Phone & Computer Scams
There are many different types of scams out there, but phone and computer scams are becoming wildly popular and you should be educated to keep yourself protected!
Scammers are very good at what they do, and they have many kinds of methods to convince you to send them money.
Some key points to know when trying to determine if you are involved in a scam are as follows:
- There is no prize.
- Some popular examples are you are being told you have won a lottery, a trip, or another large dollar ticket item. IF YOU HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING TO GET THE PRIZE, IT IS NOT A PRIZE!
- Some popular examples are you are being told you have won a lottery, a trip, or another large dollar ticket item. IF YOU HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING TO GET THE PRIZE, IT IS NOT A PRIZE!
- You do not need to decide now.
- During most legitimate offers, businesses or individuals will give you time to think it over and/or will draw up documents to sign before asking you to commit. It is common for scammers to give you a scenario that seems urgent that pressures you into making a decision or to give out personal information on the spot. They are also hoping that they can get you to send money quick enough that you do not have time to question their story or to talk to a trusted family or friend for someone to possibly talk you out of sending money. PLEASE STOP AND TALK WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!
- During most legitimate offers, businesses or individuals will give you time to think it over and/or will draw up documents to sign before asking you to commit. It is common for scammers to give you a scenario that seems urgent that pressures you into making a decision or to give out personal information on the spot. They are also hoping that they can get you to send money quick enough that you do not have time to question their story or to talk to a trusted family or friend for someone to possibly talk you out of sending money. PLEASE STOP AND TALK WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!
- There is never a good reason to send cash or pay with a gift card.
- Scammers usually will ask you to pay them in some type of way that makes it hard for you to get your money back. These include wiring money, putting money on a gift card, purchasing gift cards to mail to them, or using a money transfer app. ANYONE WHO ASKS YOU TO PAY THEM FIRST IS A SCAMMER!
- Scammers usually will ask you to pay them in some type of way that makes it hard for you to get your money back. These include wiring money, putting money on a gift card, purchasing gift cards to mail to them, or using a money transfer app. ANYONE WHO ASKS YOU TO PAY THEM FIRST IS A SCAMMER!
- Never give them access to your computer.
- Tech scammers may try to lure you with a pop-up window that appears on your computer screen. It looks like an error message from your operating system or antivirus software. The error message in the window is a warning telling you there is a security issue on your computer and tells you to call a phone number to get help.
- If you call the number on the pop-up alert, they will ask for your personal information to get access to your computer. Once inside your computer, they have access to everything saved, including passwords.
Some simple key things to remember is to remain vigilant and skeptical whenever you are answering an unexpected call. Never EVER give out your personal information to someone you do not know. Information like your social security and bank account numbers should never be shared with anyone. If the situation seems “off” or fishy, IT PROBABLY IS!
Grand Trunk (BC) EFCU is here to help you! If you feel like you’ve been involved in a scam we can help you with what steps to follow next. If you’ve gotten a check that you feel is fraudulent bring it in to us to take a look at it.
All of our members are auto enrolled in SecurLock for both Mastercard Debit Card & Visa Credit Cards. SecurLOCK Communicate allows fraud alerts to be sent out in realtime to our card holders via texting, email, and phone calls. Please make sure your most current contact information is on file with GT (BC) EFCU so that you receive these fraud alerts any time suspicious activity gets flagged on your cards.
In our mobile app, you can also go to “Manage My Cards” where you can activate receiving activity alerts and can temporarily lock/unlock your cards if you were to misplace it.
Read these articles by the Federal Trade Commission on how to recognize a phone/computer scam and what you should do if you feel you have been scammed.
How to spot, avoid, and report tech support scams