BE SUSPICIOUS - Reminder to Beware of Potential Scams

Be Suspicious even though it goes against your natural trusting nature. It feels wrong to have to say this but we must be extra careful and suspicious these days.

Just last week on the news it was mentioned that there has been a huge increase in fraudulent emails, phone calls, and text messages being made. And today, on the news, an unfortunate situation which began through a phone call from someone posing as a law enforcement officer informing them about their credit card being compromised. There has been an increase of all kinds of scams & fraudulent activities during Covid and now an even greater increase is expected with the tragic happenings in Ukraine.

Beware of any request that feels odd in any way, requests a ‘favour and/or a reply’, even if it appears to come from friends and family. If it’s in the form of an email make it a habit to check the actual address it is coming from, don’t just go by the display name. If in doubt, don’t click on any links and do not reply to the e-mail. Often these e-mails are brief and impersonal. For example, ‘You need to look at the picture at this link’ or ‘If you are not busy, can you do me a favour’ or asking you to to pick up or buy something for them. Purchasing gift cards, transferring money to help someone get home from a trip, or out of jail are just two examples.

When you see a suspicious e-mail, check the sender’s e-mail address provided. If it is a scam, the e-mail address will often be something completely different from the person’s normal e-mail address. When in doubt, don’t click on any links and do not reply to the e-mail. This may be a scam and links and attachments may include viruses or ransomware. You can always ask the person if they sent you the e-mail or made that phone call. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

I recently questioned our computer guy, Jay, and TAD about emails being sent to look like they are coming from someone I know and was told that unfortunately there is no way to stop them. I learned that Phishing emails are meant to trick you into thinking they are legitimate to try and get personal information out of you. Spoofing emails are when the sender tries to make it look like the sending address is legitimate. So you could get a phishing email that is also spoofing”.

Be careful.