Fraud and Scam News

Scammers see elder netizens as soft and easy targets. They know that aged users, in general, are trusting and polite; they’d shy away from saying ‘NO’. Besides, scammers wager that senior citizens may have substantial funds in the form of post-retirement savings with them.

Under these circumstances, being an elderly user, you can never be less cautious when dealing with money online. Follow these thumb-rules to ensure that scammers never come anywhere near your hard-earned money:

1. Never send or otherwise mention any critical information like your Social Security Number, Bank Account Number, ATM card PIN Number or Credit Card number, in your email.
2. If you encounter a suspicious-looking e-mail, show it to younger family members. They may be able to tell whether the mail is a scam or not. Also, never click links given inside a suspicious email – if you want to check about a certain offer, contact the company directly or visit the company website and get information there.
3. Never submit your personal financial information online. Submit them only to secure websites. Many scams revolve around sending an email to victims, presumably on behalf of their banks, and asking them to re-confirm their bank account details at a link/website mentioned in the letter. In scamming world, this is known as ‘Phishing’.
   One way of identifying a secure website is that it’s link always shows up as https:// instead of merely http://.
4. Never use computers at public places for conducting financial transactions. Security at such places is always suspect. It maybe breached at any time leaving users vulnerable to identity-theft.
5. When being online at home, protect yourself from identity theft by buying an anti-spyware. Good anti-virus softwares bundle these along with their regular product. Without your knowledge, scammers download spywares in your computer enabling them access to all your personal and financial data when you are online.
6. In online transactions, always ask plenty of questions. Scrutinize the deal through-and-through; the scammer may be bargaining on your NOT noticing some shady part of the deal.
7. Spend some time getting aware of the most common types of online fraud. Scammers keep finding new ways to dupe people everyday. The internet is a good place to keep yourself abreast of their activities. Searching for the terms ‘forum internet fraud scam’ (without using quotes) in Google will help you find sites where you can do this.

A few hours spent studying common scamming practices would enable you to spot a scam when you run into one.

Related posts:

1. 10 Smart Ways to Deal with Scam Email IRS Letters
2. Vishing Scam on against Seneca County Seniors
3. Top Ways to Deal With Earth Quake Charity Scams
4. Top 10 Ways to Avoid Phishing Scams
5. IRS : Beware of EFTPS Phishing Scam

February 6th, 2008 | Category: Online Scams | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL