Fraud Avoidance Tips
Welcome back to Fraud Fridays! Today, we will be discussing general tips to avoid fraud. We will first cover the four tells from the ftc to help recognize and avoid fraud. Next, we will cover how to avoid the scam after you have recognized it. Finally, we will cover who and why you should report it whether or not the scam is successful.
So, how do you know a scam is a scam? We've covered this subject many times, every time has been regarding specific scams and the tells behind them. So, let's look more general. The first thing to look for is who they claim to be. Often, scammers will claim to be from big companies and organizations such as the IRS, Microsoft, an utility company, or even charities. Through phishing, even your caller ID may be fooled. So then, how do you tell them apart? Well, a company isn't going to call you to solve issues that you didn't know exist. Generally, to receive assistance from any organization, you have to be the one to begin the initial dialogue. Always be sure to go directly to the proper website of the vendor you are trying to contact and get their contact info from there.
The above is a lousy tell. Certainly not enough to determine whether something is a scam with any degree of certainty. Let's talk about a few other tells then! The second tell given by the FTC is that Scammers will use the offer of prizes or try to inform you of an alleged problem. This is a big one. I've said it here a few times, but if it's too good to be true, it is not true. Along with this, if a "government agent" is calling you to collect money from you, it's likely a scam as well. They have the entire postal system and the means to contact you. The government doesn't make collection calls or threats.
Now, let's get to more obvious tells. Scammers will often pressure you to act immediately. This is common among all scammers as they want to pull a fast one on you without giving you the chance to verify their authenticity. They will threaten to arrest you, sue you, take away your business, deport you, or even threaten to kill you if you don't comply. These are baseless threats. The fact that they are making these threats proves how powerless they are. It is also an opportunity for the scammer to determine how gullible or easily swayed you are. Companies tend to want their customers to stick around. If you're feeling pressured to make an immediate decision, simply hang up.
Finally, scammers demand payment in specific forms. These are always methods that make it as hard as possible for you to get your money back. These forms of payment are generally crypto, wire transfers, Western Union, or gift cards. Scams that involve you being "paid" often use fake checks to trick you out of your money as well.
So, that's all terrifying, I'm sure. How can you avoid it? As I always say, vigilance is the primary bastion between your accounts and malicious individuals. So, aside from this, what else? Firstly, blocking unwanted phone calls and text messages. This means no more talking to our best friend "Scam Likely." Secondly, don’t give your personal or financial information in response to a request that you didn’t expect. If you have even an inkling of the feeling that the institution that called you is not who they say they are, hang up, locate the correct phone number for that organization, and call them to verify. Third, resist pressure to act immediately. Honest business is a marathon, not a sprint. DISCLAIMER: IF A LEGITIMATE BUSINESS IS RUSHING YOU TO A DECISION, THEY MAY AS WELL BE A SCAMMER AS WELL.
Next thing to consider is how they are telling you to pay. NEVER pay someone who insists with crypto currency wire transfers. Especially if you don't know what crypto is! As a bonus, never deposit a check and then send money back to someone. That's a fake check scam. Finally, and most importantly, talk to someone you can trust. An outside perspective is extremely helpful when looking at whether or not something is a scam. Just talking to them isn't enough though. You have to actually listen to them as well. Many times, we see people talk to the people around them about a verifiable scam only to turn away from their trusted friend because your trusted source thinks it's a scam. Listen to them. Hear their words. They're not attacking you, but the scammer is.
Finally, if you need to report fraud or an active scam, please visit https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/
Thank you and have a wonderful Friday!