MO SCAMS! MO SCAMS! MO SCAMS!

If it seems like they never stop that’s because they don’t! Understand that scamming people online is a full time job that requires focus, dedication and a ruthless desire to rob somebody using the internet. You don’t know them. You don’t see them and its not like you will ever get caught. Its the perfect job!

Forever Stamps Scam

The USPS has been warning people about this scam since last December and for some reason some people still get caught up. I guess because there is such a thing as  Forever Stamps its easy to get suckered. They came along in 2011 and allowed the buyer to mail a one-ounce letter regardless of when the stamps are purchased or used and no matter how prices may change in the future. Forever Stamps are always sold at the same price as a regular First-Class Mail stamp.

The scam is that many of the Forever Stamps sold on social media are counterfeit. Fake! The USPS issued this warning;

“The number of counterfeit stamps being sold from online platforms has escalated. Scammers peddle fake stamps on social media marketplaces, e-commerce sites via third party vendors, and other websites. Counterfeit stamps are often sold in bulk quantities at a significant discount–anywhere from 20 to 50 percent of their face value. That’s a tell-tale sign they’re bogus.”

The most popular Forever stamps being faked have been those bearing the U.S. flag and commemorative stamps including ‘Love Skywriting’ (2017), ‘Hot Wheels’ (2018), Cactus Flowers (2019) and Winter Scenes (2020).”

The same rule applies here as with all scams; if seems too good to be true, it probably is. Popular retailers do sell Forever Stamps that are modestly discounted But rarely in the range of 20%-50%. So the Postal Inspection Services is telling you if you see a deal like that it’s probably a scam.

McDonald’s “You Have Been Selected Scam”

Of course they chose you for an exclusive offer. This McDonald’s  scam says that recipients had “been selected” to receive an “exclusive reward” or “gift.” It eventually led to a survey scam that promised a $100 McDonald’s gift card or gift certificate. Never happens.

The email looks like this;

Now we see again that the email has no relation to CVS. Check it out;

“[email protected]”

Now does that look like a legitimate email address and meragaf.shop has no affiliation with CVS Pharmacy either.

A lot of these so called survey scams are really just phishing websites that will either ask for personal information to collect the prize or ask you to click on something to download your prize, voucher or certificate. And often you will end up downloading a piece of malware or something vicious like that. Spyware could eventually steal your credit card, passwords and other sensitive information. Just delete it.

Venmo “$1,000 Gift Card” Email Scam

Yet again., something for nothing. Like a $1,000 for doing what? Buying or subscribing to a magazine or service. NOT!

Yet another February 2022 scam goes like this; you get an email that appears to come from Venmo or a third-party company that’s promising a $1,000 Venmo gift card. The message says; “We are pleased to announce you’ve been selected.”

if you get such an email you better believe that it is not a legitimate offer and the message did not come from Venmo. It appeared to have been sent by either a third-party survey company or a scammer posing as the survey company.

The email read as follows: 

🔔 Get a $1000 Venmo Gift Card Today🔔 🔔 🔔

From: [email protected] via pladias.club

Venmo Gift Card

Congratulations! A $1000 Venmo
gift card is waiting for you…
Upon completion of purchase and/or subscription.

We are pleased to announce
you’ve been selected.

Start Right Away

Venmo is not affiliated with, does not sponsor,
or otherwise endorse this promotion.

To unsubscribe, please visit here or write to:

Consumer Digital Survey
P.O. Box 4668 #85919
New York, NY 10163-4668

Just like the last scams the email addresses are all wrong. There is no rheerrgi.org and pladias.club was registered just last month. So it boils down to the this, there is no $1,000 gift card and Venmo did not send it. Delete it.

In the past month these email scams have popped up all over the internet and they use every retailer’s name possible. But its up to you to be on the  look out for these scams. That’s why I keep stressing to check the email and avoid the offer that’s just too good to be true. These scammers rob people for millions of dollars every year and are rarely caught. So its up to you to catch them before they catch you.

Now you know.