By Matt Belyus
Valet Technologies
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Scammers, aka thieves, are working overtime to take your money. We have received notices from several banks concerning fraud alerts. If you get a call from a bank about a transfer or large purchase, don’t give them any information unless you know the person. This speaks volumes about dealing with a bank that personally knows you, and you know them. If you receive a call from someone saying they are from the bank and you are not sure who they are, hang up and call the bank’s main number to verify. This may seem like a lot of work, but just a few minutes to verify information can save you money and headaches.
Last week we received a voicemail stating they were from Amazon, and there was a significant charge for a cell phone purchase, and we needed to call them back. This is scam has been going around for some time but has become more widespread. If there was a large card charge, who normally calls you? Your credit card company. If they are from your credit card company they will have the information already.
Most people are trusting and that is what these scammers are depending on for their ploy to work. They use various forms of communication to accomplish their goal. We have mentioned phone call which is called vishing (fraudulent calls and voice mails). Did you ever get a text alert for a bank that you don’t use? That is smishing (sending fraudulent text messages). Fraudulent emails are called phishing which is the more prevalent form of scamming today simply because you send it to millions at the press of a button and it’s basically free. Phone calls take time and text messages may have a cost associated with them.
Here is a simple phrase to go by when you receive a call, text or email. “When it doubt, check it out.” Verify the validity of the message. It will take time, but as you learn to spot the fraudulent messages you can ignore and delete them. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.
Check us out at www.valettech.net, or email us at [email protected], and we will be happy to answer your questions. Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn to keep up daily.
