This is NOT a Halloween Scare !!!

 This is NOT a Halloween Scare !!!

Happy Halloween 🎃🎃🎃but hey, please DON'T get me wrong with this banner screenshot.  I'm not implying that my bank balance is down to 0.00 😀 but instead, I'd want to share an advisory from one of my most trusted bankers, that's BDO.  Oooops, this is not a commercial pitch but please take it for what it is.

But hey, old school scams are now part of the distant pass.  In our highly wired digital place, ONE-STEP SCAMS are gone ! Instead, we got MULTI-STEP SCAMS all over the place. To be honest, today's fraudsters are at least a step ahead of all the gurus and SMEs developing patches and fixes to pre-empt fraud.  NO WAY Jose, let's do admit that fraudsters are always a step ahead.  That explains why our anti-virus updates are happening not just once a day anymore, whew.

And BTW, these fraudsters RIDE WITH THE TIMES.  If TikTok is today's craze, buckle down your seatbelts because the fraudsters have another repertoire of tricks up in their sleeves, very much attuned to TikTok.  For our kids so crazy with TikTok, caution them

So, what exactly is a MULTI-STEP SCAM ? Firstly, it will hit and ride on your FEARS.  How ?  By raising FEARS that your account was indeed breached [or about to happen anytime soon].  And to be fair, we can't blame ourselves when FEAR takes over us because that's human nature.  What makes this MULTI-STEP SCAM seemingly easy and effortless is the way these fraudsters are so detailed and almost 'picture perfect' to mimic and simulate your legitimate banker.  See this sample, it looks 100% legitimate & valid.

YES, as you start to bite the bait, that brings you closer and closer to finally 'GIVING UP' your  bank account to the fraudster.  How ?  At that point when FEAR has overtaken your own self, think of being HYPNOTIZED and all you're left with is to literally follow each NEXT INSTRUCTION.  BTW, to be clear on this, you can remain aware and guarded but that doesn't guarantee that you are immune from all these fraudsters.  I myself, despite all my guarded awareness and extreme caution with all these frauds, 

Last month, in real-time mode, I received an alert from my banker that I just completed a US$ 130 transaction traced all the way back to Walmart's Arkansas Headquarters.  But I had the least of worries because my banker immediately blocked my card and invalidated that transaction.  Preventive measures?  DON'T access public wifi.  DON'T connect to a secured WiFi unless you are assured you're secure.  DON'T click any link unless you have called your bank about it.  DON'T entrust your credit card for swiping unless you can see them swiping.  DON'T panic when you receive alerts. DON'T trust any electronic message or text message unless you have validated it. Instead, validate that alert. Thank you, Citi.  So, let's all be forewarned.  Happy Halloween 🎃🎃🎃