[Hidden-tech] ENOUGH re: SCAM: "Web designer needed"
Rich@tnr
rich at tnrglobal.com
Tue Jun 9 15:42:16 UTC 2020
Ok, I think it's time to close this discussion.
I will close it with my notes:
I think all of us in business for some time get such scams of various
types, personally I can get a dozen unsolicited offers a day, esp
with the pandemic and PPP loans. Some are more like these sound more
legitimate orders, more so in the IT hardware field, also to artists,
novices being particularly susceptible -- almost always caveat emptor -
if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
One back twist, I have gotten actually legitimate offers just to the
wrong company - as I recall it was to a TNR Enterprises that sells high
end special purpose equipment to Raytheon -- it became clear in looking
at the TO email the rest of the name matched the order except for the
domain name.
It did take them a while to fix given a large corporate ordering system.
The real bogus ones are usually obvious from .ru .jp .cn or totally
unknown ones.
Stay Well all
Rich
HT Listmaster
On 6/8/2020 10:47 PM, Paul Stallman via Hidden-discuss wrote:
> I get hit with this scam almost weekly. Or a variation. It's either
> a logo design, or some printing, or designing a catalog, or a website
> for a farming operation. It's all the same, take a credit card and
> they get you to write a check to someone. It's the same as
> computer/IT people (and I've known multiple) get caught in the scam of
> ordering computers and shipping them to a person/business and the card
> is fraudulent. That's happened to at least 3 IT businesses I've
> worked with.
>
> I also know a guy that sent $5000 to someone from this website scam.
> Some of them are very convincing.
>
> For one, I almost never get a new business inquiry (real inquiry) via
> text. Who would start that way. "I don't know you or know this
> number I'm texting for your business is a cell phone, but I'll try
> texting to hire you." Every once in a while I get suckered for a
> little bit if the person is good at dragging the con on for a while.
> Because I never want to answer rudely to a possible real new client.
>
> Since the scam now is credit card based, I lead a lot with "we don't
> take credit cards". But we do of course, but that usually gets them to
> go away. Although I had one try to convince me to sign up with a
> company to take credit cards, just so I could work with him. :). That
> one I led on for days and played with.
>
>
>
> *Paul Stallman,* Owner, Creative Director and Web Guru
>
> (413) 364-6147 | paul at alias-solutions.com
> <mailto:paul at alias-solutions.com>
> *
> *
> *alias*|solutions
> GRAPHIC DESIGN | WEB DESIGN | FULL COLOR PRINTING | LARGE FORMAT PRINTING
> www.alias-solutions.com <http://www.alias-solutions.com/>
> <http://www.alias-solutions.com/>
>
>
>
> Mailtrack
> <https://mailtrack.io?utm_source=gmail&utm_medium=signature&utm_campaign=signaturevirality5&>
> Sender notified by
> Mailtrack
> <https://mailtrack.io?utm_source=gmail&utm_medium=signature&utm_campaign=signaturevirality5&>
> 06/08/20, 10:39:55 PM
>
>
> On Sun, Jun 7, 2020 at 7:56 AM B. Kimo Lee via Hidden-discuss
> <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net
> <mailto:hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>> wrote:
>
> Hi Lisa,
>
> And thanks to you for sharing this, too! I’m not sure, but if its
> a scam it might be that the guy has setup a fake Quickbooks site
> and could be phishing for your login info, somewhere down the
> line. One plus is that he hasn’t “yet” asked for a payment to some
> other individual.
>
> I seem to recall that the scam I mentioned below involved a 2-day
> period while the banks process transactions during which the
> scammer can cancel things, or somehow get the money and run, or
> something like that. I googled "quickbooks web design scam” and
> got some interesting results.
>
> You can also send the email to spoof at quickbooks.com
> <mailto:spoof at quickbooks.com> and see what they say.
>
> Good to be aware of what scammers are doing. It’s such a wild west
> out there.
