Phone Scams

How to Spot an Internet Scam

~ grant.gallagher ~ 2 Comments

Author Michael Lindner is a software developer living in Monmouth County, NJ, with his beautiful wife and the youngest of his three sons. His interests are faith, family and freedom, which makes him an anachronism.

The term “Spam” is used to describe any unwanted or unsolicited email or text. Often these “spam” messages are also “scam” messages – messages designed to con you out of money or personal information that can be used to rob you. If you’re like me, you get text messages and emails almost every day from scammers. As a long-time computer professional I can share some tips to spot them and avoid getting scammed. Here are some of the things I look out for – do any of these seem familiar?

Getting messages from a company you don’t do business with. Almost every day, I get a message with a link to a gift for being a loyal Verizon cellular customer. The problem is that Verizon is not my phone carrier.

If you receive a message claiming you are a customer of some company you know you are not a customer of, chances are it is someone trying to trick you into either trying to accept a “free” gift or trying to tell them you are not their customer. Sometimes the message is from a company you have an account with, but is referencing something fake. For instance “Thanks for paying your December bill, here is a gift” when you paid your December bill weeks ago (or haven’t paid yet). Check the source of the email or text, it is probably wrong.

Getting email messages from a suspicious email address. Email and web addresses work from right to left. If you google Verizon you will find their web address is www.verizon.com. The important part is the last two parts, “verizon.com”, which is called the “domain name”. Every web site the company has, and every email the company uses, will end in that same domain name, “verizon.com”. Scammers will usually use email addresses and links that are similar, but different. Some examples might be “verizon.xyz.com”, “verizon.xyz”, “verison.com” or “verizon.com.xyz.org”. Note that they do not end in “verizon.com”.

Most email programs will show you the actual email address if you hover the mouse cursor over the “From” email address on the screen. A few will make you right click or click on “show headers” to see it. But if an email is suspicious, take the extra time to see who it’s actually from, and whether it is legitimate.

Getting text messages from a suspicious phone number. Most large companies use “short codes” to contact their customers. This is a five to seven digit number. If you receive a text message allegedly from your phone carrier or similar that is from a “normal” 10 digit phone number, it is likely a scam. Be careful.

Getting message with a link that doesn’t go to the right web site. Links to web sites look like “https://www.verizon.com/support”. The part after the “://” and before the next “/” is the important part, and just like the email addresses, it must end in the proper domain name, in this case “verizon.com”. An email might have a link that says “click on Verizon customer service” to claim your gift. If you hover your mouse cursor over the link, most browsers will display, at the bottom of the window, where the link actually goes. If that link is not going to the domain you expect, odds are the email is a scam. If the email looks suspicious but you want to go to the site the email allegedly goes to a safer way is to google the address (for example, google “Verizon customer service”) and click on the search results.

Web sites that ask for personal information. Suppose the email looked ok, but when I click on the link the site I go to is asking for my name and birth date, or other personal information, to “verify” who I am? That’s likely not a legitimate site. If you are uncomfortable with the site asking for personal information, look up the phone number of the company it’s supposed to be from, call their customer service and ask if the email and site are legitimate. Most companies are happy to help, and grateful to find out about scammers using their name.

What to do with scam emails, texts, etc. What should you do with a suspicious message? First off what not to do. Do NOT respond to it, even to say “rot in hell you scammer”. The more information they get from you, even just the fact that you are a real person, the more they can do. Ignore ignore ignore.

Most email clients have a “Spam” button that you can click on. Use it. Not only does that keep you from having to see the message, but it gives the email program information on catching future scam messages. Use spam filters if your email/phone provides has them. These take feedback from other users reporting spam to stop such messages from getting through to your inbox in the first place.

Most of all, remember the adage “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.”

They’re always wanting your money – Part 1

~ grant.gallagher

Author Ryan M. Chippendale has been in public safety/service for over two decades. He has held the roles of Police Officer, Firefighter, EMT, CPR Instructor, NRA Instructor, Glock Armorer, and Notary Public, among others.  He is the proud father of three girls (12, 10, 4) and has been married for thirteen years.  He is the son of a senior mother who keeps a running honey-do list for him, and he has expertise with firearms, electronics and computer systems.  He is an ordained minister, is fluent in sarcasm and has been known to be found at a karaoke bar once or twice in his life. This is the first of a series of three blog posts.

