Scam Alert: Facebook Messenger About Winning Prizes – River Oaks Chrysler-Jeepdodgeram – RiverOaksJeep2020

December 26, 2020January 6, 2021

12/28 UPDATE:

The RiverOaksJeep2020 Fraudster is Shut Down on Facebook!

Make sure you DO NOT click anything close to this. Currently there is a ransomware phishing scheme going on, and this could be part of it. I didn’t want to find out.

It’s always scam season! It’s the season that never goes away or quits! Right now there is a scheme with the name “River Oaks Chrysler-Jeepdodgeram A.K.A. RiverOaksJeep2020“, an offer for a giveaway winning including a $100 gift card. The scam IS reported to www.scamguard.com as being fictitious. You receive a Facebook “Messenger” and/or Messenger app message. The pages enclosed show what to look for. All links are UN-linked due to the danger. I DO NOT want anyone to get hacked, taken or have an identity be stolen, or a credit card charged scrupulously. The message will look as described:

Page A1, A2, A3.

Page B1, B2, B3.

Page C.

Page C is where the alleged fraudster is trying to obtain personal information including credit card numbers.

TO PROTECT YOURSELF-ALWAYS BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN YOU “ARE A WINNER”:

When your are the recipient of a message anywhere including Facebook Messenger, always make sure you know who is sending the message to you. Still, a friend can be hacked, so any activity outside of normal activity from even a friend could be a hacker looking to get the best of you. Especially be on the lookout if you every find where you are transferring your personal information over anything but an email with the “🔒” in it, in G-Mail’s case a red lock. Make sure that you initiate the call for paying by credit card, debit card or check by phone. Wire transfers, PayPal, Zelle and other near impossible to recover methods of payment should be scrutinized before you act. Think about it overnight–most criminals won’t await overnight for you to be ripped off, they will go to the next target. NEVER, ever open an email from an unknown sender with NO message or body and just an attachment. I did not open the attachment in the traditional method. I printed it to image for everyone to see, so that Google mails servers were the only compromise, NOT my computers. downloading it to your phone or computer can open them up to all sorts or worms, bugs, Trojans, and/or viruses. Phishers stalk people hoping that you open enclosures that can have more than the attachment that you think that you are downloading. I am keeping my eye out for more of these and will keep you informed. Keep in mind:

Don’t think you won a prize if you did not enter the giveaway or sweepstakes connected to that prize.
Don’t ever respond to an email like these
Don’t ever open up an attachment from someone you do not know, or if you are not expecting one.
Toss emails into the spam folder, do not just delete them. Suspicious emails should be moved to the spam folder individually to label a preference that further emails be moved there on a permanent basis.
Never give vulnerable information over the internet unless the 🔒 symbol is in the browser bar. Also make sure that the internet destination is “https://???.com” NOT “http://???.com“. The “S” which is the 5th letter on the browser bar stands for “secured”.

Remember, you can only win if you entered a contest, giveaway or sweepstakes. These persons catch you off guard with an attachment with a prize or winning attached, while they are really very malicious persons who mean to damage you financially and even many other ways, ways that are not so pleasant. If you have or think that someone has compromised you either financially or any other way, here are tips:

What To Do If You Think You Have Been Scammed:

Report the incident immediately to any of the following agencies:

Your local police station if you are at any monetary loss, especially if you have any recourse to issue a fraud claim, because they will need a police report number in order to initiate a claim.
The Federal Trade Commission at FTC Complaint Assistant.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service if you received a check by mail or if the mail was used as a tool to facilitate the fraud.
Your state or local consumer protection agencies. Visit NAAG for a list of state Attorneys General.
For online crimes involving cash, counterfeit checks and money orders, file an online complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center which is a joint project of both the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center.
If it involves a check or draft, notifying the bank whose name is on the check or draft.
Notify the website or online service where you encountered the scammer (Online auction website or a job posting website), so they can be blocked from utilizing their services to further the scamming in the future.
If it involved counterfeiting or other bank related criminal activities, contact FDIC.gov or call the FDIC at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342).

Never become victim to offers convincing you to do a transaction within minutes, or by buying ANY gift cards–for any reason. Once you give the numbers off the back of a gift cards, the money will be gone. Any offer should be thoroughly be thought of with no duress, so you can think about it–and make a proper decision. If it sound too good to be true, it probably is.