>
> Best,
> Kimo
>
>
> On Jun 6, 2020, at 9:09 AM, Lisa Rosenthal
> <lrosedesign at comcast.net <mailto:lrosedesign at comcast.net>> wrote:
>
>> Hi Kimo,
>>
>> Yes I think this was a similar scam, some of the English seemed
>> off as well. The only difference seems to be a payment or over
>> payment through Quickbooks.
>>
>> Thanks for sharing your blog post.
>>
>> Lisa
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Jun 6, 2020, at 6:36 AM, B. Kimo Lee <bklee at azurelink.com
>> <mailto:bklee at azurelink.com>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Lisa,
>>>
>>> A scam I’ve run into is that the scammer offers to overpay you
>>> via credit card (stolen) and wants you to send a check to a
>>> “project consultant” for the amount of the overpayment. As
>>> described by Mik. If you process the cc payment, you become an
>>> accomplice. That scam also involved the “client” being “hearing
>>> impaired”. Here’s my blog post about it:
>>> http://azurelink.com/tech-news/item/23-hearing-impaired-buyer-credit-card-scam
>>>
>>> Probably not worth your time, but you could set up an account at
>>> a freelancer site like Upwork and ask them to assign the job
>>> through the Upwork system. That way payment is guaranteed. The
>>> mere suggestion of that and they’ll probably disappear. LoL!
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Kimo
>>>
>>>
>>> AZURELINK :: “Creative Design Technologies"
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Web Site Design & Scalable, Managed Web Hosting
>>> Joomla! Content Management System Implementation
>>> eCommerce Development
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> 249 Wallace Hill Rd
>>> Townsend, MA 01469
>>> (413) 204-1763
>>> For more information, please visit: www.azurelink.com
>>> <http://www.azurelink.com/>
>>> Follow Azurelink on Twitter: http://twitter.com/azurelink
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> On Jun 5, 2020, at 9:21 PM, Lisa Rosenthal via Hidden-discuss
>>> <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net
>>> <mailto:hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> This happened to me recently, someone contacted me through my
>>>> website. They were looking for a designer for a logo and
>>>> brochure, 8 pages for a Antiques Business in Santa Monica. His
>>>> project consultant had all the photos and copy. I was given
>>>> specific details about the project as well as a company name
>>>> and address. No website or online presence yet, it was
>>>> supposedly under construction.
>>>>
>>>> They seemed to have a good budget for the design part of the
>>>> project. I went back and forth a bit trying to figure out if it
>>>> was a scam and then what the scam was. I googled the address,
>>>> it looked like Reddit was there or had been there and it might
>>>> be vacant. I called adjoining businesses to ask if it looked
>>>> like an Antique store was going in next door, they both said no
>>>> it didn’t.
>>>>
>>>> 4 emails into the conversation:
>>>> The guy, Mike Powell:
>>>> Ok I will be making a deposit for a start so we can
>>>> proceed.Also, I’ll like to let you now I will be paying you via
>>>> Quickbooks by you sending me an invoice of the partial payment
>>>> so I can make payment from my ends.Let me know if that’s ok
>>>> with you !
>>>>
>>>> Me: I don’t have a Quickbooks account so I don’t think that
>>>> payment method will work. Venmo might be a possibility, would
>>>> that work?
>>>>
>>>> Mike Powell: I’m unable to use my cc via PayPal, Square nor
>>>> Venmo due to some bad experiences I’ve encountered using it in
>>>> recent time and I was advised by my cc provider not to use via
>>>> any of the above mentioned processors for now.
>>>> You can look up for Quickbooks online . It’s easy and simple
>>>> to set up.
>>>> ..............
>>>>
>>>> Has anyone heard of that, a scam through Quickbooks?
>>>>
>>>> I just said I wasn’t interested and left it at that.
>>>>
>>>> Lisa Rosenthal
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>
>>>> On Jun 5, 2020, at 10:25 AM, Michael Muller via Hidden-discuss
>>>> <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net
>>>> <mailto:hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hey all web people on the HT list...
