Beware Of Scams

Glad to know you are safe and sound sunnysideup. My friend in canada went through more or less the same thing (5-6 years ago) and reacted the same way you did. So don't beat yourself up unnecessarily. Most of us react the same way when we are in panicky situation like yours. That's why they do this scam again and again. In her case scammers said they kidnapped her husband, and they called her husband beforehand and said they were calling from Apple ?!! and his phone's software needs to be updated so he had to switch off his phone Duh...They were telling her to call his phone to find out what they were saying is true. So when she called his phone she got the switched off message. And also They called her immediately and were very emotionally blackmailed her to not to hang up the phone hereafter and never talk to any one and also in the bank as she is watched by them constantly. By the way she is in canada for more than 10 years!!! She went to the bank to draw the money luckily ATM was not working she went to the teller and some how she managed to asked the teller to call her husband from her phone, by the time he turned on his phone and she found out he was ok. Then Bank people called the police. But as usual scammers never get caught. Guess what most of scammers operate from INDIA and target the indians who settle in aborad.

check this CBC Marketplace (canada) youtube video and you will be shocked to know how they operate.

By the way, please Don't ever keep the jewelries at home. Thieves use metal detector to find the jewelry. You and me can't find the difference between Imitaion,1 gm gold and real gold jewelries nowadays. But not the thieves because MD's take them to the exact location and help them differentiate the real from the fake ones. Lots of people think they are very smart in hiding the jewelries. My Miami friend kept it in flush tank packed inside the Zip lock bags and they found it. Big mistake! Even though she had the security alarm at home she forgot to arm it when the family left on that day. Thieves checked the alarm by breaking the window by throwing stone from distance. Now she has storm windows in her home. Prevention would have been the best choice. But what to do... We are learning so many new things every day in our life.

 

Thanks for your reply dear. Cheer up and watch some funny movies to divert yourself.

 

I used to get numerous IRS fraud calls and each time I used to shout at them... and they hung up..LOL...
Back in In India I get this Kotak Mahindra bank free credit card calls...many calls in a single day and each time I block the number but again they call from a new number..once I wanted to see their modus operandy and started to talk as if I am following their instructions..they sent me a link ,I opened the link and figured out it looked like a KM bank site but a fake one..they asked me to fill in userid and pwd and I lied I did...and she was asking some submissions number and was telling me I didn't do properly do it again.Here I started my screaming game and shouted I know they are fraud and I have recorded all the conversation which I will hand over to police..LOL...the lady on the other side hung up...didn't receive any calls from them for a couple of months..
Recently I got a call again.as soon as they told they are from this bank ,I told thank you for calling Cyber cell and your call be will be monitored... and again the lady disconnected without uttering a word.

I sensed all these are fraud calls from their weird accent and mis pronunciation of introductory words...

 

Glad that you are safe, and accepted this matter without much self guilt.
Also, it is an eye opener for many people like us, whose family have started settling in a new country recently.
Thanks for sharing your experience!

My uncle had an experience with a scammer, which is not similar but the intend & effect was much similar to yours.

A foreigner, named James called my uncle through FB messenger. He introduced himself as a priest of a reputable church in Europe, and informed his team has identified my uncle (who is in his late 60s) as a devoted Christian based on his devotional FB posts & shares.
Of course my uncle is a devoted Christian, and that reflects in his posts & shares in FB.

This man talked to my uncle periodically to become friends with him. He started causally asking about the life in Sri Lanka, how poor people manage there and showed genuine concerns for those suffer financially.

Then he asked my uncle whether he would like to be ambassador of God to uplift the lives of those poor people through charity programs.

You see... Charity programs through Christian churches are very common. Especially churches from the west come down to help the poor of our country and chose a local ambassador to coordinate their charity programs. So, my uncle got carried away with that.

My uncle was overwhelmed, and said yes... As requested by that so called Father James my uncle went down to look for poor people and collected a list of items they are in need.

Upon sending them to James, he showed the supplies that he has purchased (usual dry rations) and told he is sending them via currier to my uncle's address. He has even showed the address label, currier parcels and to our surprise, this man shared a picture of the currier company, that made my uncle believe in his words.

2 days later, there was a call from a Sri lankan number, and the man identified himself as the currier agent and informed of the parcels in uncle's name.
He asked my uncle to pay certain amount as tax to collect the parcel. They payment mode was already arranged through a bank & my uncle was expected to pay & inform.

When my uncle called Father James, he said it was a small money compared to the valuables he sent him through currier and this is normal to pay the tax. He has asked my uncle to use as much as the charity items to cover up his expenses and work and give away the rest.
Again my uncle got carried away and he was about to send the money through the bank.

Thank God, he met me at the bank & I shacked him up by saying about the scams and all.

Then I called both the currier agent & father James through their respective communication channels only to figure out both share same voice though they spoke in different languages.
When I delayed paying the money, Father James apparently got angry and scolded my uncle to get away from this evil niece (me).
The currier agent became restless and called uncle multiple times to threaten that the parcels will be returned if the money hasn't paid on time.

With uncle's reluctance, I forced him to the police station and they acted very fast to locale the so called James & currier agent as both were the same person with an identity of a Muslim fellow.
They have been doing this kind of crimes, with many well to do, upper middle class, not so net savvy elderly people.

Thank God, my uncle was saved that day.

 

These type of scam has become very common there is an YouTube channel dedicated to these type of scams, most of them are from India.

https://youtube.com/c/ScammerPayback