My dad is well-trained to call me for anything that looks even slightly off. Some of the scams thrown at him have been very convincing.
My in-laws too, now. They were taken in by a scammer who got full control of their Internet banking account. Thankfully, NAB’s anti-fraud protection kicked in and prevented the loss of a lot of money.
These scammers target the elderly. They are without scruples and will laugh while taking someone’s life savings. I honestly don’t know how they live with themselves.
Advice for spotting scams:
Microsoft don’t call you. I’ve worked with Microsoft gold partners for over fifteen years, I have premier support packages and the ability to raise requests with them. My employers/customers pay hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for me to be able to do this. They never initiate contact even with me. They sure don’t do that with regular users. If “Microsoft” is calling, it’s a scam. Every. Single. Time.
If the contact is coming from a company you don’t deal with, it’s a scam.
If the contact is coming from a company you do deal with: they will know your name and account details. If they initiate the call and want to confirm any information with you, ask for a reference number and hang up. Then go to their website, call the contact number and provide the reference number before confirming anything. If they are reluctant to do this, they are a scam.
Don’t just rely on scammers looking/sounding like scammers. I’ve seen some really legitimate looking phishing attempts. They’ll know your name, employer, address. They’ll be super friendly and helpful. If on the phone, they’ll be confident and efficient. But so will the real company. If you didn’t call them, be very on-guard.
Never ever, for any reason, provide either your password or that confirmation code if they initiate the contact.
I am THRILLED to say my parents have learned the same. I would rather them call me about every single Windows Update message than have them call for a single scam
Great points! I’d say never provide your password or confirmation code ever on the phone. They shouldn’t have you password stored anyway. Only a salted hash of it.
Some places will use a password or code they send to you in order to ID you. My ISP will use my password to ID me. The bank will sms me a code for some interactions. That’s why the disclaimer on them initiating contact.
My dad is well-trained to call me for anything that looks even slightly off. Some of the scams thrown at him have been very convincing.
My in-laws too, now. They were taken in by a scammer who got full control of their Internet banking account. Thankfully, NAB’s anti-fraud protection kicked in and prevented the loss of a lot of money.
These scammers target the elderly. They are without scruples and will laugh while taking someone’s life savings. I honestly don’t know how they live with themselves.
Advice for spotting scams:
Microsoft don’t call you. I’ve worked with Microsoft gold partners for over fifteen years, I have premier support packages and the ability to raise requests with them. My employers/customers pay hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for me to be able to do this. They never initiate contact even with me. They sure don’t do that with regular users. If “Microsoft” is calling, it’s a scam. Every. Single. Time.
If the contact is coming from a company you don’t deal with, it’s a scam.
If the contact is coming from a company you do deal with: they will know your name and account details. If they initiate the call and want to confirm any information with you, ask for a reference number and hang up. Then go to their website, call the contact number and provide the reference number before confirming anything. If they are reluctant to do this, they are a scam.
Don’t just rely on scammers looking/sounding like scammers. I’ve seen some really legitimate looking phishing attempts. They’ll know your name, employer, address. They’ll be super friendly and helpful. If on the phone, they’ll be confident and efficient. But so will the real company. If you didn’t call them, be very on-guard.
Never ever, for any reason, provide either your password or that confirmation code if they initiate the contact.
I am THRILLED to say my parents have learned the same. I would rather them call me about every single Windows Update message than have them call for a single scam
Great points! I’d say never provide your password or confirmation code ever on the phone. They shouldn’t have you password stored anyway. Only a salted hash of it.
Grr - jebora failed me on the reply. Sorry for the spam.
Some places will use a password or code they send to you in order to ID you. My ISP will use my password to ID me. The bank will sms me a code for some interactions. That’s why the disclaimer on them initiating contact.
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Another good one is ‘you cant win a competition that you never entered’