In a spoofing scam, criminals pose as a familiar organization or someone you may know to steal your money or personal information. This article shows you common spoofing scams, what to watch out for and ways to stay protected.
The scam has a funny name, but the results can be serious. Criminals involved in online or phone spoofing try to gain your trust by making you believe they are from a legitimate source. Don’t fall for it! Here’s what you need to watch out for and ways to stay protected.
Email and Website Spoofing
Popular with scammers, email and website spoofing are part of many phishing schemes in which criminals try to earn your trust by pretending to be a business or organization you know. You may receive an email with a logo and other details you recognize. But practice caution and look closely at the communication. Telltale signs of email spoofing include impersonal language, a slight variation in the sender’s website address and typos.
Your Social Security number is especially valuable to an identity thief and they will try all sorts of schemes to trick you into revealing it.
Caller ID Spoofing
Another scam is caller ID spoofing. Chances are, you’ve already been targeted by this scheme. Using easily available technology, criminals can show ANY name or phone number they want on YOUR caller ID, so you will be more likely to answer.
Scammers can display your town or area code or even the first few digits of your own phone number, so that a caller appears to be local when they’re actually far away. They may pose as a government agency, like the Department of Veterans Affairs, a charity or a company you do business with. One type of caller ID spoofing is where a criminal, posing as a representative from the Social Security Administration, calls you. The imposter says there’s been a computer problem and they need to confirm your Social Security number.
Be on the lookout for robocalls, suspicious business offers, requests for personal information or anyone pressuring you to give out information or make a payment.
How to Protect Yourself
To avoid falling for a spoofing scam, you can do the following:
- Be wary of email requests for personal or financial information – even if they appear to be from a business you know.
- Don’t reply, download attachments, click links or log in to a linked website, which could be a dummy site designed to capture your online account information.
- Don’t automatically trust your caller ID. Verify phone and email requests by contacting the organization via their website or publicly listed phone number.
- Delete suspicious emails right away.
- Don’t be afraid to hang up the phone.
- Don’t comply with requests for personal or payment information unless you initiated the conversation.
Remember: Legitimate businesses like your financial institution will NEVER reach out to ask for your account information or pressure you to act immediately.
What to Do If You’ve Been the Victim of a Scam
Here are some steps to take if you’ve been scammed:
- Contact your financial institution right away if your accounts were compromised.
- Report the identity theft immediately to one of the credit reporting agencies and ask them to place a fraud alert on your account. The alert will remain on your report for about 90 days unless you choose to extend the alert or ask for a security freeze. If you call one agency, they will forward the fraud alert to the others. The three major credit reporting agencies are TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.
- If you happen across a spoofed website, you can report the fake website to the federal government at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/and you can report it to Google as well at https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_phish/?hl=en.
Be alert for spoofing scams and know the tricks that criminals use, so you can see through their disguise.
To learn more about protecting your information, talk to your financial institution today.
Prompt Reporting: If you feel you have fallen for a scam or suspect your accounts or identity have been compromised, report the incident immediately. RCB Bank customers can contact us at 855-226-5722 during business hours Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. excluding Federal Holidays or visit the RCB Bank Security Center website for detailed information. Need to contact RCB Bank Fraud Department on the weekend? Contact us at 877-361-0814 Saturday 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. CST or Sunday 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CST (excluding Federal Holidays).
Contact other reliable sources such as the FBI and file a complaint at ic3.gov to contribute to efforts against these fraudulent activities.
Opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the author and meant for illustration purposes only. RCB Bank, Member FDIC.
