Targeting Senior Citizens Across the World — Not long ago we were contacted by an older woman who told us that she has been receiving daily offers from a website with deals specifically for Seniors. The site is called “Coupon65[.]com.” She asked us if we thought this website was legitimate. We didn’t! Coincidentally, we also noticed an uptick in the malicious clickbait in our honeypot email accounts that also targeted seniors. All of these threats concern us. According to the US National Council on Aging, “America’s older population has grown by 38% since 2010, compared to an increase of 2% for the under-65 population.” This is also the trend in Europe where 1 in 5 Europeans is now 65 or older, according to a report published in 2022 by the United Nations Population Fund. And those increases are expected to grow. So it is no surprise that Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting Seniors with scams and malicious clickbait at a time in their lives when cognition, memory and judgment, unfortunately, may begin to fade.

The woman who contacted us recently said…. “I’ve been receiving daily offers from this group but this particular offer for an Android 13″ ProTabletX at 50% off seems too good to be true. And the more you buy, the cheaper it gets & then you can get a tablet or 2 free if you buy so many!  What also has my family concerned is that the email came from India! I emailed them a few times but my emails weren’t able to be delivered!  I’ve included the offer that I’m concerned about. I hope that you’ll have time to check it out & let me know, thanks in advance.” Below is the screenshot that she sent to us. (It didn’t include the email header information.) Who is Coupon65 and are they “too good to be true?”

We confirmed that the link in this marketing email will redirect to a business called “coupon65[.]com“. This domain was registered a few years ago but this business has a HORRIBLE reputation! Some people call this consumer site a scam.  Check out these links about it….

 https://www.trustpilot.com/review/coupon65.com

 https://seniorsdiscountclub.com.au/threads/urgent-seniors-discount-coupon65-scam.2965/

Also, our friends at Scamadviser report the Coupon65 site is unsafe! Their TrendMicro score is 1 out of 100! And on the Scamadviser website, there are another 2 negative reviews of Coupon65[.]com with one person stating that Coupon65 did not deliver the product that was purchased. Given what we learned about this website offering discounts to seniors, we do not recommend purchasing anything from them. Here is a screenshot of the ad for the “Easy-to-Use ProTabletX.” Notice how the ad is written to appeal to the senior population, including the site’s header that adds “Discounts for Senior Citizens.”

Human beings have an overwhelming desire to connect with each other! (This is etched into our DNA!) And the more we can relate to someone’s story, the more likely we are to want to hear it. This is why we think this next email is so dangerous! It landed into one of our honeypot email accounts in late August and has the subject line “They-call her “stupid” at work.” The email appears to be sent from an account named “Senior-Moments” and tells the story of a 67-year old professional women named Barbara who was bullied at work because of her age!  This is a heart-wrenching story that many are likely to relate to IF IT WERE TRUE! Notice that it also came from the domain Tangismedia[.]net. (We have MORE malicious clickbait sent from this source below in the “For Your Safety” column.) 

TangisMedia[.]net was registered in mid-December, 2021. When we visited this media site in late August, there was NO website to review! But much more importantly, the links in the email about the bullying that Barbara experienced didn’t point to any named website! Instead, they point to an IP address, 135.148.138.130.  Whenever we see an IP address, instead of a domain name in a link, we know that it NOT a good sign! DO NOT CLICK!

Sure enough, VirusTotal.com tells us that two security services found this 135[.]148… IP address to be malicious! So before you think to click a “Youtube” link to hear a story about a 67-year old woman being bullied in the work place, think again! And notice how artfully worded was the last paragraph! Check out the “Editor’s note,” in that email! It was CLEARLY meant to trick you into clicking to learn more about Barbara’s story!

As if this isn’t enough to make our point, we received more malicious emails coming from TangisMedia[.]net and specifically targeting seniors! Check out this next email about “Senior Perks” using the descriptive “19 Senior Summer Money Saving Secrets You Did Not Know About.” We immediately recognized the link in this clickbait as likely to be malicious because it pointed to the link-shortening service at bit.ly rather than showing the final website destination.

