Reunion.com scam

C

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
 

Attachments

  • Online credit card quiz.doc
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Wes Bucey

Prophet of Profit
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

Leader
Super Moderator
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....:D

Stijloor.
 
C

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
 

Attachments

  • Online credit card quiz - KEY.doc
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Stijloor

Leader
Super Moderator
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

Prophet of Profit
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.
 
Hullo Craig, :agree:

Long time no see
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

Leader
Admin
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.
 

Marc

Fully vaccinated are you?
Leader
Low Limit Credit Card

I keep a 'special' low limit credit card, which is only good for US$2000, specifically for internet and other 'risky' purchases. It's from my local credit union and they call me just about every time I use it to 'verify' that I purchased what ever it was. It's the only credit card 'company' that ever calls me like that that I have found.

As to credit cards on the internet, I haven't run into any problems over the years, but I'm relatively careful. And I never follow an email link. I look at the email 'source' code and often the actual link is to a forwarding site.

I do like to have some fun now and again, though, so sometimes I click on the link in the email and put in my credit card number (with a few 'changes'), a fake name and all that and 'submit' it just to get some garbage in their database... This is common with PayPal phishing schemes. It really does look like the real site. But, it's obvious from the URL (and usually other 'small' details) it's a phony.

Last fall I did get two scam charges. I don't know where they got the info, but they had my credit card number, name and address and all that, but they had the wrong PIN code from the back of the card. One was charged and then there was a charge back the following day. The other one (American Singles) charged me and didn't do a charge back. I found this when I got my bill. My credit card company (I called them right away) credited me for the amount right away and issued a 'dispute' with American Singles (Both bogus charges were at 'Dating' sites, but I've never been to a dating site). That was the last I heard. The next bill showed the disputed charge credited back to me the same day I called them (and I could see it online as well, for that matter).

So far I've been lucky, but my advice is simple: Make sure the credit card company (or companies) you deal with have a US$50 fraud limit, and that they will do an immediate charge back and will send the company doing the charge a 'dispute' notice. I use Emery Federal Credit Union for my low $ card. Their calls to me to verify charges do take a couple minutes, but it's a good feeling that they're watching charges closely.
 
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