The 5 Most Important Type Of Scams To Look Out For Today
1. Phishing E-mails- Regardless of whether you have Spyware programs, Firewall protection, or even the best Anti-Virus money can buy, there are many hackers out there who know how to by pass these systems. Therefore, collecting bits and pieces of information needed to begin breaking into many of your accounts, but mostly they use the information to create emails that look exactly like some establishments you may be doing business with. Example: Pay Pal Accounts, Banking Accounts, and even Medical Accounts. These emails ask for sensitive data and look legit but in fact are fraudulent. Please note that no bank, Pay Pal, or medical accounts will ever specifically ask you to enter your Social Security number or any personal account information through email. Do not respond to these emails, better yet, call the office line directly to the place of your business and notify them about these emails.
2. Spoofing Websites- These websites are just as dangerous if not more than phishing emails. A Spoof Site is a a fake web-site that could be offering a service, product, or free prizes, that look legitimate. Even the URL looks like the real website you were searching for. Crooks have duplicated these websites to look exactly like the real thing, so when you are submitting personal information to buy or receive certain items, you are in fact only submitting you credit card or personal information to an identity thief.
3. Charity Scams- Unfortunately, their are many major tragedies that happen all across the world, and many of us like to help if we can. The problem is that identity crooks also find these tragedies to be an opportunity to steal money for themselves. Most of the time this scam occurs through telephone or internet. These thieves purchase telephone numbers from 3rd party vendors and start soliciting phone calls to innocent people who think they will be doing a good deed, when in reality your donating to a thief. On the internet, it can be through a spoof site that may look like a charitable website asking for your donation, or they can begin sending emails asking for your help to donate for a certain cause.
4. Credit Card Readers- This one is so easy to pull off it's beginning to happen more and more. Many identity theft criminals can buy a card reader for under a 100 bucks, which is also known as Radio Frequency Identification Technology, or RFID. What this means is that these criminals do not have to pick pocket you in order to steal your credit/debit cards, or even your passport information. This Card Reader allows them to hold it in the hand looking like a small book. They only need to pass you by and the Card Reader will pick up your card number information through a radio frequency. THAT EASY! There is no way to stop it because you will never know who it is.
5. Restaurant Credit Card Scam- This is another easy one for identity criminals. We don't think about it much now, but you will after reading this. We sometimes pay for our breakfast, lunch, or dinner with our credit/debit cards, not ever thinking twice about handing the waiter/waitress our card to pay. Many restaurants have been sued by customers after realizing that wait staff had been making copies of customer credit cards when they head to the back to charge them. After making these copies, they usually use them for themselves or sell them off to other identity fraud criminals. Though it's tough to say if every restaurant experiences this type of fraud, it's easy to say that it is happening, and happening more often
In Conclusion...
Despite the fact of how much we may try to stop Identity Theft, it will never happen. The more our technology increases, the more windows of opportunity these thieves have. There are ways however to minimize the risk of Identity Theft but it comes with practice. Many people have this idea that it only happens to careless people, but the truth of it all, is that it can happen to anyone, even children. We don't like to praise thieves but these criminals are good at what they do, which is why it is important to become aware so that we may always stay a step ahead.
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