We hear more and more stories about the growing problem of identity theft and people being scammed out of money in various ways. There's a plethora of information and websites available providing guidelines and assistance for consumers. And, yeah, the basics of regularly updating passwords and security questions, or using VPNs on public or unsecure wifi networks – things like that - we might do and are satisfied that we're doing enough. But, are we on our toes and keep our “question everything” mentality turned “On” all the time? Do we need to be? Certainly becoming fearful or paranoid about it isn't the answer... That never helps any situation. But, being Responsible and Aware – or responsibly aware – that we can be targeted when we lest expect it, and it can take many forms. I'm going to share a few attempts that have happened to me recently, some of which, I helped create - even made easier for the scammers.
I have been kind of “free” with accepting or confirming friend requests on social media – facebook and Skype – for some time. I had become complacent. I used to go to every person's page and check out their posts before confirming. Then it got to where I just looked at mutual friends and confirmed based on: if he/she was approved by those guys, they're probably ok. Then I got to where I just approved them, without looking at anything... It was faster. I'd see what they had to say... If they posted stuff I didn't like or approve of, I could simply unfriend them... Well, as you may have already surmised, with that complacency came consequence.
Over the last month, 3 of the last 4 fb friend requests I approved (that weren't someone I knew) sent me messages needing financial assistance of some kind. The last one though, was pretty elaborate. This person's profile picture was of what appeared to be a professional looking man - just had that executive look. Posing as an officer in a bank in Dubai, he said he had a client with the same last name as mine, who had a fixed deposit in their bank, valued at $26 Million, that had reached its maturation date. He had found out that the client had died in a tsunami, and the client hadn't left any beneficiary, and if he didn't find a beneficiary, the funds would be confiscated by the bank and the government. He wasn't greedy, and proposed a plan to split the money. Since I have the same last name as the client, if I would say I was his next of kin, then fill out some bank and government forms, the money would be deposited directly into my bank. A $13,000,000.00 payday...
The Skype requests I approved all had similar results. Whenever I'd get contacted for the first time, I ask if I should know them, or how they know me and, why they asked to connect? Oh, they said they were new to Skype and didn't have any friends on there yet, and they were looking through profiles and I looked nice... I told one that yes, I am nice but, I'm old – she's not – it didn't make sense. Engaging them is what they want. They'd say they're single/student/something, try to get me to answer seemingly innocent questions: am I married, do I have kids, what do I do for a living... then, they want to exchange email addresses so we can exchange pictures.... At that point, I let them know I wasn't gonna go there, removed and blocked them... A couple of those took a little different direction, the young women asked if I'd like a free pass to watch them do a show for me... didn't go there, either... removed and blocked. But, the most recent one on Skype, our first contact was via skype video chat call. When I answered, there was a young woman on the other end of the call. I said hello, then saw her on screen. She looked to be saying something, then the call ended. A text message explained that microphone didn't work. Then, just like before, try to engage in small talk, then, as soon as I said no, I've gotta go, she asked for my email address so we could exchange pictures. The difference with this one was that they wanted me to have a picture in my head of who I was talking to...
A few months back, I got a message from my late wife's aunt on Messenger. Told me she'd just been paid $51,000.00 cash under this new government program, that hadn't been announced to the public yet, and that I should call this number to see if I was on the list, too. Well, guess what? If you call the number you are most definitely on the list. And, all you have to do to receive your $51K, is to pay a fee of several hundred dollars, through sending a money-gram to this person, and within hours the cash would be delivered.... Turned out, the aunt's facebook account had been hacked, and quite a few of her contacts got the same thing I did.
Just yesterday, I answered a call on my cell phone even though I didn't recognize the number. The caller identified herself as so and so with the United States Department of Treasury and was this (and said my name)? I said yes, then she asked me to verify my zip code, which I did. The next part was said pretty fast and I couldn't understand some of it – about a government program rewarding homeowners – something about not filing for bankruptcy, not breaking any laws and some other mumblings – and randomly selecting recipients from each zip code, and my name had been selected to receive $9K. I could take my $9K cash in hand or, have it deposited into my bank account. If I wanted cash, the money would be sent through Money Gram, and I could pick it up at any WalMart, or sent Western Union. Then she asked which would I prefer, to receive my $9K in cash or directly deposited? I spoke slowly and said: Wait a minute, the first thing I want to know is what is the name of this program? Then she hung up...
What do you think would have been embedded in any email attachment I might have received? It goes without saying what would happen if I gave my bank information... These are but a few of the identify theft and money scams that are happening all of the time. Any of us can be targeted. They present themselves when you least expect it and, can catch you off your guard. Do the basics. Change passwords and security questions regularly. If you don't know them, check into those that want to “connect” or “friend” you on social media. Be aware of the context of the requests from anyone wanting information from, about or affecting you... Be protective of Your information. With complacency, comes consequence.
The goal for me is to be responsibly aware in all I do...
If you have questions about Identity Theft, google it, there are tons of resources. Even found a free pdf of Identity Theft for Dummies...
Thanks for reading.