Silly Spammers

[Post-Crisis D]

Today's spam was . . .

"Order ASAP for Price Month!"

[LilyBLily]

This week I got a request from somebody in Estonia (I think that's the "es" ending) through PayPal for some big dollar amount. Then another email saying it had been canceled--although the body of the email said I had paid them.

I went to the real PayPal and changed my password. PayPal said there had been "unusual activity" and wanted a little more verification than usual, which I gave. No money was paid out.

I did not know one could request money from someone via PayPal. I assume I have to okay a payment request after it is made. It does seem like a dangerous possibility if the hackers figure out a way to bypass my manually okaying the payment.

[Post-Crisis D]

You can request money or send an invoice to someone via PayPal.  I don't know what happens if you decline to pay.  Maybe there's an option to decline or report it as an error or fake?  I think I might have gotten one once, but I'm not sure.  The ones I do remember getting are all fake.  They get sent by eMail and they hope you click their links because if you go to PayPal directly and login, you will find no invoice there.

[Anarchist]

Today's spam was . . .

"Order ASAP for Price Month!"

[Post-Crisis D]

Bots be stupid.

Had a spam comment on my blog today.  On an older post.  This spam message said how useful they found the post on gaming to be and so on.

Except the post had nothing to do with gaming.

Neither does the blog.

[LilyBLily]

I guess I shouldn't laugh, but those blackmail emails saying the extremely talented hacker has taken control of my computer's camera and microphone always make me chortle. That computer doesn't have a camera or a microphone.

But I know there are some confused people out there whose computers also don't have cameras who imagine that this "extremely talented hacker" can install a camera, anyway. Angled at their--ahem--private parts.

It would indeed take extreme talent to get a nonexistent camera to do that.

[Post-Crisis D]

I guess I shouldn't laugh, but those blackmail emails saying the extremely talented hacker has taken control of my computer's camera and microphone always make me chortle. That computer doesn't have a camera or a microphone.

But I know there are some confused people out there whose computers also don't have cameras who imagine that this "extremely talented hacker" can install a camera, anyway. Angled at their--ahem--private parts.

It would indeed take extreme talent to get a nonexistent camera to do that.

It's always tempting to reply back and offer double what they are asking if they send proof they have the video.   

I did do that with a customer once who had returned an order unopened and demanded a full refund to their credit card immediately.  I responded and told them I'd pay them double if they would send a copy of their credit card statement or other proof of the charge.  I wonder if they frantically went searching through their credit card statements?  The item was free so they were never charged anything.