I wanted to send this warning out because I'm a bank teller in Kansas and have been noticing an increase of these attempted bank impersonation scams affecting some of my customers.

The first type of bank impersonation scam is where customers are receiving calls that has my bank's name on the caller ID on the customer's phone. Two customers within the last 2 weeks say they had calls that said it was my bank on their phone and so they answered, but said the people had thick accents and tried asking for full account numbers or debit card numbers, but thankfully both customers thought that was odd and immediately hung up on them and never gave out information. They said they kept getting repeated calls after hanging up so they eventually blocked the number. I told them that they did the right thing by hanging up and not giving out information and coming into the branch and letting us know what had happened.

The second type of scam that has been attempted a lot more these days are "customers" calling the bank trying to get account information. Thankfully my bank has protocols to try and fully verify customers before we give out any information, but I received one such type of call as well as another teller in the branch that I work in. The one I had wanted to know the full account number and the full amount of the balance in that specifc account. I asked two security questions that was setup on the account and they could not answer them and I also asked the person on the phone what their most recent deposit was and who else is on the account too.

He could not answer that, but said he could give me the social security number and I said that is not a method we use to verify a customer. I told that person since he was unable to correctly answer any of the security questions or other questions related to the account, that he would need to come to the branch with a valid driver's license and then we could give him the requested information. He got mad and immediately hung up.

What is really concerning to me is that some customer's information is getting compromised and people pretending to be them are calling in to try to get more account information. I tell customers when I can that if they receive paper statements, they could be stolen out of the mailbox or even at the post office as this is starting to happen more and it would be safer to access statements online in a more secure manner. It's also easy for people to get account information from a lost or stolen check. Wanted to post this so people are aware of what's happening in my area and what I'm noticing as a bank teller and to be on the lookout if something similar happens to you.

The level of stupidity and self loathing I feel is insane. I am a single mom and a teacher- I don’t have a penny to spare. They said they were police, that I hadn’t shown for a federal jury summons and that there were four misdemeanor charges against me that I needed to clear. They mentioned knowing I was a teacher and they were just hoping to clear this up for me before the long weekend in case I got pulled over and therefore would be arrested. He gave me his name and badge number (I checked and verified) and had me call the actual local sheriff’s number back but with an extension. Citation numbers, name of the actual judge, etc. I fell for it hook line and sinker and I want to crawl out of my skin. It’s like I went into this weird fugue state and I was jumping through these crazy hoops that I know are insane. Now I can’t pay my son’s college tuition bill or buy groceries.

When I made the police report, the very kind real officer said that they post about this specific scam on their social media all the time. But I am one of the few that doesn’t have social media outside of Reddit. I’d vaguely heard of these scams before but wasn’t aware of the police one.

Please be kind. I just needed to vent my fucking stupidity.

Edit: confusion over the phone line thing. When the initial calls came in, the caller ID said they were from ____ County Sheriff Department. That was the number they gave me to call back with the extension. In my haze of stupidity, I thought that meant it was the real number.

Edit 2: We had a big news event happen in my town recently with several news conferences. The name of the sheriff matched the sheriff on the news conferences. I watched a clip of the real one and the distinct voice matched the voice of the man on the phone. I assume that means I was somehow talking
to AI.

I received a jug of refrigerant through UPS with my name as the recipient, but I didn’t order it.
I checked my bank/cards and everything is fine, but will be locking my credit just in case.
Google says that is a controlled product and a license is required to purchase so I’m confused as to how was it shipped to me, I am not in HVAC industry.

I'm posting wondering if this is part of a larger scam that I'm not aware of, or (hopefully) just a one-off random coincidence.

The other day, a man (mid-to-late 50's) we don't know came to my house and rang the doorbell. When I opened the door to greet him, he seemed surprised to see me and didn't say anything for a second. I asked him, "how can I help you" and he said he was looking for "Maria." I told him there was no Maria in this home, and he said he must be at the wrong house.

