How to identify scammers and protect yourself
By Aysë Stenabaugh
Back in the day the only scammers that existed were those traveling from town to town promoting so-called “medical miracles”, medicines that would cure even the most rare and worrisome diseases. Now, especially with technology so widely used, its not a matter of if you will encounter a scam but when. Read on to learn the tell-tale signs of a scammer and what you can do to protect yourself from becoming a victim.
Fake Virus Warnings – You may be visiting a website you have been to a thousand times before without a hitch, until one day up pops a virus alert. It might be blaring warning sounds or you might hear a computerized virus saying something like “Warning your computer is infected”. Some warnings may even provide more details to try to scare you such as that the FBI was monitoring your device or that illegal content was found on your device. Most of the time these warnings will have a number which they indicate to call right away. Upon calling these numbers many times you will find yourself speaking to someone with an accent who will say almost anything to keep you on the phone and convince you that your computer has a virus and that they need to take control of your computer.
If you give that person access to your computer by following their instructions and letting them connect to you remotely, they will use that opportunity to show you many “error messages” in your computer. These “error messages” can be found on any computer that has been running for any length of time. Once you see the “errors” they will try persuading you into purchasing a support package either with or without antivirus. If you go through with providing them with your billing information, you have not only given them access to billing you for improper charges, you have also given them access to your computer and any information or passwords saved on your device.
Phone Scams – The scammers are getting smarter, not only will they call you pretending to be someone they aren’t, they can now “spoof” real phone numbers making it appear that they are calling from a legitimate phone number (even displaying the proper caller id) when they are infact a scammer using a completely different phone number. Some calls include law enforcement claiming a family member is in jail and needs you to help bail them out. Many times, grandparents are targeted. The scammers will claim their grandchild is embarrassed and doesn’t want to reach out to their parents. Other cases reported include calls from “Dell” or other spoofed tech support companies and utility companies. You will never be asked by any government official or utility company to make a payment with any kind of gift cards or green dot card.
Advertisement Scams – Sometimes these come in the form of job opportunities or products for sale that aren’t local. These scams are especially common on websites like Craigslist where anonymity is easily maintained but, can still occur on other platforms like Facebook marketplace as well. Be wary when dealing with anyone who is not local. Never provide money for any products (including deposits on animals that are to be shipped) many times these are plots to take your money and disappear. If you receive some sort of job offer and it sounds too good to be true or if you receive a check up front. Many times, they will have you deposit the check and pay back some sort of fees only for the check to bounce leaving you with fees and charges and the criminals with a payday.
Email Phishing – If you ever receive an email from a company you do business with that asks you to login you should avoid doing so from the email especially if they are “requesting that you login to update your information”. If you do choose to click the link verify that you are on the correct website by checking the website address. For example if your email was for PayPal and you clicked the link the first part of the website should read www.paypal.com it shouldn’t read something like www.poypal.com they look very similar and websites can easily be replicated. You can use bookmarks in your web browser to save links to frequently visited websites so that you can make sure you are always on the correct website.
What should you do if you are the victim of a scam? If you are using a computer you should stop using your device immediately and consider having someone you trust clean your computer or at least to check for any remote or malicious software that might have been left behind by the scammer. Without following this step, if you provided access to your computer, the scammer may have access back onto your device. You can prevent them from gaining access by simply disconnecting from the internet until your computer is properly cleaned.
Most importantly if you provided any bank or credit card information you should at the very least monitor the account closely to check for any unauthorized charges over the next 6-12 months. Yes, some scammers will wait months to charge your card or bank account as a measure to try to stay under the radar. If you want to be absolutely sure you won’t be charged improperly you should close out any accounts, you provided information for so that they won’t be able to make any new charges.
How can I protect myself from scammers? Sometimes we can get caught up in the moment especially when scammers are skilled In convincing us that the issue is an urgent matter that needs resolved. You should never have to respond to such a thing right away. Ask for the caller or correspondents’ information, let them know you will contact them back. If a payment is being requested, they should have no problem providing a website address or billing address to make other payment arrangements. Lastly consider this, how does a warning popping up know there is an issue on your computer, how does a stranger calling you know your computer is infected or needs a license number. Technology can be an easy target because we tend to only learn what we need to know in order to use our devices. If you’re not sure you can always contact a technology professional for more support before you decide how to react to a situation.
