Archives - Scam

Read seller reviews when shopping online

When you enter your payment information into a form online, you should be 100% sure that the source is trustworthy. Many scammers will pose as online sellers, or implant malware into the code of legitimate retailers with vulnerable pages. If you’re browsing on a site that you’re unfamiliar with, don’t buy anything without doing some […]

How do you avoid being a phishing victim

Be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls or email messages from individuals asking about personal information. If you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, try to verify it by contacting the company directly. Do not use contact information provided on a website connected to the request; instead, check previous statements for contact information.

Look out for tech support scams

Chances are that when you need technical support, you’ll reach out to the company – not the other way around. The latter situation is common with many scams, though. Someone will call or email you and ask you to take a few (likely compromising) steps, such as revealing your Social Security number or account login […]

Guard against USPS Informed Delivery scams

Informed Delivery is a USPS service that provides an email digest containing scanned images of incoming mail, along with options for managing delivery. Some scammers have exploited it by signing up with carefully targeted addresses and then intercepting the recipients’ mail. Consider enrolling and protecting your account with a strong password to avoid this possibility.

Watch out for scams related to parcel delivery

If you’re expecting a delivery via mail or private courier (e.g., FedEx, UPS, etc.), you probably track the package online or via text message to see if it’s on time. Check for unexpected emails or SMS updates, especially if they ask you to make additional arrangements by supplying personally identifiable information – they’re probably scams.

Check for typos when typing out URLs

Typosquatting is the practice of hosting a website at an address that is similar to a popular URL yet off by a character or two, turning it into a trap for anyone making a common typo. Look carefully at what you type or, better yet, just save frequently visited sites as bookmarks and navigate to them from there […]