My Uncle Got Sucked Into A "Home Depot" Phishing Scam

So, I am on WhatsApp, checking out some family conversations, when I receive a message from my uncle.  Message reads:

"The Home Depot 40th Anniversary.  Click to enter to participate in the survey.  Have a chance to win $ 8,000! BeneficialYear.TOP"

Right away, red flags go up.  Looks extremely suspicious, but I click the link anyway, because I want to see what the scam looks like, so that I can warn others.

Here's a capture of the URL, and the page it took me to:

www.FedPrimeRate.com: Phishing Scam Image 1

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When I reloaded the page, I was taken to a totally different URL:

www.FedPrimeRate.com: Phishing Scam Image 2

First of all, if this is a survey from The Home Depot, then why on Earth would I be redirected to 2 different URLs? And why would one of the domain names use a .CN top level name, meaning it's registered in China?

Moreover: all the navigation links don't work, and the same if you try to "up" or "down" vote in the comments section.

As I investigated further, I found that Firefox is aware, and warning folks:

www.FedPrimeRate.com:
Mozilla FireFox Warning
- Deceptive Site Ahead

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Please people: don't forward suspicious messages to friends and family without checking them out.  You could end up doing serious harm to people you care about.

>>>   CLICK HERE FOR MORE SAFETY WARNINGS   <<<

>>>   CLICK HERE for SCAM ALERT: HOW TO AVOID BANKING AND OTHER TRENDING SCAMS; KNOW THE RED FLAGS   <<<

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SCAM ALERT: How to Avoid Banking And Other Trending Scams; Know The Red Flags

From the good folks at Bank of America:

Be Aware Of A Trending Zelle® Payment Scam

Beware of scammers impersonating banks and fraud departments. By spoofing legitimate phone numbers to call or text you, the requests can be very convincing. While Bank of America may send you a text to validate unusual activity, we will never contact you to request that you send money using Zelle® to anyone, including yourself or to share a code to resolve fraud.

Here's What Happens:

• You receive a text that looks like a Bank of America suspicious activity alert.
  
  
• If you respond to the text, you've engaged the scammer and will receive a call from a number that appears to be from a bank.
  
  
• The “representative” or scammer will offer to help stop the alleged fraud by asking you to send money to yourself with Zelle®.
  
  
• Then, they ask you for a one time code you just received from a bank. If you give them that code, they will use it to enroll their bank account with Zelle® using your email or phone number.
  
  
• The scammer now has the ability to receive your money in their account.

Being vigilant is your first line of defense; here's how to help stay protected:

• Don't be pressured to act immediately — this is what scammers want you to do.
  
  
• Don't trust caller ID — it's not always who it says it is.
  
  
• Don't share codes based on a call you receive.

To learn more, watch this educational video layer from Zelle®

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Know The Scams That May Follow A Natural Disaster

Watch out for fake contractors. Following a disaster, unlicensed contractors will canvas the impacted areas promising to get clean up or repairs done quickly. They may ask for payment up front and not show up to do the work, or have you sign a contract that redirects insurance payouts to them and not you.

• Do your research; get multiple quotes for comparison, and make sure the contractors are licensed.
  
  
• Use caution if you're pressured to pay up front for the job or sign over the insurance claim. Contractors may try to offer special deals that seem too good to be true.
  

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CLICK HERE for much more from this
highly informative Bank of America article.

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#SCAMS #SCAMMERS #FRAUD #ZELLE #BofA #SCAMALERT #NEWSCAMALERT #REDFLAGS #SCAMAVOIDANCE #AVOIDSCAMS #FedPrimeRate #PHONESCAMS #EMAILSCAMS #TEXTSCAMS #BANKOFAMERICA #PHISHING #PHISHINGSCAMS #BANKSCAMS #BANKS #BANKINGSCAMS

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Consumer Sentiment: FINAL Results for APRIL 2026

The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS) - FINAL Results for April, 2026 was released today:

Predicted: 49.0

• Actual: 49.8

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• Change from Previous Month: -6.57% (-3.5 points)
  
  

• Change from 12-Months Previous: -4.6% (-2.4 points)

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• Final ICS Reading for March 2026: 53.3
  
  
• Final ICS Reading for April 2025: 52.2

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From Today's Report:

"...Consumer sentiment ticked down 3.5 index points this month, now comparable to the trough seen in June 2022. Decreases in sentiment were seen across political party, income, age, and education.