>>>>>
>>>>> Over the years I've received an innumerable number of spam
>>>>> emails -- mostly people asking me if I need help building a
>>>>> website for a domain I just purchased. I used to ask them if
>>>>> they knew what I did for a living, and of course they don't.
>>>>> It's just a robo-script emailing anyone with a email address
>>>>> attached to a domain name.
>>>>>
>>>>> On occasion I get a text from someone asking if I could build
>>>>> them a website. The exact working typically never changes, and
>>>>> the scam is always the same. This is how they usually contact me:
>>>>>
>>>>> "Hello how are you doing,I will like to know if you would be
>>>>> able to handle a website design for me ?"
>>>>>
>>>>> The punctuation and referral to "handle a website design for
>>>>> me" leads me to believe this isn't quite legit.
>>>>>
>>>>> The first time I got a text like this the follow-up was that
>>>>> the person was both deaf and blind, so I couldn't call nor
>>>>> send an email. The whole thing had to be done over text. Hmmm...
>>>>>
>>>>> They want specifically 5 pages, because they can't afford
>>>>> more, and it's already been designed. All I have to do is take
>>>>> the designed pages and put them on a web server, linking the
>>>>> pages to each other. Seems to be quick money, right?
>>>>>
>>>>> The kicker is -- and this is where the klaxons start going off
>>>>> -- the scammer wants to pay me $5000 by credit card, but I
>>>>> have to pay their designer $3000 by check, since they don't
>>>>> take credit cards.
>>>>>
>>>>> *If you are ever contacted by anyone with a similar request,
>>>>> just say no.*
>>>>>
>>>>> I am passing this info along because not only did I get such a
>>>>> text from this guy, but also an email (below). The third
>>>>> screen shot has some harsh expletives, so be forewarned.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>
>>>>> Mik
>>>>>
>>>>> <djieiikcpfacbmlb.png> <mchjaacgihikpfbf.png>
>>>>> <oahmococlbdlgcio.png>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -------- Forwarded Message --------
>>>>> Subject: Re: Web designer needed
>>>>> Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2020 14:30:49 -0700
>>>>> From: Sarmento Alves Domingos <sarmentoalves940 at gmail.com>
>>>>> <mailto:sarmentoalves940 at gmail.com>
>>>>> To: Michael Muller <tech at montaguewebworks.com>
>>>>> <mailto:tech at montaguewebworks.com>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Here is the job details, well i have a small clothing business
>>>>> for both male and female which i run here in state,now am
>>>>> trying to expand the business and i want you to build an
>>>>> informational website for it for advertisement and to increase
>>>>> my sales rate..so i need you to check out this site but i need
>>>>> something more perfect than this if its possible
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.missrebel.co.uk <http://www.missrebel.co.uk/>.
>>>>>
>>>>> The site would only be informational, so i need you to give
>>>>> me an estimate .The estimate should include hosting and i want
>>>>> the site to have not more than 5 pages ,since it is
>>>>> informational. I have a private project consultant who has the
>>>>> text content, images and the logos for the site.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Jun 4, 2020 at 11:57 AM Michael Muller
>>>>> <tech at montaguewebworks.com <mailto:tech at montaguewebworks.com>>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Sarmento,
>>>>>
>>>>> Can you provide more information?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>
>>>>> Mik
>>>>>
>>>>> ---
>>>>> Mik Muller, president
>>>>> Montague WebWorks
>>>>> 239-R Main Street, Greenfield, MA
>>>>> 413-320-5336
>>>>> http://MontagueWebWorks.com <http://montaguewebworks.com/>
>>>>> Powered by ROCKETFUSION
>>>>>
>>>>> On 6/4/2020 11:41 AM, Sarmento Alves Domingos wrote:
>>>>>> Hello how are you doing,I will like to know if you would
>>>>>> be able to handle a website design for me ?
>>>>>
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--
Rich Roth
CEO TnR Global
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