Beware the scams

People have become so brazen they use false pretense to trick innocent people into sending money or giving credit card or bank information to them. They pose as the credit card company, the DMV, the bank or other government agency and, if we are not careful, the scam is on.

When it happened to us in January, we were going right along with the people on the phone. It became suspicious when one of them said we needed to go to the bank and get a large amount of money in bitcoin to deposit into an account that they would open for us. Nobody legit deals in bitcoin. We went straight to our bank, got all accounts closed, saving us the huge loss.

Recently, I got a notice of an overdue traffic penalty. First, we have no outstanding traffic penalties. Secondly, Rebecca Armstrong’s hotmail.com account, from which the overdue penalty message came, was a dead giveaway. DMV does not work through texts sent from Hotmail.com. When I googled the name “Rebecca Armstrong,” the only information I found about her was that she was dead, which means her email account had been hacked by someone for malicious use.

The earliest scam I ever heard about was a niece or nephew in a foreign country was in legal trouble and needed money for a legal fine and a ticket home. No telling how much money people lost in that one.

There are online protections for such scams, but if we have accounts on the Internet and Facebook, the scammers can gain access to information about us.

When DOGE said it wanted Social Security numbers and other information on American citizens, it opened another door for harassment and scam.  

Few of us have not had credit cards compromised. Pay Pal, Apple Pay and Venmo can be easily hacked.

Dishonest people will find ways around every roadblock. The easy buck is a hacker’s goal. The enterprise of scamming and hacking speaks to the corrosion of the soul of America. It also speaks to the inability of any entity, government, FBI, Interpol, or any other global policing to control the menace of scamming.

 We live in a wild, wild west; it’s every person for himself.

The wistful longing for a day when people did the right thing just because it was the good, fair and right thing to do are old timey values long gone. Americans have forgotten who they are, or who they once were.

AARP, in its July/August Bulletin, has a full-page article titled, “That Text Might be a Trap.” The opening statement cites the statistic that “in 2024 consumers lost $470 million dollars to scams, five times more than in 2020.”

“Criminals know consumers open 98 percent of text messages and respond to 45 percent.” That number compares with the 20 percent opening email messages, with responses of 6 percent.

“Losses go beyond money. Criminals are stealing personal information, including passwords and credit card, bank account, Medicare, and Social Security numbers. These scammers are pros. This business of scamming is organized crime.”

Advisors say, “if you have any question in your mind about a text, just delete it.” The Fraud Watch directors of AARP offer the following tips:”

1.     “Filter unknown numbers. Set up your phone to filter texts from numbers not in your contact list. Block suspicious ones.

2.     “Read carefully and slowly. If a text urges quick action, it is likely a scam.

3.     “Don’t respond. Ignore texts from unknown numbers. Legitimate senders will find other ways to reach you.

4.     “Verify numbers. If a text asked you to call a bank or other company, look up the number. If you use the phone number in a scam text, you could be dialing straight into the scammer’s call center.

5.     “Beware of red flags. Do they want you to call a number or are they saying you owe money? Those are huge signs of a scam. If the word “crypto” is mentioned, delete and block.”

Just this morning we realized that my husband’s email has been corrupted. When he called to get his email reset, the person at the company told him he was not the owner of this domain. He is president of the company that set up this domain and email. His name is not on anything now. This is scary business.

We live with too much plastic, too many passwords, and obviously very little control over our own property.

Cyber-attacks and scammer plots of all ilk are on the rise. The reach of our cyber world is only increasing. Crooks are bold to take advantage of older adults. We need to stay vigilant, smart, hold on tight and have a good lawyer’s contact +-number close.

Lib Campbell is a retired Methodist pastor, retreat leader, columnist and host of the blogsite www.avirtualchurch.com. She can be contacted at libcam05@gmail.com