Kelan Combe, AFC Candidate Empowering Financial Wellness Program Coordinator Tax season is upon us! You know what that means? Tax returns! I’m sure most of us are excited to see that nice tax return hit our bank accounts, but do you know who else is excited? Scam artists.
In today’s digital world, scams are becoming increasingly common, and tactics are constantly evolving to take advantage of those who may not be looking out for them. To help keep you protected, we have come up with a few of the most common scams we have seen in the last little bit, and will give you some tips on how to identify and deal with them. 1. Text Scams I, and I’m sure many of you may have seen a recent increase in random texts coming from unknown numbers saying things like “Do you want to go golfing this weekend?” or, “Why aren’t you responding? Are you at work”, or even just a simple “How are you?”. Many of these messages are automatically sent to large numbers of people at once with one goal: Get someone to respond. Once someone responds, the scammer either tries to start a conversation with you hoping that they will get some information out of you, send a picture, which once downloaded can infect your device with malware aimed at discovering passwords, bank information, or other personal information, or a combination of both. In addition to this, once you respond the scammer now knows that you have a working number, and the frequency of these texts could increase. When you get one of these messages, DELETE IT! Do not respond, and do not click on any links, files, or pictures that may have been sent. You can also report the text by forwarding it to your phone provider, for example for Verizon you would forward it to 7726, or you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov. 2. Phone Scams Phone scams involve fraudulent calls attempting to deceive individuals into providing personal information or making payments. Most of the time the scammer will be pretending to be a bank, or government organization such as the IRS or police departments. Protect yourself from phone scams by avoiding providing personal or financial information over the phone, especially if you receive unsolicited calls. Legitimate organizations will never ask for sensitive information over the phone. You should also be wary of threats or pressure. Scammers often use threats or pressure tactics to coerce individuals into compliance. Hang up immediately if the caller uses aggressive language or demands immediate action. 3. Email Phishing Email phishing scams involve deceptive messages that trick individuals into revealing sensitive information, such as passwords or financial details. The scammer usually tries to impersonate a legitimate person or company. The goal of the emails is usually for you to click a link, or download and attachment that will let them install malware on your computer or collect personal information. To protect yourself against phishing, you should:
Lastly, here are a few tips to help keep you and your identity safe: 1. Put a freeze on your credit report. This will make it so even if someone manages to get ahold of your information, they will not be able to use your SSN to open credit. Click HERE for instructions to place a freeze on your credit. 2. Request an Identity Protection PIN from the IRS. This PIN prevents identity thieves from using your SSN to file for a tax return. Find out more at the IRS website. 3. Review your credit reports often. You can review your reports up to once a week completely for free. Reviewing your report can often be the first and only sign that someone is using your personal information to open accounts. Check it by going to: https://www.annualcreditreport.com If you want to know more about how to protect yourself from fraud, specifically investment fraud, join us for our webinar on March 5th where our guest presenters from the Utah Division of Securities will teach strategies for protecting your investments from scams.
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