Fraud calls used to be easy to spot. You knew a Saudi Prince or New York Stock exchange broker will not pick up the phone and call you. Thanks to spam filters like TrueCaller, a lot of those dubious international calls are blocked automatically today.
However, cyber fraudsters are professionals and they are constantly working at creating more genuine-looking and sophisticated scams to trap unsuspecting victims. The more information a fraudster has about your identity, such as your address, age or date of birth, the easier it is for them to convince you that their scam is legitimate.
Thus, personal approach to fraud is often harder to spot.
Cyber criminals often create very convincing fake Customer Service accounts with a handle similar to a brand/bank’s actual customer support account. Then they reach out to you over call/message.
Have a look at these actual calls unsuspecting customers have received from fraudsters.
If its too good to be true, it probably isn’t. Think through this, if a person is giving away expensive iPhones for cheap, why would he/she call you, and how did they get hold of your contact details?
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Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t file their taxes on time. This allows fraudsters the opportunity to dupe them. However, whether you are days away from the tax filing deadline, or have not filed your tax, the IT department won’t pick up the phone and extort money.
File your taxes honestly. There are no discounts, there never was any.
By making their scams outlandish, scammers often ensure the most gullible people are subject to their intrusions. If you ever receive a call about becoming a ‘VIP customer’, think, did you apply to any such program any time soon?
If not, its probably not a legitimate program. Nobody is waiting to give away freebies.
There’s nothing wrong in being lucky. However, if you really are the lucky winner of a contest where the ‘grand prize’ is a mansion, international vacation or race car or bike, why would they charge you to deliver your prize?
Also, do you remember buying any lottery ticket?
This is plain bullying. Do you ever remember being bullied by an official when you drop by the bank branch? Then why would any bank call and threaten you over mail, call or SMS? Remember, if you haven’t done anything wrong, no one can take away your money.
If you are not expecting an email or phone call, always think twice before responding to such calls or mails. If you are unsure, do not reply or click on any links — call the respective company on a number you source and cross-check.