Cheap Auto Insurance: scam

Friday, August 2, 2019

Warning: How criminals steal your banking info over the phone

Criminals are impersonating bank employees and getting customers to hand over their debit and credit card security codes, according to TV station KION.

Police in Carmel, California, are reportedly warning residents about this scam, but the message — and steps on how to stay safe — is relevant to everyone.

Report: New bank scam targets phone users with bank accounts

The scam works like this: A crook calls your phone pretending to be an employee from your bank.

What makes it more believable is that the phone number appears to be from your financial institution because of a technology called caller ID spoofing.

The thief typically tells you that your account has been compromised in some way, KION reports. To fix the issue, the crooks ask for the three-digit code on the back of your credit card.

Do don’t it: That three-digit code, known as a CVV (card verification value) or CVC (card verification code) is an anti-fraud measure.

Those numbers are part of the verification process that merchants need to go through to charge a transaction to your card.

In the event that you do happen to get a phone call from your bank, here are two things you should make sure of:

Make sure they address you by your full name. They may have the wrong person.
Make sure they identify themselves at the outset. You need to always know who you’re talking to.

Bank scam: What to do if you get a call

Don’t give out your personal info: The main thing you need to know about dealing with phone calls from a bank is to never divulge any information: Banks don’t ask for personal information over the phone.

Hang up the phone: If someone from a financial institution (or anyone really) asks for your personal information, hang up immediately.

File a complaint: Visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Complaint Center at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov or call them at call 1-877-FTC-HELP.

Here are 3 things your bank will never do

If you receive calls from time to time from financial institutions, you should always feel confident in who you’re dealing with.

Here are some red flags that will let you know that you’re dealing with a scammer on the other line:

They ask for your full Social Security number, bank account or credit card number.
They ask you to send sensitive bank information via email
They ask you to go to a third-party site to enter your personal information

Here’s what money expert Clark Howard says about this scam: “Understand this: No one is ever going to call you from your bank or credit union in possession of your credit or debit card number and ask you for either your four-digit PIN or your three- or four-digit code from the card.”

Clark says here’s the #1 way to stay safe from this bank scam:

“You never, ever NOT EVER give someone pretending to be from a bank or credit union that information because that unlocks their ability to pretend to be you and have a field day buying as if they are you.”

Listen to Clark Howard talk about this phone scam

Here are some more articles you might enjoy from Clark.com:

7.15.19 Smart speakers spying; Watch out for this new credit card scam; Texas makes college free for some

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Google smart speakers are ALSO spying on you. Know what you are getting into before you buy; Clark tells you what to watch out for with this new credit card scam phone call; Texas makes a college education at UT free for some low income families.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Read more

Avoid Google Calendar phishing scams with these 4 steps

A new scam targeting people who use Google Calendar makes them vulnerable to phishing attacks.

Criminals have figured out a way to access your Google Calendar and put phishing links in event invites, according to Kaspersky Labs, an intelligence firm that specializes in internet security.

Google Calendar phishing scam: ‘Scammers making appointments en masse’

“Spammers have recently taken to making appointments en masse,” Kaspersky researchers said in a blog post.

Here’s how the scam works: Users will see details about a fake event in the topic and location fields of Google Calendar. The scammers sometimes use the lure of money to get you to click on the links.

“Usually, their spam details consist of a short bit of text stating that you are entitled to a cash payment for some reason, and a link that supposedly lets you receive it,” the security firm says.

Because Google Calendar is installed on so many devices, this vulnerability is pretty widespread — but you don’t have to be a victim.

The #1 to not get scammed by phishing attacks and protect yourself?

Never click on suspicious links sent to you via email or your calendar.

Google Calendar phishing scam: 4 steps you must take to protect yourself

To fully protect yourself against this phishing scam, you must change your settings so invites from random users won’t show up. Once you follow these four steps, you should only see Google Calendar invites from people in your contact list:

1. From your device, open your Google Calendar and go to Settings. To find it, click on the gear icon in the top right of the page then click Settings.

2. Scroll down to “Event Settings,” where you’ll see “Automatically add invitations.”

3. Click on “Automatically add invitations” and it will open a collapsible menu. Click “No, only show invitations to which I have responded.” It will automatically save your preference.

4. Finally, you’ll want to clear out all those invitations that might be bogus on your Google Calendar.

To do that, go to the vertical menu on the right side of the page and click “View options.” Make sure you uncheck “Show declined events.”

Just like that, you’re protected from the Google Calendar phishing scam.

After making these changes, you will still be able to receive emails with Google Calendar invites, but it will be up to you whether to accept them.