WSP Scam Alert

[TheGecko]

I received an email from WSP: "Pending Payment for Palm Oil". I have an account, but I have never ordered anything from them. However, I did order Palm Oil from Elements Bath & Body.

I went to the WSP website, verified that I have no orders, and nothing in my Cart.

I sent an email to WSP letting them know of the apparent scam.

If you receive an email about a "pending order", do NOT use the link in the email, but go to the website and log in.

 

[AliOop]

Thanks for the alert. Since Elements is now a subsidiary of WSP, is it possible that your Elements order is what triggered the email?

 

[TheGecko]

Thanks for the alert. Since Elements is now a subsidiary of WSP, is it possible that your Elements order is what triggered the email?

Yep...that’s what happened.

Long story short, I screwed up and requested an invoice from Elements. I know [now] that WSP owns Elements, but I still expected an email from Elements. So when I got an email from WSP without my name...a usual sign of a scam, I was concerned.

 

[AliOop]

Well, you can’t be too cautious. You did the right thing by not clicking and by checking in with them.

 

[lsg]

We have had several "Scam" calls on our home phone. It pays to check things out.

 

[TheGecko]

We have had several "Scam" calls on our home phone. It pays to check things out.

I got a couple of "I'm in jail" calls...one was from my grandson "John" who was in jail in Hawaii. Didn't have any grandchildren at the time. Then less than an hour later it was from son "John"...knew he wasn't in Hawaii as I had talked to him that morning. I did call my nephew who I knew was in Hawaii...he was at the beach.

Things folks need to know (US only):

1) Calls from jail are ALWAYS 'collect' unless they have a Calling Card. In both instances, you will get a recording saying that the call is from XX Jail and is being recorded.

2) The IRS will NEVER call you...unless they are returning your call. And they don't accept Gift Cards or Western Union as payment.

3) The Sheriff will NEVER call you to tell you that you have an arrest warrant. They also don't accept Gift Cards or Western Union, not to mention you have to go to court to get an arrest warrant quashed.

4) Your Social Security number can NOT be "suspended".

5) Emails from your bank, credit card company, stores, etc are usually addressed to you.

6) Always check the email address, if does not contain the web address of the entity is supposed to be from, it's a scam.

7) NEVER use the link in the email to access your account. ALWAYS log into your account from your browser.

8) Lastly, NEVER use a "public" wi-fi to access any account.

 

[Catscankim]

I guess this is more of a question..

So i needed gas on my way home tonight. I work in the ghetto. I was supposed to go out and get gas while it was still light out, then it got busy and I didn't get around to it, so here I was at 1am getting gas at 7-11 in the ghetto...

I don't know how card skimmers work. But I stuck my card in, it said to see the cashier. I don't want to go in to the store. I put the card in in a few different directions...finally after a few tries it goes through, but as I am pumping gas, I noticed the screen changed to a weird black and white screen...like still a payment screen but old fashioned looking.

After I finished pumping gas, I immediately locked my card. Like I said, I don't know how card skimmers work, and I really don't imagine that it takes over the whole pump that it changes the screen. Hopefully I just got weirded out by it for no reason.

I guess my question is..does locking your card prevent them from draining your account? I keep checking my account, it still seems fine. I don't know if it was an actual scam, or it just did something weird. It went from bright and colorful 7-11 logos, to just black and white.

And I didn't want to go into the store to ask. I have a pretty thick skin, but after midnight in the ghetto, in a gas station is not for me LOL. $10 is almost exactly what I need in gas to get home, and that's exactly what I put in and high-tailed it out of there.

 

[TheGecko]

I guess my question is..does locking your card prevent them from draining your account?

As long as it remains locked, yes. But if it was a skimmer, what will happen is that the folks behind it will attempt to make small purchases here and there until the card is 'unlocked' (because you feel safe) and then you're screwed and will have to jump through hoops with your bank. In the meantime, you won't have access to that money. Your best option would be to cancel that card and get a new one.

I had to go through something similar this past year. I was fortunate in that it was a second account that I didn't keep a lot of money...three charge attempts were made...larger to smaller amounts. My bank froze my card and notified me. My card was cancelled and I went to the bank and got a new one.