EQS EQS (V297) sedan

Possible scam?

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Old Apr 2, 2024 | 10:39 PM
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Possible scam?

I don’t know why all of a sudden (about a half hour ago) I’m asked at top of this forum if an email is still valid. Provide new email if it’s not. Like a fool, I did so only to find out that they want my credit card info. It says something like the card will not be charged but it’s used to make sure Mercedes has the correct info. So I went ahead and provided the card info. Right away I saw that my credit card account was charged $1.00. I don’t care about the dollar but concerned that it’s a scam of some sort.
Does anyone else here see that info right at the top of this EQS forum?
I did call my credit card company to report this but they said it’s already pending and they can’t do anything right now until it’s no longer pending. I was told to keep an eye on it and they will also.
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Old Apr 2, 2024 | 11:44 PM
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The $1 pending charge is like a hold and not actually a charge. it typically goes away. What I am more concern about is why a MB forum wants your credit card info? See if you can remove that information from the forum.
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Old Apr 2, 2024 | 11:49 PM
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Even the most cautious cyber security expert among us can fall victim when the scammers catches you off guard. Like when you first wake up in the morning, and any time that you let your guards down, you can inadvertently click on something you otherwise would not do. I have a freeze on my credit, and every credit cards has my sms notification. My phone doesn't contain all 2 factor authentication. The weak link is my fingerprints but it bypasses me from typing in my password in public. You can never been 100%. You can only mitigate your risk based on statistical practicality.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 12:18 AM
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You've got some malware on your computer or you fell victim to a man-in-the-middle attack. First off, this forum is not associated with Mercedes-Benz in any way and it doesn't ask for your credit card number. Which forum have you ever used that asked for your credit card, unless it was a paid subscription service? Most banks these days allow you to generate virtual credit card numbers for online transactions. So for starters, don't ever enter your real credit card number online. Even legitimate businesses have been breached and hackers have obtained credit card numbers. Virtual credit card numbers only work with a single merchant and you can easily terminate them at any point w/o having to get a whole new card.

To answer your actual question, no there is nothing at the top here asking me to confirm my email and especially not asking for my credit card.

Last edited by superswiss; Apr 3, 2024 at 12:24 AM.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 12:31 AM
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Originally Posted by MB37
The $1 pending charge is like a hold and not actually a charge. it typically goes away. What I am more concern about is why a MB forum wants your credit card info? See if you can remove that information from the forum.
I did receive a notification (may have been from Apple) that my email or password is repeated multiple times or something to that effect. I deleted that very old email on various sites. So, it may have something to do with what I did for the MBworld website.

I don’t know why I keep seeing this message on the EQS site even after I changed the email.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 12:37 AM
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Originally Posted by superswiss
You've got some malware on your computer or you fell victim to a man-in-the-middle attack. First off, this forum is not associated with Mercedes-Benz in any way and it doesn't ask for your credit card number. Which forum have you ever used that asked for your credit card, unless it was a paid subscription service? Most banks these days allow you to generate virtual credit card numbers for online transactions. So for starters, don't ever enter your real credit card number online. Even legitimate businesses have been breached and hackers have obtained credit card numbers. Virtual credit card numbers only work with a single merchant and you can easily terminate them at any point w/o having to get a whole new card.

To answer your actual question, no there is nothing at the top here asking me to confirm my email and especially not asking for my credit card.
The site says wicft.net on the EQS forum. This is nuts.

