I’d like to think of myself as someone aware of phishing and other scams, particularly being DOD, and having to take cyber awareness training annually. My spouse is a credit analyst at a large bank and I helped him study for FCRA and other exams. It’s crazy the lenght scammers will go to…
About 4 years ago, I placed an ad on CL to sell a used vehicle. At the time, I wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to sell it, so I put in on there instead of sites requiring better seller verification.
One morning, at work, I got an email showing interest from a buyer indicating interest. The correspondence between us lasted a good 2 hours or so. I felt they were serious about purchasing it. They requested a vehicle history report (not carfax, can’t recall the name) and had me click on a link & pay $19.99. Almost immediately, I realized I had just got scammed, and called my cc to report it. They canceled that card and sent out a new one. Luckily, I didn’t encounter any other issues.
Smart on you to realize quickly and flag it with your cc company.
Some advise though; make sure the device you used has a antivirus (make sure its up to date - as new trojan viruses are introduced regularly). Change the PW to any email/websites associated with the link you clicked. If you use the same password(s) associated with the(se) compromised accounts, with other accounts (say you use the same email/password combination with your bank & gmail), change your gmail password(s) too. They can be posted on the dark web.
Depending on your cc company(ies), you may have the option to enroll in active credit monitoring. Chase, Cap 1, and Amex offer those for free. As @Spoonman stated, make sure you freeze all 3 of your credit bureaus, asap. You can also place a fraud alert with each bureau.
Also, be aware some cc do provide fraud-free protection, while others don’t. It’s always best to make your financial institution aware immediately. If you haven’t already, review your cc(s) T&Cs to be well informed.
If you do have to cancel your cc # & they send you a new one, and you have bills/regular charges on autopay, make sure you change the respective cc # so you dont run into issues.
We’re all susceptible to falling for scam, unfortunately, and it happens to the best of us, so don’t beat yourself up too much. Just be aware and more diligent from now on. There’s tons of resources online, too, if you need additional help. Feel free to ask if you have any other questions.
Last piece of advice - don’t use third party online travel agencies (OTA). It’s always recommended to book directly with the airline/hotel chain; if issues arise like delayed/canceled flights, and you book through an OTA, you lose out on a lot of protections. Same with hotels - overbooked via OTAs and many have reported the hotels not showing reservations. If you do decide to go with hotels via OTA, call the hotel directly after booking to confirm it shows on their end.
Good luck & lmk if you have any questions!