[You are never too young to learn about people trying to steal your money “by any means necessary”.]
They may start with:
“Oops, wrong number!” Delete or block. Don’t talk or text with.
“Fake barcodes on gift cards.” Barcode shouldn’t be on an attached sticker, or package ripped, wrinkled, bent, or looks tampered with. Once scanned at a cash register, the code sends your money into the scammer’s account.
“Crypto refund swindles.” If you have lost money in a cryptocurrency scam (the investments are not insured anyway), you may receive contact from phony ‘refund and recovery’ companies by phone, email or social media asking for your personal ID information. You get nothing, warns the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
“Making testimonial videos in exchange for the money crooks on social media have taken from you.” You are “hired” to make a video saying that you made money. This is a ploy to trap others. You don’t even get paid for it and who knows how many other people will be duped by the video you participated in.
“Fake high school streaming sites are set up for you to send them money.” Legit streaming from school games was popularized during the pandemic. The fake scammers hit the Internet before the legit ones. You re-send thinking they are legit. They steal your money and info.
“Bank impersonator racket.” Low-tech way around two-factor authentication. In the process, you hand your bank passcode over to the scammers. [ Just like Social Security, IRS, etc., banks don’t call you on the phone–rlg] Report the fraud to the bank’s fraud department.
“LinkedIn relationship fakes”. You get a message on LinkedIn, the popular workplace social media site. Eventually you are asked to move your chat to a personal device, luring you into a scam.
“I’ve got your package, where is your house? Hoax”. Didn’t order anything? They may try to trick you into thinking it’s a gift from someone. Or you may receive an email about rescheduling a drop-off or a fake “package delivery attempt” sticker on your door to get you to provide personal information which will download malware to your computer or dial a number with high per-minute fees. Contact the legitimate company directly.
“Out-of-Stock Item Scam” Research businesses online before you buy, and only shop on secure websites with a lock symbol in the browser bar and an internet address that begins with ‘https’.
[I’ve had many similar emails and texts either telling me I’ve won something or I owe a huge bill to an account I may already have or don’t have. I delete, block, or report spam. Someone texted me today that they haven’t talked to me in a long time but the message had no name. I asked for a name and they gave me a name as well as the product they were selling. I blocked that person.
On Facebook, while I was texting with legitimate relatives, at least 3 “men” have greeted me in the midst of texted conversation with my relatives. I don’t think of Facebook when I think of online dating. They texted me with “how are you doing?”, “hello there”,etc. One person “a doctor”, sent family pictures and facts about “himself” to Messenger that were believable. But I discontinued the message. There was no way to prove these people were legitimate.
Even if you don’t have access to AARP Bulletin or Magazine, there are many magazines, newspapers and other online outlets that address fraud and scammers.]
Source:
Sari Harrar, “Your 2023 Fraud Survival Guide: Protect Your Money from Scam Calls, Texts and Emails (And Learn How the Pros are Fighting)”, AARP Bulletin, April 2023, v.64, n.3, pp.7-10 (of whole article pp. 7-14 containing parts 2 & 3). AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) The newspaper of 50 plus America. Membership dues $16 annually (also includes AARP Magazine). The magazine and bulletin are worth far more.
Excerpts written by Rosa L. Griffin
nervikularose 