Expected business conditions declined for both short and long time horizons, nearly matching year-ago readings when the reciprocal tariff regime was implemented.

After the two-week cease-fire was announced and gas prices softened a touch, sentiment recovered a modest portion of its early-month losses.

The Iran invasion appears to influence consumer views primarily through shocks to gasoline and potentially other prices.

In contrast, military and diplomatic developments that do not lift supply constraints or lower energy prices are unlikely to buoy consumers.

Year-ahead inflation expectations surged from 3.8% in March to 4.7% this month, the largest one-month increase since April 2025. The current reading exceeds those seen in 2024 and remains well above the 2.3-3.0% range seen in the two years pre-pandemic.

After hovering between 3.2 and 3.3% for the previous four months, long-run inflation expectations climbed to 3.5% in April, the highest reading since October 2025. In 2024, values ranged between 2.8% and 3.2%, while in 2019 and 2020, they were consistently below 2.8%..."

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CHART: Buy-in-Advance Motives Tick Up After Start of
Iran Invasion But Remain Historically Modest So Far
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The ICS is derived from the following five survey questions:

1. "We are interested in how people are getting along financially these days. Would you say that you (and your family living there) are better off or worse off financially than you were a year ago?"
   
   
2. "Now looking ahead, do you think that a year from now you (and your family living there) will be better off financially, or worse off, or just about the same as now?"
   
   
3. "Now turning to business conditions in the country as a whole, do you think that during the next twelve months we'll have good times financially, or bad times, or what?"
   
   
4. "Looking ahead, which would you say is more likely: that in the country as a whole we'll have continuous good times during the next five years or so, or that we will have periods of widespread unemployment or depression, or what?"
   
   
5. "About the big things people buy for their homes, such as furniture, a refrigerator, stove, television, and things like that. Generally speaking, do you think now is a good or bad time for people to buy major household items?"
   

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• Click here for more on how the ICS is calculated.

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The ICS uses a 1966 baseline, i.e. for 1966, the ICS = 100. So any number that is below the 1966 baseline of 100 means that the folks who were polled recently aren't as optimistic about the U.S. economy as those polled back in 1966.

The ICS is similar to the Consumer Confidence Index in that they both measure consumer attitudes and offer valuable insight into consumer spending.

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The "predicted" figure is what economists were expecting, while the "actual" is the true or real figure.

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• Click here to view the full University of Michigan report.

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NEW PHISHING SCAM: Facebook Has Temporarily Suspended Your Account (ACCEPT / IGNORE Button)

So this is a new Facebook (FB) phishing scam....For me anyway.

Was taking care of some business on FB, when this nasty message popped up in my face (👈 image.)

It says, "Facebook has temporarily suspended your account," and it shows you two (2) buttons: [ACCEPT] and a flashing red [IGNORE.]👆

OK, so if are on FB and you see this popup message, DO NOT CLICK THAT FLASHING IGNORE BUTTON!

This is a common trick the scammer use: A fake button that makes you think that if you click it you will get rid of the popup.

But, of course, the opposite is true.

Instead of clicking the [ACCEPT] or [IGNORE] buttons, close the window.

At this point the attack may have locked up your computer so that you can't close the message.

🚨 THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD DO 🚨

If that's the case, then shutdown your computer, and unplug it.  Unplug it even if it's a laptop.

Then wait at least 10 minutes before starting it up again.

Once you have rebooted, use your preferred virus scanner to scan your system, after you've check for the latest threat updates via the Internet.

I use Microsoft's built-in Defender Antivirus on my Windows 11 computers, and I check for the latest updates on a very regular basis (sometime multiple checks per day.) 

OK, so if you accidentally click on that malicious [IGNORE] button, another popup will smack you in the face, and this time it will fill up your entire screen!