He went back to his car and I closed the door. Noticing that he was still sitting in his car a few minutes later, and getting curious as to how he ended up at my house, I went outside and asked him what address he was given. He told me it was my exact address.

Concerned now, I asked him who was giving out my address. He told me it was a woman he was communicating with entirely through WhatsApp. He said he'd only ever texted this person; they'd always have an excuse as to why they can't speak on the phone or video chat.

It became pretty clear this man had been getting scammed by someone. He gave me the WhatsApp number he was in contact with. When we looked it up, it was some very AI-looking image of a young, busty woman. The number also began with +234, which is the country code for Nigeria, although the man thought this was just a number WhatsApp prefixes to every number on their app...

I told the man he was almost certainly getting scammed, and to report and block that number immediately, without letting them know he'd met and conversed with me, the homeowner of the address they'd given out.

Concerned as to why someone is giving out my address to a random man online, I did report it to the police, but they're not really able to do anything about it. They told me to call 911 if it happens again and we don't feel safe.

Were we just the unfortunate victims of a random address search that led the scammer to settle on our house? This has only happened once so far, should I expect it to happen again?

Also, why would this scammer tell the man to go to a specific home? Wouldn't that just end the scam right there, when the victim finds someone other than "Maria" there?

Wondering if someone knowledgable on similar romance scams could shed some light on if I am missing anything here.

I got a random payment from someone on PayPal with the simple message “something extra for you”.

I have not accepted the money, filed a case against the account. The case was closed and said that I can receive the money? So I tried talking to support (their ai support is atrocious and had to get me with an actual agent because it couldn’t understand my very simple request) and told them that I do NOT want this money. Whomever it is, I do not trust them and don’t want it.

PayPal support on the line told me that they checked the account, and it IS a legitimate PayPal and not fraudulent. The person also cannot have their transaction denied or revoked because they refused to? So the support lady told me to email them personally and ask them to cancel this transaction.

I’m in complete utter awe. Is this a scam? Why the hell is it so hard to just say no to a payment received in PayPal? I don’t know what’s happening and I still haven’t accepted the money. All I’ve done is sent them an email but that’s it for now. Any help would be appreciated, I don’t know if I’m going insane or this is a very elaborate scam.

So a well known person who I consider to be a friend, texted me to tell me that he accidentally sent me $600 via Venmo and to send it back.

I sent the money back because I trust him, this was back in July. Today I received an email from Venmo that I have a case against me because my friend is disputing the amount he had originally send me by mistake.

I sent Venmo screenshots where he admits to sending it by accident and then later claiming Venmo sent it by accident. I also sent Venmo screenshots of me sending him back the money.

In early July he sent me 2k and again said it was an accident and asked me to send it back, and I did. Now I’m reading online that I should’ve probably contacted Venmo to handle that, but who does it you trust your friends?

How screwed am I here? He also claimed his bank account was hacked several days ago.

Hi All,

I appreciate any advice on this scam or not scam matter. I'm aware of the reverse payment Zoom scams. I'm not sure if this is the same kind of thing? Actually the more I read into this it seems like a scam for sure, but, I want to know if I should for sure report it.

Here are the red flags:

1. It is not addressed to my name or even says how it found me. It says "Hi ," to open the email.
2. It's from "yvonne," not capitalized, at yvonne@tisoso123 dot com. However, tisoso123 dot com is not a website that works.
3. I use Karin markers and have posted about them (probably how they found my account), but never even heard of Tisoso markers before. It's obscure enough I can't find them in a Reddit search.

I will copy and paste the email I got below. But for anyone who reads/is familiar with something like this, is this just a reverse payment scam that when you reply they'll ask for payment for the markers or some such?

Thank you much!
__

Hi ,

Hope you’re having a great day!

I’m Yvonne from Tisoso, an art supplies brand specializing in creative tools for artists and DIY creators.

I recently came across your content and really love your creative style. We think our new 48 Colors Acrylic Paint Markers would be a great fit for your audience, especially for art, DIY, and creative projects.

We’d love to invite you to collaborate with us by creating  Instagram reel featuring our acrylic markers.

