Five Steps to Take to Avoid Being Scammed

One of the tenets of financial literacy is understanding threats that can affect your savings. In today’s digital world, scammers are seemingly always around, trying to find ways to steal from you by phone, text message, or email.

Being a smart consumer is all about knowing how to identify a scam and what action to take. Here are five things you should always do if you suspect you are being scammed.

Check the Details Before Acting

When you receive a scam email or phone call, the scammers may try to disguise themselves by using branded graphics, a similar email address, or an official-looking phone number on the caller ID. These tactics are used to build legitimacy and trick a potential victim to act on their information immediately.

Before doing anything a caller or email requests – like offering any information or making any form of payment – it’s important to check the details to ensure that it’s coming from a verified source. Take a close look at the email address to determine the sender. Scammers will often send their emails from an unaffiliated address, or one that tries to look like a legitimate site (g-mail.com instead of gmail.com). For phone calls, if something seems off, you can always hang up and call the legitimate number to verify the information.

Resist the Pressure for Urgency

When trying to convince a victim to pay, scammers will often prey on a sense of urgency to do what they request. They may play on many different fears and emotions to get what they want, ranging from the threat of arrest to the loss of services.

Never agree to do anything before independently investigating and verifying the claims being made. For example: If an email claims your bill is overdue and your service will be terminated immediately, you may be able to log into your account to see when the last payment was made. If they are threatening immediate arrest over the phone, you can call the local law enforcement agency to verify the claim. And if you are still unsure, call the company or organization directly on a trusted phone number, usually found on their website. If there is an urgent need, you will have the opportunity to review it before any adverse effects happen.

Is the Method of Payment Secure?

Once scammers have established a sense of urgency, they will often pressure victims to pay them immediately. Instead of paying by check or credit card, the two most common methods they recommend are through gift cards or cryptocurrency. Scammers can also setup a fake payment portal that looks like the legitimate website to steal your username, password, or credit card number.

Scammers usually offer these methods because it’s difficult to trace the money or stolen information. If someone over e-mail or a phone call is asking you to pay them with an unsecure payment method – like gift cards, cryptocurrency, or on a website that doesn’t match the company’s regular website – don’t give in to their demands. If you have questions about the validity of a bill, always follow up directly with the company or agency to see if there is a balance due, and how to pay it using a secure method.

Are Your Accounts Secure?

Scammers will use many different methods to get your personal information. If one of your passwords was compromised in a data leak, they could use it to break into your accounts to find out information like your address or banking information to victimize you with.

It is important to check your accounts on a regular basis to ensure that your passwords are secure and resistant to hacking attempts. A strong password is at least 12 characters long and is made up of capital letters, small-case letters and symbols. Some of the best passwords are phrases that are easy for you to remember, but hard for other people to guess.

Multi-factor authentication can add another level of security to your account by requiring a code from an authentication app or sent by email or text to login to an account. With a strong password and multi-factor authentication, you can make it more difficult for someone to steal your personally identifiable information.

Keep Up to Date on Popular Scams

Scammers are continually evolving their tactics. That’s why it’s important to continually educate yourself on the latest scams going around over the phone, over text, and online. Moreover, it’s crucial to educate your friends and family about the latest scams, so that they don’t fall victim as well. Spreading info about new scams can help everyone stay safe and sound.

If you are afraid that you may have become a victim of a scam attempt, SESLOC may be able to help. Our HomeFREE Checking comes with Identity Theft Recovery¹, which includes working with a dedicated ID Theft Recovery Advocate who will work to reverse the damages caused by the incident. It’s just another way SESLOC members save more.

Staying safe from scams involves understanding what’s happening in the moment, recognizing the signs, and taking preventative action. With understanding and awareness, you can prevent yourself or someone you know from being a victim of online scams.

1: Identity Theft Recovery + Mobile Phone Coverage (“Program”) is provided by NXG Strategies, LLC., and are included as part of HomeFREE Checking. There is no pre-registration required. By participating in the HomeFREE Checking account the primary accountholder is accepting the terms and conditions of the Program. See sesloccares.nxgstrategies.comfor terms and conditions of the Program, or request a copy of the terms and conditions by visiting any SESLOC branch office. You retain the option to utilize these services as long as you are a HomeFREE Checking accountholder, subject to terms and conditions.