While this is outside of Square, this community is a great place to highlight a phishing scam that is sent to me on almost a monthly basis. While I normally delete these emails, I decided that today's email would be a good one to play along with so all of you food vendors can see the progression on how it all plays out. I haven't responded to the email below yet, but when I do, I will update this thread with the ensuing replies. First, let's take a look at what's wrong with the following email:
-The first thing that sends up bit of a red flag is the name. While this can be seemingly innocent, our experience has told us that the name will be completely unbelieveable or they have a tendency to use two first names.
-Next, you should look for grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and many times spelling. Kudos to "robin" for "her" spelling in this email.
-Finally, the coup de grâce to believability is always when they ask you if you accept credit cards towards the end of the email.
If you are new to a scam like this, you may chalk all of this up to coincidence. You can accept the name, and may even be able to get past the grammar. The credit card question will seem a non-issue.
It's time to Phish for the phisher. My bet is that "robin" will try to reel me in with a very large and appealing order. They will then tell me about the courier that will be picking the order up.
Stay tuned for the next installment!
Let's take a look at the next episode in this saga, shall we? I was beginning to lose hope that I had cast the wrong bait to reel this "Phisher" in, but I received response a few minutes ago. "Robin" is good. She almost had me questioning my initial assessment...almost. Here's the latest correspondence. The following was my initial reply to the original email. And no, my name is not "Joey Smith."
Here is what to look for:
-Once again, take a look at the grammar and punctuation.
-While we can make everything in "Robin's" list, these are not specific to our menu.
-"Robin" even goes so far as to list an address. ALWAYS check the accuracy of info...
The above listing is the house at the address "Robin" gave me in her email.
Stay tuned for the next episode: "Robin" Refuses to Pay On-Site
Today the saga took an emotional turn, and we start to see how the phishing scam is going to go. I'm actually a little anxious to see what "Robin's" next email will contain. See today's email and what to look for below:
-If I was somewhat impressed with "Robin's" grammar in her first email, all of that is gone now.
-This is the first time I've had someone ask what "merchant" I use. I'm interested to see if she brings it up again. I didn't answer that question on purpose.
-"Robin" is trying to invoke an emotional response, and it is starting to give away her true intentions.
Tune in next time for the next episode! She's fooled me with a new direction, but it will end as they always do.
Welcome back for the next episode! In this episode we see "Robin's" plot revealed. We also see her annoyance for punctuation take a firm grasp of her emails. Shall we take a look? Oh! Since we're nearing the end of her scheme, I'm about to have a little fun. You may pick up on it in my reply. We'll see if she takes the bait.
-"Robin" reveals her true plot here. This is where I thought she would go with it, but this one has been more drawn out with an attempt at a little more believability and emotional attachment.
-If you ever have someone ask you to run their credit card so they can pay someone else, it should automatically throw up a red flag. The way we've seen this go down before is that they will say that they will send a courier to collect the cash. Some people will think that because they will actually see someone face-to-face that it makes it a little more legit. Don't fall for it.
Today's episode is the breaking point. We'll see if "Robin" moves forward or if I've scared her off by asking about her hospital info. See you all in 3 days ("Robin's" usual turnaround) for the next episode or a farewell to "Robin."
Welcome back! In this episode, "Robin" wasted no time with a reply. Unfortunately, we may be at the end of the road in this saga. I'm fighting hard to keep her "on the hook," but it may be too much to overcome. Let's take a look!
-If you are still thinking this is legit at this point you may want to find a business partner and let them handle the emails and ordering.
-If you can't/haven't talked to the person or they aren't referred to you from someone you trust, be suspicious at the very least. That suspicion will many times root out a scam. If you've followed this thread, then you can hopefully see how suspicion worked to our advantage.
-I apologize if you do, but who in the world still uses the word "kindly" when making a request? Almost every scam I've seen incorporates the use.
In the next episode, we'll see if "Robin" takes the "cash on hand" (I don't really keep that much cash laying around) bait or if we send a final email thanking "Robin" for participating in our experiment. Either option should make for a good episode. See you all next time!
Well, in the words of the great Frank Sinatra, "I did what I had to do, and saw it through without exemption."
This is most likely the final episode. I decided to be courteous....
With that, I hope you have enjoyed these episodes, and that they have shed a little light an a popular phishing scam. Good luck out there, "and may the odds be ever in your favor!"
