Cheap Amok Drauer?

[SilvrSurfr]

if it's fake, how can you tell? researching the company, and everything looks legit.

What company are you researching? Sounds like you really need to brush up on your researching skills. If a company is offering a product for 1/10 of what it actually sells for, that should set off a few alarms in anybody's mind.

1. Just go to this kumaori shop website and look at the "about us" page.

https://kumaori.shop/pages/about-us

On this one page alone, they call themselves kumaori shop, Beyond Vault, and libertymart. Does that sound like a scam?

The exact same text can be found on this page:

https://www.beyondvault.com/pages/about-us

And this page:

https://patior.shop/pages/about-us

2. Go to https://kumaori.shop and look at what they sell. Need some magic hangers? How about some kitchen oil absorption stickers? Maybe you want "New Kitchen Faucet Extendable Spray Head Two Ways of Water Outlet with Universal Directions?"

Yeah, sure - all hammock vendors sell that stuff on their website, in addition to hammock equipment.

3. Maybe you should read Amok's response to these scams:

https://www.amokequipment.com/blogs/...te-12-min-read

[silentorpheus]

The "grandchild is in jail" scam is still going strong- my 87 year old mother got a call like this a couple of weeks ago. She called me very upset but I was able to calm her down. Luckily she can no longer drive (Alzheimers) so couldn't go buy phone cards. It makes my blood boil to see how these scumbags prey on the elderly.

Sadly it's not just the elderly, though they are the most preferred targets. Last year one of the sales reps for the company I work for (a 20 something adult) got a text message supposedly from our general manager, saying that he was in a meeting so couldn't call or talk, but that he needed the rep to go get a bunch of gift cards (I believe iTunes) as giveaways for an event, and send him the codes.

Guess who purchased and texted the info for a bunch of gift cards to a random scam number that - surprise - did not belong to our GM?

[SilvrSurfr]

One scam that has been around for years is the "Microsoft Tech Support" scam, where Microsoft supposedly discovers you have a virus and calls you to save you from disaster. I've gotten at least four of these calls in the last 10 years and have tried to play along just to find out the whole scam, but I've never been able to control my laughing (darned mute button).

I've heard that they get you to buy some anti-viral software and maybe take control of your computer for nefarious purposes, but I've never gotten that far since it's so totally ludicrous that Microsoft would actually call you, or that they could "see" that you had a virus (like Microsoft could recognize a virus if it bit them on the butt).

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/malwarebytes

[SilvrSurfr]

While the Microsoft tech support scam works on fear (and authority), and the calling card scam works on you caring about your grandkids (and respect for authority), the Amok scam just works on people who want to get a steal of a deal, and total ignorance that the Internet is not a safe place. I'd personally be more likely to fall for the Microsoft tech support, or the calling-card scam - no way I'm falling for the Amok scam because it's not even a sophisticated scam. There's no "social engineering" involved - they just scam on your greed and desire to get an unbelievable deal.

[Stubbed my toe]

One scam that has been around for years is the "Microsoft Tech Support" scam, where Microsoft supposedly discovers you have a virus and calls you to save you from disaster. I've gotten at least four of these calls in the last 10 years and have tried to play along just to find out the whole scam, but I've never been able to control my laughing (darned mute button).

I've heard that they get you to buy some anti-viral software and maybe take control of your computer for nefarious purposes, but I've never gotten that far since it's so totally ludicrous that Microsoft would actually call you, or that they could "see" that you had a virus (like Microsoft could recognize a virus if it bit them on the butt).

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/malwarebytes

They try to convince you they are live tech-support and get you to download and install a remote access software they use to log on to your system remotely then begin destructively deleting your files. They also lock you out of your own computer (rebooting, reformatting or reinstalling you OS will NOT fix this). If they care at all about keeping up appearances they will then tell you you need to pay $500 or whatever for a specialized service to fix everything; or if they don't care they will just tell you straight up they are holding your files ransom and demand payment. Either way they don't bother saving the files so the BEST possible outcome is you convince them to reset the syskey so you can reinstall your operating system.

There's half a dozen channels on youtube dedicated to screwing with these scammers, it's worth watching for the education. It really gives you the point of view you need to see things like this coming a mile-away.