Scammers manipulate your emotions!
IS AN EMAIL, TEXT, OR DM MAKING YOU FEEL SUDDEN, URGENT EMOTIONS?
- “You won our sweepstakes!”
- “You’re under arrest!”
- “I’ve been recording you.”
THESE EMOTIONS CAN BE POSITIVE:
- You won an expensive cooler but you have to respond fast to claim it!
- An attractive stranger wants to be your friend and strike up a convo!
- You’re owed money from a forgotten invoice!
MESSAGES AND EMAILS CAN ALSO BE SCARY:
- You owe back taxes and we’re coming to collect unless you call!
- I’m your boss and I’m texting you from an unknown number, but I need to know your bank account info ASAP!
- You’ve been hacked and you need to pay up.
All of these are symptoms of scams and phishing!
IS A MESSAGE PUSHING YOU TO CLICK BEFORE YOU THINK?
- Is it causing strong feelings?
- Is it unexpected?
- Is it requesting you take action, like making a payment?
This goes for emails, texts, DMs, and now even calls because of artificial intelligence platforms.
- Don’t click!
- Don’t even click Unsubscribe!
- Report emails as phishing if possible.
- Delete.
- Block the contact info from scammy phone numbers.
DON’T RESPOND TO WRONG NUMBERS!
Another common scam we see now is a slower burn. It often starts with a “mistaken text” from a number you don’t recognize:
- Hey how r u”
- “Do you have any dentist recommendations?”
- “It was wonderful running into you last night”
These are ways for a scammer to start a conversation that eventually leads to a scam. Don’t respond. Don’t even text back “wrong number.” Block and report! It’s not rude. If someone really did text you by accident, they’ll figure it out.