Rinoa Poison: Scambaiter

We tried calling Sam & Justin from Amazon, who we spoke with yesterday. But their number was dead.

 

Stream Timestamp [00:19:58]

Jessica Wilson vs Mike Waters – Norton / PayPal

Refund Amount $399.99

Transfer Amount $3,999.99

13 Maple St, 94118 CA

Making_big_farts123@gmail.com

AnyDesk was used. Password was “refund1234.”

Chase Bank

 

Mike asked Jessica to open “Googly Chrome,” which must be Chrome but with googly eyes.

 

The wallpaper on Jessica’s computer is an inspirational poster that says, “Brave is the father who ignores his urine.” The scammer paused, likely in awe of the profound meaning behind this seemingly simple wallpaper.

 

Jessica: “What’s wrong with the email address?”

Mike: “Nothing, but you forgot to put your city in.”

 

Mike wanted her to either print the “refund submitted” page or *take a picture of it.* The refund was to be submitted to Chase bank. He also asked Jessica to write down today’s date.

 

Bang, bang, bang went the scammer! Jessica asked if someone was banging their head on the wall there. He said, “yes.”

 

Jessica saw that the $3,999.99 wasn’t transferred from his bank account but was rather an internal transfer from her savings account. Mike messed with the page’s HTML to “fix” that. He then tried to gaslight Jessica (“Who told you that?”) before trying to move on past it.

 

Looking at Jessica’s previous transactions, we see Evil Lady’s Books, Gogo’s Gadgets and More, & Cap-a-Rice’s Groceries. These are all plays on viewers’ Twitch handles.

 

When Mike realized the “mistake,” his voice showed no emotion at all, despite the transfer being 10 times what it should have been. He did, however become aggressive during the “you must pay back” phase of the scam. He became suspicious, asking what software she was using, calling her “sir,” and then, “Are you a YouTuber?” He fixated on the fact that her bank account didn’t say her name, then locked her computer. He said the billing department would contact her.

 

Jessica kept asking what he was talking about, so he returned to the scam script, explaining how she got extra money. He wanted her to take a trip to Kroger to get multiple Target giftcards to return the money. He said she only needed to return $3,500 because he’s very generous. He told her to start with three cards of $500 each.

 

He booped us but called back. Jessica said that she would get the giftcards when he gives her the password to her computer. He said he wouldn’t give her the password until she gives him the money.

 

Jessica’s new inspirational wallpaper said, “If you actually see a cute kitten, simply say <<yes>>” Such wise words from artificial intelligence.

 

Mike insisted that he was no longer connected to Jessica’s computer.

 

Mike: “You know something? I give a duck to you.”

 

Mike booped.

 

Total Time Wasted: 40min 25sec

 

 

Rinoa received a text message that said, “Your card is charged $477.01 for Dell Alien Gaming Laptop at AMZON.” She called the numbers but neither number worked. She left a voicemail at the prompt.

 

 

Jessica Wilson vs Peter

Refund Amount $549.49

Peter was silent, then booped.

Total Time Wasted: 33sec

 

 

Margaret J. Rosebud (a younger voice with the hint of a southern accent) vs Rick Thomas (Mr. Rectum) – Microsoft

UltraViewer was used.

 

 

Margaret had a message on her computer and said that it was locked. Rick kept asking Margaret to read the message, but she kept paraphrasing. An AdBlock Plus donation screen blocked her computer. She kept telling him that her computer was still blocked.

 

Using a DOS prompt, he ran a scan on her computer. Margaret was confused on whether her phone was a cell phone or landline.

 

Margaret called Rick “Mr. Rectum” and he didn’t react at all.

 

He said that the entries that said “LISTENING” indicated that Margaret’s phone lines were also hacked. Rick tried to explain hackers, saying that they visited cornhub in her name but that they were from China. Rick was phishing for credit card numbers asking her if her credit cards started with certain numbers.

