Why is it
when people are vulnerable there always seems to be someone willing to take
advantage of them?
The last few
months many people have been out of work using home computers to keep up with
school, family and, if they are the lucky few who could work from home, their
office. Hackers are finding ways to download invasive software, sending
fraudulent emails, answer phished phone numbers and make scammed phone calls.
It’s dismaying at a time when people should be helping one another, some just
take advantage.
Scammers
will make you think they are authentic and really just being helpful — maybe
they’re offering to help you lower your interest rates, what better time to
wave that juicy tidbit in front of folks than when they are short on cash and many
really do have the bills piling up. Seniors are especially vulnerable to
scammers because they are used to getting contacted from insurance plans,
Medicare and Social Security; but NONE of those entities will ask for personal
information like social security numbers or passwords.
Then we have
the hackers who know enough to download software and steal sensitive information
from your computer or even use your own computer to make purchases. Sometimes
they call from a “computer company” claiming that your machine is corrupted and
they need to fix it; don’t accept a story like that, if there really is a
problem you make the contact (in person if possible). If you believe a program
is being downloaded, immediately disconnect your computer from the internet
completely and DELETE any program that has been downloaded – use the remove/uninstall
program feature.
Many
financial institutions and some stores who offer credit cards have made
provisions to help protect you in the case that someone is fraudulently using
your credit to purchase things like e-gift cards or transfer bank funds. Ask
about double verification when you sign in to your bank — after entering your
log-in and password (never store sensitive passwords on your computer) they
will send your mobile phone a text message with a code which you will need to
enter before continuing (one method). Be sure to set “alerts” on every bank
account or store credit account, this will cause a message to be sent to your
phone and/or e-mail as soon as a transaction takes place; you can usually set
the limit to be notified (make it LOW).
Don’t be
embarrassed IF you do get scammed, almost everyone falls for something shady —
report it to the authorities (police, FTC, banks, stores, etc.) immediately.
Contact banking institutions to ask if you could STOP transactions from going
through (may need to pay a fee). Be sure to keep any correspondence (emails,
text messages and the like) and copy phone numbers (although they might not be
authentic) related to the scam. Unfortunately if you do lose money, it is NO
longer deductible on your tax forms.
Some helpful advice to
avoid fraud and scams:
