Almost got scammed selling some stuff online. 🤙
Had a person send me their number as an interested buyer and told me to text them. I did (first mistake), and we arranged a meetup time. Then they asked if, for their safety, they could send me a six digit code (some of you already know where this is going) that I could repeat back to them to verify myself.

I said, "absolutely!" And sure enough, I got a Google Voice verification number. lol

If you're not familiar with the scam, shady people will take your phone number and try to create a Google Voice account with it. If you provide them with the 6-digit code that Google sends you, they can "verify" that they are you, and then basically use your phone number to run scams, commit fraud, etc. It's nasty business.

I called them out, blocked them, then reported them to the marketplace website and to the FTC--though, almost certainly, they were using the phone number of another poor soul to carry this out.

I used to work as a social engineer, running phishing campaigns (ethically, with consent lol), against Fortune 1000 companies to assess their level of vulnerability. Luckily for me, I was super familiar with this, but most of the people I told about it have said, "Oh, I probably would have fallen for that...", and even I set myself up for it.

So that is why I'm posting this. Please be aware of sketchy shit like this. If someone is asking you for a verification code over SMS or email, tread with EXTREME caution. Also, it's usually pretty shady if a stranger you're already chatting with wants to move to a new platform. Not always, but if someone emails or messages you on Facebook to ask you to text them, that's a little weird. I'd had legitimate buyers/sellers do that, so it's not unheard of, but it should put you on guard.

If you buy/sell/trade online frequently, it's a good idea to use a dedicated MySudo number, VOIP number, and/or a burner phone for that.

Stay safe out there, kids.

#Privacy#Security#Scams#Craigslist#FacebookMarketplace#eBay