If you believe you are too astute or clever to fall for online or phone scams, think again. There are too many sophisticated and well-crafted ways to target you without your knowledge or understanding until after it happens.
How do online and phone scams work?
In a nutshell, all scams are con games to steal money from you. To gain access to your financial resources, online and phone scam artists target you by:
- Creating fraudulent enterprises and encouraging you to invest your money, purchase real estate, or buy products through them.
- Assuming a bogus identity and tricking you into paying with gift cards or transferring money into their untraceable accounts.
- Enticing you to click onto attachments or open links designed to download the malware required to capture your personal identity and financial information.
- Alerting you to nonexistent problems with your computer or online accounts and convincing you to let them resolve those issues by granting remote access to your computer.
For any con to work, the scam artists must solicit your trust by appearing to be reputable with legitimate opportunities and solutions. Specific to online or phone scams, the fraudsters will solicit your confidence without having any face-to-face interaction with you. They will attempt to manipulate you into doing their biding by exploiting your fears, generosity, passions, desires, naivete, and/or eagerness to please. Their tactics may appear to be innocuous; however, the results of giving them access to your valuable and personal data may cause catastrophic and irreputable damage to your finances, credit status, and standing with others.
To safeguard yourself against scam artists, it’s crucial to focus on prevention. Here are six essential strategies to set yourself up for success:
1. Verification is key:
Avoid answering phone calls, responding to texts, opening attachments, or replying to emails unless you can verify their authenticity. Scammers are skilled at using persuasive language and making threats to deceive you.
2. Proactively prioritize security:
Allow unidentified calls to go to voicemail and return important messages promptly. Exercise caution with emails from senders using personalized mail domains like Gmail, Outlook, AOL, or Hotmail. Legitimate organizations have their own email domains, so hover over the “from” address to check for any tweaks indicating a scam. Delete suspicious emails and permanently remove them from your system to avoid potential malware damage. Block questionable texts on your cell phone and be cautious while browsing the internet, sticking to trustworthy websites.
3. Research and consult:
When in doubt about the legitimacy of a text, email, or voicemail, do your research. Seek opinions from friends, consult your financial institution or someone trustworthy when money or payments are involved, and use official contact information from government or business websites to address concerns about financial irregularities.
4. Guard confidential information:
Exercise caution when sharing sensitive data such as your social security number, Medicare card, driver’s license, credit/debit card details, banking accounts, passwords, and other personal information. Any lapse could make you an easy target for identity theft.
5. Beware of remote access requests:
Never grant remote access to your computer to unknown or untrusted individuals. Once access is given, they can exploit your online accounts and compromise your identity.
6. Maintain a healthy skepticism:
Regardless of how sincere and convincing someone may seem over the phone, text, or email, be cautious. This is especially true if they try to persuade you to make purchases or settle payments using gift cards, cash, money grams, or wire transfers.
Remember, prevention is your strongest defense against scams and fraud. Stay vigilant and protect yourself from falling prey to scam artists.
Very Important: If you have become a target of an online or phone scam, begin by reporting it to your state consumer protection office. Seek professional assistance to eliminate any malicious malware that may have infected your digital devices. Unfortunately, when it comes to phone or cyber crimes, the chances of the perpetrator being held accountable are slim. In most cases, it is best to learn from the experience, minimize your losses, and move forward.
Written by: Patricia K. Flanigan, Smart Strategies for Successful Living
Patricia K. Flanigan has dedicated over 28 years of service to higher education and has achieved an impressive academic background, including a Doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of La Verne, a M.A. in Latin American Studies, and a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles. After retiring from her role as Dean of Online Education and Learning Resources at Saddleback College, she moved to Idaho where she currently works as an Affiliate Faculty member at Boise State University, writes for local magazines, consults in higher education, and collaborates with LEARN (Lifelong Education and Aging Resource Network). In 2017, she set forth on a new venture as the founding director and author for Smart Strategies for Successful Living –– a website created to promote quality aging and inspire adults of all ages to live and age well. As an educator, Patricia is driven by her passion to inspire others to reach their fullest potential.
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