Do you think you’d ever fall for a scam? Of course not – you’re too smart right? I’ve been a geek since the ’90s so I’ve seen plenty of online scams through the years and am generally cautious, but when your guard is down or something has a ring of truth or it just hits you in a vulnerable spot, it’s easy to think it could be a genuine thing and you take the bait. If you’re lucky you’ll realise your mistake, if not trouble can follow.
Recently I had a call from (supposedly) Microsoft. It just so happened I’d renewed my software licence, so I was cautious but didn’t hang up. I questioned the caller’s identity and they said they would prove it if I went to my computer. The caller (who knew my name and address and had called my rarely used landline) asked me to press a couple of keys; it sounded a bit odd. By this time my mind questioned why this big company would be warning me about Canadian hackers accessing my little computer — really, they just wouldn’t right? I questioned the instruction (press Control-R or windows-R). When I asked why and what it would do the caller paused and then she said “F**k you!” Charming.
A friend’s mother was not so lucky. She had the same call and followed the instructions only to have her hard drive hijacked, frozen and held to ransom! She hung up and found a local place to repair it for a small fee. The lesson here is that nobody is going to ring you from a software firm, or a bank, or the tax office using a call centre. Do yourself a favour and hang up.
I think everyone knows about the Nigerian scam (promises of wealth from a wealthy African prince/wife of a bigwig/lost uncle etc. etc.) but it has evolved into many forms. Some years ago I was losing hope about selling a home/property and business; a strange offer came via email from a real estate agent in South Africa acting for a client who wanted to emigrate, but they needed to have a business interest to do it. I looked into that a little — it could be true, and I was quite desperate to sell and move so followed it up with some questions. My business was pretty specialised so I wanted to be sure they knew what it was I was selling and pressed for information about the client. After two enquiries it turned out the client was the wife of ex-president… The well-worn tale resurfaced.
Take care if you are selling stuff online too. You may be a target for money launderers who claim they want to buy your stuff but need to send a courier and can they pay by wire because they can’t come over.
Possibly the most cruel type of scam targets the lonely and the vulnerable through social media or email with a professed interest in a romantic, even marital, relationship. We all want to be acknowledged, loved, offered hope or companionship and that’s the hook. Scammers may spend quite a long period of time building up trust and friendship, months or longer. But as soon as these dear contacts ask for money or bank details (even if they are offering to send money or need enough to buy an air ticket to visit you, or to help them with some terrible jam they’ve gotten into) your alarm bells should be ringing loudly. Send nothing. Ever. Scams and money laundering schemes will suck you dry and give you nothing of what you seek.
Though there are many more scams you should be aware of, links and attachments in emails sent from those you are unfamiliar with (and sometimes even people you know well) should raise suspicion. If you get a bill, a refund or a renewal notice from someone you don’t know, delete it, don’t click it, or you could end up with a virus or spyware sneaking into your system.
Question everything that comes from an unknown source. If you have time, do a Google search on a scam (such as billing scams, Nigerian scam, Microsoft ctrl-R scam etc.) and if you get a match you can avoid a trap. Oh and by the way, you are never going to win a lottery you didn’t enter or inherit millions from a distant relative!
Remember the old advice: if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.