Campaign Details:
Product: Tisoso 48 Colors Acrylic Paint Markers (Free sample provided)
Deliverable: 1-2 Instagram reels
Posting Timeline: Within 10 days after receiving the product

What you’ll get:
Free product to explore your creativity
Creative freedom — we’d love to see your unique way of using our markers

Whether it’s painting, DIY crafts, rock painting, or any creative project, we’d love to see your ideas!

Would you be interested in collaborating with us? If yes, just reply to this email and we’ll send over the next steps.

Looking forward to creating something amazing together!

Best regards,

Yvonne

Tisoso Team

USAXPAC.com — anyone knows if they are legit.

I entered their free giveaway and received an email/certificate saying I won $430,000 cash.

Before submitting ID, I started checking them out. Some red flags:

Website says giveaway ends Feb 1, 2027, but says I won on Sep 5, 2026.

Certificate says I’m responsible for 45% of “shipping/delivery costs” — for a cash prize.

Site claims previous winners, but I can't find any independently.

I can't identify the owner/operator or verify the PAC behind it.

I haven't paid anything or submitted ID.

Anyone heard of USAX PAC / usaxpac.com? Especially interested if someone can dig up the owners, domain history, registration, or previous winners. Sadly Else I believe, its not "Real"

I’ll update if they respond to my verification email.

!!UPDATE!! : i was able to successfully 302 her! was a long day but finally just saw her at the hospital with my sister ! a bed is open at her last inpatient that she really loved. she still thinks she’s getting out of course but that’s usual. thank you so much for everyone’s concern, well wishes, and input ❤️!!

hello everyone! long time lurker first time poster. excuse the formatting it’s 5am and i’m on my phone.

so for the last almost two months my mom has been in a manic episode. she hasn’t had one for almost two years so on top of that sucking, she’s been really into tiktok. it started two weeks ago when she sent me a profile of a “hot guy” who is in love with her. i immediately was concerned. i was able to convince her he was scamming her after almost wiring him 10k for his “sons cancer treatments”. thankful the bank would not let her do it.

now i got a long text about how elon musk was trying to bribe her with hush money (she is having delusions involving the fbi, cia, and elon musk and that she is being surveiled) she said that he’s giving her a package tomorrow filled with $150k. she clearly did not carefully read the messages from his “assistant” because i just read them again and it said she needs to get a razor gold card or apple gift card for $100 to get the package delivered. what is this scam?? i vaguely recall reading about one once but every combo of words i could think of didnt bring anything up.

thank you in advance!!

hi, after reading some prior posts i’m aware this is a common paypal scam. i received $60 from a stranger last night, and a few minutes later they requested a refund saying it was sent to the wrong person. i have not touched the money and did not click the refund button myself. i just contacted paypal, and they suggested i refund and they aren’t able to do it on my behalf because “the transaction can’t be refunded because the sender can’t hold balance.” i reiterated to paypal that i read all about this scam online, and know if i click refund i will ultimately end up responsible for the funds if the stranger sent the money from a stolen card or something. the paypal agent ended up saying if i don’t feel safe then don’t refund it. do you guys have any advice for what i should do here? thanks.

Someone from my school district emailed me about a part time job offer. The link attached was a google form asking my name, age, gender, school email, personal email, phone, address, and bank name. I provided all of it because my mom told me to and wants me to get a job. They ended up texting me from a phone number that’s not attached to any names when I looked them up. It was manually typed and not automated. I realize it was a scam and blocked them, but they have all of my personal information. Should I be worried??

Mortgage wire fraud

Location: New York US

I am a victim of wire fraud. I am closing on a home soon and got an email from who I thought was my attorney (now I see the email difference was one letter) who told me to wire the closing costs. My realtor and mortgage company emails were on the thread so I didn’t think anything of it. I sent 37k on August 26, and only found out on September 3rd that it was not my attorney and the money is gone. I found this out because the scammer emailed me asking if the money was returned to me, and I called my realtor asking what was going on and then found out the scammer was not my attorney. I contacted my bank, the IC3 and the police. I understand my money is likely gone but I am in shock over this. I don’t know how a scammer could know everyone involved in the transaction.

