Scam Busters: Essential Info to Avoid Falling Prey to Thieves

Con artists beware! We are here to buck you up against their scams to steal from you.

Take your time getting to know new online friends or romantic interests, as their identities are harder to verify than in-person contacts. Mariia Korneeva/Shutterstock

There are far too many people around the world creating clever ways to separate you from your money. In most of these scenarios, the old saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t,” rings true.

Many scams rely on the victim either being overly trusting or greedy, which makes healthy skepticism your best defense. If you receive a letter, phone call, or email saying that you’ve won a free vacation or a cash prize, or a distant relative has left you an inheritance or needs emergency cash sent to them in a foreign country, pause and read the fine print before you get excited.

Ayleen Alfonso, compliance and fraud manager at BrightStar Credit Union, offers some sound advice applicable to all situations:

“Trust your gut; it’s OK to be suspicious about a deal that is just a little too good to be true.”

Holiday Specials

With the holiday sale season upon us, it is important to pay close attention to emails promoting what may appear to be amazing deals. Before you click “buy” and provide credit card info, look closely at the website address. If it doesn’t look quite right—using a cursive font, perhaps with extra letters added—or you notice misspellings or typographical errors on the site, don’t take the bait. Open another window and do an organic search to double-check the retailer’s correct URL address, or simply call the retailer to verify the offer.

Personal Info

A similar scam begins when you receive an email or a text that appears to come from a retailer or service provider you routinely use. It may ask you to update your password or say they have noticed multiple attempts to access your account, then ask you to “confirm” your current password by typing it in.

Other variations say you have qualified for a government grant program, or may include a fake invoice for a purchase you didn’t make, asking you to click on a link. However, all too often, clicking the link infects your computer or phone with “ransomware,” locking it up and requiring a cash payment—the ransom—to have it removed. The best action is always to call the company directly to confirm the authenticity of the suspicious email. Don’t let a sense of urgency or a desire to just deal with it now end up costing you dearly.

A variation of this scam starts with an email from a well-known online payment company, saying that you need to complete a cash transfer to someone you don’t know. A phone number will be provided. If you call it, they might present incorrect information about you which you, not realizing the scam, will feel prompted to correct—leading you to inadvertently provide your credit card info. They may well thank you for being so helpful, after which they will then use your information to steal from you. This can happen even if you don’t have an active account with the company. To be safe, find the company’s contact information on your own, and contact them to determine exactly what is going on.

Playing on Human Nature

Greed is another tool that scammers use to steal from the unwary. Beware any interactions in which an unknown-to-you party offers to purchase an item you have advertised for sale, and sends you a check in an amount far in excess of the sale price, asking you to “just send a check for half the difference.” These scams rely on you acting quickly, sending them a check before you discover their check is worthless.

In another phone scam, strangers offer to buy your home “immediately, for cash,” even if you are not trying to sell the property. They may offer to send you a check or cash transfer for several thousand dollars, saying you can settle on the sale price later. However, by accepting the cash, you may find yourself legally obligated to accept a sale price much lower than the actual market value, or face costly legal battles attempting to unwind the deal.

Bad Romance

Love hurts is more than a song title; romance scams often target those using social media or online dating apps to meet new people. BrightStar’s Alfonso shares this story:

“A credit union member was in a relationship with a ‘Tinder Swindler’ who we discovered was romantically linked with women in several states. He would use the funds he obtained from one woman to lure another.”

Romeo scammers seem to be honest and genuinely interested, often initiating a whirlwind romance. But be suspicious if they suddenly ask you to send money to help pay for unexpected health issues or legal problems. Another red flag is them requesting your banking information so they can deposit money into your account.

Don’t post personal information on social media, and go slowly with new online friends. Don’t post vacation photos in real time, letting thieves know you are not at home. Don’t send cash to someone you’ve never met, no matter how sad their story may be.

If you suspect you’ve fallen victim to an online romance scam, contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

“Most local police departments have a victim advocate that can offer assistance for victims, and there are multiple free sites with resources to assist in spotting and avoiding scams,” Alfonso says.

Family Ties

Be cautious if you receive a text or email that appears to have been sent by a relative, saying they are in a foreign country and urgently need bail money or cash to pay for emergency medical services. Before you rush to the rescue, take a deep breath and reach out to other family members—and to the person who says they are contacting you—to determine if this is real or a scam.

Some phone scams claim to be from a financial services organization and ask you to update information—but don’t do it! This may be a phishing attack aimed at stealing your personal information. BestForBest/Shutterstock

Suspicious Calls

Phone scams can be avoided by not accepting calls in which the caller ID is not displayed. Let incoming calls from numbers you don’t recognize go to voicemail, reviewing them at your convenience instead of interrupting your day. In most cases, the callers won’t leave a message, saving you from having wasted your time.

Another phone- and internet-based scam involves calls, texts, or emails from organizations claiming to be banks, credit unions, or even the IRS; the emails may even have logos that look authentic. These scams request your personal information in order to “confirm your account security” or offer similar ruses to create a sense of urgency on your part.  However, financial institutions and the IRS will NEVER ask for this information in this manner. Immediately contact the bank or call the IRS to determine if the request is legitimate.

If you receive a text or email from a financial services organization asking you to click a link to update information, don’t do it! This may be a phishing attack aimed at stealing your personal information. Instead of responding to the text or email, call the organization to determine if the request is real.