Criminals exploit seniors for what they perceive to be naive tendencies but in reality it’s because they are generally too nice… and too trusting.  According to the Senate Special Committee on Aging, scammers cheat seniors our of approximately $2.9 billion annually.  Consider that number is likely low; a lot of these crimes go unreported as the victims are embarrassed or ashamed of being taken advantage of.  I’ve had investigations where I was able to identify victims of a scam, had the criminals in custody, seized the proceeds of the scam, and yet the victim still denied they had been taken.  

After you finish these articles you may be inclined to develop an extremely cynical outlook towards strangers.  While that’s not necessarily the healthiest way to live, a dash or cynicism can help you apply a “smell test” to situations that might victimize you.  As much as it pains me to admit this, some criminals are clever.  Almost to the point where I’ve been impressed by their creativity.  Even the dumb ones are being schooled by a hierarchy. The criminals get together and compare what works and what doesn’t. Often, they use the infamous “Dark Web”, making tracking their communications more difficult.  

Let’s discuss some rules which if you apply to your life, you will protect yourself against 99% of scams we’ve seen.

First, and what is super obvious after it’s explained – the government (or law enforcement) will never call you.

Let me explain… this doesn’t mean that if your car is parked in a construction area and they’re trying to get it moved, a police department wouldn’t call you and ask to have your car moved.  What will NEVER happen is a law enforcement representative calling to tell you that you’re wanted for a crime, or someone used your social security number, or if you don’t do *something* there will be a negative consequence.

Scammers will cold call you and represent themselves as a member of a law enforcement agency.  They will tell you that you have an outstanding warrant for your arrest (for most folks that’s a scary thought) and that if you don’t do what they tell you, you will be imminently arrested.  Often they want you to purchase gift cards from a local retailer and digitally transmit the funds to the scammer to satisfy whatever fraudulent accusation they’ve convinced you is going to get you arrested.  Can’t figure out how to do that?  It’s ok, they’ll settle for you just reading off the numbers from the card you bought.  They will also instruct you that you must stay on the phone with them the entire time.  While this might make you think there’s some legitimacy to this tactic, it’s solely so you don’t have the opportunity to call someone and ask if something sounds fishy.

No government agency accepts gift cards in payment for anything.  In fact, if anyone ever asks to you buy a gift card, you should assume it’s a scam.  No matter how much how much convincing they use, gift cards = scam.  I’ve experienced cases where the victim received a phone call from a person and the caller ID read “US Marshal Service.”  The scammer instructed the victim to Google the phone number on the caller ID which revealed a legitimate Deputy US Marshal in Texas.  The problem was, the scammer utilized a method called “spoofing” to change their caller ID.  While the situation may have appeared real, once the “agent” instructed the victim to purchase a gift card, then the giant red flag should have gone a mile high.  

Another more disgusting scam targeted towards seniors involves pretending that their grandchildren are in some kind of trouble.  This attack comes from the scammer pretending to actually be the grandchild, or perhaps a law enforcement officer who has their grandchild in “custody”, and needs bail to have them released.  Guess how that bail needs to be paid?  You got it, gift cards.

If the phone rings, and it’s a stranger – you should be skeptical.  Think about it.  Have you ever tried to call a government agency and they actually answered the phone in less time than it takes to cook a roast?  They don’t have the staffing to call YOU either.  In the extremely rare example that it’s a legitimate call, there’s nothing wrong with asking for their contact information and verifying.  Research the phone number, not just calling back the number they give you.  Figure out a way to authenticate who they are.  All else fails, take notes and go to your local police department.  Let a trained professional offer their opinion on the situation. 

  • The Government won’t call you
  • Technology such as caller ID is just as susceptible to exploitation 
  • Anyone asking for payment via gift card is likely trying to scam you
  • Law enforcement doesn’t call ahead their intention to arrest you.  We like surprises.

While this goes without saying, this is absolutely not an exhaustive list of scam possibilities.  In later articles I’ll discuss different tactics a scammer might use to victimize you.