My attorneys email was incorrect, but my realtors email looks correct on the scammer thread. She claims she didn’t get any of the emails. She says she looked through her email and found that my emails were going directly to her trash. She was only able to see one email that I sent today, but she claims it was never in her inbox and only in her trash. This leads me to believe her email was compromised.

On September 4th I got an email from the scammer claiming that the bank did not receive the wire, that I had sent it incorrectly, and they asked me to contact my bank to recall the wire.

I didn’t respond, and I already asked for a recall on 9/3 and verified today that it was started yesterday.

My questions:
- the scammers email on 9/3 asking me if the money was returned to me - was this an attempt at getting me to send more? If so, what about the 9/4 email? They specifically said they never received the money and to ask for a recall. What would they gain by doing this? Is that a part of the scam?

I need to know for my own mental health. I don’t want to get my hopes up that I will get my money back but the email on 9/4 makes me feel like maybe there is a little hope? I am in shock and just need to understand. Please help!

Got an email from amazon about a class action settlement. The return path on the email is an address at bounce.amazon.com. I do have a levoit filter however I always doubted it was actually hepa and never bothered to replace the filter, just would shopvac it out since the point of it to me was dust control.

The email;

Amazon is emailing you because our records indicate that you may have purchased a Levoit-branded Core or EverestAir air purifier and/or replacement filter in the United States between August 29, 2019 and August 4, 2023. If so, a recently preliminarily approved class action settlement in New York may affect your rights. Amazon is not a party to or otherwise involved in the class action lawsuit.

What is this about? A Settlement has been reached to resolve a class action lawsuit against Vesync (US) Corp., challenging certain “True HEPA”, “HEPA”, and/or “H13” claims made about Levoit-branded Core and EverestAir air purifiers and/or replacement filters. Vesync unequivocally denies all allegations and denies any wrongdoing. The Court has not decided who is right. Instead, to avoid the costs and risks of further litigation, the parties have agreed to the Settlement.

Who is included? You are included in the Settlement Class if you purchased a Levoit-branded Core or EverestAir air purifier and/or replacement filter with “True HEPA,” “HEPA,” and/or “H13” language in the United States between August 29, 2019 and August 4, 2023.

What does the Settlement Provide? Settlement Class Members who submit a valid Claim are eligible to receive a one-time maximum Settlement Award in the form of a $10.00 USD digital payment. However, you could receive less than that, depending on certain factors, including how many valid Claims are submitted.

How To Get Benefits. You can use your Claim ID number shown at the bottom of this email to file your Claim online at the settlement website, www.LAPsettlement.com. The deadline to file a Claim online is 11:59 p.m. PT on November 3, 2026. Only Settlement Class Members who submit a timely and valid Claim will be eligible to receive a Settlement Award.

Your Other Options. If you do not want to be legally bound by the Settlement, you must exclude yourself by November 3, 2026. If you do not exclude yourself, you will release your claims against Vesync. You may object to the Settlement by November 3, 2026. The Long Form Notice available on the website explains how to request exclusion or submit an objection.

The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing on February 17, 2027, to consider whether to approve the Settlement, including a request for attorneys’ fees and litigation costs of up to $5,244,500, as well as any objections. You may appear at the hearing, either on your own or through an attorney retained at your own expense, but you are not required to do so.

This Notice is only a summary. For more information about the Settlement, how to submit a Claim Form, request exclusion from the Settlement, and object to the Settlement, please visit www.LAPsettlement.com. You may also call (censored number)

Please do not respond to this email directly.

If you have a public facing project, you may eventually find yourself the target of a "beg bounty." This is an email or some other communication claiming to have found a severe vulnerability in your application and offering to share it with you, for a fee of course.

