Don't Be Another Victim [via MODUS]

Don't Be Another Victim [via MODUS]

[p.s. credit to my banker, Citibank, for reposting the above snippet].

A hell lot of things did come and go.  Big names like Prince Philip and even Hollywood's Babyface died in 2021.  While other fortuitous event like this pandemic is still very much around our neck.  And besides this pandemic, there's one damn pesky irritant right behind our backs and it's becoming more than just an irritant because it does wreak havoc in us, sometimes impacting our finances but more often causing untold anxiety and stress.   Yesirrrrrr these are the digital scammers who are still very much around us.

BTW, who doesn't like freebies ?  I had the good fortune [many times in the past] for enjoying freebies.  That free business class upgrade [thank you Singapore Airlines], that full boxed suite of chocolates offered to me by the Flight Purse because my pre-ordered halal meal wasn't available [thank you to Cathay Pacific], that scrumptious Swensen's Ice Cream Cake [because what I bought simply melted out].  And just a lot more.  But thankfully, I didn't fall prey to digital scammers yet [not until recently when out of the blues when my card incurred a USD 1,300 transaction - but thanks to Citi, in less than a minute, that transaction was blocked].

Back to the most prevalent digital scams these days, we hope that by sharing the above snippets, you can even cascade these advisories to your families and friends.  

Let's admit it, these scammers lurking around seem smarter than most of us, let's admit that.  But the least we can is to be in-step with their sinister plan and it boils down to very basic ground rules:

SCAMMERS will pose as officers of your credit card company and the most popular trick to make you PANIC is to advise you that they have BLOCKED your credit card because it has been compromised !  

Then as you are gasping for oxygen, they will coax you NOT TO WORRY as long as you follow their next tricks, like sending you a link via email and KINDLY CLICK IT [DON'T !].  Then as they can smell you are falling prey, they will now be more explicit to instruct you to send them your CARD DETAILS for various farcical reasons they all concocted in an intricate manner.

Unfortunately, the final nail that may likely cause us to fall prey on these scams is our current habits of multi-tasking.  Don't get me wrong as I multi-task as often as well but when the sword of Damocles is hanging over our head, when our focus and attention gets thinly spread, before you know it, the scammer is right around your neck as you click the LINK they would send and even send them your card details, those one-time PINs.  Dude, to be forewarned is to be forearmed ❗❗❗