Hambone
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 29535
posted
Hi there....
It's been quite a while since I posted, but I saw an article today about scammers tricking you into allowing you to let them to take over your computer to "repair" your computer issues.
I have been meaning to post about something similar that happened to me when a member here talked me into allowing him access to my computer to install a program that allows you to watch movies on your computer that are currently in theaters.
I plead stupidity on my part for allowing him to do this. Stupidity and Lyme brain.
Back in 2013, somehow I became mutual friends on FB with a very frequent poster of this group. It was simply the Lyme community friending each other on FB.
I started getting private messages from this guy, who was a nurse. He seemed nice, Very sick, but seemed to want to help others.
He out of the blue offered to hook me up with a way to watch movies on my laptop that are currently in theaters, and I thought that would be cool.
When he called me to set it up, I had absolutely NO idea what he was explaining for me to do. He immediately talked me into allowing him access to my laptop and he would set it up for me.
I watched him make changes to my computer even though we were in different states. A little part of me thought "This cannot be legal, nor very smart."
But I knew he was a popular member here and we had many mutual FB friends...and he seemed harmless.
He kept me on the phone for a loooooong time even though I kept trying to end the call. I'm talking hours. The longer we were on the phone, the more bizarre he was. I chalked it up to Lyme.
Not long after this took place, I started to notice the camera eye on my computer would come on by itself. I thought it was something I was doing wrong or a defect with my computer.
Then within a month, I started getting unauthorized charges on my credit card that were not made by me.
It dawned on me that this guy most likely hacked into my computer and I was the dummy who let him do it! I got rid of that laptop, changed my credit cards, etc. I now put tape over all of my computer cameras.
I had all intentions of coming here to alert others of this possible( but most likely )scam, but I had a life altering tragedy happen soon after that had nothing to do with this, and I just never made it back here to post about it.
I think about it all the time ( and I get so angry ) and today when I saw that news article about scammers, I thought I needed to make members here aware.
About a year later, I cautiously mentioned this computer thing to a mutual FB friend of this guy. She told me that he has done this for many people with Lyme (setting up their computers so they could watch movies ) and he had tried to get her to let him do hers, too.
I've since learned that this guy is a huge scammer and has ripped off a few people so he could get medical equipment to treat his Lyme for free. Things like Rife machines and such.
Paying with credit cards, receiving the equipment, and then saying his credit card was stolen to have the charges wiped off his balance.
I can't help but wonder did he do this to other members here, but I see he hasn't posted here since early 2015.
I learned my lesson the hard way and just wanted to tell my story so that others will be more cautious than I was when befriending Lymies on the internet.
Thanks for letting me tell my story. I would call this guy out by name, but decided if this has happened to people, they will know who I'm talking about.d
(breaking up the post for easier reading for many here)
[ 08-22-2016, 11:14 PM: Message edited by: Robin123 ]
Posts: 1142 | From South | Registered: Dec 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yes, let us mods know who this is - I have no idea who you're referring to.
Wow. Thanks for alerting everyone here. I had a similar experience with a fake microsoft fix-it url - I thought it was the real deal, and it wasn't. My bank had to get involved in getting the money back that I paid to them for nothing done.
Posts: 13116 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
Hambone! So good to see you!
So sorry! That was such a bad thing that happened to you! Really awful! And it happened because you were a good person and trusting of others. Such a shame.
Many thanks for the warning! It will hopefully save others from this same fate.
Wondering... why not just tell all of us who it is in the event we are already unsuspecting "friends".
That way we'd all have a head's up here and at other sites, and it would save others from being scammed.
No rules here saying you can't name the person, so please do.
Is there anything we can do to help you thru what is still happening, if it is?
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- For all of us to keep in mind,
Anytime someone new to any of our circles will only communicate with private email from the start, that can be a red flag.
It's best to come to "know" someone - see how they "act" with others in various posts, with any PMs you might exchange before taking the next step with a personal email. This should take quite a while, actually, before considering.
It can be very hard to walk back from even from that.
If they post a link to themselves, it's best to take that to Google and search it out there - and then if it looks safe, maybe clink onto it. But be careful with links that are posted as they could be trouble even if the words in it look safe.
Also keep in mind that any cameras on any devices can possibly be issues for hacking, especially with baby and children's monitors connected to your web devices.
Various news articles from a Google search for: baby web cam hacked
and similar hacking / spying has happened with teens and device cameras, too. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Hambone,
Very sorry for the ordeals you had to navigate. Yikes! Thanks for taking the time to detail your experience so others may avoid it.
Here's to sunnier days, eh? -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
Right. No phone calls for me unless I've known them a long time... even then it's very risky.
You can get into traps with all the drama too. I've gotten into things like that when trying to help someone. Sometimes they have WAY more troubles than just LYME!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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MADDOG
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 18
posted
Everyone!
Just remember this one thing.
If someone is inside your computer just!!!
(UNPLUG IT) !!!!!!!
Then reboot, 99.99999999% of the time you will be just fine.
MADDOG
Posts: 3996 | From Ohio | Registered: Oct 2000
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
I thought the camera would still work tho...
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Even if no camera, there is a way for some tracking to be done regarding the physical location if using certain kinds of electronic communications. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
somebody told me they can turn on a computer remotely even if its off or unplugged.
bottom line tho, I don't give anybody my personal information...
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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