Phishing for Personal Info
Same scam, different techniques
Somethings never get old and stealing information is one of those things. Phishing is commonly done through email, but times have changed so much since the first iteration of the World Wide Web. We’re practically on a whole new playing field, with new rules and gadgets. It’s a good idea to stay informed and prevent cybercrimes.
Phishing comes in a variety of nauseating flavors, all of them are bad for your bank accounts and credit score. The most basic of phishing is email phishing. If you’re using an older email service, phishing emails might make it into your main inbox and out of morbid curiosity, you open it up – stop right there and don’t open it up. Fishy emails should be discarded on-sight. Even if it’s an important email and not a phishing scam, then you can simply recover the wrongly deleted email before it is auto-deleted from your email’s trash.
Phishing relies on your personal information. With more personal info on hand, scammers are more likely to socially engineer their way into your money. That’s why you should remove your personal information from the internet using a service like Wiperts. With Wiperts, your personal information is cleaned from online search engines and social media, making it harder for scammers to coax you using previously obtained information. Someone who calls you out of the blue, but seems to know you too well, is probably trying to get something from you. Be wary of strangers and old acquaintances who know too much about your personal life and simply pass it off as information gleaned from social media. They’ve done their research and are trying to become artificially closer to you and your money.
With important emails, verify the sender’s email address and other contact details. This is important to make sure you’re communicating with the right person. Simply searching the email in your email’s search bar should pull up other emails from the same address. Using CTRL+F to match character for character is also a good way to make sure the emails are exactly the same. When in doubt, it’s okay to call. Large transactions carried out via wire transaction should always be triple checked for authenticity and accuracy. If possible, don’t even deal with bank wires. Face to face is the best way to ensure that money is transferred successfully.
Quick scams and long-haul heists
Always be wary of unknown phone numbers. Whether through call or text message, you should be on your guard. Don’t give out personal information when you can’t hear the other person clearly. Whether you’re in a noisy place or they are, you should be able to hear their voice clearly in order to verify their identity. If possible, use video calling in order to verify and communicate vital information. Larger the transaction, the more questions you should ask. Responsible people who want to spend lots of money come prepared with what they need.
Scammers on the other hand create a sense of urgency and demand for fast action, similar to “rip and run” crimes. They act panicked and need your information/money right now, otherwise they’ll be in big trouble. Don’t let their acting cause you to be panicked and worried – that’s what they want in order to throw you off your game. I’m sure you’ve realized by now, but everyone in life is in a hurry to spend your money. This especially includes scammers and choosing beggars. Your money is your money and you shouldn’t feel guilty denying instant gratification to people who can’t afford it on their own dime and time.
Slow, methodical scams build up a sense of rapport and false security. Like someone who marries for money, these heists take a long time to pull off. Once the scammer has their foot in the door, they’ll keep at it until they successfully steal a large amount and whatever else they can. These scams usually snowball into ridiculously large amounts. A small amount is needed at for unbelievably large potential returns. You need to pay a small deposit in order to receive your lottery winnings overseas. It’s a lotto you’ve never heard of, but once you deposit a little bit of pocket change, you’ll be rich. Once that small amount is given, you can kiss that money goodbye. These types of scams get you to invest emotionally and financially. Once you’re in, they make it hard for you to pull out for fear of losing what you’ve already given.
Scams always rely on one thing – your personal information. The more personal information they can get from you, the better. It makes stealing easier and even after you stop giving them money. With your personal information they can still steal as much as they can before moving on. Many institutions won’t try too hard to go after scammers, especially if the money was given over voluntarily (even though the underlying basis was a fraud). Don’t give out your personal information in exchange for too good to be true promises.   Â
