It’s a scam

I think I have no choice this week but to cover the issue of scams going around. There are always many; lockdown brought a whole new variety of ways of getting our details and into our homes or renting us a home that doesn’t exist; the list is literally endless.

Things to take into consideration if someone contacts you:

If the person who telephones you asks you to identify yourself, in order to give you the ‘important’ information they have for you, please DO NOT GIVE THEM ANYTHING. They will frequently give you the majority of your identification document details and then ask you to fill in the blanks, for verification. They need those missing particulars to steal from you, so please NEVER give information to anyone!

If you feel the matter is perhaps of importance, ask them to send you a written confirmation of the matter, providing either your email or that of your lawyer for them to respond and send the relevant documentation. If they say they cannot do this, it’s definitely a scam.  If the information never arrives, same thing applies.

The more aggressive approach with threats of dire consequences unless you heed to their request, either for your personal details, payment of a supposed credit card debt or purchase account, the more unlikely to be authentic. Please apply the same tactic as previously, ask them to confirm anything in writing.

A new scam is using the Amazon name. With so many of us making purchases online it’s likely that when they call about our Amazon account being hacked we think it may be possible. They use the fear of a scam to scam you. This new scam call tells you that your Amazon account has been hacked and purchases for exorbitant amounts being made and they need to talk you through the steps to stop you being liable for the expenditure.

They will then put the fear of the Lord into you and try to get you to give them your bank details so they can ensure you haven’t already been charged.

I know someone who followed similar instructions, to the point of downloading TeamViewer to give them access to all their accounts, ‘so the caller could make sure they were safe’. Due to the panic they infused in her they managed to bully her into opening and sharing her entire computer with a total stranger.

If this happens to you, don’t ever let anyone into your accounts, let alone your computer! No one from any official administration or company will telephone you in this manner. If you do fall for the ploy, immediately contact your bank and cancel your credit cards, as well as report the matter to your Local Police station.

Posting and sharing any scams you know of on social media will also help keep us all protected; we just have no idea where the blows can come from, so we all need to cover each other’s backs.

Stay safe.

www.nicoleking.es • www.zerohero.es • www.u-n-m.org

Nicole King’s opinions are her own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.