As the holiday season approaches, scammers seem to increase their efforts and activities in hopes of separating us from our hard-earned money! Level 10 Technology, Better Business Bureaus and law enforcement agencies across the country are warning people to beware of these common scams.

Be cautious of online shopping: Because many retailers now have chip readers, fraud at brick-and-mortar stores is down, so scammers have shifted their efforts online. Use a credit (not debit) card online and only shop on secure websites (HTTPS: Not HTTP: ) Look for the https in the address bar that means the site is secure.

Look-alike websites: When shopping online, make sure to use only legitimate websites. Watch out for URLs that use the names of well-known brands along with extra words hoping we “fat finger” or misspell our favorite shopping sites.

Fake shipping notifications: These can have attachments or malicious links to sites that will download malware or even worse ransomware to your computer. These can cost you credit card information, passwords or even a ransom to get your data back.

E-Cards: Electronic greeting cards can be great fun and parents and grandparents enjoy them but be careful. Two red flags to watch out for are: the sender’s name is not apparent; you are required to share additional information such creating an account or logging into the site to get the card.

Letters from Santa: Several trusted companies offer charming and personalized letters from Santa, but scammers mimic them to get personal information from unsuspecting parents. Check with BBB.org to find out which ones are legitimate and which ones are scams.

Emergency Scams: Be cautious if you get a call from a “family member” or a “friend” claiming to be in an accident, arrested, or hospitalized while traveling this holiday season. Never send money unless you confirm with another family member that it’s true. This scam works especially well on our grandparents, so be very careful and always check with another family member first.

Temporary Holiday Jobs: Retailers and delivery services need extra help at the holidays. We know the USPS will be working almost around the clock this holiday season to make sure mail and packages get delivered on time. But beware of solicitations that require you to share personal information online (name, address, social security number, drivers license number) or even pay for lead. Go to the actual retailers’ main website to review the job and apply on their site or even go “old school” and apply in person!

Charities: Everyone is generous around the holidays and here in Clarksville we do have some organizations that do amazing things such as Manna Café Ministries, but sadly scammers like to take advantage of people that are feeling generous. So, beware of solicitations that require you to share personal information. These types of scams can be found by the scammer calling you, social media sites or random text messages. If you are wanting to help an organization out this holiday season check out Manna Café Ministries.

More about Manna Café Ministries:
Site - https://www.mannacafeministries.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mannacafe2010/

Unusual forms of payment: Be wary of anyone who asks you to pay for holiday purchases using prepaid debit cards, gift cards, wire transfers, third parties, etc. These payments CAN NOT be traced and CAN NOT be undone.

Free gift cards: Pop-up ads or email offering free gift cards are often just a ploy to get your personal information that can later be used for identity theft. A lot of these to good to be true gift card sites will ask for your name, address, social security number and more.

Social Media Gift Exchange: It sounds like a great deal; BUY ONE GET 5 FREE!! But its just a variation of a pyramid scheme and it’s illegal.

Romance Scams: In 2018, people reported losing $143 million to romance scams – a higher total than for any other type of scam reported to our friends over that the FTC. The median reported loss was $2,600, and, for people over 70, it was $10,000.

Romance scammers create fake profiles on dating sites and apps or contact their targets through popular social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, or other sites.

The scammers will strike up a great conversation that will make you feel good inside and strike up a relationship. These scammers will build trust, sometimes talking or chatting several times a day. Then, they make up stories and ask for money.

Here at Level 10 Technology found what the top scams are they like to tell:

  1. Working on an oil rig
  2. In the military
  3. A doctor with an international organization

Here are some of the things they ask money for:

  1. Pay for a plane ticket to come visit
  2. Pay for a surgery or some medical expense
  3. Pay customs fees to retrieve something
  4. Pay off gambling debts
  5. Pay for a visit or some kind of travel documents

These scammers like to have their targets pay with:

  1. Wiring Money
  2. Reloaded gift cards like MoneyPak or gift cards from vendors like Amazon, Google Play or Steam.

Here is the bottom line: NEVER SEND MONEY OR GIFTS TO A SWEETHEART YOU HAVEN’T MET IN PERSON!!!

If you suspect a romance scam do the following:

  • Stop talking to them immediately
  • Talk to someone you trust and listen to what they have to say
  • Do a search for the type of person the say they are and look for other scams
  • Do a reverse image search on the image they have sent you to see all the other accounts that image maybe associated with.

Tech support Scams: Tech support scammers want you to believe that there is an issue with your computer, like a virus or someone compromised your IP address. They want you to pay in upwards of several hundred dollars for tech support services that you don’t need and fix issues that do not exist. They will often ask you to pay with a credit or debt card over the phone or put money on re-loadable gift cards or use a money transfer app because they know these payments can be hard to reverse.

Phone calls – Tech support scammers may call you and pretend to be a computer technician from a well-known company in your area. That say they’ve magically found a issue with your computer and it needs to be fixed right away.

If you get a phone call you didn’t expect from someone who says they are with tech support xyz just hang up.

Pop-up Warnings – Tech support scammers may try to lure you in with a pop-up window that appears on your computer screen. It might look like an error message from your operating system or antivirus software, and it might use logos from trusted companies or websites. The message in the window warns of security issues on your computer and gives you a number to call.

If you get this kind of pop-up window on your computer, don’t call the number. Real security warnings and message will never provide a number to call and Microsoft will never call you.

So, we have covered a lot of scams over here at Level 10 Technology. So where is the real question “What do you do if you get scammed?”. This is a great question and let’s talk about it for a few seconds.

  • If you paid a tech support scammer with a credit or debt card, you may be able to stop the transaction, but you need to call your bank or card issuer right away. Don’t wait till the next day.
  • If you have paid the scammers with a gift card, contact that company of the gift card right away. Tell them you paid a scammer with the gift card and ask if they can refund the money.
  • If you gave the scammer remote access to your computer, you will need to either contact your IT dept. or Level 10 Technology if you don’t have a tech department or run your anti-virus software.
  • If you gave your username and password to a tech support scammer, change your password right away. If you use the same password for other accounts or sites, change it there, too. Create a new strong password in its place.

So who do you report this to?

There are a lot of resources out there where you can report these kinds of things but we will give you our top 3.

The BBB - File a Complaint Center

The FTC - FTC Complaint Assistant

Internet Crimes Compliant Center (IC3) - IC3 Complaint Center

 

Here at Level 10 Technologies we take security very seriously for both our clients and our community. Stay tuned for our events, articles and more on Facebook or here on the site.

If your organization is interested in learning more about Level 10 Technology feel free to call us to find out more 931-645-2322