Guardianship Tactics: Ensuring Safety for Your Family Against Internet Swindles

Key Takeaways

• Beware of messaging scams: ignore unknown numbers and never reveal personal info or transfer money.
• Watch out for classified scams: always verify the legitimacy of online listings before making payments.
• Don’t fall for fake tech support: Never give someone remote access to your computer.

Most of us are pretty savvy to scams, but we all have that friend or loved one that we worry might become a victim. Here’s a round-up of the most successful online scams that you can share to help them stay informed of the potential threat.

Messaging Scams: Stranger Danger

These scams usually start with an innocent sounding message “Hi Tim! It was great to meet you at the conference!“. Being polite, you’ll reply that this person has the wrong number, and from there they will encourage further conversation. Don’t be fooled—they know they have the wrong number, and are searching for potential targets to develop.

Ignore messages from numbers you don’t know, and never reveal personal information or click on any links you are sent.

Classified Scams: Mind Your Purse

There are fake classified ads, online stores, rental properties and job listings that you need to watch out for when shopping online. Examples of this include fake rental property listings that will ask you to transfer a security deposit to the scammer, fake job listings that will ask you to transfer money to pay for training materials (for a job that doesn’t exist), and classified ads for used items that will never be delivered. Before you pay for anything, always check that the website you are using is legitimate, and that the product or listing is from a reputable user.

Sticking to e-commerce and payment platforms with strong buyer protection and using a credit card that will allow you to report fraudulent transactions can help protect you when shopping online. However, recovering lost funds is rarely successful, so the best protection is simply not to be fooled in the first place.

Microsoft/Tech Support Scams: Never Give Anyone Access to Your Computer

This one has been around for a long time, but still catches people with their guard down. If someone calls you claiming to be from tech support and wants you to give them details about your computer, accounts, or asks you to download software to give them access, hang up immediately.

Neither Microsoft or Apple, nor any other big tech company will call you in this way. Ever.

If you get this kind of call claiming to be from your employer’s IT department, hang up and call them back through your company switchboard to make sure it was really them.

Sometimes, these scams come in the form of ads and popups that look like legitimate messages warning you of viruses that need to be cleaned, asking you to click a link or call a number to resolve the issue. These rely on making you panic so that you’ll follow their instructions. Instead, you should ignore them, close your web browser, and run a scan directly using your own antivirus if you are concerned.

Phishing: Watch Out for Fake Emails

Phishing uses fake emails and websites that look like the real thing to trick you into sharing usernames, passwords, or payment details. These can look like real emails from your bank, government, online stores, or other platforms you use. These can be very difficult to spot, may use real details about you to look legitimate (like your real name and contact details) and even the sending address may appear correct at first glance.

The best protection against phishing scams is to never click on links in emails that lead to a login page. Close your browser, and then navigate to the website for the email sender, and log in from there. This way, you know that it’s a legitimate login page, and not a fake one set up to steal your information.

Cryptocurrency and Investment Scams: You Won’t Get Rich Quick

Crypto and investment scams may come in the form of phishing, messaging, and even through online ads, but the hook is always the same: with little effort, you can get rich if you transfer some money, but act soon so you don’t miss out!

Just don’t do it. The investment opportunity is fake, or the platform they ask you to use may be fraudulent and used to steal your banking details. Cryptocurrency is often used in these scams as many people aren’t familiar with how it works, making it easy to dupe you into handing over their money.

Bank Fraud: Be Sure Before You Transfer Money

Bank fraud is the end goal of most online scams, and it comes in many forms beyond what’s listed in this article. Scammers are creative, and always looking for new convincing stories and technical methods to convince you to give them sensitive information. For example, scammers have been impersonating banks themselves to convince you to give them your details, and have also been tracking legitimate transactions, then issuing fake invoices for them , so you think you are paying for services you actually received, but pay the scammer instead.

Never give out your bank details to anyone who contacts you online, and always confirm payment details before you make an online transfer. Funds are rarely recoverable once a bank transfer has been made.

Impersonation: Confirm Suspicious Calls from Friends and Family

If a family member contacts you, urgently asking for money to be transferred to a new bank account, tread carefully. Scammers trawl social media to find out who you know, then use the details they find (including names, photos, and even information about your activities) to impersonate trusted individuals and try and trick you into transferring them money.

This often happens when a friend or family is on holiday overseas, increasing the urgency in which they supposedly need the money. This has even been done by using stolen devices so that the messages come from a legitimate number, which is why it’s important to lock your mobile devices with a strong password and follow best practices for staying secure while traveling .

AI is even being used by scammers to fake video calls , so this one is going to be harder to spot in the future! If you do get a suspicious message from a friend or family member, contact them through a different channel to confirm that it’s really them before continuing to communicate with them.

What Can You Do to Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones?

The fastest way to stop a scam in progress is to stop communicating with the scammer immediately, and change your passwords and payment details ASAP so that they cannot use any information that they have collected.

The best way to proactively protect yourself is to stay vigilant, share as little about yourself online as possible, and always carefully verify the details of anyone who asks for information or payment. If you’re concerned that a loved one may be susceptible to scams, you can help keep their devices secure , set them up on reputable online shopping platforms, and encourage them to stick to them, and contact you if they receive any soliciting messages.

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