Scam vs Non-Scam

It is getting harder and harder to tell what communication is a scam and what is not a scam. You used to could tell by looking at the language (wording) in a text/email but now with the advancement of AI, the days of easily telling what is a scam are gone. And now, not only are you getting emails and text messages, but you are getting regular mail in your physical mailbox that is scam. What is a person to do? Here are a couple of tips to help you process these communications.

1. NEVER click on a link in an email or text. This is the most common way to get your identity stolen. These links usually hold viruses or malware that will download to your computer and access your information. This will include information on your phone that is stored on the hard drive of your phone and your computer’s hard drive.

2. NEVER take the text/email/mail piece at face value. Do not click on a link or call a number from a text/email/mail piece, call a trusted number to make sure that it is legitimate. BUT DON’T CALL THE NUMBER IN THE TEXT/EMAIL/REGULAR MAIL. Look up the phone number or use a trusted number that you have previously called. The phone numbers listed in the text/email/mail piece could very well be a bogus number sending you to someone that is not associated with the business it is representing.

3. If you don’t recognize a phone number, don’t answer your phone! If it is a legitimate call, they will leave a message on your answering machine or voice mail.

It is up to you to be your and your family’s best defense against spammers. Be sure to talk to your younger and older family members and explain how important it is not to answer the phone on these spoofed calls and not to click the links or call the numbers listed in the emails/texts/mail pieces.

One thing that you can do is download a trusted app to your cell phone (for phone calls) that will tell you what calls are potential spam calls. This helps in most instances but not all. A good call filter called Robokiller: Spam Call Blocker will help with this.

For your computer, get a good antivirus protection software that will scan your emails and stop potential unsafe emails from coming through. I use Bitdefinder. With Bitdefender, you can set up email scans for multiple email accounts and potentially harmful emails will be flagged so that you can make the decision as to whether to open them or not.

Be sure to check and see if your cell phone carrier and your antivirus software has these types of apps and capabilities. Make sure they are trusted before downloading them to your devices.

These are just some tips that can help you keep safe from Scammers! Watch my Facebook groups and business website each Monday for more Privacy Tips!

NOTE: These are common practice measure to take to secure your online presence. I am NOT guaranteeing that this will definitely keep you from getting hacked or getting your identity stole but they can help. The more you do to secure your accounts, the safer you will be.