Odd scam/information leak

[Morch]

Mrs. Morch got a call on her smartphone the other day.

 

Some unknown, unidentified man offering her to install gutters at house.

 

Taken aback, she asked him several times what he's on about and who referred him to her.

Guy dodges questions, keeps touting product and service.

 

When finally pressed (didn't give the 'call center' scam feeling, or maybe was very new to this)

he says he got the information 'from Google', his business is in a nearby province (not near enough to make sense hiring),

and when she claimed this was a rental he had not idea.

 

So, we did actually discuss installing gutters, maybe had the odd online search now and then, but nothing recent and didn't reach out to any contractors.

 

Mrs. Morch's smartphone routinely pushes advertisements for stuff she talks about. More like a keyword thing.

 

The part that baffles me is not so much the information leak (if that's what it was), but where it got to and how it was put to use.

 

Ideas? Thoughts?

 

[jaywalker2]

Check permissions for all of your apps, make sure you don't allow access to the microphone, contacts, location, camera. Turn off access to location in your Google account too.

 

What usually happens is you download an app that then accesses your data. There have been a number of reports about beauty apps, filters, file managers, etc. that mine your data and sell it to third parties. Only install apps that you are absolutely sure you can trust.

[Tropicalevo]

6 minutes ago, jaywalker2 said:

Check permissions for all of your apps,

or

Do not use apps.

I do not even have the WIFI switched on on my phone.

[Morch]

Thanks.

 

I figure it's something like that - but since she doesn't do any E banking, or orders things online via smartphone, it wasn't a priority. Will look into it. Checked mine to make sure, and I'm good.

 

What surprised me was not so much the information 'leak', but the level at which it was available. Some 'call center' investing in bulk buying information and going fishing, that's easy to understand. But the guy who called sounded like an actual small business owner - didn't have much sales skills either, and the location/distance didn't make sense. Mostly the scammers just hand up when seriously challenged/questioned.

[ezzra]

Mrs. ezzra gets these kind of calls all the times, fortunately she's a bit deaf and can't hear very much of the offerings,

so it's kind of a blessing in a way...

[tandor]

20 hours ago, Morch said:

Mrs. Morch got a call on her smartphone the other day.

 

Some unknown, unidentified man offering her to install gutters at house.

 

Taken aback, she asked him several times what he's on about and who referred him to her.

Guy dodges questions, keeps touting product and service.

 

When finally pressed (didn't give the 'call center' scam feeling, or maybe was very new to this)

he says he got the information 'from Google', his business is in a nearby province (not near enough to make sense hiring),

and when she claimed this was a rental he had not idea.

 

So, we did actually discuss installing gutters, maybe had the odd online search now and then, but nothing recent and didn't reach out to any contractors.

 

Mrs. Morch's smartphone routinely pushes advertisements for stuff she talks about. More like a keyword thing.

 

The part that baffles me is not so much the information leak (if that's what it was), but where it got to and how it was put to use.

 

Ideas? Thoughts?

 

I'm gutted guttered.

[soalbundy]

Buying online and using apps opens you up to this sort of thing, the iPhone is a blessing for scammers. 

[gargamon]

Siri or Alexa reporting home and then Apple or Google or Amazon selling the info that you're looking for gutters. Obviously.

 

The first thing I do with a new device is disable those audio assistance services. Everything within earshot is transferred back to the provider. 24/7/365

[rwill]

tik tok

[Morch]

1 hour ago, soalbundy said:

Buying online and using apps opens you up to this sort of thing, the iPhone is a blessing for scammers. 

 

Not doing either on her phone. Mrs. Morch is very old school about shopping.

 

 

1 hour ago, gargamon said:

Siri or Alexa reporting home and then Apple or Google or Amazon selling the info that you're looking for gutters. Obviously.

 

The first thing I do with a new device is disable those audio assistance services. Everything within earshot is transferred back to the provider. 24/7/365

 

None of that as well.

 

1 minute ago, rwill said:

tik tok

 

Watches, but never subscribed or anything (if that's applicable/relevant)

 

[CanadaSam]

jaywalker2 had it correct, but to put it in simple English, there are apps which gain permission to access your mobile's microphone or keyboard and can know everything you say or type.

 

Consequently, you get ads and perhaps phonecalls from people wanting to sell you whatever you spoke about.

[KannikaP]

21 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

or

Do not use apps.

I do not even have the WIFI switched on on my phone.

So you use your 'smartphone' simply as a phone, yes?

[Tropicalevo]

Just now, KannikaP said:

So you use your 'smartphone' simply as a phone, yes?

and a camera. Yes.

[tomazbodner]

22 hours ago, Morch said:

Mrs. Morch got a call on her smartphone the other day.

 

Some unknown, unidentified man offering her to install gutters at house.

 

Taken aback, she asked him several times what he's on about and who referred him to her.

Guy dodges questions, keeps touting product and service.

 

When finally pressed (didn't give the 'call center' scam feeling, or maybe was very new to this)

he says he got the information 'from Google', his business is in a nearby province (not near enough to make sense hiring),

and when she claimed this was a rental he had not idea.

 

So, we did actually discuss installing gutters, maybe had the odd online search now and then, but nothing recent and didn't reach out to any contractors.

 

Mrs. Morch's smartphone routinely pushes advertisements for stuff she talks about. More like a keyword thing.

