Just heard about a new scam in my neighborhood that targets lost cats with chips. The scammer looks for strays - say your family cat jumped the fence for a neighborhood stroll - catches them and if they have an implanted chip they use an RFID scanner to obtain the chip’s number, then call a vet to access the pet registry database (usually telling the vet they’ve found a cat and want to return it) to obtain the pet owner’s contact info. Once they have that, they call the owner and say the cat was hit by a car and they need $$ transferred right now for immediate treatment - or the animal may die. They use cash transfer apps, or wallet transfers to get the money exchanged, then dump the cat. Damn…that’s vicious😱 #scam #scammers #Caturday #extortion

Just heard about a new scam in my neighborhood that targets lost cats with chips. The scammer looks for strays - say your family cat jumped the fence for a neighborhood stroll - catches them and if they have an implanted chip they use an RFID scanner to obtain the chip’s number, then call a vet to access the pet registry database (usually telling the vet they’ve found a cat and want to return it) to obtain the pet owner’s contact info. Once they have that, they call the owner and say the cat was hit by a car and they need $$ transferred right now for immediate treatment - or the animal may die. They use cash transfer apps, or wallet transfers to get the money exchanged, then dump the cat. Damn…that’s vicious😱 #scam #scammers #Caturday #extortion

@briankrebs

Thanks for sharing this (truly, thank you).

Folks..... THIS. Right here.

This is why I know so much about scams — from my time working at Meta.

Interestingly enough, when I first told people I worked for Meta and exposed all the horrible things we were doing, that fact was celebrated on the Fediverse. It was often even trending there.

But when I started talking about the scams I knew about — including the ones coming onto the Fediverse to warn people — suddenly, working for Meta was seen as a character flaw.

#Meta #Facebook #Instagram #Threads #WhatsApp #Scam #Fraud

Bombshell report exposes how #Meta relied on #scam #ad profits to fund #AI https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/11/bombshell-report-exposes-how-meta-relied-on-scam-ad-profits-to-fund-ai/

Bombshell report exposes how #Meta relied on #scam #ad profits to fund #AI https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/11/bombshell-report-exposes-how-meta-relied-on-scam-ad-profits-to-fund-ai/

@briankrebs

Thanks for sharing this (truly, thank you).

Folks..... THIS. Right here.

This is why I know so much about scams — from my time working at Meta.

Interestingly enough, when I first told people I worked for Meta and exposed all the horrible things we were doing, that fact was celebrated on the Fediverse. It was often even trending there.

But when I started talking about the scams I knew about — including the ones coming onto the Fediverse to warn people — suddenly, working for Meta was seen as a character flaw.

#Meta #Facebook #Instagram #Threads #WhatsApp #Scam #Fraud

Okay the #AI #Scam REALLY has gone WAY TOO far. Now Seagate is marketing a line of HDDs as meant for AI! This is totally bonkers. It’s a bloody lie. How can platters and a disk head etc. be AI enhanced or ready anyway? It’s not software. Never mind that almost all if not all cases of AI in this craze are #LLM at best. It’s tech’s biggest #hoax in decades if not ever. Almost every company thinks if they market something as AI it is somehow better and too many people are buying into it. All lies.

@catsalad
#scam
#slop
#infested
#spam

Gerade wurde in der #Bahn ein #Scam an mir versucht...

Alles fing an, dass sich kurz hinter #Bordesholm (also kurz vor #Kiel) eine junge Frau (die ich gerade einsteigen sah) zu mir setzte und ein Gespräch mit Fragen begann: "Hätte ich von Bordesholm direkt nach Hamburg fahren können ohne in Kiel umzusteigen?"

Nachdem ich ihr kurz die Streckenführung erklärte und schon wieder meine Kopfhörer drinnen hatte, sprach sie mich erneut an.

"Wissen Sie was #Paypal ist?" (nicht der beste Opener, Mädel)

Als ich bejahte sagte sie, dass sie jetzt den ICE ab Kiel nehmen müsste und keine Zeit mehr hätte, sich Geld zu holen (Martin weiß: Ankunft RE 10:34 Uhr, Abfahrt ICE 11:11 Uhr).

Ob Sie mir deshalb Geld per Paypal schicken könnte und ich Ihr das auszahlen könnte. Ich lachte nur und sagte "So etwas mache ich nicht". Dann war sie auch sofort wieder weg.

Ich sah sie in Kiel wieder, anscheinend hatte sie noch keinen Erfolg. Meinen (zugegebenermaßen etwas süffisanten) Hinweis auf die Lokation des nächsten Geldautomaten und den 37 Minuten bis Abfahrt des ICEs fand sie anscheinend nicht hilfreich.

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I have previously, in good faith, reached out to the person claiming to run "Gaza Verified," and they showed no interest in taking action. In fact, their own website is independently attempting to raise $36,000.

