⚠️ If you see a post or DM saying "your account is currently suspended for verification purposes", do NOT click on the link. It is a scam.
Fediverse servers do not ask people to verify their identity. There is an optional self-verification system, but that's just for those who want to use it. No one is ever asked to do it.
If you are in ANY doubt about ANY official-looking message, contact your own server's admin directly using their public email address on your server's website's "About" page.
This is a direct result of bluesky doing age verification, the scammers are using it for cover. I hope they have little success, I can't think of a harder group of people to scam than fedi people (although it is not impossible, and we should all talk about it!)
In related news I got a new scam call this weekend "This is Walmart and we want to verify a $1400 charge." At first I was like "that's not a real charge" then she starts asking my name and other info so I say "I will call the bank back about this."
"Please stay on the line."
Calling back to verify the source is good practice the real deal would not object.
Hung up so damn fast.
There was no charge of course, but I was traveling and it scared me into almost answering the questions.
@futurebird This Mastodon scam was particularly ham-fisted, but the phone call you got is a good reminder that absolutely none of us are un-scammable. The U.S. is a scam culture—we are subjected to constant scams. We can't dodge them all. Eventually I'm gonna get got, and I hope I'll have the nerve to call it up publicly.
I am pretty sure it was actually the first stage of a slightly more elaborate scam. Something along the lines: OK, then we're gonna cancel this and you will get a SMS from the bank which you need to authorize for the cancelling to become valid.
Something along these lines. Depends on the exact amount and flavor of "verification voodoo" the bank has chosen to sprinkle over their processes.
Of course by doing the verification thing you'd verify a transaction or authorize another phone call happening in parallel with the bank.
Pretty sure I heard about scams that work like that recently. I am, though, too lazy to find the references in my link dumps.
@futurebird in the same vein, it infuriates me when a legit business calls me and starts asking identity questions (before delivering the message) when they are the ones calling me, and I have no way to identify them first.
I worked in the phone industry, you cannot trust caller id.
Businesses need to stop coding scam-like behavior in the procedures their operators have to follow.
@baloo @futurebird Big agree. The people who train and supervise customer service agents need to bring thier practices up to date
Everyday, when a phone rings or an email comes in, end-users have to keep diligent about who they talk to and give info to. Its a battle akin to "spy vs spy". I think I share the sentinent of many others when I say:
"Its now that much harder for legitimate contacts/communicationers to get my attention bc I have to manage my attention, second guess/double check every communication, avoid eagerness, and have my walls up."
@futurebird @EverydayMoggie Same in Europe. We try to avoid ordering online, but too many specialised shops are closing. Sometimes you have to , for tiny little things. Using different shops, from a good protected Linux- device. Within a week always getting average 3 calls mentioned here. After that it dies out. Who is peeking in it somewhere?
I don't know about switching phones, but looking up the number from a trusted source is key, eg, from a mailing or by navigating to the website from scratch.
Is it possible to hijack all outgoing calls? That is, is this something this level of scammer can do? I would have thought that would be beyond them.
This is why it's good to have other ways to check the information eg. use the app, or the website. Or heck, go to the bank in person.
@glitzersachen @FiddleSix @futurebird the only other point to make is to call the bank on a different phone, or switch the phone off and on before making the call to ensure that the original call has dropped and the scammers are not still on the line.
@FiddleSix @futurebird At least in Europe (where the following would work) the lesson is, always that you call the bank.
"What card you are calling about? ... OK I call you back on the service number"
You never talk about anything (not even your name or whether that's one of your cards or your address) with the caller if the other party has called you.
My bank, unfortunately, has become pretty sluggish and phone service which was very good for decades (most of my life) until a year ago, is now not any more. I might have to change if this continues.
@futurebird @peterbrown @glitzersachen I'm fairly sure the actual risk here is the scammer *pretending to hang up*, making it sound like you can now make a new outbound call.
If you hang up, there's no such risk. (Unless someone else in the house was secretly listening on another handset, heh.)
![Mastodon Helper #16453
@Mastodon_Moderator
@covid_wastewater [! Important Notice]
Your account has been temporarily
suspended for identity verification.
We're reaching out manually to guide you
through the required steps.
Deadline: 12 hours
Action Required: Complete the
verification via the link below.
Failure to do so will result in your account
remaining locked until further review.
Verification Link: mstd.id-83636.world/
239101758
Best regards,
Mastodon Support Team](https://poliverso.org/photo/preview/640/52884840 "Mastodon Helper #16453
@Mastodon_Moderator
@covid_wastewater [! Important Notice]
Your account has been temporarily
suspended for identity verification.
We're reaching out manually to guide you
through the required steps.
