Fraudsters Don’t See Tragedy, They See Opportunity
After any major incident, many people turn to the internet to find out more information and to see if there is any way in which they can help. The majority of us will be shocked by tragic events as we see them unfold, more so when the incident is closer to home.
Unfortunately, the fraudsters know this, and don’t look at these events with sympathy, but look at them as an opportunity to scam people. Make it second nature to verify the sources of information you share, think before you click.
Scams
Scams that crop up after an incident can vary and take on many forms. They can be from people just out to harvest ‘likes’ by creating and sharing memes or making up stories about fictitious people ‘who were there’ when it happened, or they can be criminals out to pinch your bank details.
Often, the fraudsters will use social media to share a photo with a sentimental message or outraged caption, and will use any tactics then can to pull on your heart strings to get you to forward or re-share the post.
Expect them to exploit photos of affected people and paint sad stories to get you to hand over your money.
Who To Trust
Use some common sense when deciding if a link you’re about to click is genuine.
If the link came via email or instant messenger, check with the email sender that they intended to send it, they many not be aware if their account has been compromised.
This is doubly important if the email or message says something along the lines of “I’ve changed my bank details” – double check in person or over the phone. This is a common and well known scam.
Check the validity of any links before you click them, it may say www.TrustWorthyWebsite.com in the text, but hover your mouse over it to find out where it’s really linked to first.
If a URL shortener has been used, (the link looks like sh.ort/Wg5SDS or something similar) check the full-length URL on the shortner website used, or use a trusted third-party website like www.checkshorturl.com
Check with someone in authority. If a Just Giving page has been setup by Bob claiming that he’s raising money for the recent incident, how can you be sure your donation is going where he says? Just because he mentions various valid aid organisations in the link does not mean they endorse him or have any connection to him.
Seen a photo of a young child with a caption “This person is missing, please share this link to help find her” – think… How is sharing this link going to help find someone? Is it at all likely that the missing person or someone they know is reading Social Media? Can you be sure that person is really missing? is there a police reference number? Check the facts first!
Look at the date when the first share was made, was it recently or several months ago?
Is the source of the information genuine and trustworthy? Just because someone says that ‘The Police have asked…’ doesn’t mean it’s true. If it is true then there should be a link back to an official page with verifiable details. Don’t take someone else’s word as fact without checking it first.
#WeCanHelp
We can help you sort the truth from the lies, and show you how to identify fraudulent emails and links. We can even configure and install hardware designed to filter out the fake news.