Letters to the Editor
Reader shares valuable info on coping with scammers
Lately, people have been overwhelmed with robo-calls, text messages, and other scams. Scams can be annoying, but they also cause anxiety and create mistrust about important institutions. Here are some examples and what to do about them.
Government threats. Last month I received a text message that a traffic ticket fine that I had already paid had not been received, and that my driver’s license was going to be suspended immediately. The text told me to access a webpage in order to send money. At first, I panicked, but then I called the court where I had sent the money and found out that they indeed had received it. A friend came over to help me determine if I needed to contact the DMV (which allegedly had sent this text). First, she looked at the top of the text and found that it had been sent from country code 90 (the Philippines) — all U.S. texts come from code 01. Then the name of the DMV was worded incorrectly, and finally the webpage came from a wwr, not www code. So I deleted it. From this experience I learned several important lessons.
First, read carefully any message from any government entity. Check the source.
Secondly, few government offices will call you or text you directly to collect money. Messages from the IRS, the DMV, the sheriff, the tax office often come through the mail. These have official letterhead and U.S. phone numbers. So you can ignore these anxiety-producing scams.
Third, keep receipts whenever you pay taxes or fines or other fees. This will give you the backup information you need to call a government office.
Financial Fraud. Be on the lookout for any robo-calls, phone calls, or texts that are set up to steal your financial identity. These may tell you that you have won a large prize, such as a cell phone or new car, or that you have won a lottery. These ask you to send a small amount of money to secure this. Again, check the information and you will see that these are often fake addresses and numbers.
Worse still are the ones that try to scare you into revealing private information such as passwords, bank account numbers, or social security numbers. The alleged senders again are things like the IRS or your bank. Remember these institutions never email or call. They use the post office.
To avoid the dark web thieves, never reply to a computer message that wants to take over your computer to fix some glitch. Instead sign off immediately.
Fake internet sites. Do you often order items on the internet? Keep copies of these orders and pay with a credit card. A credit card will allow you to dispute false charges. And always monitor any financial statement when you receive it and call about any charge that seems suspicious. Finally, when ordering online, make sure whom you are buying from like a brick-and-mortar store. Reputable dealers will send or give you confirmation numbers, information on when items are shipped or should be arriving, and ways to return items you do not want.
A recent form of scam is looking for your address. This supposedly comes from the U.S. Postal Service or Fed Ex and claims to need this to deliver a package. Again, remember the post office never communicates by email, or does Fed Ex. The post office will leave information in your mailbox on how to pick up a package that couldn’t be delivered.
You can learn more about common scams by looking at lists compiled by the Federal Trade Commission, Chamber of Commerce, or the Better Business Bureau. So, if you receive a message from these scammers, stop, relax and take time to check it out.
Betty Cotner
