SmartBanking Blog

How to Remain Alert

        It is becoming increasingly necessary for consumers to remain alert. As consumers become aware of broader scam tactics, scammers are resorting to more underhanded tricks and relying on new technology to defraud victims. Today we will look at some of these tactics, as well as go through best practices to ensure you remain alert.

Tactics

1. Spoofing– Scammers can easily spoof phone numbers, caller ID, emails, texts, or websites. While not a new tactic per se, AI and other new technology allow scammers to easily impersonate employees and gain their victim’s trust.
2. Relying on complacency – Again, this is not a new tactic of scammers. However, attention to detail is becoming more important than ever. A recent Microsoft imposter scam saw the phishing email come from “@rnicrosoft.com.” A combination of small print and not enough attention to detail unfortunately led to people falling for this phishing attempt.
3. Opportunity fraud – Because consumers are educating themselves more on scams, criminals are looking for more opportunity scams. These usually involve perpetrators exploiting overlooked areas of a person’s financial portfolio. As we recently discussed, this includes things like child identity theft and deed fraud.
4. Technology – Tap-to-pay scams, crypto scams, AI impersonation scams, and more are utilizing the latest technology and using it against those who may not keep up to date on the latest and greatest. Criminals are covering legitimate tap-to-pay terminals with fake ones, using phishing calls to create AI impersonation opportunities, and utilizing crypto to refresh investment scams.

Best Practices

1. Be critical of ANYONE who reaches out to you who claims to be from your bank. Unless you have requested contact, hang up! Keep in mind: the Bank will never need your online banking credentials or account numbers. Your bank will never have a problem with you hanging up the call and initiating another one from your end with the trusted and verified number on the back of your bank card.
2. Always remember that links are gateways. They can easily lead you to where you want to go, but they can also easily allow in malware and criminals looking to steal your information. Evaluate all links critically. Very minor spelling mistakes could mean the difference between a safe link and a malicious one.
3. Make a list of tasks for those overlooked areas of your life and then set a calendar reminder every quarter to check in on those areas to make sure they are not being exploited. You may also choose to purchase third-party (verified!) monitoring to keep an eye on these areas for you. In between these check-ins, remain alert to changes in mail or communication that could be a sign of fraud.
4. Approach your day-to-day activities with a certain level of skepticism. Does the payment terminal look strange? Is your niece or nephew reaching out to you out of the blue asking for money? Have you been approached about a too-good-to-be-true or “sure thing” investment? Did you receive a text about your account from a company you don’t even do business with? Remember that it is always okay to pause and verify anything to protect yourself, and anyone who gets upset with you for doing so is likely a bad actor.

     Remaining alert is the number one way you can protect yourself and your loved ones from fraud. Unfortunately, the creativity and adaptability of scammers means that consumers cannot rest on their laurels and must always be educating themselves about the newest tactics. But don’t worry! The Savings Bank is dedicated to keeping up with the scam world to protect you and your financial future! Be sure to keep up with our latest blog and social media posts for updates.