   💣> Do NOT Click ANYTHING in that WINDOW! <💣

EVERYTHING in that page is MALICIOUS and can do some very serious harm to your computer, or your finances, or your private data, etc.

So, again, if you can't close that window, scroll back 👆 up this page 👆 and follow the steps under the heading "THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD DO" and you should be OK. 💫

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Latest Norton Antivirus Protection Renewal Scam In My Inbox

Email Scam Alert

OK, so here's another stupid and very lame attempt to scam the world, received in my main Gmail account today:

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Subject Line: Invoice Id : NJ7834H78EH39

Email Body: Dear ******* ,

Invoice Id : NJ7834H78EH39

Thank you  for connected with our norton anti-virus protection. This email is to notify you that your membership for your computer security & protection has been renewed

User Id : ********@gmail.com

Congratulations, you have successfully renewed your Norton Anti-Virus Protection membership.

You have been charged the payment of  $107.93 for 01 year Norton Anti-Virus Protection service from your bank account, via Debit/credit card.  If you didn’t authorize the charges or if you want to continue this service.

Kindly reach us immediately at      

1     8   0   6     4   5   4     5   7   3   7

Product                                       Unit Price                             Qty.                                            Total Amt.
Norton Anti-Virus Protection         $107.93                              

This Deduction will be reflected in 2-3 business days in your bank statement.

Note- This is a system generated mail.  Please do not reply to this mail ID. (1)  Call our 24-hr customer care.

Thank You

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How lame is this scam attempt?

1)  Well, the email address of the sender is: <alinasmith6254@gmail.com>

Hmmmm.....Not sent from Norton, me thinks: DERP!

2) You see how the phone number is spaced out?  That's a giveaway too.  The scammer has formatted it like this in the hope that it will trick the email spam filter.  If the scam email goes to the spam folder, it's done.

For this particular scam email, it worked!  Gmail didn't send it directly to my spam folder.  I found it in my inbox.

3) I don't use Norton Antivirus.  I used to, a long time ago, with Windows XP, but I gave up on it as it consumed too much cpu time -- my computers got a lot slower -- and it was too expensive.  I find that Microsoft's built-in Windows Defender antivirus / anti-malware / anti-spyware works great.  Of course, because I'm a total Nazi about these things, I run Windows Update every time I rest and massage my hands (to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome), which is about every 10-15 minutes.

I also run a Windows Defender Offline Scan often, because most experienced malicious coder / hacker deviants know how to hide their BS in places that are hard to clean.

 

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A "For Food" Payment Request Scam Attempt on Cash.APP®

www.FedPrimeRate.com: "For Food"
Payment Request Scam
Attempt on Cash.APP®

Here's a first: Someone trying to scam me via Cash APP®.

$25.00 for food, for someone with the name Chivo Valluco. Fake name?  Sounds pretty darn fake to me! 😏

It was just a matter of time, since my business Cash App ID ($cashtag) is visible on the Internet, for all to see.

Blocking the scammer was a quick and easy.

Some of these Cash.APP scams are very crafty and sophisticated.  Here's a clip from a Forbes® article:

"...Sometimes, they even send money to the Cash App user and then say it was an accident. Then they ask for a refund, but the money was initially sent from a hacked or stolen account. The user sends back the money, but now they're left with the headache of dealing with the original fraud...."

Yikes! #Beware! 😓

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A Sophisticated Money Transfer Scam by Scammers Using Zelle®

This New York Times article was written by Michael Wilson:

 

A Sophisticated Money Transfer
 Scam by Scammers Using Zelle®

I’ve Written About Loads of Scams. This One Almost Got Me.
“Please hold,” the caller said, “while I transfer you to my supervisor.”

It was a Wednesday in August, a little before lunch. The call came from a 212 number, which for a New Yorker could be almost anything -- the school, the pharmacy, the roof guy -- so I answered.

The caller asked for me by name and stated in measured tones that he was from Chase® Bank and he wanted to verify transfers being made from my account to someone in Texas.

Wrong number, I said. I don’t have a Chase account.

But one was recently opened in your name, he replied, with two Zelle transfers. And minutes ago, someone tried to transfer those funds, $2,100, to San Antonio.