 

Mr. Rectum asked Margaret to check her bank account for charges to cornhub but she was more interested in looking at photos of squirrels. She didn’t understand anything about the bank, hackers, cornhub, or anything else. Rick’s voice had started out too quiet but was now at a normal volume, presumably because he was unhappy.

 

Margaret expressed concern with all of this talk of corn. She told him he needed to check himself into a clinic and get therapy/help due to all of this corn talk. She continued to say that she couldn’t read the report because she couldn’t find her spectacles and she didn’t see a charge. Rectum Thomas said that he would connect her to her bank so that she could tell them that she’s been hacked and that there were cornhub charges.

 

We were assigned to technician, Joe, who will need 3-4 hours to work on her computer. Rectum told her to stay on the line while he connected her to the bank. She booped in his face but he was still connected to her computer.

 

Rick called back and asked for the name and phone number of her bank. He booped because she was too confused over which number he wanted and where the number was. Margaret told him the number and he connected her to “Chase.”

 

Call got disconnected or someone booped.

 

Total Time Wasted: 49min 37sec

 

 

Margaret Rosebud vs Barry Scott – Microsoft Popup Scam

Windows Defender Security Center sent her a notification.

UltraViewer was used.

 

Barry asked Margaret to check her email for anything suspicious and online bank for recent transactions. Barry had Margaret run the Windows ‘malicious software removal’ tool. He asked her if there were nearby Microsoft stores.

 

Barry: “Will you be able to go out if there’s a need?”

 

Barry can only cook eggs and “bottle of water.”

We booped him while he was running the scan. He called back. Margaret said that he called at a bad time. She was on the john! He said he would call back, then booped.

 

Rinoa said she was done with him. She didn’t think anything would happen if she stayed on the line with him.

 

Total Time Wasted: 26min 44sec

 

 

Rinoa found a “card has been charged 788.45. To approve the transaction, dial the number” message/number.

Called Paypal

A SUPER CREEPY voice half-whispered “hello,” then booped. Weird! (Laughter in background?)

Timer: 0.00

 

 

Called Ebay. They had a very bad, distorted line! Hard to understand.

Charge for $399.

 

Jessica:  “Can you take the microphone out of your mouth?”

We were transferred to Kevin, security supervisor. He said he would call back from a better line. Rinoa said (after disconnect) that Kevin grabbed the phone away from the first guy and said the first guy didn’t know how to talk to customers.

 

Total Time Wasted: 5min 10sec

 

 

Incoming call from Barry Scott, asking if the scan was still running.

He started a new UltraViewer session. They discussed anime.

He said something like “If I get any updates, I’ll call you back,” then booped.

 

Total Time Wasted: 37min 14sec

 

 

Jake Williams – McAffee support.

Refund Amount $399.99 for subscription renewal (from 2020).
Teamviewer was used.

           

We logged into the bank. He said that she got the confirmation, have a good day, and then booped. Probably didn’t like something about the bank page.

 

Total Time Wasted: 21min 39sec

 

 

Bruce – McAfee tech support

The message said there was a small banking charge on her account. He said she was wasting her time and his, and she was acting too smart. He booped.

 

Total Time Wasted: 3min 41sec

 

 

Margaret Rosebud vs Shawn – Geek Squad

She got an email re: 4-year subscription for $273.15

AnyDesk was used.    

 

Margaret completed the refund foam, then logged into the bank for the nonexistent link to either accept or decline the refund. Shawn was going to tell her cancellation, refund, and verification ID numbers while black screen is up. Shawn asked if she remembered the refund amount. She said $399. (But it was $273.15!)

 

They discussed dogs. He booped, then called right back and asked if she’s on Youtube, then booped again.

 

Total Time Wasted: 25min 40sec

 

 

We called, asked for tech support to get a Norton subscription canceled. He asked how she got this number. She said from email. He said that this was not the number to cancel anything. He said it was incorrect and to check the number again. She said she was being charged $349.99 for yearly renewal. She recited the phone number from the email that was clearly his number. He asked for her phone number in case they were disconnected. He said that she could hang up and have a good day. He booped.

 

Total Time Wasted: 2min 41sec