Thunder Bay – Living – Online fraud is increasingly common. On social media some of the scams look innocent enough, memes asking you what your first pet’s name, favourite teacher, first vehicle, all designed to gather information. In these cases, it is information many people used in their passwords online.
Simply put, don’t fall for it.
Another increasingly common scam – phishing for your information is clickbait scams to update the details on your bank account, update delivery details or click on a link in an email because you have won money, or won a new laptop.
These scams sometimes look very real. The scam artists, many who used to seem oblivious to spell check, or grammar check are increasingly creative in their efforts to con you.
Often the goal is to make the email and the landing webpage look as close to the real thing as possible.
Sometimes the goal is getting you to believe you won a prize. Lately there have been lots of emails suggesting that your new iPhone 12 is only awaiting you updating the delivery address.
What those emails all have it common is they are simply attempts to get your personal private information and use it to defraud you of your hard-earned money.
Often scammers will email you saying that they have emailed you money, the goal there is to get you to reply asking where it is.
When you consider that these emails, and sometimes text messages are sent out in the millions, all it takes is a very small number of people to fall for it for the scam artists to take in money from their victims.
Don’t be one.
