Tis the season to be SCAMMED!

Merry Christmas everybody!!!! This post is your friendly reminder to be on the lookout for scams this holiday season. Not only should you regularly check your bank and credit card transactions but on today I found out it is also IMPERATIVE to check your emails as well.

This morning I was sitting at work minding my own business when my phone started buzzing like crazy.

I check and I have a SLEW of unread emails saying “click here to confirm your email subscription”. Some were in foreign languages, others English however I had no clue where they were coming from or why I was receiving them since I hadn’t signed up for anything. I just assumed it was some type of phishing scam and started reporting and deleting them.

Then buried in the emails was a “We’re Working On Your Order” email from Walmart about a $127 order being on its way. Now I do order from Walmart online once in a blue moon and often send giftcards from there but it dawned on me that the last thing I ordered was toys I donated to a couple of toy drives last week.

Upon further review of the email I noticed that the item was an Innova Inversion Table and was being shipped to Ana Montero 008633 at 2120 NW 96th Ave Doral, FL 33172 and saw the last 4 digits of my card listed under the payment method.

Chile I immediately logged onto my Walmart account, canceled that order, deleted my card from the account and changed the password. I then contacted their fraud department to notify them.

So, if you don’t know by now you will learn that I’m a detective (in my mind) so I went to google. Apparently this scam was discussed on Reddit.com three years ago. Basically, hackers have been able to gain access to Walmart accounts and make purchases via third party sellers to either ship to store or mail to whomever. They then spam your email address hoping the Walmart notification gets buried and you don’t see it. Luckily, because I always check my emails and bank account I was able to catch this IMMEDIATELY and cancel the order before it could be processed or shipped. Others haven’t been so lucky.

When I googled the shipping address that was entered it was registered to several companies including Black Box Distributers, ROSMINA DI BARTOLOMEO LLC and Globus International Cargo.

So please please please pay attention so you don’t fall prey to any scams.

I wish you all a very safe, prosperous, joyous and BLESSED holiday season and new year! I look forward to making this blog the place to be in 2022.