By ADRIANA MORGA
NEW YORK (AP) — October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which suggests it's the proper time to learn methods to protect yourself from scams.
“Scams have become so sophisticated. Phishing emails, text messages, fake caller IDs – all of these technologies give fraudsters a critical advantage,” said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.
As fraudsters proceed to seek out recent ways to steal money and private information, consumers needs to be more vigilant about who they trust, especially online. A fast technique to remember what to do in the event you think you're being scammed is to recollect the three S's, said Alissa Abdullah, also generally known as Dr. Jay, Mastercard's deputy chief security officer
“Stay suspicious, stop (and think) for a moment and stay protected,” she said.
Whether it's a romance scam or a job scam, impersonators look for tactics to trick you into giving them money or sharing your personal information. Here's what you need to know:
Know the tactics of scammers
Three common Scammer tactics are based on fear, urgency and money, said security expert Petros Efstathopoulos. This is how they work:
– Fear
When a scammer contacts you by phone or email, they may use language that makes it look like there’s an issue it’s worthwhile to resolve. For example, a scammer contacts you via email and tells you that there’s an error in your tax return and that you simply shall be in trouble in the event you don't fix it.
– Urgency
Because scammers are good at making a sense of urgency, people are likely to rush, which leaves them vulnerable. Scammers often tell people they should act immediately, which may end up in them revealing private information like their Social Security numbers.
– Money
Scammers use money as bait, Efstathopoulos said. They may pose as tax professionals or the IRS and claim that in the event you pay them for his or her services or share your personal information, you’ll receive a bigger tax refund than you expect.
Know essentially the most common scams
Experts say it will possibly be helpful to pay attention to common scams. Robocalls specifically often goal vulnerable people akin to seniors, individuals with disabilities and other people in debt.
“If you get a robocall out of the blue that pays for a recorded message to get you to buy something, just hang up,” said James Lee, chief operating officer of the Identity Theft Resource Center. “The same goes for text messages – whenever you receive them from a number you don’t recognize asking you to pay, make a transfer or click on something suspicious.”
Lee urges consumers to hold up and call the business or institution in query at an official number.
Scammers also often impersonate authority figures, akin to a tax or debt collector. They may pretend to be a loved one calling and asking for immediate financial assistance for bail, legal assistance, or a hospital bill.
Love scam
So-called “romance scams” They often goal lonely and isolated individuals, in response to Will Maxson, deputy director of the FTC's Division of Marketing Practices. These scams can happen over prolonged periods of time – even years.
Kate Kleinart, 70, who lost tens of 1000’s to a romance scam over several months, said to be alert when a brand new Facebook friend looks exceptionally good, asks you to download WhatsApp to speak and tries to unfriend you and isolate family. and/or becomes romantic in a short time.
“If you see a picture of a very good-looking person, ask someone younger in your life – a child, a grandchild, a niece or nephew – to help you do a reverse image search or identify the photo,” said she.
She said the person in the images she received was a plastic surgeon from Spain whose photos had been stolen and utilized by fraudsters.
When she received the primary friend request, Kleinart had also been living in quarantine initially of the pandemic, and the companionship and communication while cut off from family meant lots to her. When the scam failed, she missed the connection even greater than the savings.
“Losing love was worse than losing money,” she said.
Job scam
Job scams involve an individual impersonating a recruiter or company to steal money or information from a job seeker.
Scammers are likely to use the name of an worker from a big company and create a job posting that matches similar positions. A primary warning sign is that scammers often attempt to make the job very attractive, Velasquez said.
“They will get very high salaries for relatively low-skilled work,” she said. “And they often say it’s a 100% remote position because that’s so attractive to people.”
Some scammers post fake job offers, while others reach out to job seekers directly via direct messages or text messages. If the scammers try to steal your personal information, they might ask you to fill out several forms that include information akin to your Social Security number and driver's license information.
The only information a good employer should ask for early in the method is your skills, work experience and speak to information, Velasquez said.
Further details generally only have to be provided to the employer after you will have received a proposal.
Investment fraud
According to Lois Greisman, deputy director of promoting practices on the Federal Trade Commission, an investment fraud represents any get-rich-quick scheme that pulls audiences through social media accounts or online ads.
Investment scammers typically add various types of “testimonials,” akin to other social media accounts, to prove that the “investment” is working. Many of them also include cryptocurrencies. To avoid falling for these scams, the FTC recommends doing independent research concerning the company – especially by trying to find the corporate's name together with terms like “review” or “scam.”
Quiz cheating
Be aware of this when using Facebook or scrolling Google results Quiz cheatingwhich often seem harmless and ask about topics which may interest you, akin to your automobile or your favorite TV show. You may be asked to take a personality test.
Despite these seemingly innocuous questions, scammers can then use the private information you share to reply security questions in your accounts or hack your social media to send malware links to your contacts.
To protect your personal information, The FTC simply recommends staying away from online testing. The Commission also advises consumers to make use of random answers when answering security questions.
“You were asked to enter your mother's maiden name?” Say it's something else: Parmesan or one other word you'll remember,” advises Terri Miller, consumer education specialist at the FTC. “This way, fraudsters can’t use the information they find to steal your identity.”
Marketplace fraud
When Buying or selling products On Instagram or Facebook Marketplace, remember that not everyone who reaches out to you has the best intentions.
To avoid fraud when selling through an online platform, the FTC recommends checking buyers' profiles, not sharing codes sent to your phone or email, and avoiding accepting online payments from people you don't know.
Likewise when buy something on an online marketplaceMake sure you research the seller carefully. Check whether the profile is verified, what reviews it has and what purchase conditions apply.
Don't answer if you don't know who's calling
Scammers often contact you by phone. Ben Hoffman, head of strategy and consumer products at Fifth Third Bank, recommends not answering unknown incoming calls.
“Banks don’t ask you for your password,” Hoffman said. If you think your bank is trying to reach you, call them at a number listed on their website.
If you receive a lot of unknown calls that end up being scammers or robocalls, you can use the tools available on your phone to block spam. Here's how to do this on your device iPhone and here for Android.
Use all the technology at your disposal
There are many tools available to help you protect yourself from scammers online.
— Use a password manager to ensure you use a complex password that scammers can't guess.
— Checking your credit report and bank statements regularly is a good practice because it will help you determine if someone has used your bank account without your knowledge.
— Enable multi-factor verification to ensure impersonators don't have access to your social media or bank accounts.
If in doubt, call for help
As scams become more sophisticated, it is increasingly difficult to know who to trust or whether a person is actually real or a copycat. “If you're unsure in the event you're coping with an actual recruiter or in case your bank is definitely asking you for information, search for organizations that may make it easier to,” recommends Velasquez.
Organizations such as the Identity Theft Protection Center and the AARP Fraud Watch Network offer free services to customers who need help identifying fraud or want to know what to do if you are a victim of fraud.
Share your knowledge with your loved ones
Once you've taken all the necessary steps to protect yourself, you may want to help those around you. Whether you're helping your grandparents block unknown calls on their phones or giving your neighbors tips, talking to others about how to protect themselves from scams can be very effective.
Report the scam
If you or a family member has fallen victim to a scam, we recommend reporting it on the website FTC website.
Originally published:
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