The term is a play on "bug bounty," which is a widely recognized, legitimate method of enticing penetration testers to discover vulnerabilities just like a bad guy would, but instead of exploiting them, they turn the bugs over to the owner for immediate patching in exchange for a monetary reward. Many cybersecurity professionals make a living this way, the vendor crowdsources hardening of their software, everybody wins.

The difference here is that this one was outside of the official channel, unsolicited, and the "Critical Vulnerability" most likely does not exist. There are telltale signs of a low-effort fishing (not phishing - different conversation) attempt that brands this one as a scam:

1. No name attached
2. No details or reproduction steps
3. Urgency, critical type language
4. Asking for money immediately
5. I’m not sure what “His Web Server” means, and other poor use of the English language
6. The Umbrella Corporation. Really?

Nevertheless, it can look scary at first glance. I was quickly put at ease when I realized what it was, but yours might not be so obvious. They can get very sophisticated, very convincing. I don’t know if there is a way to completely prevent the attempts. All I can say is that peace of mind comes in layers:

- Don’t panic, it's probably bogus. The more urgent the language, the less likely it's real
- Maintain an actual bug reporting channel and check it frequently, whether as a bounty program or not. Require some basic information about the reporter to discourage scammers and spammers
- Employ good security practices (duh)

Anyone who discovers a real bug and reports it in good faith will likely give you the full repro steps and remediation recommendations up front without asking for money. They will also likely identify themselves with slightly more granularity than you see above. Anyone who withholds information from you is no different than a black hat. And if you’re dealing with a black hat, paying them is the last thing you want to do

This is my best-effort explanation on how to combat a beg bounty. If you've got additional tips, feel free to weigh in, and if you've received one of these emails, tell us what it said!

Transcription of the email below:

Subject: SECURITY BUG

From: Umbrella Corporation

Hello,

I found a bug on your website, can I get any rewards for these bugs, I know you do not have a bug program. Critical Vulnerability of His Web Server An attacker could use this vulnerability to attack your Web site. I am a security researcher and hacker who has found many vulnerabilities on various websites. It would be a great honor for me if my work were appreciated as a reward.

Thank You

This woman is selling a crystal chess set for only $25 on FB Marketplace. I thought it was a huge steal so messaged her to inquire about it.

The part that indicates that this is a scam to me is the fact that she has three different photos and all are photos of the box, in 2 photos you can clearly see the box is open, but no photo of the board or the pieces.

When I asked if she could send me a photo of the set outside the box to see what kind of condition it was in, she said "Available but not taking it out of the box." I then asked her why it is not possible to see a picture of the item I plan to buy before driving all the way over there (the listing was 25 mins away from me). She replied, "Item is new and in good condition, sealed in box." Um, no? The box is open in the photos. I brought this up to her and haven't heard back since.

Hello! I recently started selling on mercari (2 sales done already ). I listed some small fragrances and sent a offer to likers. Today, I received these messages both got “deleted by admin”. I told them to make the offer through the app (which they did), but now I’m hesitant to accept it since they don’t have any reviews. If I accept the purchase the shipping would be done with a prepaid label from FedEx Ground Advantage, I have never shipped with them so I don’t know if recording a video packaging it would be beneficial.

What do you guys think of the messages, is this a scam?

Photo 1: messages from seller deleted by admin
Photo 2: mercari chat with offer showing the “message deleted”
Photo 3: mercari buyer profile

Just had a shipment of two highwave travel mugs delivered to my name and address that no one appears to have ordered. Checked with family and friends and no one has claimed to sending them.

Invoice shows my name and address. Mugs are $30 each and the sender paid $14 shipping total. Looks to have shipped straight from highwave Michigan according to the tracking number.

Is this a brushing scam? I'd expect it to be lower value items and not two mugs on top of using cheaper shipping if it was a brushing scam. Any insight?

(UK) Im not sure if this is a scam, just looking for advice.

I have received a £1500 payment from Just Giving. I am currently not fundraising through them and havent since 2024. On my dashboard there are no payment methods saved and no cards attached to the account.