 

The part that baffles me is not so much the information leak (if that's what it was), but where it got to and how it was put to use.

 

Ideas? Thoughts?

 

Social media apps are known to rip information out of your conversations and sell the keywords.

Tested it a few times, by talking irrelevant stuff and behold, within hours, ads for the same stuff showed up on websites, YouTube, etc.

It is not part of Android, though. As there was no such effect when using a blank phone with no apps installed.

[Morch]

10 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

Social media apps are known to rip information out of your conversations and sell the keywords.

Tested it a few times, by talking irrelevant stuff and behold, within hours, ads for the same stuff showed up on websites, YouTube, etc.

It is not part of Android, though. As there was no such effect when using a blank phone with no apps installed.

 

Would it make a difference if using (YouTube, for example) the app without signing in/registering/whatever? Or viewing content through browser rather than the app?

[Morch]

41 minutes ago, CanadaSam said:

jaywalker2 had it correct, but to put it in simple English, there are apps which gain permission to access your mobile's microphone or keyboard and can know everything you say or type.

 

Consequently, you get ads and perhaps phonecalls from people wanting to sell you whatever you spoke about.

 

I get that part.

But until now I was under the impression that buying this information was something done by scam 'call centers', larger companies and so on. This was obviously not the case. Wonder how easy it is for small businesses like that to get buy this stuff (someone needs to know whom to contact and how) and how widespread it is.

[Iron Tongue]

Regularly clear the cookies and history in your computer/laptops/cellphones/handhelds.

If that guy got some sort of heads-up about you wanting to install gutters, it may have come from your searching online. 

In addition to any sites, even your search engine is capable of watching your activity and then selling your name & address to legit and illegitimate businesses.

 

[The Theory]

23 hours ago, Morch said:

The part that baffles me is not so much the information leak (if that's what it was), but where it got to and how it was put to use.

Shopping apps profile ? 
man's gutters could be a cover up for the main purpose. 

Edited December 15, 2023 by The Theory

[Morch]

7 minutes ago, Iron Tongue said:

Regularly clear the cookies and history in your computer/laptops/cellphones/handhelds.

If that guy got some sort of heads-up about you wanting to install gutters, it may have come from your searching online. 

In addition to any sites, even your search engine is capable of watching your activity and then selling your name & address to legit and illegitimate businesses.

 

 

I do that on my machines regularly, as you suggest, guess I need to step up maintenance/security on her device as well.

Still bizarre, though - we search for any number of things, this wasn't featuring very prominently on the to-do list, even.

[Morch]

7 minutes ago, The Theory said:

Shopping apps profile ? 
man's gutters could be a cover up for the main purpose. 

 

Mrs. Morch is not into online shopping, so no such apps or profiles.

And he didn't come off as some sleek salesman/conman, even the sales pitch was lame. Older guy too.

He wasn't even fishing for any extra information, didn't know our location.

[The Theory]

12 minutes ago, Morch said:

He wasn't even fishing for any extra information, didn't know our location.

My guess is is he got only the phone number from somewhere and hard to guess where (if he had no idea who he is talking to).

[SportRider]

Try the Brave browser for laptop and mobile.. it's supposed to be very secure.

(Incidentally it blocks ad popups too, seamlessly, ahem.)

[brianthainess]

On 12/14/2023 at 11:34 AM, Tropicalevo said:

or

Do not use apps.

I do not even have the WIFI switched on on my phone.

Same same. I tried downloading Wise transfers once and was inundated with scam calls. No apps for me. cash is king, bank books also, I'd rather transfer money direct from my bank.

[The Theory]

5 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Same same. I tried downloading Wise transfers once and was inundated with scam calls. No apps for me. cash is king, bank books also, I'd rather transfer money direct from my bank.

I don't have any extra apps on my phone and I have disabled many useless ones that came with iPhone. 
I'm almost done with Wise too. I rather to do it old fashion way every 6 months or more. 

[RocketDog]

On 12/15/2023 at 10:42 AM, Iron Tongue said:

Regularly clear the cookies and history in your computer/laptops/cellphones/handhelds.

If that guy got some sort of heads-up about you wanting to install gutters, it may have come from your searching online. 

In addition to any sites, even your search engine is capable of watching your activity and then selling your name & address to legit and illegitimate businesses.

 

Exactly correct.

As you probably already do:

Use an engine that doesn't track you and call home.

DuckDuckGo for instance.

 

Get a new browser too, one focused on privacy. Brave, Ghostery, etc. Chrome is a data omnivore.

 

Divorce Google. completely. The Gmail EULA clearly states that Google may and does read every word of your mail.

 

I won't do more than mention social media; I think everybody knows where they're at by now.

[tomazbodner]

On 12/15/2023 at 10:05 AM, Morch said:

 

Would it make a difference if using (YouTube, for example) the app without signing in/registering/whatever? Or viewing content through browser rather than the app?

In browser or any phone, logged in or not, you have "advertising ID". You can usually reset it in the settings to clear history. But it doesn't care if you're logged in or not. It's using your phone or browser ID to track you.

[norbra]

Interesting reading in attached link regarding your privacy.

Setting Private DNS as described will encrypt all your search information.

I use the cloudflare address,this keeps Google out of your searches whether or not you use Chrome browser.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-turn-on-private-dns-mode-on-android-and-why-you-should/