Last edited by AppleFan1; Apr 3, 2024 at 12:40 AM.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 04:02 AM
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Use an ad blocker so malware/spyware can't be delivered via banners and sidebars. I kind of feel bad that this site won't be generating any Google ad revenue from me.. but not really.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 07:57 AM
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When I had a CC number pilfered about a year ago, there were two small charges (a couple dollars each) charged within minutes. My CC issuer was right on top of it, called me within minutes of the charges, and subsequently cancelled my account. I dug into the transactions and found that the charges came from a ghost company that sells "subscriptions" to CC thieves. These subscriptions do nothing more than provide the thief a small test charge to see if it's caught by the card issuer. If not, the thief goes big time with the stolen number.
I am really impressed with the fraud detection algorithms used by most CC issuers, but I rely on Paypal to insulate purchases whenever I can. And scanning QR codes with impunity is just plain stupid.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 08:17 AM
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I just opened the forum and it also asked me to confirm my email. I did , but it never asked me for a credit card.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 09:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Radman991
I just opened the forum and it also asked me to confirm my email. I did , but it never asked me for a credit card.
Same got this last night. Confirmed but never asked for a credit card.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 10:06 AM
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Originally Posted by icwhatudidthere
Same got this last night. Confirmed but never asked for a credit card.
Same here.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 11:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Radman991
I just opened the forum and it also asked me to confirm my email. I did , but it never asked me for a credit card.
I think the difference is probably that I clicked on the option of “no, that’s not the correct email address”. So, it’s interesting that I’m not the only one that received this message. Btw, the message is still there. Perhaps I should delete the app and then reinstall it.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 12:05 PM
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This could be a malicious ad. I'm still not seeing anything pop up to confirm my email address, but I'm using an ad blocker. It's possible that the ad provider for this site has been compromised and somebody is injecting malware in ad banners and making it look like this site is asking to confirm your email address when in reality your submitting your information to somebody else.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 01:22 PM
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Originally Posted by superswiss
This could be a malicious ad. I'm still not seeing anything pop up to confirm my email address, but I'm using an ad blocker. It's possible that the ad provider for this site has been compromised and somebody is injecting malware in ad banners and making it look like this site is asking to confirm your email address when in reality your submitting your information to somebody else.
Do you suggest that I and some others get a new credit card from the issuer?
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 01:27 PM
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Originally Posted by AppleFan1
Do you suggest that I and some others get a new credit card from the issuer?
CC thieves waste no time in using stolen card numbers before they can be cancelled. Check with your CC issuer/bank and inquire about transactions during the past 24 hours. While inconvenient, cancelling the CC number and requesting a new one is the best precaution.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 02:09 PM
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Originally Posted by AppleFan1
Do you suggest that I and some others get a new credit card from the issuer?
Yes, pretty much. The good thing with credit cards is that you are not liable and no money has left your account yet. So you can dispute any fraudulent transactions. Keep an eye on your charges and dispute them if they are not yours.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 03:19 PM
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Originally Posted by superswiss
Yes, pretty much. The good thing with credit cards is that you are not liable and no money has left your account yet. So you can dispute any fraudulent transactions. Keep an eye on your charges and dispute them if they are not yours.
I just canceled my credit card and a new one will be sent in a few days.
How do I get rid of the fraudulent message on top of the forum? Uninstall and install the MB site?
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 03:44 PM
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Originally Posted by AppleFan1
I just canceled my credit card and a new one will be sent in a few days.
How do I get rid of the fraudulent message on top of the forum? Uninstall and install the MB site?
What app do you use? Do you not just go to the mbworld.org website?
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 03:51 PM
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Originally Posted by AppleFan1
I just canceled my credit card and a new one will be sent in a few days.
How do I get rid of the fraudulent message on top of the forum? Uninstall and install the MB site?
It's a website, so there's nothing to install/uninstall. Depending on what ended up on your machine, you gonna have to get rid of the malware. But for starters I would recommend an ad blocker such as uBlock. It's available as a Chrome extension.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 05:24 PM
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Originally Posted by superswiss
It's a website, so there's nothing to install/uninstall. Depending on what ended up on your machine, you gonna have to get rid of the malware. But for starters I would recommend an ad blocker such as uBlock. It's available as a Chrome extension.
Will that message on top of the site ever disappear? I use Safari and I installed Adblock Pro.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 05:45 PM
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Originally Posted by AppleFan1
Will that message on top of the site ever disappear? I use Safari and I installed Adblock Pro.
Download Malwarebytes and scan your machine to see if it finds anything.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 08:08 PM
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These virus, and credit card scammers are playing both ends against the middle, they create the virus, or scam, then create malware to arrest it, and you lose/lose while they win/win.

Last edited by MB2timer; Apr 9, 2024 at 05:48 PM. Reason: -s+t
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 08:44 PM
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Hmmm anyone have a screenshot of that page by chance? I didn't take a screenshot either but it asked me to confirm my email address, it indeed shows the email address correctly then when I click confirmed, it says Thank you and that's it.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 08:58 PM
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Google (Alphabet Inc) is the virus. In China they have data privacy laws to prevent this. The Chinese will even kick in the front door of corporations to enforce it. What a great country! Can't wait to buy one of their privacy enhanced EVs.
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Old Apr 3, 2024 | 09:39 PM
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I think Crito is a Chinese operative. The Chinese will hack your computer credit card, and then give you some money back. Rob from the rich and give some to the poor is the name of the game.

Put alerts on your credit card, and you may not have to deal with the cancellation. But when in doubt, cancel the card.
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