Now, this carried the whiff of plausibility. I’m one of some 150 million people who have access to Zelle®, the payments platform that lets you send and receive money from your phone. But my scam radar was also fully operational and pinging.

“How do I know this isn’t a scam?” I asked, sounding like that guy in every movie who asks an undercover cop if he’s a cop.

He had a quick answer. Look at the number showing on your phone and Google it, he replied. “Now look up the Chase branch at 3 Times Square,” he instructed. “See the office phone number?” I did, and it matched the one on my phone’s screen.

Then he added, “Here at Chase, we’ll never ask for your personal information or passwords.” On the contrary, he gave me more information -- two “cancellation codes” and a long case number with four letters and 10 digits.

That’s when he offered to transfer me to his supervisor. That simple phrase, familiar from countless customer-service calls, draped a cloak of corporate competence over this unfolding drama. His supervisor. I mean, would a scammer have a supervisor?

The line went mute for a few seconds, and a second man greeted me with a voice of authority. “My name is Mike Wallace,” he said, and asked for my case number from the first guy. I dutifully read it back to him.

“Yes, yes, I see,” the man said, as if looking at a screen. He explained the situation -- new account, Zelle® transfers, Texas -- and suggested we reverse the attempted withdrawal.

I’m not proud to report that by now, he had my full attention, and I was ready to proceed with whatever plan he had in mind. 

Internet fraud has grown steadily, with 2024 setting new record-high losses -- “a staggering $16.6 billion,” the F.B.I.’s annual Internet Crime Complaint Center wrote in a recent report. These crimes include elaborate cryptocurrency schemes and ransomware attacks on entire cities, but phishing and spoofing -- the cloning of an actual phone number -- still lead the list of some 860,000 complaints last year.

Are these scams entering some sort of improved, 2.0 version of the old-school Nigerian-prince-type setup?

“I wouldn’t call it an improvement,” said Paul Roberts, an assistant special agent in charge of the New York offices of the F.B.I. “It’s an adaptation. As the public becomes more aware of schemes, they need to adjust.”

The man claiming to be a Chase supervisor asked me to open Zelle. Where it says, “Enter an amount,” he instructed me to type $2,100, the amount of the withdrawals he was going to help me reverse.

Then, in the “Enter phone number or email” window -- where the other party in a Zelle transaction goes -- he instructed me to type the case number the first caller had given me, but to leave out the four letters. Numbers only. I dutifully entered the 10 digits, but my skepticism was finally showing up.


“Mr. Wallace,” I said, somewhat apologetically. “This case number sure looks like a phone number, and I’m about to send that number $2,100.”

No, he replied, because of this important next step. In the window that says “What’s this for? ” where you might add “babysitter” or “block party donation,” he told me to enter a unique code that would alert his team that this transaction should be reversed.

It was incredibly long, and he read it out slowly -- “S, T, P, P, six, seven, one, two …” -- and I typed along. Now and then he even threw in some military-style lingo: “… zero, zero, Charlie, X-ray, nine, eight …”

Once we were done, he had me read the whole 19-character code back to him.

Now, he said, press “Send.”

But one word above the “What’s this for?” box containing our special code with the X-ray and the Charlie kept bothering me: “Optional.”

Then I had an idea, and asked the supervisor if he was calling from 3 Times Square. Yes, he said.

I’ll come to you, I said, and we’ll fix this together.

By then it will probably be too late, he said.

“I’ll call you back,” I said, and he said that would be fine, and I hung up.

I called my bank and confirmed what I’d come to suspect. There had been no recent Zelle activity.

My jaw dropped when I went back and looked at my call history. Sixteen minutes — that’s how long they had me on the line.

In decades as a crime reporter, I’ve covered many, many scams -- psychic scams, sweetheart swindles, real-estate scams, even the obscure “nanny scam,” where a fake mother reaches out to a young caregiver to try to rip her off.

I should be able to spot a scam in under 16 seconds, I thought -- but 16 minutes?

I wanted to know why this scam seemed to work so much better than others...

 
The full article continues here 
(New York Times subscription required)

  

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