Beware of SCAMS !!! - Part II

 Beware of SCAMS !!! - Part II

Regardless of faith, we're all praying that this pandemic will end.  And pragmatically, this pandemic will eventually end.  But SCAMS ?  I doubt it.  SCAMS are like chameleons.  They evolve and tweak based on seasons, based on what is IN and what is OUT.  So, without further ado, i'll rattle off PART II of our SCAMS Alert !

So what's eating up much of our attention, our anxiety and even all the media snippets ?  Yes sireee, it's vaccines and no less.  So, beware if because of your eagerness for the vaccine, a friend of a friend of a friend will entice you for vaccines half or one-fourth the price !

And what's the next scam that can "collar the 'white collared ones' " ?  You won't believe it.  Linkedin is one of the most respected portals of professionals.  So there you go.  One day, someone pings you, emails you, expressing interest in your CV profile.  And with a carrot on the stick, the 'inquirer' introduces himself as someone from the EU community or from the Cayman Islands, from the British Virgin Islands, from Bermuda Islands, from a fintech conglomerate.  How do you detect if it is a hoax ?  Do your DUE DILIGENCE.  Tap your BFF, Mr Google, scour for that site homepage if it is LEGIT.  And mind you, they can toss-up the sites of JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, etc.  What do you do next ?  Contact the LEGIT email account of that major league bank.  You'll be surprised you nipped in the bud the next fraudster ! 

Oh what's next ?  Pity us, we've been locked in our homes for a year now and who will deny that we're all yearning to go to our travel destinations.  Beware, travel agents left and right will offer 'too good to be true' packages with UNLI re-bookings topped off with 'free upgrade' to suite rooms and even 'free upgrade' from your coach ticket with return.

Now, this is fun.  Isn't gaming FUN indeed ?  
Mobile Legends.  Minecraft.  Roblox.  Everyone got hostaged to gaming, even our schoolers.  And do you know that everyone has LEGIT accounts in Roblox ?  But do you know that a percentage of those LEGIT accounts have been stolen through PHISHING method ?  Better be incisive in detecting scammers in ADOPT ME !

Hmmmm, summer is around the corner.  Isn't it cool when you will receive offers you have been yearning the past year we're all locked out by this pandemic ?  Again, do your DUE DILIGENCE.  Drill down the websites, even if the given sites are LEGIT.  Do a lookup to this site @ https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-spot-a-fake-fraudulent-or-scam-website to help you spot a fake, fraudulent site.

Oh, this is most interesting.  Who doesn't want to be an immigrant to, let's say, CANADA ?  C'mon, be guided how to detect the fake immigration agents if:  the email address is doubtful [it's from gmail or yahoo], it demands payment via WHATSAPP, the website content is just too poor anbd sloppy [or it could be a copycat website].  Not to dilly-dally, do a lookup at the LEGIT site, Canadian Immigration site @ https://canadianvisa.org/blog/news/how-to-tell-if-an-immigration-agency-is-a-scam-or-fake.  To be FOREWARNED is to be FOREARMED.❗❗❗

Beware of SCAMS !!! - Part I

Beware of SCAMS !!! - Part I

How time flies.  Our lives are coasting from one phase to another, and we're all adjusting with the times.  So does these SCAMS.  Prior to the pandemic, it's all about phishing, identity theft and the like.  But when this pandemic blew up right in our faces, let's relook at the domino effect.  Because of pandemic, we are facing a new round of crisis and challenges and who can blame people because obviously, they got to face these challenges head on.  With thousands retrenched from their jobs, people need jobs.  People need $$$.  And parallel with the virus threat, what abounds are the ripple effects of pandemic.  With travel restrictions, people figure out how to travel.  And now, what's our flavor of the month ?  It's vaccines vaccines vaccines.

Let's not discuss anything technical.  Let's go back to basics, the mother of all scams start off with a phone call.  In the developed countries [even in Singapore], incoming calls are NOT free, so even way back 20 years ago when life in Singapore was much simpler, 99% of Singaporeans will not [NO WAY] accept an incoming call coming from a number not in his/her phonebook.  But in some Third World countries where the 

incoming call is toll-free, PRONTO, people will ACCEPT such calls.  And your guess is as good as mine, Step1 leads to Step2 till Step99. But again, we need to be forewarned that for such calls, there is a 95% chance that such caller is a fraudster, a scammer.  You might shrug off this warning by blurting that you got nothing to lose when you ACCEPT such call.  REALLY?  SURELY?    And here are the 'trapping moves' that may trap you into that fraud call:

• Caller PRETENDS the call is from an organization you know.  That could be a bank [where your payroll is credited], that could be Social Security [SSS], Health Services [PhilHealth], etc.  BTW, it could be from Netflix [because many of us did subscribe to it since this pandemic struck us].
• Caller CONCOCTS a story that you got payables now overdue and he's representing the lawyer of the collection agency.  OR, the caller can frighten you that a family member is in an emergency and he/she's in the ER etc

• Caller COERCES you.  Imagine if you are a contract worker in Dubai and the caller warns that you will be deported due to THIS and THAT.  Will you remain cool and relaxed when coerced that way ?
• Caller is aware that many companies [even your company] are hosting company events virtually and prizes and giveaways are given away.  So here comes this caller telling you that you received this much GIFTAWAY credits now about to be credited to you but there is a service fee you need to settle first.

Now, for the 'flavors of the month', this pandemic caused thousands to be jobless.  So here you are, desperately accessing JOB SITES left and right.  Challenge is, how do you sift the valid versus the fraud sites ?

Now, with this pandemic, 'ADD to CART' is happening everywhere.  You need to be sharp to detect which is a valid site vs a fraud site.

Now, here comes TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS.  And as you are so desperate to travel back to your province, the friend of a friend of another friends gives you a number to call to help you in the TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS.  What could happen next ?

Oh, I love this scam.  In most Third World countries, almost every family has a family member working in Dubai or elsewhere.  And here comes this text message advising you of an INCOMING DELIVERY.  Here's the catch:  you got to settle the miscellaneous charges so they can deliver that package over to you.  Whew !  This is a real fishing ground !  Oh c'mon, this is getting interesting, isn't it ?  So, allow me to park for now and come back in my Part II piece.  Folks, TO BE FOREWARNED is to be FOREARMED.❗❗❗