This has to be a scam

JackDidley · JackDidley's Garage

Scammers are getting bolder every day. I got a letter today from Barclays. I have 2 credit cards with Barclays. This letter says they require a copy of both sides of my SS card, an original utility bill and a copy of my government issued ID. If I do not comply in 30 days they will block my account privileges. Aint going to happen. May as well send them all my cash. I never use one card and seldom use the other card anyway.

fintstone · fintstone's Garage

My state asked for the same to send me my tax return.

I filed electronically in April (same state, same address as for the past 10 years). I still have not received my return.

pwd72s · 11-26-2022, 09:46 AM

Call the number printed on the card. I'm as sure as can be you'll be told it's a scam.

JackDidley · JackDidley's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Call the number printed on the card. I'm as sure as can be you'll be told it's a scam.

It has to be a scam. I heave never had such a request ever. I will not comply with such a crazy request. I dont even need the card anyway. I used to use it because it gave a good cash back at gas stations and restraunts. I have a better card for that now. I just cant believe the nerve of the scammers.

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Call the number printed on the card. I'm as sure as can be you'll be told it's a scam.

Yes. NEVER click a link or respond to a phone call. Call the number on the back of the card and ask them if there is a problem.

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

Yep, call the number on the card. I received a call from my credit card company and my BS meter was pegged. So I asked her name and extension. I said I would call the number on the back of the card and ask for her. I called and was connected to her again. OK, I am convinced. She then asked if I was in Italy trying to buy 15 grand of scuba gear. I assured I was not in Italy, and please decline the sale. She canceled that CC number and sent me a new card via FedEx to my home address. That was all back before cell phone were common and now I will just get a text message to approve weird charges.

I would never send a copy of my SS card to anyone ever, or even send the number. If you have a card, they already know who you are, and your SSN and a full credit history on you.

masraum · 11-27-2022, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackDidley

Scammers are getting bolder every day. I got a letter today from Barclays. I have 2 credit cards with Barclays. This letter says they require a copy of both sides of my SS card, an original utility bill and a copy of my government issued ID. If I do not comply in 30 days they will block my account privileges. Aint going to happen. May as well send them all my cash. I never use one card and seldom use the other card anyway.

Over the years I've gotten similar emails from a slew of banks that I don't have any dealings with, and once, one that I did. I assume that one was just probability/chance eventually getting it right.

masraum · 11-27-2022, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackDidley

It has to be a scam. I heave never had such a request ever. I will not comply with such a crazy request. I dont even need the card anyway. I used to use it because it gave a good cash back at gas stations and restraunts. I have a better card for that now. I just cant believe the nerve of the scammers.

It's not their nerve. It's a fairly sophisticated scheme that's the result of lots of trial and error. If they make the pitch really sophisticated, they'll hook a lot of fish. If they hook a lot of fish, then they have to spend a lot of time and effort reeling in all of those fish. They'll lose a lot of those fish after wasting a bunch of time. If they make it just realistic enough to fool the not very savvy fish, they hook those fish and the fish practically jump into the boat for them with minimal effort. So the reward/effort is much higher.

They intentionally make them like they do, not very good, mistakes, etc... so they weed out the average and smart people and only hook not so savvy folks because that's where the highest profit margins are.

JackDidley · JackDidley's Garage

I am going to just ignore the letter. In 30 days if it is really from Barclays I will hear from them. Still not going to send them anything. As I said its not even a card that gets much use. Id just close the account but I dont want my credit score to go down.

KFC911 · 11-27-2022, 07:03 AM

I've never given my credit score much thought... always knew it was "good" though .... Did check years ago and it was 825... Probably a lot lower now .... I don't know and don't care.

I'd ignore it too and let them cancel the card if it is legit (it isn't

)....

JackDidley · JackDidley's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC911

I've never given my credit score much thought... always knew it was "good" though .... Did check years ago and it was 825... Probably a lot lower now .... I don't know and don't care.

I'd ignore it too and let them cancel the card if it is legit (it isn't

)....

Mine is 804. Just a number. I have no intentions of taking out a loan or applying for credit but for some reason Id hate to see it drop. I will be 70 next month and at 70 years old a guy should not need to be buying things he cant pay cash for.

porsche tech · 11-28-2022, 02:43 AM

On the rise lately…

A while back we had our roof replaced and the roofing company offered a discount to veterans…just show a copy of your DD 214. He took a picture of it with his phone and then later I was looking at it and it has my SSN printed right on it. So now some roofer is walking around with my SSN on his phone!

