Criminals impersonate family, government agencies, and tech support professionals in order to steal money or information. Learn below how to report a scam. The first sentence has one purpose: to hook your reader in such a way that they want to scroll further. This is done by giving them a hint of what’s to come, but not telling them everything.
Scams by telephone
Each year, millions of people lose money or personal information due to telephone scammers. Scammers will use any kind of deception to trick people into sending money or personal information that they can sell. They may pretend to be an agency such as the Social Security Administration, IRS, or a family member who is in trouble or claim to have found something lost. They often prey on older adults by calling them late at night. Scammers also make false promises to lower your credit card interest rates, help you win a prize or lottery, fix a computer problem, or guarantee big profits from phony investment opportunities. They can even spoof your Caller ID name and number to make it appear authentic.
Often, these scammers ask you for money via untraceable means such as gift cards, wire transfers or cash reloading applications. They may tell you that your loved one is in danger or that you will be arrested or deported if they don’t get their money. They also try to obtain your banking, personal and financial information in order to steal your identity.
They can spoof caller IDs to show the number of a friend, your doctor, or your school. They also target immigrants, using language that they understand and pretending to be embassy or police officers or consulate representatives.
Scammers also commit subscriber scams by stealing your personal information, and signing you up to a cell phone plan with a company that they have hacked. This can be very hard to prove and can take months to get your money back.
Scammers try to get you to act immediately and discourage you talking to a loved one or friend first. Never give your personal information or financial details to anyone on the phone. Also, don’t feel pressured to act right away.
Email scams
Email scams often take advantage of people’s busy schedules and a tendency to trust the sender of an email. These scams are known as phishing, and they are designed to steal sensitive information from unwary recipients, such passwords, account details, and credit card number. Cyber criminals are able do this because they impersonate people or businesses that they trust, like their employer, bank or even family member.
Employees might not realize that they’ve been the victims of a phishing attempt until it’s already too late. By then, their personal information may have been compromised. A phishing email usually asks employees to click on a link or respond with confidential information. This information can include their business or network passwords, financial account passwords, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and more. It’s important for employees to understand how phishing works and how to recognize an email scam, so they can report it to their supervisor.
Inboxes of employees are usually flooded with emails from co-workers, third-party providers and company promotions. Unfortunately, they also receive emails from cyber criminals. To prevent phishing, employees need to be aware of six key indicators.
A generic greeting, such as “Dear Client,” “To whom it may concern” or “Dear Mr.” can be a warning sign. Red flags are also poor grammar, missing or mispelled words, and odd sentence structures. Additionally, it’s important to pay close attention to the email address of the sender and check for a valid domain name.
The CAN-SPAM Act also sets standards for email marketers. This includes offering an unsubscribe button on all marketing email, not using false Caller ID information in order to spoof phone numbers or the identity of the sender and providing accurate, up-to date contact information.
Employees must not only report suspected phishing messages but also ensure that their software is always up to date. They should avoid downloading unknown attachments and disable macros on productivity documents. They should never share passwords. It’s also important for employees to use the ‘Report Message’ feature in LoboMail when receiving an unusual request that they believe could be a phishing attempt.
Cyber scams
Scams may be carried out by phone, email or SMS and can often appear real. If you receive a message or call that sounds suspicious, check it out by looking up the person, company or organisation online to see if they really exist. If you think it’s a scam at work, call your IT department to get advice.
Never open links or attachments in emails that you do not know. If you click on links or open attachments in emails or SMS that you are not sure of, viruses may be downloaded, which could affect your computer, mobile phone, and give scammers access passwords, financial data, and more.
Cyber crime can be a devastating experience for individuals, families and businesses. It is important to report it as quickly as possible. Your report will aid law enforcement in locating the perpetrators of the crime and bringing them to justice.
Cyber scams can include asking for your bank account details to transfer “prize money” (for competitions that you did not enter) or verify your identity, scams involving merchandise that never arrives, and scams involving employees being tricked into revealing sensitive business information or transferring money to bad actors (such the Business Email Compromise Scheme).
Other cyber crimes include ransomware, where criminals block you from using your own computers, systems or networks until you pay them a fee. Cybercriminals can also hack your computer, steal your personal or confidential information, and sell it.
