He Threatened to Kill Me

Hi Scott,

I read your column on scams and wanted to share my story. I got a call a couple of years ago and knew straight away that it was a scam due to the guy’s funny accent, but I decided to play along for fun. I said yes to all of the questions and pretended to be really excited. After about thirty minutes I jokingly offered my credit card details and even the password to my online banking. I wish I hadn’t.

The guy on the other end of the phone was furious at being mocked. Straight away he went from nice to nasty and told me he was going to slit my throat! I was a bit unnerved but chuckled and said “but I thought we were friends now”. He began to threaten me by saying he knew where I lived and that his ‘boys’ would be around shortly. I doubted this but was still crapping my dacks a little.

I said I had to go now and hung up. The bloke proceeded to ring back about ten times in a row. I answered once again and tried to laugh and pretend I wasn’t worried. He told me I was the winner of the ‘Golden Casket’, along with a few more threats of throat slitting. So now when I get these calls I’m not a smart alec and say politely “not interested, thank you”.

Jason

Hi Jason,

Don’t think of them as harmless scammers.

There are reports of Australians who have been murdered in Nigeria trying to get their money back.

The truth is that they’re highly organised crime syndicates that are (collectively) making billions of dollars a year, and they have little patience for being messed about.

In the week after I registered my number with the scam website Bitcoin Profits, I received dozens of phone calls at all hours of the day and night. They’ve even worked out how to make it appear like they’re calling from an Aussie landline. Regardless, each time I politely said: ‘I know this is a scam, please never call me again’ and then I’d hang up. After a week they gave up.

Scott

The Day My Dad Got a Viral STD

Hi Scott,

Recently I noticed my elderly father had gone downhill, was very quiet and was looking a bit depressed.

When I asked him, he told me that he was on a website he ‘probably shouldn’t have been’ on when the screen started to flash “YOUR COMPUTER HAS BEEN INFECTED WITH A VIRUS — DO NOT SHUT DOWN AS YOU WILL DAMAGE YOUR COMPUTER PERMANENTLY”.

He was directed to ring an overseas number to remove the virus. When he rang, they sounded professional and said they could certainly help him. He gave them remote access to his computer and requested his credit card. They charged him around $800 for the ‘virus removal’ and a further $1,200 for ‘repairs’.

Naturally he was distressed. The next day on reflection he decided to cancel his credit card. For a couple of days thereafter he was suffering from guilt and worry about any further money he might lose. Luckily, Commbank were great — they got the bogus charges refunded and gave him a new credit card. We also got his computer checked over. I always feel sorry for the oldies that don’t have someone to protect them.

Lisa

I wonder what website he was on that he ‘probably shouldn’t have been?’

Maybe collingwoodfc.com.au? Though on second thoughts, I reckon he was looking at birds ... but maybe not magpies.

I included this question because of the sheer number of people who wrote to me who’d been caught out on similar websites. (Another version of this scam happens via email, where you’re instructed to deposit a substantial amount of money to a bitcoin account within 35 days or they would release video of you watching porn, to your entire contacts list).

This scam exploits the emotion of shame and humiliation. The scammers hope you’ll pay the money, and never speak about it again, which I assume some people do. After all, can you imagine how embarrassing it would be to tell your daughter you’re a Collingwood supporter?

Scott