Hounded by scam calls and emails? You’re not the only one.

Scammers use threats and pressure tactics to try to con you for falling into their trap. Learning about popular scam calls and emails makes it easier to avoid them. If a caller speaks of wiring money or paying with a gift card, that is the time to hang up. Scammers have created more targeted phishing attempts to acquire business email credentials. They can make themselves look like a supplier, partner, or someone from inside your organization to get information. They can easily con people with an offer that sounds “too good to be true”. Trust us, it is. If a proposal doesn’t sound realistic, it isn’t. 

Common Topics for Scams:

1. Social Security Administration
2. Car warranty
3. Fake tech support or business email compromise
4. Student loans
5. Microsoft and Apple fake support
6. Job offers- These often can look like large sums of money for part-time work, offering fully remote work, wiring money in advance, they ask for your address, and verbiage may sound too formal but have typos. These will appear in email inboxes and job search sites. Be careful how much information you post to networking sites.

Signs It’s a Scammer:

1. They talk about wiring you money in advance. 
2. They ask for some money back after you’ve received a payment from them. Be wary of this because the checks will bounce!
3. They threaten your secure information. Your bank information and Social Security number or benefits will never be threatened by a professional.
4. They can leave messages about how they previously called and haven’t received a call back. 
5. They will give a fake deadline with a fake penalty to instill worry in whoever they’re calling.
6. Fake support phone numbers.
7. They’ll tell you that your system has been compromised and you need to let them on it right away so they can help you out

Steps to Take:

1. Block previous scam call numbers and emails.
2. Make sure the sender is legitimate. Look at the domain and compare to the real company site.
3. Do not click shortened links unless you are absolutely certain of the source. You can hover over the links to check the address.
4. Hang up the phone
5. Before clicking on anything read any details or fine print you can find. Read the URL the link would take you to to see if it matches the company you’re looking for.
6. Tell friends/family about calls you’ve gotten to spread awareness
7. Put them on hold and ask an IT person you trust if this call is legitimate