BE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE TO SCAM SQUAD TODAY SO YOU DON'T MISS A SINGLE WARNING!
Shawn Dyer, Senior Fraud Specialist from Monteciot Bank & Trust warns of four basic signs or a scam:
Scammers pretend to be from a familiar organization or agency, like the Social Security Administration, or Internal Revenue Service. They may email attachments with official-looking logos, seals, or signatures.
Scammers mention a problem or a prize. They may indicate the customer’s account number was involved in a crime or ask for personal information.
Scammers pressure the recipient to act immediately. They may even threaten arrest or legal action.
Scammers tell the customer to pay using a gift card, prepaid debit card, cryptocurrency, wire, or money transfer, or by mailing cash.
Shawn also reviews the recurring Tech Support scam and peer to peer scams using Venmo, Zelle, or CashApp.
She also explains the difference between scams and fraud. With scams, you were tricked, and a business or bank is unlikely to reimburse you because you authorized the transaction. (For example, sending a crypto payment to a scammer.) In contrast, with fraud, you are swindled, but it is not due to any action that you took. In this case, you are in a better position to be reimbursed by your bank or a business.