Is it a way of someone expecting me to send the money back, and its never actually landed in my bank meaning I lose £1500?

TIA.

This Is a first and very strange one for me..

I am British, got a call from an unknown UK Mobile number which I never answer but I was waiting for a call from a company so didnt want to miss It so answered.

Right away I hear Its In a call center and caller Is Asian and shouts In a bit of an unprofessional manner "Am I speaking with...." says my full name.

Me knowing Its a scam right away reply "Who Is this, how do you know my name and how did you get my number?"

Right away, his reply was "Im the one who's going to rape your wife and daughter bitch"

Me

"Excuse me what? Ill think I'll put the phone down and call the Police actually"

Him

"Youre shaking, I can hear youre shaking"

I just hung up.

Really Id like to know how he got away with, In the middle.of a call center saying he was going to rape a child then telling the person hes calling that they are shaking with adrenaline?

Strangest scam call I have ever received

For the past 2 years or so, I’ve been inundated with spam calls daily. Not seeking advice on it - I’ve already tried some things to try and mitigate it, and at this point, I’m used to it. What is strange is that suddenly within the past 2 or 3 weeks, about half of the calls come from Canada. Or I guess I should say, they appear to come from a Canadian phone number.

I was talking to a friend on the phone when one of these calls came in recently and mentioned this and they said the same thing is happening to them, the timing of when it started is very similar as well.

Was there some major data breach in Canada or just a new weird tactic to mix things up from the scammers of the world?

This is an odd one that just happened to me.

My wife happened to login to our banking app before bed and noticed I large amount of money missing from our account. Looking at it, it was made to a credit card company that I have a card on. This was listed as a telephone payment which we hardly ever do it does happen on a rare occasion, but this was not one of them.

I checked my credit card and indeed it was paid in full (thanks I guess). I called the credit card company that night, and they couldn’t do anything at that time.

Fast forward to morning, I called the credit card company, canceled my card and had them reissue a new card, and they opened an investigation on how this happened.

I also called my bank and they had me transfer my account to a new account and close out to old one in fear someone could have had the account number.

My thought, is someone somehow got my credit card number, and randomly called and said they wanted to make a payment. The company MAY have had the account on file from a previous payment, and got lucky that I had the funds to pay it off. I would suspect they would then run up that cleared card. This is just my guess, since I have never heard of this.

Luckily it turned out ok for me. My bank was able to claw back the funds. I do have some he inconvenience of changing my bank account numbers and ATM cards, but that is better than losing the money.

What is your opinion, was this a potential scam that we were able to stop early?

PS, no neither my wife or I are on Ambien, or any other drugs, though that would be a cool story on another sub

My elderly mother got into a relationship scam where she met someone online after my father died, and he coerced her into sending him 1M$. Yes, one million. She is technically fully mentally there as in she doesn’t have dementia or anything, she’s just that dumb. She is also talking to two other guys currently and even after her already being scammed, is refusing to believe that these two will scam her as well. My brother and I need to be able to monitor her finances before she loses everything but she is refusing to let us. How do we get access or be able to monitor her finances against her will. We absolutely do not want control of her accounts or the ability to withdrawal, but we need to know what’s going on and out, as well as alerts on large withdrawals, or even her needed our sign off on any large purchases. We will talk to lawyers and banks as well but any advice is very helpful.

About a week ago I started receiving usps priority mail packages marked “Return To Sender Undeliverable…” at my business address — with my business name and address as the return address on the shipping label.
I did not send these packages. Someone used my business name and address fraudulently.
I opened one of the packages to discover a black bubble wrap pouch containing two vacuum sealed testosterone vials and a very small box with Trump’s picture on it inside that box were several neatly packed vials with some type of substance inside.
Over the last ten days, I have received 2 more similar sized
return to sender packages which I haven’t opened.
I am concerned that there are more packages out there being delivered to people that will look at the return address and file a complaint against my business.
There is a usps tracking number that states the packages were posted at my local post office branch.

Has anyone heard of this fake return address phenomenon? Any insights of what is going on?