Of course we unshortened the link at bit.ly and discovered that it will redirect visitors to a gadget store that was also found to be malicious! The domain is vipgadget[.]store. Once again, this is so sad when you realize that there is at least one very active cybercriminal gang making a concerted effort to target senior citizens around the world in their effort to make money! These low-life bastards don’t care WHO they victimize, HOW MUCH pain they cause, or WHAT the results of their scams have on the lives of older people! And, more often than not, it is senior citizens who can least afford to lose money, not to mention the emotional harm these bastards cause. 

FOOTNOTE: If you have any senior citizens in your life, please share this article with them! Ask them about their experiences with email, texts and social media messages they may receive. Do they ever receive content or contacts that make them feel suspicious? And remember to add…. “If it seems too good to be true, it is!”

Online scams are the most reported type of crime. Most countries now state that between 20 to 50% of all crimes reported are related to online fraud. This is only the tip of the iceberg, as only 7% of all scam victims report the crime to law enforcement. With nearly $55 billion lost last year and more than 300 million consumers scammed fast action is required.

On October 18–19, 2023, the 4th Global Anti-Scam Summit (GASS) will take place. The goal of the GASS is to bring governments, consumer & financial authorities, law enforcement, brand protection agencies, and (cybersecurity) companies together to share knowledge and define joint actions to protect consumers from getting scammed.

In 2022, we had nearly 1,300 virtual guests and 120 physical participants from 70+ countries. This year the event will be organized hybrid again. Last year, we defined 10 Recommendations to Turn the Tide on Scams. This year, we will focus on further defining these solutions and showcasing the best practices from around the globe.

Schedule  |  Book Tickets

October 18-19  |  Ramada by Wyndham Lisbon Hotel, Portugal & Online (Zoom)

Beware of DSW Outlet Scams! — Have you come across Facebook ads or websites known as “DSW Outlet” and wondered if they were legitimate? Check out and protect yourself with this 100%  FREE, all-in-one tool.

Rob also sent us a recording of a recent phone call he made after receiving a fake email from “Xfinity” telling him he was charged for a new modem and internet service. But, of course, Rob doesn’t use Xfinity! Most people would just delete that email.  But Rob launched his recording software and called the scammers….errr, we mean Xfinity support staff, to see what their game was.  In order to cancel this service, the scammer instructed Rob to open his web browser. He was asked to visit a website called GoServer[.]live.  After receiving these instructions, Rob called out the scammer and hung up. It turns out that GoServer[.]live was registered at the end of June. It is a website being used by cybercriminals to scam people. This website can give the scammers access into your computer! (See screenshot below.) Enjoy this 4 minute call!  We did!

Speaking of “opting out” of things… If you use Google’s Chrome browser, it is becoming quite apparent that you may not be able to opt out of Ads that are going to be built into the browser itself.  Check out this recent article on ArtTechnica.com about changes to Google Chrome and Ads.  This concerns us because, to us, it means that Google is likely to monitor your browser activity more closely and sell that information to advertisers. The comments that follow the article are also very interesting!

The “Dating Website Team” contacted one of our readers about connecting with a woman named Tiffany. This might be a nice idea for some, perhaps.  But the recipient wasn’t using dating sites/apps and recognized this for what it was… malicious clickbait!  The link in this clickbait pointed to a server in the Central African Republic. (A domain called dyntenn[.]cf)  Of course this email didn’t come from any legitimate dating service. It came from a free Gmail account with an unpronounceable name. Details matter!

Recently, we saw an article posted on The Guardian that described how cybercriminals are now monitoring social media sites like X (formerly known as Twitter) for complaints by consumers.  If a consumer leaves a complaint about a company, the scammer will reply to the consumer and offer to give money back but they will actually collect and use the consumer’s credit card or banking information!  Sounds like an important article to read, for sure!

