I had a store credit card opened but not delivered and no statement for over a month and a scammer called purporting to be from the shitty bank that I knew backed the card. I was comically willing to give this person information. I was in a state of anxiety and low sleep and they randomly got me with the perfect hook for my situation (or that shitty bank suffered a breach and exposed a list of people with new accounts who were ripe for the picking).

@c0dec0dec0de @neurovagrant @pluralistic

If the bar for not getting scammed is being more savvy than @pluralistic and fediverse software devs... NOBODY (except for maybe a professional spy??) is going to meet that bar. I don't want to live with the level of paranoia of a professional spy. That's too much.

We can learn from each other and talk often about how these things work.