Reunion.com scam

[ccochran]

Hello, folks:

Well, my wife got scammed online with some stupid thing called Reunion.com. It was the typical "We need your credit card to register you" type of thing, and then they started billing her account. An obvious scam, but what is obvious to some people is not obvious to others. I developed the attached quiz to hopefully avoid problems in the future. If you have a spouse or loved one who is not 100% saavy with online credit card use, you might want to give them the quiz...

Craig

[Wes Bucey]

In Reply to Parent Post by ccochran

Hello, folks:

Well, my wife got scammed online with some stupid thing called Reunion.com. It was the typical "We need your credit card to register you" type of thing, and then they started billing her account. An obvious scam, but what is obvious to some people is not obvious to others. I developed the attached quiz to hopefully avoid problems in the future. If you have a spouse or loved one who is not 100% saavy with online credit card use, you might want to give them the quiz...

Craig

Answer key? If folks need the quiz, they need the correct answers even more!

[Stijloor]

In Reply to Parent Post by ccochran

Hello, folks:

Well, my wife got scammed online with some stupid thing called Reunion.com. It was the typical "We need your credit card to register you" type of thing, and then they started billing her account. An obvious scam, but what is obvious to some people is not obvious to others. I developed the attached quiz to hopefully avoid problems in the future. If you have a spouse or loved one who is not 100% saavy with online credit card use, you might want to give them the quiz...

Craig

Craig,

Great quiz. Do you have the answers? My wife (and I) will do the test, she does not know it yet....

Stijloor.

[ccochran]

Wes and Jan,

I've attached *what I believe* to be the answer key. I'm probably not as smart as I think i am. What would either of you change about the quiz? This is pretty basic stuff, but it's always the basic stuff in life that causes the biggest pains in the A$$.

Craig

[Stijloor]

Friends,

Craig provided us with an excellent quiz and the key to the answers.

Here are some interesting sites related to internet crime.

Internet Fraud an FBI site.

Internet Crime Complaint Center (FBI) Annual Reports organized by State.

Stijloor.

[Wes Bucey]

In Reply to Parent Post by ccochran

Wes and Jan,

I've attached *what I believe* to be the answer key. I'm probably not as smart as I think i am. What would either of you change about the quiz? This is pretty basic stuff, but it's always the basic stuff in life that causes the biggest pains in the A$$.

Craig

In number 4 (with the logos), it is important to know that "phishing sites" (google the term) will often just copy those "trust" logos in order to lull the unwary and uninformed.

I'm certain there are many fine warning sites (especially ebay) with cautions on what to be on the lookout for when ANY site asks for private, personal, or financial data.

At one time, I used to have a macro to forward all suspicious emails directly to a federal agency as a suspected fraud. That was back in the 90's, when "Nigerian letters" were finding their way on to the internet. Now I get more than 300 emails per day trapped in my various filters and at least another 100 that get through to my inbox. My only efficient recourse is to delete them in wholesale lots.

I liken the situation to the original "opec-oil scams" and chain letter and pyramid sales scams of the 60's and 70's ratcheted up 100- or even 1,000-fold. I remember telling otherwise sane clients of our firm that just because they got a letter from a purported "bureaucrat" in an OPEC country promising to sell 1 million barrels of Saudi light crude at $10 a barrel when the spot market was $30, they couldn't believe it just because it was on fancy imprint letterhead and carried a foreign stamp post-marked in that country.

The problem is that gullible people WANT to believe other people like them so much they will give them a special deal. The cleverness and sophistication of some of these scams is so good, even I sometimes have to admire the skill and audacity with which they carry out these schemes.

[Claes Gefvenberg]

Hullo Craig,

Long time no see

In Reply to Parent Post by ccochran

Well, my wife got scammed online with some stupid thing

Sorry to hear it. Well, she is not exactly the only one. Too many people get tricked every day... ...and none of us is entirely immune, no matter how clever we think we are.

I think the quiz you put together is pretty good (even though I disagree about the answer to no. 4). The important aspect is that the quiz makes you think about the risks.

/Claes

[Jim Wynne]

In Reply to Parent Post by ccochran

Hello, folks:

Well, my wife got scammed online with some stupid thing called Reunion.com. It was the typical "We need your credit card to register you" type of thing, and then they started billing her account. An obvious scam, but what is obvious to some people is not obvious to others. I developed the attached quiz to hopefully avoid problems in the future. If you have a spouse or loved one who is not 100% saavy with online credit card use, you might want to give them the quiz...

Craig

I don't think your wife's difficulties originated with Reunion.com; they have an actual free registration process where no CC information is requested. After registration an offer is made to "upgrade" to a "premium" membership, but it's very clear on that page that you're being asked to pay for something. If your wife fell for a phishing scam, and followed an e-mail link to a site purporting to be Reunion.com, I would notify the CC company immediately.