The incredible, heart-wrenching, frustrating tale of a respected financial expert getting phone scammed out of $50,000 has sparked a good bit of incredulous and outraged reactions, but I'm more interested in ensuring – wherever you stand on the veracity of this tale – that you don't end up similarly scammed.
These are my top 7 tips for avoiding phone and other similar digital scams.
Just don't
Don't answer the phone when you see a number you don't recognize.
Don't assume it's local and important because the call matches your area code.
Don't act on that text message telling you you have a suspicious order from Amazon (we all shop at Amazon, so it doesn't take a genius to concoct a worrisome online shopping scenario that applies to everyone).
Don't call the number fake “Chase Bank” provided to check on the safety of your account and funds.
Don't hand over money because no real official or law enforcement will ever ask for it.
Slow down
Let's say you made the mistake of answering that phone call from a number you don't recognize or that you reacted in alarm to a text message and called that number or followed that link. Now you're on a call with someone who is doing his best to race you through the calamitous details of your “situation”. None of it is true but it sounds plausible and you are along for the ride. But you're not.
Cut off the chatterbox and tell him you're going to stop, hang up, and go check your accounts. This means opening a web browser and navigating to the bank and shopping accounts you set up and frequent. You won't see any unusual activity, trust me.
Never use the phone numbers provided to you by a text or phone call from an unknown caller
Once the phone scammers have you, their goal is to keep you ensnared in their web of lies. That means as little contact with the outside world as possible. They'll provide you with answers to all your questions but every door they open will operate like a Mӧbius strip, turning you over and back into the scam. They will often provide you with a phone number to call and verify their claims. Hang up and call the official customer service for your bank or shopping site.
They only know what you've already shared or had hacked
Phone and text scammers are so effective because they seem to know everything about you. In truth, they're simply performing the mentalist trick. Mind-readers and phone scammers have this in common: They use publicly available information to build a profile of you, and you've already given them so much ammo. Most of us have at least a decade's worth of personal information out on social media. We share our children's names, birthdays, our spouse's names, our anniversaries, our nicknames, our photos and videos. There's nothing we don't share.
What's worse is that the things we do try to hold private have leaked out through hacks on the dark web: email and home addresses, phone numbers, and even passwords and social security numbers. What scammers can't find, they'll wheedle out of you by convincing you they already have the information. A partial social security number? The scammer will read that out to you and you will happily fill in the rest.
Sharing less will help
I do recommend sharing less, but the truth is, the genie is out of the bottle, and unless you're ready to do an identity scrub, there's little chance you can pull all your private details from the internet. Still, if you move, maybe don't ever share your new address on social media.
Don't assume anything you see or hear is real
AI is now powerful enough to recreate audio, video, and photos of almost anyone, and phone scammers and criminals can use all that to convince you someone is seeking to do your family harm (or has even kidnapped a loved one).
A very natural reaction is to take action and protect your family but instead of giving in to the criminal's demands, start trying to contact that family member directly or someone close to them. You could even ask the scammer to have the “abducted” family member repeat a previously agreed upon “safe” word (this word should be selected and shared in person, only). If the scammer can't get that word or phrase from their hostage, they don't have them. Trust me, they never had them.
Don't give into emotion
The less you react and the more you analyze, the more likely you are to win in the face of what will be escalating demands from phone scammers. You see, they only have the power you give them. When you stop saying yes and start doing your own leg work, they're usually stuck and typically bail on the call.
Follow these tips and I bet you won't end up like that author and will never be out $50,000.
