Solved Fell For Email Scam - What Should I Do Next

I’m 85. I have mild cognitive issues and vision problems.

Late last night I replied to a Scam message from a neighbor at a Continuing Care Retirement Community.

I do not want to become a spreader of this scam.

I want to know how serious it is and what steps I need to take to remove it.

I did a Free level MalwareBytes scan and it did not find it.

My email provider's 'SpamAssissin" protection also missed it.

I have the "Page Source" of the message thread that I can share after blanking personal information.

Is this a good start in understanding the problem?

Thanks,
baumgrenze

I guess the first question everyone will have for you is what "Type" (not the actual) information did you provide to this scam message?

As mentioned, if you did not provide any info, did not click anything or did not call any number, you should be safe.

For the future reference, consider using a safer DNS, it can block malware and phishing, by blocking the link.

You can also add a browser extension for an additional support.

baumgrenze said:

My email provider's 'SpamAssissin" protection also missed it.

Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, what email provider do you use?

baumgrenze said:

I have the "Page Source" of the message thread that I can share after blanking personal information.

Click to expand...

The message info should suffice to evaluate the email. You can post it in CODE for safety or just take a screenshot.

Thank you all for your responses.

I replied to the scammer via email.

He asked:

Sorry to bother you, Do you shop on Amazon? or have an account with them?

I replied:

I prefer to buy from other sellers, not the monsters. Among the monsters I prefer eBay over Amazon. Jeff Bezos controls enough already.

I subsequently received an obvious phishing message and deleted it.

Do I need to change my address?

I have an email only account with Sonic in Santa Rosa, CA. I lived in Palo Alto and they were my ISP. I liked their service response. Clearly "SpamAssassin" they use to declare and sequester mail as "Graymail" missed this one, as did I.

Do any readers recommend protection beyond the service provided by Microsoft backed up by the free version of MalwareBytes? If so, what?

Thanks,
baumgrenze

As long as you've virus scanned your computer, you should be fine. Maybe do another scan as well (eg norton power eraser which is a free download - or eset online scan - which takes ages). Malwarebytes is more malware than antivirus. What antivirus are you using?

It is possible that they have now harvested your email address but I wouldn't worry about that either. Mine has been before - just be careful of anything that looks like spam or phishing and report it.

I did the same thing myself recently. It was an email from paypal - except it wasn't from paypal! My antivirus flagged it as soon as I clicked on the link and blocked the page opening. (Norton 360).

It sounds like you didn't click on a link - you replied to an email - they already had your email address to send you a spam one in the first place. So I wouldn't worry.

baumgrenze said:

Thank you all for your responses.

I replied to the scammer via email.

He asked:

Sorry to bother you, Do you shop on Amazon? or have an account with them?

I replied:

I prefer to buy from other sellers, not the monsters. Among the monsters I prefer eBay over Amazon. Jeff Bezos controls enough already.

I subsequently received an obvious phishing message and deleted it.

Do I need to change my address?

I have an email only account with Sonic in Santa Rosa, CA. I lived in Palo Alto and they were my ISP. I liked their service response. Clearly "SpamAssassin" they use to declare and sequester mail as "Graymail" missed this one, as did I.

Do any readers recommend protection beyond the service provided by Microsoft backed up by the free version of MalwareBytes? If so, what?

Thanks,
baumgrenze

Click to expand...

If that was the extent of the conversation your fine as you didn't give him any useful information. If your worried about him pestering you for more info just block his email address or mark it as spam/junk and let them go to the spam folder for deletion.

baumgrenze said:

I have an email only account with Sonic in Santa Rosa, CA.

Click to expand...

baumgrenze said:

Do I need to change my address?

Click to expand...

No, but you can create a reliable email, like outlook or gmail with a better protection.
You do not have to change your email, you can just forward it into your new email.
I actually forward emails through several providers for an increased protection.
The only downsize is, that some legitimate emails could end up in spam.

Thank you all for your reassuring words. I'm glad I came to the 11 Forum!

I propose we mark this thread solved.

How do I 'show gratitude' on this forum? Is it simply with the emojis? Sorry for my lack of 'cool.'

I have very much gratitude to share with TairikuOkami for great patience and persistence!

Thanks
baumgrenze

baumgrenze said:

Thank you all for your reassuring words. I'm glad I came to the 11 Forum!

I propose we mark this thread solved.

How do I 'show gratitude' on this forum? Is it simply with the emojis? Sorry for my lack of 'cool.'

I have very much gratitude to share with TairikuOkami for great patience and persistence!

Thanks
baumgrenze

Click to expand...

It reads like you handled this really well. You’ve checked all the boxes re caution and all you need to worry about now (If anything) is watch for further spam. Just mark these emails as spam and forget about them.

You can show appreciation to members via the reaction buttons or simply by saying thank you, as you basically already have.

Great Support - Earns 10 points. (Emoji with the person with a headset)
Helpful - Earns 5 points. (Emoji with the hands held together)
Like - Earns 1 point. (Emoji of the thumbs up)