5 ways to protect yourself from scammers.
Scammers are real. They use every available means to perpetrate their acts and cause real damage to their victims.
Recently, cyber fraud and scams have suddenly become rampant again. The scammers use different methods to lure people to give them money. They often use fake SMS, emails, fake links, fraudulent calls, and so on to scam people.
Suppose you’re lucky to spot suspicious activity. In that case, you can easily protect yourself and outsmart a potential scammer. Still, your ability to spot suspicious activity will likely include being extra cautious and vigilant in your online and offline activities.
Now, in this blog, there are many ways you can protect yourself from scammers and make sure that you keep yourself safe.
1. Know their typical Modus Operandi.
There are many common ways by which scammers conduct their activities. They use SMS, and you can easily spot their SMS when you pay attention. Some examples of this type of SMS are those saying that you have won a prize or that your long-distance relatives are asking for money.
Some of these fraudsters can even send an SMS impersonating big brands, and they will lead you to believe that it is coming from those brands.
Always ensure you wait to respond to any link on your phone. Take your time and do your research and verification through other channels. You will likely determine if the SMS is genuine or fake when you must have done this.
2. Conduct more research.
Now that most of the products and services have moved online, it’s easy for someone to pretend they have a store online, but the intention will be to scam people. They could do this by going to produce fake advertising pictures. Always ensure that you refrain from making fast purchases. You can purchase once you have researched the product or service you want to buy. Also, look at the company’s social media handles and check the date the page was created when doing your research.
Go to their website and check if it’s professionally made, and if there are things that need to have been correctly done, that may signal that it could be a fraudulent business.
You can go on to check for reviews of previous buyers, which will also give you a clue as to whether they are real or unreal. You have to do all this to ensure that you don’t get scammed along the way.
3.Check their payment method.
If their online business considers you to wire money to them, that may be too risky because there is no guarantee that you will get your money back if something goes wrong.
If they’re using legitimate channels like PayPal, even if something goes wrong along the way, you can easily file a complaint for a refund of your money.
Check their only payment option, and if it is through cash, you should be worried because if something goes wrong, you may not be able to get your money back.
4. Look for feedback.
Check for feedback from people around you or those who have used that product or service you want to purchase online. That feedback will give you greater peace of mind that someone you know has used the product you want to buy.
Also, consider someone who has talked about the business online or has blogged about it; think of reaching out to them on their social media handles and asking them for feedback.
Genuine feedback will encourage you to proceed with the purchase of that product or service.
5. Protect your personal information.
Most times, the scammers will be eager to know your personal information. They may even call you to ask for this information on the phone; take your time giving it to them.
Most of the time, scammers are ready to steal your identity to use it to steal from someone else related to you; just be on the lookout so that you don’t fall victim.
When going out of the country, ensure you don’t reveal your sensitive activity on social media, as this may make you vulnerable to the activities.
Conclusion.
Scammers are real. It is your responsibility to guard yourself and protect yourself against their fraudulent act. Most times, they fool those who are not aware of their actions. And that’s why you need more information like the one you are reading now, which will benefit you.
However, if you notice that you have been scammed, the best you can do is to contact your local authorities or security agency or even take legal action if applicable.
In addition, please continue to share stories like this so that other people can learn and protect themselves, too, so that they don’t get scammed by scammers.
Also read:
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- Tornado warning: what you need to do when you see alert messages
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