A lot of mechanics used to inscribe their SSN on their tools ( I just put my name on mine). A guy asked to borrow my Blue Point straight edge and later when I needed it he gave me his (same one) because mine was at his house. I got it out the other day and his SSN is clearly scribed right on it.

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

I remember the days before everyone had a computer, the police encouraged people to etch their SSN on all their likely to be stolen electronic things like TV and Stereos and tools. I did it in a few items. It ii on my Schumacher battery charger that I use. I did obliterate the number on it later.

JackDidley · JackDidley's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I remember the days before everyone had a computer, the police encouraged people to etch their SSN on all their likely to be stolen electronic things like TV and Stereos and tools. I did it in a few items. It ii on my Schumacher battery charger that I use. I did obliterate the number on it later.

When I was a kid one carried his SS card as a main form of ID and your SS number was on your drivers license. I havent carried my SS card in 20 years.

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

Growing up, my dad was an Air Force Pilot. The Air Force used his SSN as his service number. If we whent to anything on base that required ID, I had to show my ID, and it had dad's SSN right on it. Most of the time it was just flash the card to show I was a dependent. To drive onto the base I had a sticker in the corner of the windshield. The guard would see the color of the sticker and salute that sticker. About 20% of the time, after the salute they would then point to the inspection lot. I would pull in, and pull my wallet and show my ID, and they read it carefully, made me get out, and searched the car for anything illegal. I never did drugs and I never smoked so they never found anything except my camera gear to search. They then would want to study my ID card again and log in dad's service number, and time and date I came through.

craigster59 · craigster59's Garage

As a youngster in the Boy Scouts one of our fundraisers was going door to door selling orders for a metal engraved social security card. People would just give you their number, $5 and we would deliver their card a few weeks later.

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

I learned my SSN as a kid. I have never ever carried the actual card. It is in my safe, with the original staple in the corner of the larger card, and it has never been cut off. As a kid I always had my Air Force issued ID card as a form of ID. My brother's SSN is just one number different than mine. Our are sequential numbers.

Arizona_928 · 11-28-2022, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Growing up, my dad was an Air Force Pilot. The Air Force used his SSN as his service number. If we whent to anything on base that required ID, I had to show my ID, and it had dad's SSN right on it. Most of the time it was just flash the card to show I was a dependent. To drive onto the base I had a sticker in the corner of the windshield. The guard would see the color of the sticker and salute that sticker. About 20% of the time, after the salute they would then point to the inspection lot. I would pull in, and pull my wallet and show my ID, and they read it carefully, made me get out, and searched the car for anything illegal. I never did drugs and I never smoked so they never found anything except my camera gear to search. They then would want to study my ID card again and log in dad's service number, and time and date I came through.

Good story.

I remember going to davis with my grand parents as a young kid. The sf would salute and we would be on our way (grandpa was o6). When we went to bx i was excited we always parked in the front of the lot. Thought it was normal.

Anyways. To this day I've never been searched at a gate anywhere conus "knock on wood". I've been searched at luke on the way out, but that was a 100% search and they just opened our back doors and kept going down the line of cars.... was very weird.

JackDidley · JackDidley's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigster59

As a youngster in the Boy Scouts one of our fundraisers was going door to door selling orders for a metal engraved social security card. People would just give you their number, $5 and we would deliver their card a few weeks later.

I remember those. I thought they were cool but never had the $$ to get one.

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

Good story.

I remember going to davis with my grand parents as a young kid. The sf would salute and we would be on our way (grandpa was o6). When we went to bx i was excited we always parked in the front of the lot. Thought it was normal.

Anyways. To this day I've never been searched at a gate anywhere conus "knock on wood". I've been searched at luke on the way out, but that was a 100% search and they just opened our back doors and kept going down the line of cars.... was very weird.

From what I learned, there was a real problem with other kids bringing marijuana on base. If they saw a teenager, it was likely to be searched. Dad said he had never been stopped and searched for some strange reason.

When we lived on base at Hickam, AFB in the very early 1970s, I would ride my bike over to the Navy base because they had a better hobby shop. Traveling from one military base to another still required me stop, and show my ID. I was not allowed to take a camera onto the Navy base. They had lots of ships docked at Pearl Harbor, and some of them were open and exposed during maintenance and they did not want photos. They would open the bag of stuff I bought at the hobby shop and inspect it. The funny thing to me is I could buy glue at the Navy base hobby shop, but at the Hickam hobby shop I had to have my mom buy it for me.