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this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2024
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My sister got the one where the scam says her son got into a car accident and - mumbling through 'a broken jaw' so thats why the voice is off - Officer Peterson needs to arrange bail, but off the books.
It was surprisingly effective, and my sister had a freakin' heart attack as any parent would, and THOSE people can rot in a hell made of mealworms, ticks and black flies.
I got an earlier variant purporting to be from a friend who was stuck in London, had their wallet stolen, and needed cash wired to them so they could get home. That was remotely plausible based on my friend's recent travels. I replied asking them to tell me where and when we first met and what we did the following day. They tried going back to reciting their story but I wouldn't move until I knew it was really them. Fucking scum. They should be made to drink cold hotdog water that Satan's hemorrhoids have been soaking in.
Another verification that works is "I'll call you, let's talk. What number can I reach you on?" They'll usually drop contact at that point.
These scams are effective because of a thing called Amygdala hijack which
"is an emotional response that is immediate, overwhelming, and out of measure with the actual stimulus because it has triggered a much more significant emotional threat."
You can get any human to do dumb things if you can by-pass their logical brain and have them work off the lizard brain.
My grandma almost fell for this. Asked my mom what to do. Mom almost fell for it. After an hour of freaking out and preparing to go buy itunes gift cards or whatever it was, my mom thought to call me. "Oh my god are you ok what happened where are you etc"
Uhh I'm at my apartment, getting ready for work.
Everyone should talk to their parents and grandparents about this scam.
It would be pointless with my mother, anything involving technology developed after the 1980s goes were in one ear and out the other.
She never could work out the VCR, I never even bothered with a DVD player.
They need to invent a "smart" TV that can be remotely controlled, so I don't have to come around every time she wants to watch another episode of big bang theory, which apparently is the best show ever.
Roku with a VPN_/Tunnel to your moms house. Use the roku app to control things remotely lmao
It'd be great if popular show casts like BBT would do more PSAs.
I just told mine, "If someone calls claiming to be me and says that 'I' am in trouble and need money, ask them [about thing from my pre-Internet childhood], and if they get the answer wrong, hang up, because it's someone else imitating my voice." No tech understanding required.
You could get a used pc for cheap, doesn't need to be powerful. Plug in in to her tv, then set up her streaming services on there and then set it up so you can remote into it.
My mom and I have talked about that kind of thing and she knows to call me directly if someone ever tries to say something happened to me. She's not stupid, but maybe just not growing up with people constantly trying to scam her at every turn hasn't prepared her for the depths these assholes will sink to, and they've gotten so much more sophisticated.