Contributed Post
HOW TO SPOT WHEN YOU’RE BEING SCAMMED
If you’ve been on the internet, own a mobile phone, or even interacted with a stranger at one point or the other, you will have encountered people that have tried to scam you. Many scams can be quite obvious, easy to spot, and simple to shut down. However, scammers are constantly changing and adapting.
The scammers would not continue to try and scam people if they didn’t work and thus many can be quite sophisticated and fool even the sharpest and keenest of noses.
From fake emails getting you to give all of your account information to ‘princes’ informing you of the millions you’ve just inherited and strangely never heard about before, scams can come in all shapes and sizes.
What to Do if You Think You’re Being Scammed
If you realise you are experiencing suspicious activity on your accounts or you believe you have been scammed it is important to report it immediately. There are also ways to claim back any losses that you may have experienced from the scamming such as through wealth recovery solicitors.
How to Spot Email Scammers
Suspicious emails are a common way you will find yourself being scammed. A popular way for scammers to target you is through emails sent to you posing as popular companies or websites that many people frequently use. This is known as Phishing.
These scammers will go to the lengths of using all of the company logos and layouts to exactly mirror them. In their emails, they will often say how your account has been terminated or hacked providing you with a link to a false site, and then get you to input all of your account information sometimes including your bank details. All the while you have simply been under the impression that an alert has been made with your Amazon or PayPal account.
There are ways however to spot this. Before you click any link, check what the email address is. Scammers are unable to use the company’s actual email address and instead, you will find that their email is a series of random letters and digits.
Secondly, company’s will typically only ever refer to you by your name if you see that the email has only been addressing you by your actual email address then you will know it is a scam. This is because they send out automated emails to many users, and they do not have access to your information other than your email address. It is an easy trap to fall into and a very compromising one at that.
How to Spot Phone Scammers
Scammers will also try and scam you through cold calls. If you receive a phone call informing you that you rejected for credit, even if you have a good credit history the likelihood is that this is a scam. They will often ask you to provide them with your bank information, which banks now publicly advertise they will never ask you to do.
The scammers will also rush you in the process and use scare tactics to prevent you from making any sort of sound or rational judgment. If you are in this position immediately hang up the phone. Scammers are very malicious and will take advantage of any sort of weakness so it is important to always stay alert!
For more financial and money advice check out our other blog posts.
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