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Despite the sense of urgency in texts from crooks, contact demanding information or action should be ignored, deleted and/ or reported to the cell phone company. Those who fall victim to the scheme should report it to local police. Contributed photo
Cell phones have provided portals for crooks to syphon and steal personal information for a number of recipients of unidentified calls, texts and email messages.
Authorities say that one of the latest schemes involves texts asking the recipient to provide information prior to a package delivery. To avoid becoming a victim:
• Never give personal identification information or financial account information over the phone. Legitimate organizations will not request this information via text or email
• If you receive a text message or email that seems suspicious do not click on any links.
• Please resist the pressure to act immediately and call law enforcement, or speak with someone you trust.
Many times, scammers will ask for payment in the form of gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. This should be an immediate indication of a scam.
The scammers will likely continue to call, email, or send text messages for several weeks following the initial attempt.
All subsequent contact should be ignored. If possible, block unwanted calls and text messages immediately.
Other nefarious practices include:
• Scammers often pretend to be from an organization you know or have close dealings with such as a utility company, the Social Security Administration, or the IRS. These organizations will never ask for personal identification or financial account information over the phone.
• In some cases, scammers pretend to be family members in the midst of an emergency and request assistance in the form of gift cards or wire transfers to another country. These types of scams are often referred to as “Grandparent Scams.”
• Scammers frequently offer a prize, such as winnings from a lottery or sweepstakes. Th scammer will pressure you to act immediately, or risk losing the socalled prize.
• Scammers impersonate authority figures and threaten to arrest, sue, or deport a person if they do not immedito ately cooperate over the phone. This is a huge red flag. Once again, a person should resist the urge act immediately and contact law enforcement or someone he/she trusts.
• Scammers will also impersonate computer support technicians. If you did not initiate contact with a service provider for assistance, please disengage all communication immediately.
