Sure Smells Phishy! Protecting Yourself from Scammers and Identity Thieves

By Catherine Samuel
Financial Counselor and Penny Forward Contributor

This article was provided by Penny Forward contributor Catherine Samuel.

We’ve all heard the warnings. “Don’t give out your personal information to someone you don’t know.” “Don’t click on suspicious links.” “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” And we know that the consequences of falling victim to phishing scams can be very serious because criminals often use techniques that make tracing by law enforcement difficult to impossible. So if money is stolen, it is probably gone for good. But how can you actually tell when a call, text, or email is legitimate versus a criminal looking to steal your money and identity? And with AI massively disrupting how we work, interact, and go about everyday life, how have scammers upped their game to take advantage of this new technology?

Common phishing scams are too numerous and ever-changing to give an exhaustive list. But here is a sampling of the wide variety of scams. Some have been around for years. Others are new or have changed dramatically with the help of AI.

• Account Verification Scam: You receive an email or text from an entity claiming to be a large financial institution, online retailer, or technology company. It says your account has been compromised and instructs you to click on a link, enter your username, password, or other personally identifiable information in order to verify or unlock your account. AI has made the email and website look absolutely real. When you enter your information, your identity is compromised and money stolen.

• Tax Error Scam: You receive a call or text from an entity claiming to be the “Tax Investigation Bureau,” “Tax Verification Agency,” or similar. They tell you that you have made errors on your taxes and need to pay fines immediately in order to avoid criminal prosecution.

• Computer Virus Scam: You receive a call or text telling you that your computer has been hacked or infected with a virus, but as long as you click a link that the “nice tech support person” emails you and pay a fee, they will fix your computer. Instead of fixing your computer which never had a virus in the first place, they take control of your computer, install malware, and steal a great deal of your personal information.

• Romance Scam: You meet someone on an online dating site who lives in another city. They seem to fall hard for you, and you text constantly for days, weeks, or months but haven’t met in person or even spoken at length on the phone. After you form an emotional attachment to them, they try to convince you to invest in cryptocurrency or send them money so they can supposedly buy a plane ticket to come visit you. Meanwhile, they are actually scamming dozens or hundreds of victims at a time.

• Grandparent Scam: You receive a frantic-sounding call from someone who sounds like your grandchild. They spin a story about something terrible that has happened to them and beg you to send money. There is, in fact, no human on the other end just AI impersonation.

• Remote Work Scam: You apply for a remote job that sounds simple and lucrative. Before starting, you’re asked to pay a fee. The job never materializes.

• Fake Party Invitation Scam: A hacked contact sends you a link that installs malware.

• Reward Scam: You’re told you’ve won something and asked to verify info or pay a fee. There is no reward.

• Medicare or Social Security Scam: Someone claims there’s an issue with your benefits and pressures immediate action.

As you read this list, you might be thinking these scams are obvious. But scammers use tactics like:

• Urgency and panic
• AI voice impersonation
• Fake caller IDs and emails
• Emotional manipulation
• Isolation (“don’t tell anyone”)
• Technical intimidation
• Perfect grammar using AI

Tips to Protect Yourself

• Pause. Do not act immediately.
• Find a “phishing buddy” to double-check suspicious messages.
• Never give out sensitive information to unsolicited contacts.
• Inspect email addresses and links carefully.
• If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
• Hang up and call back using verified numbers.
• Never send money without verifying.
• If crypto is involved, assume it’s a scam.
• Use a family code word for emergencies.
• Report scams to the FTC.
• File a police report if victimized.
• Share this information with others.

Lastly, if it smells phishy, it’s probably a phishing scam.