‘Tis the season for giving and receiving and shopping til you drop. Online shopping is as popular as ever with many cities and states still under Covid restrictions. But, online shoppers are not the only people scammers will target. In fact scammers are not picky about when and where they steal your information.
Here are a few common scenarios to look out for and what you can do to help avoid them:
Family Imposters
“I received a message from a family member asking me for money, ASAP…”
Scammers may hack social media accounts to impersonate a relative in need.
How to avoid: Before sending any money, always call your relative to confirm their actual situation.
Financial Imposters
“Someone from my bank, who already knew some of my personal information, asked for my access code…”
Scammers can spoof their caller ID number and use bits of your personal information to convince you to reveal your access code, and then steal your money.
How to avoid: Don’t share your temporary access codes or PIN with anyone who calls you unexpectedly. Your bank nor the government will ever ask you for this information.
Refund Imposters
“I got a call from an online company about a ‘refund’ for something I don’t remember…”
Scammers often impersonate well-known retail and tech support companies to gain access to your personal device or banking information.
How to avoid: Never give control of your device to a stranger. Never send money to anyone claiming to be from companies asking for payment or offering a refund for something you did not purchase.
You may already have noticed more unsolicited phone calls this year, even fake calls from the Social Security office are getting through. So be aware, and be very protective of your personal and financial information.
If you have legal questions, please consult our Online Legal Directory to find an attorney in your area.