strange email supposedly from geek squad

[tvguy]

This is a phish. Just delete the message. As to how they got a name and and email pair, that could be from any number of breaches that have happend over the past decade. I get almost daily phishing attacks but just delete them.

The use of the legal name would be a clue to me that the information wasn't from a breach, but from public records.

 

[GreatLakes]

The use of the legal name would be a clue to me that the information wasn't from a breach, but from public records.

That is also possible but anyone with credit likely had their full legal name breached by Equifax. That is the breach that keeps on giving.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The use of the legal name would be a clue to me that the information wasn't from a breach, but from public records.

Oh no it can def. be from a breach or a prior phishing attack that was successful. Public records would be pretty low on my list on how they got a legal name in this day and age. Credit card attacks, e-mail breaches from the past (there's a website I forget where you can check if your e-mail address itself has been comprised in a data breach at some point), etc. You have to have information to start with to even look for a public record and electronically speaking it's just easier to get the information by phishing or a breach.

 

[tvguy]

Oh no it can def. be from a breach or a prior phishing attack that was successful. Public records would be pretty low on my list on how they got a legal name in this day and age. Credit card attacks, e-mail breaches from the past (there's a website I forget where you can check if your e-mail address itself has been comprised in a data breach at some point), etc. You have to have information to start with to even look for a public record and electronically speaking it's just easier to get the information by phishing or a breach.

See, that would be pretty high on my list since it would be on all your public information like your property tax records etc and available without doing the work involved in hacking.

 

[GreatLakes]

See, that would be pretty high on my list since it would be on all your public information like your property tax records etc and available without doing the work involved in hacking.

Most of these people aren't doing the hacking. They are buying credentials from previous breaches on the dark web. The majority of phishing is re-using data from previous breaches, it isn't being used by the hackers that originally stole them.

There are ways to automate public record searches so it isn't totally manual but outside of targeted attacks on high-value targets most phishing is actually pretty lazy. They just need that 1 out of 1,000,000 to get some ROI.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

See, that would be pretty high on my list since it would be on all your public information like your property tax records etc and available without doing the work involved in hacking.

Yeah but you gotta think like an electronic thief. The energy expended to go to a random county's property assessment page, etc is more work.

Almost all of the thieves are located nowhere near where you are so it's like a random shot in the dark if trying to find property tax stuff when the easier route is to do phishing work via e-mail, texting, even on social media clicking on certain links, and getting information off of lists, etc especially because there's still a decent chance you'll hit on more stuff. This stuff has evolved over time.

I even got a text spam a few weeks back relating to a USPS delivery failure (a known scam). I know to not click on it and I just deleted the message and I also don't answer my phone ever really unless it's from a contact in my phone because spoofing calls is all I get (although I did get a political one two days ago).

My husband in 2019 had his corporate credit card skimmed from a gas station in LA, CA and within an hour or so that information was used to buy gift cards at Dunkin in Texas. Gone are the days of slow stuff.

 

[Anthony1971]

There are tons of scam emails like that these days from everything you can dream of.
If they used your legal name more than likely they have the password for your email. Change your email password.....
It is a good idea to either have no contacts and no personal information on email or to change the password every few months.
you could also have a virus on your computer/Ipad/phone that sees your keystrokes.
Apple is easy just do a hard reset and most of what you had as far as contacts and pictures will come back once you sign in providing you are able to do a full backup you may need to pay for extra space for the backup. Google has similar so long as you are signed into a Gmail and have your device back up. A computer is a lot harder but you could also pay for virus protection for a shot time on any for that fact and check as well as have it removed most of the time. otherwise a reset is needed.

 

[ronandannette]

thanks thats what we thought but it was just so strange that they used my legal name and yet my husbands email address which I dont use

I just checked the bank website since the amount was supposed to come out yesterday and theres nothing even pending

Don't waste any more energy. The classic one we get is phone spam with a recorded voice wanting to notify us of "unusual" activity on our credit cards; usually the on-line purchase of an iPhone. The first one DH got spooked him and although it mentioned a credit card we don't even have, he spent quite a bit of time making sure there was no charge made. That was several years ago; we get those calls pretty regular and we just delete them.

 

[Dznypal]

thanks for reassuring me---I was pretty positive it was a scam but theres always that split second pause that makes you feel uneasy but the more you reason through it you can see through it

thanks again

 

[_19disnA]

Random texts about something you never purchased are common scams. I get ones telling me I need to call/text them about some delivery when I have nothing on order............spam. Legit companies never send you random text messages and requesting you to contact them. I don't waste my time trying to figure out where it came from. These are probably large scale operations that send out THOUSANDS of these things daily.

 

[KayMichigan]

I get scam emails like that all the time claiming they're from the post office or Amazon or some online store "confirming" a large purchase or a package on the way. They just want you to say "Hmm, what's this? I'd better find out!" and click a link. It's a trick.

 

[tvguy]

Random texts about something you never purchased are common scams. I get ones telling me I need to call/text them about some delivery when I have nothing on order............spam. Legit companies never send you random text messages and requesting you to contact them. I don't waste my time trying to figure out where it came from. These are probably large scale operations that send out THOUSANDS of these things daily.

Any text is a tip off to a scam to me since I don't give out my cell phone number. That is why I have hung onto my landline and answering machine. Only 10 people have my cell phone number.

 

[EACarlson]

My father in law fell for this same scam last month. He should have known better but still clicked through and gave the hackers control over his machine, that had his banking information on the screen. It cost him a lot of time to get it straightened out, hopefully he's learned his lesson.