Just a heads up.....you may have heard of it.

Might be a hoax, but there could be a ring of truth to it......you decide. This is from a letter my boss received the other day.

"I got a call from a man this weekend telling me he represented my bank and that they were having difficulty meeting requirements to be computer ready for Y2K. He said all bank customers would need to transfer their accounts to a bond account specially designed to protect our money until the bank could fully comply with Y2K requirements. He then said to verify that he was talking to the proper account person I needed to confirm information about myself, my account numbers and then give verbal authorization to transfer funds to this specially designed account."

"I don't trust folks who do this kind of thing so I asked him which of the banks I use did he represent. He was not able to do that and hung up at that point."

"Please pass this info to friends or family because this is a huge scam that is going on all across the country. Some people would be scared to think they would lose all their money (which he said was sure to happen if I didn't do this now) and would supply the information without first checking this out." "I notified the phone company of the call - since I have caller ID, I could give them a number but the identifier just said "out of area". It came from a 248 area code, which is around Detroit. Anyway, just passing this along so you'd be aware and beware."

I'm sure most folks on this forum have enough common sense to recognize a scam when they see one. Just wanted to get the word out on this one.

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), March 08, 1999

Answers

I am sure as we get closer to the edge, we'll be seeing more scams crop up, and I am sure they'll prey upon the elderly because it is that group who will be the most vulnerable.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), March 08, 1999.

This is a simple reminder to NEVER EVER conduct business transactions over unsecured channels and/or with anyone you don't implicitly KNOW is an employee of the financial institution(s) you do business with. If I had gotten that call I'd have asked the fellow for his name and bank location and said I'd come see him in person to attend to the matter the next business day. NEVER do banking transactions over the phone unless you KNOW who's on the other end, people!

OddOne, who's fortunately not been scammed like that but knows people that were...

-- OddOne (mocklamer@geocities.com), March 08, 1999.

I wouldn't touch this one with a $10,000 check of your money! <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), March 08, 1999.

I heard a similar scam about credit cards. Amazing how some people can come up with these things.

Thanks for the post Deano. I'll be in your neck of the woods during spring break. Can't wait for some relaxation.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), March 08, 1999.

I heard about that one also. There was also another (early last year) where the mafia (acting as Y2K consultants) contracted some companies for Y2K remediation, were given all the system security they needed, and then proceeded to move LOTS of funds their accounts. Actually pretty damn clever if you ask me! Make a great movie of the week.

Weather has been PERFECT down here. Crisp and cool in the morning, 70-75 in the afternoon. Sad part is we're having wild fires again. Lost 6000 acres the last couple weeks. Just a warning - we're praying for rain down here, hope we don't ruin your vacation! :-)

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), March 09, 1999.