Deadline: 12 hours
Action Required: Complete the
verification via the link below.
Failure to do so will result in your account
remaining locked until further review.
Verification Link: mstd.id-83636.world/
239101758
Best regards,
Mastodon Support Team")
David Cook
in reply to Waldo Jaquith • • •see also social.growyourown.services/@F…
Fedi.Tips
2025-07-11 22:14:45
myrmepropagandist
in reply to Waldo Jaquith • • •myrmepropagandist
in reply to Waldo Jaquith • • •In related news I got a new scam call this weekend "This is Walmart and we want to verify a $1400 charge." At first I was like "that's not a real charge" then she starts asking my name and other info so I say "I will call the bank back about this."
"Please stay on the line."
Calling back to verify the source is good practice the real deal would not object.
Hung up so damn fast.
There was no charge of course, but I was traveling and it scared me into almost answering the questions.
reshared this
myrmepropagandist e JonChevreau reshared this.
Waldo Jaquith
in reply to myrmepropagandist • • •myrmepropagandist reshared this.
Glitzersachen
in reply to Waldo Jaquith • • •@futurebird
I am pretty sure it was actually the first stage of a slightly more elaborate scam. Something along the lines: OK, then we're gonna cancel this and you will get a SMS from the bank which you need to authorize for the cancelling to become valid.
Something along these lines. Depends on the exact amount and flavor of "verification voodoo" the bank has chosen to sprinkle over their processes.
Of course by doing the verification thing you'd verify a transaction or authorize another phone call happening in parallel with the bank.
Pretty sure I heard about scams that work like that recently. I am, though, too lazy to find the references in my link dumps.
William Canna-bass
in reply to Glitzersachen • • •myrmepropagandist
in reply to William Canna-bass • • •I'm glad you got it back. That must have been really stressful.
baloo
in reply to myrmepropagandist • • •@futurebird in the same vein, it infuriates me when a legit business calls me and starts asking identity questions (before delivering the message) when they are the ones calling me, and I have no way to identify them first.
I worked in the phone industry, you cannot trust caller id.
Businesses need to stop coding scam-like behavior in the procedures their operators have to follow.
Hypolite Petovan likes this.
myrmepropagandist reshared this.
Kat the Leopardess
in reply to baloo • • •@baloo @futurebird Big agree. The people who train and supervise customer service agents need to bring thier practices up to date
Everyday, when a phone rings or an email comes in, end-users have to keep diligent about who they talk to and give info to. Its a battle akin to "spy vs spy". I think I share the sentinent of many others when I say:
"Its now that much harder for legitimate contacts/communicationers to get my attention bc I have to manage my attention, second guess/double check every communication, avoid eagerness, and have my walls up."
A Flock of Beagles
in reply to myrmepropagandist • • •myrmepropagandist
Unknown parent • • •You see normally I do that, but because I was traveling I had that turned off.
hanktank61
in reply to myrmepropagandist • • •Same in Europe. We try to avoid ordering online, but too many specialised shops are closing. Sometimes you have to , for tiny little things. Using different shops, from a good protected Linux- device. Within a week always getting average 3 calls mentioned here.
After that it dies out. Who is peeking in it somewhere?
myrmepropagandist
Unknown parent • • •I don't know about switching phones, but looking up the number from a trusted source is key, eg, from a mailing or by navigating to the website from scratch.
Is it possible to hijack all outgoing calls? That is, is this something this level of scammer can do? I would have thought that would be beyond them.
This is why it's good to have other ways to check the information eg. use the app, or the website. Or heck, go to the bank in person.
myrmepropagandist reshared this.
Peter Brown
Unknown parent • • •Glitzersachen
Unknown parent • • •@FiddleSix @futurebird
At least in Europe (where the following would work) the lesson is, always that you call the bank.
"What card you are calling about? ... OK I call you back on the service number"
You never talk about anything (not even your name or whether that's one of your cards or your address) with the caller if the other party has called you.
My bank, unfortunately, has become pretty sluggish and phone service which was very good for decades (most of my life) until a year ago, is now not any more. I might have to change if this continues.
Ben Aveling
in reply to myrmepropagandist • • •> Is it possible to hijack all outgoing calls?
It used to be possible with landlines. But that was a long time ago.
I guess, if you have malware on your mobile phone, many things become possible.
@futurebird @peterbrown @glitzersachen @FiddleSix @waldoj
Tim McCormack
in reply to myrmepropagandist • • •@futurebird @peterbrown @glitzersachen I'm fairly sure the actual risk here is the scammer *pretending to hang up*, making it sound like you can now make a new outbound call.
If you hang up, there's no such risk. (Unless someone else in the house was secretly listening on another handset, heh.)