Netflix, PayPal, and GS Bill — Netflix is available in more than 190 countries across the world, according to their website. That’s one of the reasons their logo and bogus emails make such good phishing content! Take this email that came from LiveMonarch[.]com instead of netflix.com.  Apparently, there are some issues with your current billing information. Boo hoo! But you can click the link to reset your information! Except that the link points to a site called maher[.]info that has a REDIRECT on it and will forward you to a phishing page in the Netherlands called oruabire[.]nl! Oddly, “oru abire” is Japanese for the phrase “take a bath,” according to Google translate! Oh yeah! You’ll definitely be taking a financial bath if you click that link! Delete it instead!

We’re sad to report that there is no longer a United States! According to this Paypal email, there is only “Texas, United State.”  Just one. (The phrase “just one” reminds us of Anjelah Johnson’s comedy routine called “Just one nail”) Sorry for being that parent, saying things over and over but…..details matter!  Don’t call these scammers at 807-807-0156!

This next smelly phish was sent to us by a TDS reader and is a bit bizarre.  It claimed to be a bill from “GSK Network Care,” though the top of the bill simply says “GS Bill.”  GSK is a global biopharma company that makes medicine and other health related products.  Why these scammers used this company to send a bogus bill to a person is beyond our imagination.  Of course this bogus bill came from a free Gmail account.  Break out your airhorn, put on your noise-canceling headphones, and call 877-887-6154 to let them know what you think of their effort!

Sextortion and Western Union Money Transfer — Sextortion can be brutally stressful, even when it is a scam and not real.  Some people even become anxious when they are not sure that the extortion is real or fake.  Here are two recent examples. The first extortion is fake and came as an email into Doug’s inbox.  For a while, he was getting these every week or two for months. Don’t believe this malarky. There’s no proof! Wouldn’t it make sense for the extortionist to include a photo PROVING what he claims to have captured?  We’ve written about these scams for years.  Here are a bunch more on our website.

This next example began when a young man met a young woman through a dating site in late August. Shortly after meeting her, she sent the young man a sext and asked that he send one back.  He didn’t because the whole thing felt odd and suspicious. Why would she send this to him so suddenly, without asking for it, and barely knowing him? Sure enough, a couple of hours later the young man received a text from the girl’s father claiming that his daughter is “underage.” The father and daughter had a big fight when he discovered what she had done and she crashed the car as she drove away from their heated argument. He was now demanding that the young man help pay for some of the auto damages!  This was, of course, total BS.  Check out this final text exchange between the young man and the “father.”  The young man tells the scammer that he’s reported this fraud to the FBI. We’ve written about this scam, and it’s many variations for years. A total of 950 men who were targeted by this scam, have reported it to us, with the most recent report just a few weeks ago. Check out our article Plenty of Fish Has Plenty of Sharks. 

Diabetes Discovery? — Lots of malicious clickbait arrive in our inboxes disguised as health related content. We’ve now seen many such bogus emails come from a website called TangisMedia[.]net and they often have links that point to an IP Address, rather than a domain name. THESE ARE HIGHLY MALICIOUS LINKS!  One of our readers gets these often and sent us the examples below.  The first is about a supposed discovery about Diabetes that has left “doctors speechless.” The links point to the IP Address 135[.]148[.]42[.]252 which has been identified as malicious/phishing by two security services.  The second email, which we’ve seen many times in the past, pretends to be about health care for toenail fungus. Don’t believe these clickbait emails!

Package Delivery Problems! — Thank goodness your order has been placed. What order, you say? We have no idea but “hd harold jiminez” at Gmail says you’ll be charged $380.07 and it’s going to be “auto deducted from your credits.” What a lovely way of phrasing it! When we looked up that exact phrasing in Google, we only see links to other reports of fraud, such as this August 8 post on Scammer.info.  Keep in mind that this text came from a free Gmail account but if you want, you can call these scammers at 844-572-8661 and blast them with your airhorn!

Until next week, surf safely!

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