Phone Scams!

        I promised lighter topics. Let's talk about online and phone scams!

        There's a great deal to unpack here, but I will start off with a couple of rules when dealing with people you do not know, online or by phone:

• NEVER say the word "Yes". A frequent tactic scammers ask is the question "Can you hear me ok?". Your response must be "I can hear you fine", although the asking of this particular question is usually via a recording and not on the level anyway. Never say "Yes".
  
  
• NEVER assume you are being spoken to by a real person. If you think you are speaking to a recording, ask a question. Tell the caller you cannot hear them properly and see if they interrupt themselves. More than likely they will keep right on talking, or hang up. Beat them to it.
  
  
• NEVER give personal banking or other information over the phone or online unless you are absolutely sure you are dealing in a legitimate business transaction.
  
  
• NEVER believe that in order to win something, you have to supply a credit card or other financial information.
  
  
• NEVER click on a link anyone sends you in an email ot text message. We'll go into that in more detail.
  
  and finally
  
  
• NEVER accept and believe that a friend or relative is "in trouble" and needs you to send them money.

            The best way to beat these scams is to end the call immediately, and call the bank or other business or individual back on your own. 

        Everyone has a story of how they were scammed, or more likely, how they saw through one. One of my personal favorites is the "Motor Vehicle Warranty is Soon to Expire" ploy. This one usually features a "concerned representative" who calls and says your extended warranty file has crossed their desk, and shows your coverage is soon to expire. They want to "clear your file" and in order to do so they ask you to connect with a representative. I received one of these calls yesterday, and for research, I went ahead and pressed "1". I was promptly greeted by a woman who spoke with an almost unintelligible accent. She asked me for the make and model of my vehicle. Since the message I received talked about my "file" I took that to mean they actually had my information, (I know better),  so I used the real make and model of my vehicle (a 1998 Oldsmobile Bravada). The woman stated that my vehicle was not eligible for coverage, and I said "so why do you have a file that says my coverage is about to expire?" I then screamed in her ear (honest) "Because I don't have coverage!" and she hung up.

        What makes these calls questionable is that they are never made from a reputable source or company, and dialing back the number usually leads to a bewildered private individual who never called you. This is called "spoofing". You can learn more about it here:

https://truecaller.blog/2019/09/09/what-to-do-if-your-number-is-spoofed/

        Next we have the "You won the Lottery" scheme. A friend of mine actually received this call and here is how she dealt with it. 

        The number revealed that the caller was in Jamaica. Not Jamaica, Queens, the country Jamaica. My friend answered the call and was informed by a joyous representative "YOU WON THE LOTTERY!". A dream come true, right! This is almost like that time that Nigerian prince emailed you about your inheritance.

        One might expect the representative to identify which lottery. Of course, that wasn't revealed so there's clue number one. The caller did promise to pay off my friend's Wal-Mart and Shop Rite bills with the winnings. For those of you out of the Metro New York area, Shop Rite is a supermarket chain similar to Publix, Food Lion, and Giant.

        How delightful that the lottery commission is so in touch that they know what outstanding bills a winner might have. Even so, I personally don't want someone else deciding how my hard earned lottery winnings are going to be spent; I have my own ideas. In reality, neither business generally allows for unpaid bills from anyone anyway, so there's clue number two that this might not be the boon you're hoping for,

        My friend was on the ball. She told the individual that she knew where they were calling from, and that she was going to call the lottery commission and then the police. The lottery representative confirmed, after he stopped laughing, that the system just doesn't work that way. The police informed her that no complaint could be filed as the jurisdiction where the call originated from is the authority to contact and at that could not be determined.

        Of course, my friend was further  surprised when the ersatz  "Lottery Commission" representative called back. The caller BEGGED my friend not to report them to the police. She "cackled maniacally", said "too late!", and hung up. 

        I should note she almost never plays the lottery at all. Most people do have at least some experience with playing the various lottery games. Unfortunately, far fewer have experience with actually winning beyond, say, a scratch off game. This is how it really works...so I'm told...

        Here's what happens when you win. Depending on how much you win or what game you played, you can either receive a payout from the merchant who sold you the ticket, or you are given instructions on how to contact the Lottery Commission in your state for further claim details. The lottery commission does not call you. That pretty much covers it. If you have any experience with the lottery, specifically with winning, you can share your winni...I mean information with me anytime. 

        This next one involves the son of a friend of mine. I must preface the story with some background information. As obvious a scam as this is or seems to you, the young man had to ask his parents what to do. The point is, anyone can fall for anything if they don't have the information on how to avoid doing so. My purpose is to give you insight on how some of these things work and how to keep from getting taken in. Back to our story.

        This young man was contacted via voice mail by an individual who stated "This is the Cops" (They actually said "Cops") and gave him instructions to contact them because "they had incriminating evidence". No specifics, just "evidence. We're not exactly talking about a case for Johnny Cochran here. After several more messages were left, he finally answered a later call. This is what he was told:

        "This is the cops. We have incriminating evidence against you. If you don't come to the police station [again, no specific precinct was mentioned] we're going to come get you at your house. So don't go anywhere." His mother was more than wise enough to tell him "The cops don't refer to themselves as 'The Cops'" I can add "They don't call ahead and ask you to come to the station or they will come get you". Even without evidence, if the police want you for something, trust me, we will save you the trip.

        Email scams are more indirect but can lead to just as much trouble if you cooperate with the sender. The term here is "phishing", where an email sender is leading the recipient into revealing information, usually by deceiving them with authentic looking emails from legitimate companies. Here are some clues you can look for to determine if an email is legitimate:

• Look closely at the return address. The sender's name might be anything, but after the @, the dot com information should be looked at carefully. Is it Wal-Mart.com, or walmart.com. Is there an unusual set of extra characters before the recognizable name or after? 
• Is there a link within the email that does not show the direct address? Such a link will be hidden by words like "Click here" or "Contact us". Don't do this. Ever. Never click through from an email. Always determine on your own who you should contact. If you are told that your account has been suspended, your credit card has been used illegally or you have been charged a certain amount and the sender is suspicious, contact your bank or credit card company yourself. 
• Are you being informed that a shipment or package you are expecting will be delayed, and to click on a link for tracking information? This is the same setup. Clicking on the link will sometimes introduce you to a virus warning and a number to call right away to "clear it", or take you to a scam webpage for the company involved. That page will have further instructions for you that will help you "correct" your issue. Don't click on the link. If you do and are sent to a page, don't follow any instructions. Again, look at the address bar on your web browser if you are not sure. If the address looks particularly long or suspicious, it probably isn't legitimate. Do the following.
  
  
• I can't stress this enough. If you're not sure what's happening, don't do anything.
• Close your browser.
• DO NOT shut off your computer.
• Run your anti-virus software. Follow the instructions. If you are not confident in how this is done, ask for help.
• If you do and are satisfied nothing is wrong, shut down your computer and re-start it. Do not hit re-start off the menu. Shut down.

        This is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to avoiding online and phone scams. I hope I have given you some insight on what to look for and the "better safe than sorry" approach to online scams. If in doubt, don't click, don't follow, don't give information, and definitely, don't send anyone money or give access to credit card or banking information you do not know.

        Safe surfing everyone. You can answer your phone, I still do. I just don't say the word  "yes" unless it's for coffee or ice cream.

     Coming up: Facebook: Are we oversharing?

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