Not Today, Fraudsters…Not Today.
If you thought scammers had a lot of time on their hands before, imagine how much more time they have now. Not only are thieves putting in their hours actively deceiving people, but they are arming themselves with more information than ever. They use phishing, spoofing, skimming, and other funny-sounding tactics to learn about their victims or to steal directly from them. Every piece of information that they can “collect” goes into creating a “composite” of the victim. “Harmless” details, like their child’s or pet’s name, tell scammers about potential passwords or vulnerabilities. Whatever you do, don’t make it any easier for a fraudster to do their job.
One easy way for a scammer to trick their victim is by sending an email with a malicious link embedded in the body. Clicking the link installs harmful virus software or spyware on the device. Take a look at this screenshot below. Can you find all of the red flags?
This example is pretty obvious. A quick peek at the sender’s email address tells us that the sender is not even using a Chase domain. For more info about corporate domains and how they can help you identify fraud, read this post. If you still have your doubts, try reading this email out loud. Did it sound professional? No. Any corporate email is going to sound professional. How about grammar and punctuation? The email is not properly formatted, there is an extra space in front of the comma in the fourth sentence, and even a floating period at the end. But wait, there’s more! Take a look at my answer key for the full breakdown of everything that’s wrong with this email.
Unfortunately, scammers are opportunistic. For every obvious fake email, there are hundreds of more convincing ones. Take a look at this one.
Looks pretty convincing, right? Sure, it’s odd that the “A” in August is lowercase, and the font in the sender email address is a bit different. You might think that these little things were a simple browser function or a system setting.
Let’s take a closer look at the last image…
I’ve made it a bit easier to read and highlighted the important pieces. The email is “from” Chase, but in the disclosure, they mention Capital One. This pairing with the domain name tells us that the email is a fake.
Final thoughts
If you’re ever questioning the authenticity of an email, text message, or letter, PLEASE pick up the phone and call the sender on a known, published number. Remember NEVER to call a number provided in a suspicious email.
NEVER provide your personal information via email or text message. send an email and ask for your social security number, full credit card or debit card number and/or PIN or online banking password via email.
If you suspect fraud, place a lock on your card(s), freeze your credit report, and report your suspicions to your financial institution. You might also consider visiting https://www.identitytheft.gov/ for resources on recovering after identity theft has occurred.
Monitor your credit report. Normally, you have access to one report each calendar year from all three bureaus. Pre-pandemic, I would advise our members to stagger their requests so that they receive a report every four months. Right now, with all of the fraud going on, credit reporting agencies are allowing consumers to access credit reports every week through April 2021. Click here to request your FREE credit report.
If you haven’t already done so, sign up for FREE fraud alerts and VISA Purchase Alerts.
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Krista Kyte is a personal finance blogger and personal banker with over 17 years of experience in the financial industry. Krista is passionate about helping our members understand their financial situations. She writes tips that will help consumers reach and maintain financial security, and start living the life they’ve always wanted.
