Spoofers 'phish' with thrift store 'bait'
Glynis Crawford Smith/The Highlander
Everything for Christmas is on special at the Marble Falls Library Thrift Store, but you can't buy it on account. Recent reports of people getting bogus emails asking for PayPal account payments have the store a little worried. Don't be fooled, you will never get a bill in the mail or your email from the thrift store.
By Glynis Crawford Smith
The Highlander
As tempting as it may be to clear up every bill from 2017, don't feel tempted to respond to an email asking you to clear a debt with the Marble Falls Library Thrift Store.
Someone is “spoofing” the local thrift store and using that ID as bait for “phishing,” the term for cyber ne'er-do-wells out to capture your username, passwords and account information or money for their own gain.
Thrift store manager Virginia Cervantez says that twice recently customers have reported received email notices headed: Purchases 2017 that instruct the receiver to remit a Thrift Store balance by PayPal to atlantaprecisionpianotuning.com/Invoices-Overdue/.
“We don't have customer accounts; we don't have anything to do with piano tuning and we don't use PayPal,” said Cervantez. “We only just started accepting credit cards.
“We are a cash and carry business, you could say.”
“The first time we heard of this, it was from the daughter of a volunteer,” said Cervantez. “She lives in Midland. We are worrying others could be getting these emails signed with marble.librarythrift nctv.”
“We know there has been at least one other,” said volunteer Dottie Yturri. “A customer brought one to the counter a couple of weeks ago.”
So, think again any time you receive a demand for payment by email or phone, for that matter. Any credible company will have given you a direct phone number to check on your account. For Marble Falls Library Thrift Store information, call 830-693-5120.
The “delete button” is your friend.
