QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The only means to strengthening one’s intellect, is to make up one’s mind about nothing – to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts.” – John Keats
TECH CORNER
This week instead of talking about the markets and the economy, I want to talk about common scams to watch for. Tragically, a couple that have been clients of our firm for over 25 years, was recently a victim of a common scam.
This year, the Federal Trade Commission has received 5.7 million fraud and identity theft reports. In today’s digital world, there is a growing need to be mindful of what is potentially harmful. The following are common scams to watch for:
Phishing scams:
Cybercriminals send fake messages that appear to be from a legitimate organization, asking you provide personal or financial information by clicking a link or calling a phone number.
Tech support scams:
Imitate technical support personnel from a reputable company.
Lottery and sweepstakes scams:
Notify victims that they have won a large sum of money in a lottery or sweepstakes.
Charity donation scams:
Pretend to represent a legitimate charity or non-profit organization and ask for donations.
Investment scams:
Promise high returns on investments with little or no risk, in exchange for your information.
Romance scams:
Using fake online personas, criminals cultivate a pretend relationship until the victim feels comfortable and provides their personal or financial information.
Relative in distress scams: Using a fake voice which can be done with artificial intelligence to solicit money to get a friend or relative out of some kind of trouble.
Scams can originate from email, phone, test message, or social media. If you think it might be suspicious, call the company DIRECTLY using the phone number on the back of your debit card or call the bank directly. Do NOT use any number they called from OR give you, or you can call our office. Scammers can be very sophisticated when trying to steal your money.
The clients mentioned above answered a tech support email which they thought was from Microsoft. They were forwarded to what they thought was their bank and the FBI telling them that their computer had been hacked. It is a long story and the scammers were completely believable. They told the clients that their Cambridge account with us was in danger of being hacked and they should remove the account and turn it into cash to purchase Bitcoin, which was subsequently stolen, due to the clients giving the Bitcoin information to who they thought was the FBI.
If anyone you don’t know or are suspicious of, asks for any personal information including account numbers or passwords, DO NOT give them any information. Chances are good that they are trying to scam you.
The lesson is that with the scammers being so sophisticated these days, you should be suspicious of any attempt to get your personal and financial information.
