Tag Archives: online scams

Avoid financial and identity theft scams: What to watch out for

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By Ellen A. Winter, Grand Wealth Management

 

Young or old, wealthy or poor, online or in person … nobody is immune from financial scams and identity theft slams. No matter who you are or how well-informed you may be, the bad guys are out there, daily devising new tricks for every fraud we fix. 

 

Financial fraudsters and identity thieves are after your assets and your personal information. Thieves use any means possible to obtain your most treasured personal information, including social security and driver’s license numbers, financial account and credit card numbers, passwords, birthdates and any other about your life that can help them pull off their scams.

 

So, how can you protect yourself? Criminal techniques may be new-fangled, but the red flags to look for are not. Whether online, in the mail, on the phone or in person, be on high alert for any of the following experiences.

  1. An offer sounds too good to be true.
  2. A stranger wants to be your real or virtual best friend.
  3. Someone you know is behaving oddly, especially via email or phone. This may mean it’s an identity thief, posing as someone you know.
  4. Someone claiming to represent a government agency, financial or legal firm, police department or other authority contacts you out of the blue, demanding money or information.
  5. You’re feeling pressured or tricked into responding immediately to a threat, a temptation or a curiosity.
  6. You’re prioritizing easy access over solid security with weak or absent locks and passwords.
  7. You’re sharing personal information in a public venue, including social media sites.
  8. Facts or figures aren’t adding up; bank statements, reports or other information is missing entirely.
  9. Your defenses are down: you’re ill, injured, grieving, experiencing dementia or feeling blue.
  10. Your gut is warning you: something seems off.


If you feel you’ve been victimized, or any of the above has occurred, check all online accounts, call your financial institutions and credit card companies, and check in with the government agency responsible for overseeing the breach such as the IRS for tax fraud, or the FTC for anything else.

Think before you click: Wyoming DPS has tips for safe online shopping

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1297491217912_originalThe holiday gift season is all about sales, frenzied shopping and maddening crowds — and Cyber Monday sales are projected to hit nearly $3.36 billion this year.

‘Tis the season, all right, and that season unfortunately includes online scams.

It’s a busy time of the year for the City of Wyoming Department of Public Safety (DPS) — they’re working hard to deter shoplifters and prevent retail fraud. The DPS wants you to be safe out there in cyberspace, too.

“These tips on cyber/online shopping safety are based on past scams and overall best practices,” said Lt. Timothy Pols, Wyoming DPS. “They are not necessarily related to specific cases that have been reported to the Wyoming DPS.”

Black Friday Deals
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the busiest online shopping days and the bad guys are out to get rich with your money. Don’t buy anything that seems too good to be true. Don’t trust a site or name you don’t know.

Complimentary Apple Watch
Watch out for the too-good-to-be-true coupons that offer complimentary watches, phones or tablets on sites all over the Internet. Don’t fall for it. Make sure the offers are from a legitimate company.

Postal Deliveries
Watch out for alerts via email or text that you just received a package from FedEx, UPS or the US Mail, and then asks you for some personal information. Don’t enter anything. The scammers are out to steal personal information. Think Before You Click.

Fake Refunds
There is a fake refund scam going on that could come from Amazon, a hotel or a retail chain. It claims there was a “wrong transaction” and wants you to “click for refund” but instead, your device will be infected with malware.

The Grinch E-Card Greetings
Happy Holidays! Your email has an attachment that looks like an e-greeting card, pretty pictures and all. You think that this must be from a friend. Nope. Malicious e-cards are sent by the millions, and especially at the office; never open these things as they might infect your workstation.

The Fake Gift Card Trick
Internet crooks promote a fake gift card through social media but what they really are after is your information, which they then sell to other cyber criminals who use it for identity theft. As an example: A Facebook scam offering a complimentary $1,000 Best Buy gift card to the first 20,000 people who sign up for a Best Buy fan page, which is a malicious copy of the original.

The Charity Tricksters
The holidays are traditionally the time for giving. It’s also the time that cyber criminals try to pry money out of people who mean well. Make donations to the wrong site and you could be funding cybercrime or even terrorism. So, watch out for any communications from charities that ask for your contribution, (phone, email, text and tweets) and make sure they are legit. It’s a good idea to contact the charity to make sure the request did in fact come from them. It is safest to only donate to charities you already know and refuse all the rest.m-cyberscam-photo-1

The DM-Scam 
You tweet about a holiday gift you are trying to find, and you get a direct message (DM) from another twitter user offering to sell you one. Stop – Look – Think, because this could very well be a sophisticated scam. If you do not know that person, be very careful before you continue and never pay up front.

The Extra Holiday Money Fraud 
People always need some extra money during this season, so cyber fraudsters are offering work-from-home scams. The most innocent of these have you fill out a form where you furnish confidential information like your Social Security number which will get your identity stolen. The worst of them offer you work where you launder money from a cyberheist which can get you into major trouble.

The Evil Wi-Fi Twin
Many people bring their laptop/tablet/smartphone to the mall to scout for gifts and check for cheaper prices online. But the bad guys are there too, shopping for your credit card number. They put out a Wi-Fi signal that looks just like a complimentary one you always use. Choose the wrong Wi-Fi and the hacker now sits in the middle and steals your credit card data while you buy online. When you use a Wi-Fi connection in a public place, it is better not to use your credit card.