Tell Tale Signs of Fraud

Posted by Checkbook on Aug 11, 2020

If you’re the average American, you’ve probably received at least one fraudulent call or email this week. Text messages are becoming increasingly prevalent too.

With each passing day, cyber crimes in the US are growing and they are getting more innovative, robust and sophisticated. In 2019, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recorded more than $3.5 billion in losses to individual and business victims of internet-enabled crimes. The only way to protect oneself is to be alert and aware.

Here are some common fraud giveaways:

Create Panic: They try to create a sense of urgency in your action to prompt you to make decisions and divulge information with little thought. This works because with shorter times, you’re less likely to notice things that don’t seem right or confront the original message sender.

Reach Out Proactively: They pretend to belong to government or corporate bodies that are initiating dialogue with you to inform you about suspicious activity in your account. In some cases, they will call or email you continuously from different numbers.

Bait You: They will often bait you with the promise of paying you extra in return for a small service or lure you with a coupon code that an organization has sent you. If someone you don’t know sends you a check and asks for money back, do not respond to the scam.

Act as Imposters: They commonly disguise themselves as your superiors at work or as your company’s suppliers and ask you to make payments or purchases. Identity forgery is linked to higher chances of falling for scams.

Call To Download/Click: They often embed malware or spyware into attachments and links that they ask you to engage with. In some cases, these links are hidden in other elements such as buttons, so it’s not immediately apparent. To avoid this, check links before clicking by hovering your mouse over suspicious buttons before clicking. Other nefarious malware are able to collect private information from your computer systems.

Present Poor Grammar: They often word their emails poorly with layout errors, spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and rude or abrupt language. Many scammers come from non-English speaking countries. Grammar is a stronger indicator than spelling since most scammers have access to spell check technology.

To learn more about Checkbook's fraud control measures, click here.