Faced with scammers and did not get confused. 5 stories from Lifehacker readers

«Let me know” is a rubric for the stories of our readers. Every week we launch a survey and look forward to your comments. The most interesting of them end up in articles and collections.

There are a lot of deceptive tricks that even the most critical person cannot always figure out. Therefore, when we read your stories, we were very happy for those who did not fall for the bait of scammers! We share the stories of our readers about meeting with scammers.

1. “It was clear that she would not become a dachshund”

The story took place in 2019. We were looking for a puppy at Avito. We didn't have breed requirements. We did not plan to go to exhibitions with her.

But they were afraid to take a dog from a shelter. We needed a puppy who would make friends with our cats in childhood. Plus we wanted the dog not to grow very big. Smaller ones are easier to deal with! And she will not scare other pets with her appearance.

The choice fell on the tax. We found the seller and started a correspondence with him. Communication did not arouse suspicion. We were sent pictures of both the mother dog and her puppies. I had to go to another city.

The woman we met didn't arouse much suspicion either. The only thing that confused me was that she said: “I can bear the puppies. We will not go to the mother dog, so that she is not frightened. That is, perhaps they were born not at all by a dachshund, but by a dog of a different breed.

However, all puppies were cute. We chose one that we liked the most. They paid 6,000 rubles for it, which is considered a very low price. But we thought - for a purebred dog without documents, this is normal.

When 3-4 months passed, I noticed that the puppy was getting too tall. My husband tried to reassure me: “No. I guess they're all like that when they're teenagers. Then it becomes a dachshund."

But six months later, it became clear that she would not become a tax. We didn't get upset about it, we just laughed at ourselves. It was like a meme: “We asked if they were scammers or not. They said no."

We did not punish the breeders in any way, we did not try to contact them. Probably the only thing I would like to know from them is: “What breed was the other dog whose genes were mixed with dachshund?»

2. "Dirty marketing ploy"

A month ago, they sent me a terribly fake payment to change the meters. There was no data on it like on ordinary receipts: TIN, KPP, full name of the payer. Address only. The QR code didn't lead anywhere either. In addition, the payment was not from the municipal water utility, the main service provider, but from some other company. I haven't been able to find enough information about her on the Internet.

On the front side it was written: "Repeated notice" - apparently, for intimidation. There were many mistakes in the text, the paper looked ridiculous. I was also surprised that during the total savings, colored inks were used.

As it turns out, this is a very common scam. Fraudsters expect that a person will get worried, call the specified phone number, and they will impose on him replacement of metersalthough there is no such need.

5 years ago, my friend's grandmother was bred like this. They did not double-check the information and paid much more - 14,000 rubles instead of 7,000, which they could have given to the water utility. Although the work on replacing the meters was done normally.

I understand that this is just a very dirty marketing ploy - the company is trying to attract customers through misinformation and intimidation. The contract for the provision of services is concluded officially and voluntarily, and the work is performed with high quality. However, a half-truth is also a lie.

3. "They'll let me go if you pay"

It was 2007. I pick up the landline phone and hear a strangled boyish voice: “Mom. Mommy, ”there is despair in the voice, almost crying,“ I knocked down a man. They will let me go if you pay. You will now be told how. Urgently. And then they put me in."

Before that, I watched a program about scammers, in which they warned about this. I do have a son. True, at that time he was 13 years old, he was with his father in the country, and there was no question of any car. Therefore, I saw through the scammers right away.

She answered them cheerfully and loudly: “Son! Tell me what's your name What is my name? What kind of car do you have?

The phone beeped.

4. “They asked if we would like to take up wrestling”

Went with friends to a bar. Around 5 o'clock in the morning we, pretty tipsy, went out for a smoke.

Suddenly, two guys materialized nearby and tried to start a dialogue with us. Probably, in a normal situation, we would not be inclined to such communication. But alcohol lowered our vigilance.

Several times they asked us what time it was. And then they asked if we would like to take up wrestling: “Such healthy guys!” One of them even decided to demonstrate the technique.

I thought, "Interesting." He's probably going to do somersaults or something like that. He asked to be shown. He came up to me and tried to pick me up. Nothing happened. And then they abruptly set off on the run, without a single word.

We didn't understand what happened. It was just fun and funny from such a surprise. However, I later discovered that my phone was missing. I realized that the wrestlers from the bar were involved in this. They probably asked the time a few times to figure out which pocket I put my iPhone in. It was turned off immediately. Find through applications like "Find my iPhone" did not work.

Already at home, on the official Apple website, I marked the phone as missing. But it hasn't turned on since the theft, so it didn't make sense.

Then I started getting phishing emails leading to an iCloud clone site. They said that my phone was found. You just need to log into your account to pick it up. Apparently, the scammers wanted to get my data in order to untie the device from iCloud and sell it.

Letters came within six months. The phone never picked up the network.

5. "I give the cross"

Once they called on Viber from the Central Bank. The man introduced himself as an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He said that they received an appeal about strange financial transactions made through my card.

At that time, I heard a lot of stories about "callers from the bank", so there was no surprise. I understood who I was talking to. I could have hung up, but I wanted to laugh at these scammers.

She said to the “MIA officer”: “What are you doing?” He replied: "I give the cross." We both laughed, wished each other a good day and hung up.

The second time was a similar case. I had just left the class, so my vigilance was not up to par. At first, a girl talked to me, and then she quickly redirected the call to a man. He was boorish, impenetrable by feminine charm, he pressed hard. Then I just hung up.

For a while I felt like a naughty kitten. Good, psychotherapeutic practices helped to quickly switch.

I could give you some advice:

1. It is important to remember that employees of banks and the Ministry of Internal Affairs rarely call from regular numbers.
2. You will never be asked for personal information over the phone.
3. The scammers are playing fast. Don't make decisions based on anxiety. Be the slow-moving sloth from Zootopia.
4. Remember that no one has the right to talk to you in a rude tone.