Who Says Scammers Are Gone?

Who Says Scammers Are Gone?

Who Says Scammers Are Gone?  I myself, there is NO week that passes with my mobile phone not receiving SMS messages advising me that:

YOUR PARCEL WILL BE DELIVERED etc etc???

WE'RE PROCESSING YOUR PAYMENT etc???

YOUR MCAFFEE WILL BE AUTO-RENEWED???Oh Oh Oh, this iteration will never cease to end.  Instead, expect this mile-long list of scamming incidents to increase by a thousand-fold💥💥💥

BUT let us NOT belittle or understate how smart and crafty these scammers are.  In fact and in truth, they are going alongside with anything that's going on with technology.  Talk about AI and ChatGPT, they're into it.  Do you know that their latest scam initiatives are AI-powered?  HOW?  By creating deepfakes of celebrities to trick victims into thinking they're investing in a good company or project.  BY  impersonating the victim's friend OR relative to ask for money as part of a 'grandparent' scam😡😡😡

BY tapping the education market.  HOW?  Let's do a sampling of the 'STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS' scams as this creates a ripe opportunity for scammers.  The scammers know people want to believe their student loans will be forgiven and they'll use that HOPE for their personal gains.  For example, scammers may contact via phone or create phony application sites aimed at stealing the student's personal information or even his bank account information.  They may put pressure on their victims with FAKE urgent messages that encourage you to apply for debt relief "BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE"❎❎❎

BY phone scams.  Scammers may contact by phone and some 'phone scams' rely on smartphones' capabilities to access the internet and even install MALWARE.  That could include:

• ROBOCALLS - That will trigger phones to be ringing nonstop with increasingly natural-sounding recorded voices.  They would then offer everything OR even issue threats to try and get your attention
• IMPERSONATORS - Scammers will impersonate IRS/IRAS/BIR [that's government revenue agencies] 

• QR CODES - Beware.  These convenient codes have gained popularity as a touchless option to do things like read a restaurant menu OR make a payment.  BUT these scammers will place QR CODES in inconspicuous spots and scanning the code could prompt you to make a small purchase or enter your credentials on a look-alike site
• SIM SWAPPING - This technique is used by a thief to reassign your number to a SIM card in a phone they control.  They can then try to log in to your accounts using codes OR links sent to your phone number.

Our takeaway:  These scams can take many forms BUT the scammers often impersonate a well-known company [such as a bank] OR 'dirty tactics' like sowing FEAR [to force you to take immediate actions].  WHO SAYS SCAMMERS ARE GONE???