Security help for my 75 year old mother

Security
22

no one is ignoring the question we are just giving solutions

23

Not directed to you. Just a general consensus. And most of the answers given say ignore.

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24

As they should…

25

I have to be honest. There are scams every day. You know about it and clearly she does. The police can be told about it but impossible to deal with all this. I easily get 5 scam calls a week. Hang up. It`s in your power and her power to brush it off or the next one will cause more grief.

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26

I agree. This is not a phone call, according to the original poster.

27

unfortunately its the way its going with all the tech around we just need to be aware and dont take anything at face value until we have checked and double checked an then check again

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28

No, but just reply to their e-mail saying you have forwarded it to the local police department and not to bother you again.

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29

In Canada the answer is yes and we have an entire government agency dedicated to tracking these cyber frauds. Chances are good that they aren’t the only ones who received this e:mail, and adding another piece of the puzzle may seem useless to some, but then you never know.

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30

Just for fyi the picture is of the drive way I guess they thought it would scare her if she thought they was outside. Second there isn’t more to the story that’s it. I just thought maybe someone would know how to track them. There is cameras on our real house and we practice the 2nd but the point is it pisses me off and I wish I could catch them and hold them accountable.

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31

We did notify the detective in Boone county but who knows where that will go

32

I have a couple tricks to keep it down, one is when you get a call pick it up and don’t say anything, the bots can’t seem to deal with that if it is a bot and after a few seconds they disconnect. If the call was from someone you know or important then they would at least say hello or start the convo.

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34

I am almost at that particular age. I know what my driveway looks like and I assume your mother does to. So, if it is her driveway I would go to the police station and present the email to them. These days we can only hope that the cops have an expert or availability to an expert with technical stuff. Let them handle it.

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35

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/people-across-metro-atlanta-receiving-threatening-emails-with-personal-info-pictures-of-their-home/vi-AA1rdxbz?ocid=socialshare&pc=W099&cvid=690d1dd0fe8c4709af9ee938ec51e65a&ei=122

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36

Sadly it’s easy to get outside photos from google maps street view or photos from the likes of facebook etc.

These scammer may be in a different country and could be difficult to trace.
You could try reporting it to the company that would have received the payment by sending the email to their fraud department.

Best to tell our elderly to always show you emails they don’t understand who sent them

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37

i love the phone calls i keep them on as long as i can there paying for the call

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39

Sad to say these emails are going around. My father (80 yrs young) has gotten 4 emails now and they keep changing their email addresses. Wording is threatening and they say they will take over his computer and cell phone as they claim to have software installed on them. They have a picture of his driveway and figured it was from Google maps.

Each email has a pdf attachment and request more $$ in bitcoins.

We have him mark as phishing as Google “claims” they will look into them. :woman_shrugging:t3: If it continues I may have him change his email address even though that is a looong process for updating doctors, etc.

If he gets more we may try calling local authorities just to see if they can direct us further.

Best of luck and let your mom know she is not alone in these scams.

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40

Be sure they know never to open any attachments in an unknown senders e:mail. Report any Spam. I can block the e:mail addresses. Also scan for Malware on a regular basis.

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Question any unexpected emails or text messages

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42

They are telling her that they know where she lives. That is very unsettling.

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Were there any threats and what exactly have they said they’re extorting her for?

Firstly: Sit your Grandmother down and explain this is a scam, strong arming. Explain to her in no uncertain terms to not respond, reply or pay!

Secondly: Report to the local Police and show them the email.

In her email account you can find their IP address, go online to an IP Tracker.
Getting that depends on if they are VPN protected. It would however give you the general area they’re in if not protected. My guess is if they’re making these types of threats and demands their butts are covered.
That said, criminals are a bunch of dumbA**es…

This also falls under a federal offence so you can go to their website and fill out a form adding the email and possible IP address.

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