I understand that many people want to help — what’s happening in Gaza is truly awful. But you'd be wiser to donate through trusted organizations like the Red Cross or, as someone else suggested, UNICEF, rather than responding to random direct messages.

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/palestinian-children-remain-deprived-most-essential-supplies-and-services

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#Gaza #GazaVerified #Scam #Fraud

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First, let me say: what’s happening in Gaza is absolutely awful. But what’s also awful is that there are dishonest people taking advantage of others during a crisis.

In one photo, from Facebook (my job, where I work), we had a woman claiming to be a 36-year-old mother of two children, ages 4 and 7. She spaced out the URL in her post, hoping it wouldn’t get flagged by spam filters (it did). The very next day, someone on the Fediverse posted the exact same message, with the same URL. The only differences were that they used a different name, a different profile photo, and claimed to be a 19-year-old girl.

I have reviewed every account associated with the group known as “Gaza Verified” — and they are all scammers. Every single one of them.

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#Gaza #GazaVerified #Scam #Fraud

Okay the #AI #Scam REALLY has gone WAY TOO far. Now Seagate is marketing a line of HDDs as meant for AI! This is totally bonkers. It’s a bloody lie. How can platters and a disk head etc. be AI enhanced or ready anyway? It’s not software. Never mind that almost all if not all cases of AI in this craze are #LLM at best. It’s tech’s biggest #hoax in decades if not ever. Almost every company thinks if they market something as AI it is somehow better and too many people are buying into it. All lies.

Scary stuff. Definitely worth checking that a hotel exists, by looking on other platforms for recent reviews etc.

'Traveller reader Raja Nagaraja of Florey, ACT, got a rude surprise when he and his wife showed up late one night expecting to check in at the accommodation they’d booked at the Outlook Hotel in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls. It didn’t exist.

'“Terrified in the darkness at this unknown place, we called the number provided, with a person informing us that the hotel was still under construction and that he would provide alternate accommodation,” he wrote.'

#travel #scam https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/beware-booking-that-overseas-hotel-it-might-not-exist-20251010-p5n1kp.html

Scary stuff. Definitely worth checking that a hotel exists, by looking on other platforms for recent reviews etc.

'Traveller reader Raja Nagaraja of Florey, ACT, got a rude surprise when he and his wife showed up late one night expecting to check in at the accommodation they’d booked at the Outlook Hotel in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls. It didn’t exist.

'“Terrified in the darkness at this unknown place, we called the number provided, with a person informing us that the hotel was still under construction and that he would provide alternate accommodation,” he wrote.'

#travel #scam https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/beware-booking-that-overseas-hotel-it-might-not-exist-20251010-p5n1kp.html

Possible Phishing 🎣
on: ⚠️hxxps[:]//home1448[.]godaddysites[.]com
🧬 Analysis at: https://urldna.io/scan/68eb9ca73b7750258490ad21
#cybersecurity #phishing #infosec #urldna #scam #infosec

🚨New coordinated Mastodon attack targeting Palestinians from Gaza

Folks, please look out for newly-created accounts on mastodon.social targeting Palestinians from Gaza with what appear to be automated/similar messages aimed at either scamming them or otherwise causing them harm in some way.

Accounts I’ve already reported to @staff:

- @Danitimi@mastodon.social
- @bradoliver2050@mastodon.social
- @elizabethangel12@mastodon.social
- @mary1e1@mastodon.social

To the #GazaVerified families: if someone reaches out with similar posts, please do not engage and come to me instead. I will handle it.

#Gaza #Palestine #GazaVerified #scam #spam #hasbara #israel #genocide #mastodon #fediverse

🚨New coordinated Mastodon attack targeting Palestinians from Gaza

Folks, please look out for newly-created accounts on mastodon.social targeting Palestinians from Gaza with what appear to be automated/similar messages aimed at either scamming them or otherwise causing them harm in some way.

Accounts I’ve already reported to @staff:

- @Danitimi@mastodon.social
- @bradoliver2050@mastodon.social
- @elizabethangel12@mastodon.social
- @mary1e1@mastodon.social

To the #GazaVerified families: if someone reaches out with similar posts, please do not engage and come to me instead. I will handle it.

#Gaza #Palestine #GazaVerified #scam #spam #hasbara #israel #genocide #mastodon #fediverse

Are credit scores a scam?

#isitascamyep #scam #creditscore

Are credit scores a scam?

#isitascamyep #scam #creditscore

I never got a scam e-Mail like that before! So how did they know!

My employer filed for insolvency in 2023 and all employees got their last salaries from the #IEF. In such cases everybody has to pay extra tax on that next year.

The scammer probably got the insolvency data from public records and employee names from the homepage. Guessed one of my e-Mail Addresses. Bet on people forgetting this #tax debt, waited two years and then sent targeted #scam e-Mails!

That's a new level of insidious!