PAUL MCCARTHY CORK GUIDE: COMMON TYPES OF SCAMS AND THEIR PREVENTION Avoid Common Types of Scams in Ireland 1. PAYMENT CARD SCAM
This type of fraud happens when you lost or someone steals your payment card. make direct purchases or cash withdrawals. sometimes the stolen card information is also used for online shopping. HOW TO AVOID?
Always keep your payment card safe place. Unfortunately, if it is lost or stolen, inform your bank and get the card blocked immediately. Do not write down your card PIN anywhere or share it with anyone. If you are waiting for your card or PIN for arrival by post but it does not arrive within time, your card issuer immediately. Activate new cards as soon as they arrive and change the PIN provided by the card issuer. Hide your card PIN while using in-store purchases or using an ATM.
2. INVOICE REDIRECTION SCAM
Scammers contact businesses or sellers through email, phone, or any other media and pretend supplier of goods or services has changed their financial system. They ask for your bank account details for the new payment system. Next time you will get an invoice from the legitimate supplier but the payment will go to the criminal’s account instead of the supplier. HOW TO AVOID?
Make all of your staff aware of this type of fraud. Ask your staff if anyone receives requests to change bank account details, inform the supervisor for consideration. Always make direct contact with the known contact of the suppliers that have requested the change of account details for verification of the originality of the request. If you get an email containing this kind of request, don’t reply immediately. Take some time and investigate properly.
3. EMAIL OR PHISHING SCAM
In this type of fraud, scammers send an email with a number of forms. The mail looks like from a reputed company but when you click on the attachment or link within the mail, malicious software (malware) is downloaded onto your device. By this, the criminal can track your online activity and identify personal or financial information. According to Paul McCarthy Cork, there is another form of this fraud is getting an email that claims you have won a large amount of money to convince you to provide your personal or financial information. HOW TO AVOID?
Don’t open unauthorized emails. Never respond to emails seeking personal or financial information. Don’t click on any link or attachment in an unauthorized email If you think the email source is genuine, verify this independently by contacting the sender.
4. PHONE OR VISHING OR SMISHING SCAM
In this type of fraud, criminals contact you by phone or text pretending to be your bank, card issuer, or computer company. They try to take your personal or financial information over the phone call or by text message quizzes. Sometimes, you may receive a phone call that you won a lottery and have to transfer some money to get you a prize. HOW TO AVOID?
Always say “NO” to unknown callers seeking your personal information like name, address, bank account number, PIN, etc. Research and verify the information about the caller or texter independently. The caller may already know something about you. So, don’t trust them if they use your name or other personal information. Remember, your bank will never ask for your banking PIN number or password.