A coworker just shared a couple of scary stories about how targeted scams have become.
In one scam attempt, he received a phone call in his daughter's voice asking for help paying for a tow truck. He thought that didn't sound right, so he hung up and called her and she answered her phone nonchalantly with no idea about what was going on. But someone had found her voice somewhere, knew her relationship with him, and targeted the scam with precise details.
In another scam attempt, he was contacted by someone in the soccer league he coaches for asking for help getting gift cards for some legitimate-sounding purpose. In that case, it took a few rounds of communication before he realized that something wasn't right. But again, someone had the data on him and his role/relationship to the soccer league, and customized that scam to a degree that he didn't think anything of it at first.
It's scary out there. I think we're all at risk, but I worry most about my older relatives living on their own.
sadly my voice is readily found online so my own parents might be a target of this
A lot of young people are getting caught in sex scams. They get flirted with on discord/social media, get invited to Skype calls where they engage in sex chat. Then they get told by the "father" that the person was underage, and if they don't send money they'll send the videos to the police and their family.
A lot of young people are getting caught in sex scams. They get flirted with on discord/social media, get invited to Skype calls where they engage in sex chat. Then they get told by the "father" that the person was underage, and if they don't send money they'll send the videos to the police and their family.