How to Ward off Scammers
The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center received 2.76 million complaints between 2017 and 2021. This resulted in over $18.7 billion in financial loss to crime victims.
Some of the most common scams are grandparent’s scams, government imposter scams, false investment schemes, tech support scams, sweepstakes and lottery scams, romance scams, funeral scams, reverse mortgage scams, online shopping scams and charity scams.
Criminals often try to harvest personal data by phishing (through email), vishing (phone or VoIP), smishing (text messaging) and pharming (hacks of your computer).
These scams trick people into thinking the criminals are from a legitimate company they do business with such as a bank or doctors office or from a police department or government agency.
How to Protect Yourself
Don’t answer the phone unless the call is from someone you know personally, let calls go to voice mail. If it is a legitimate call the caller will leave a message. Voice mail allows you to screen the call and check the call for legitimacy before responding.
Don’t respond to emails from people you don’t know. If you are unsure if an email is legitimate contact the sender directly by phone. Do not click on links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.
Be cautious of links and websites. Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often change the spelling or add a logo to convince you that the site is genuine. Malicious links can also come from family and friends whose email has been unknowingly compromised, so don’t automatically believe a link is safe just because it is from someone you know.
Choose strong passwords, strong passwords are critical to online security.
Keep the operating systems and applications on your computers and mobile devices up to date.
Install antivirus and antimalware software on your devices and keep them updated. Run regular scans.
If you receive a popup on your computer, phone or other device warning you that your device is infected with malware and you must call a number to remove it, this is always a scam. Never respond. Instead shut off your device.
Never respond to a call that seems to be coming from a grandchild telling you they are in trouble, and you must send money. This is a scam. Instead hang up immediately and call your grandchild directly. The grandparent’s scam has been around for a long time but now with artificial intelligence (AI) criminals can harvest social media and other audio clips and fake voices so that it sounds like your grandchild calling.
SIM swapping has also become a major problem. After gathering personal information, the scammer contacts your cellphone provider and gets them to switch your phone number to another SIM card, placed in the scammer’s phone. It enables them to access the two-factor authentication many institutions now use, to access your money, email and other accounts, they can open accounts in your name and steal your identity. Contact your mobile provider and request a SIM card lock.
Never give your credit card, banking, Social Security, Medicare, or other personal information over the phone or through email.
Don’t respond to solicitors or charity requests.
Shred all mail before putting it in the trash.
Sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry through the Federal Trade Commission. https://www.donotcall.gov/
Use direct deposit for checks to prevent checks from being stolen from the mailbox.
Turn on multifactor authentication for all your accounts. Once enabled you will be required to enter a code that’s sent to your phone or email, or that you generate with an app, before accessing your accounts.
Avoid unusual payment requests. Scammers will often ask you to send them money using wire transfers, money orders, cryptocurrency, through a payment app or by using a gift card. Any request for those types of payments should be a red flag.
Steps to Take if you Have Been the Victim of a Scam
Report scams to the Federal Trade Commission.
https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/
Report to your State Consumer Protection Office.
https://www.usa.gov/state-consumer
Call your local police department to report the scam and file a police report.
If the scammers are posing as a utility company, contact that company to report the scam.
If you have not already done so place a security freeze on all of your credit reports. This can be done online through the three major credit bureaus, Transunion, Equifax and Experian.
Request a copy of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus, space the copies out between the three over the next year. It may take time for fraudulent activity to show up on your reports. By spacing the reports out, you can catch errors early and errors that may take some time to show up. If errors are found report those to the agencies. You are entitled to a free annual copy of your credit report with all three credit bureaus.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/
Place a fraud alert on your account with all three credit bureaus.
The Tech Minimalist 