James in Tech

Here’s how not to get scammed out of $50,000 over the phone

The incredible, heartbreaking and frustrating story of a respected financial expert getting phone scammed out of $50,000 has provoked quite a few incredulous and outraged responses, but I’m more interested in making sure – wherever you stand on the veracity of this story – that you don’t get scammed in the same way.

These are my top seven tips for avoiding phone and other similar digital scams.

Just don’t do it

If you see a number you don’t recognize, don’t answer the phone.

Don’t assume it’s local and important just because the call matches your area code.

Don’t act on that text message telling you you have a suspicious order from Amazon (we all shopping at Amazon, so you don’t have to be a genius to come up with a worrying online shopping scenario that applies to everyone).

Do not call the given fake number “Chase Bank” to check the safety of your account and money.

Don’t hand over money because no real official or law enforcement agency will ever ask for it.

To delay

Let’s say you made the mistake of answering that phone call from a number you don’t recognize, or responded to a text message in shock and called that number or followed that link. Now you’re talking to someone who is doing their best to guide you through the disastrous details of your “situation.” None of this is true, but it sounds plausible and you’re ready for the ride. But you’re not.

Close the chat box and tell him you’re going to stop, hang up and go check your bills. This means opening a web browser and navigating to the bank and retail accounts you have set up and visit often. You won’t see any unusual activity, believe me.

Never use the phone numbers you receive via text message or phone call from an unknown caller

Once the scammers get you, their goal is to keep you entangled in their web of lies. This means as little contact with the outside world as possible. They will give you answers to all your questions, but every door they open will act like a MSomebius strip, causing you to fall over and fall back into the scam. They will often give you a phone number to call and verify their claims. Hang up and call the official customer service of your bank or retail site.

They only know what you’ve already shared or hacked

Phone and text scammers are so effective because they seem to know everything about you. In reality, they are simply performing the mentalistic trick. Mind readers and phone scammers have this in common: they use publicly available information to build a profile of you, and you’ve already given them so much ammunition. Most of us have at least a decade’s worth of personal information on social media. We share our children’s names, birthdays, our spouses’ names, our anniversaries, our nicknames, our photos and videos. There is nothing we don’t share.

What’s even worse is that the things we do try to remain private have been leaked through hacks on the dark web: email and home addresses, phone numbers, and even passwords and social security numbers. What scammers can’t find, they will take from you by convincing you that they already have the information. A partial citizen service number? The scammer reads that out and you happily fill in the rest.

I encourage you to share less, but the truth is that the genie is out of the bottle, and unless you’re ready to clean up your identity, there’s little chance you’ll be able to get all your private information off the internet. But if you move, you may never share your new address on social media.

Don’t assume that everything you see or hear is real

AI is now powerful enough to recreate audio, video, and photos of almost anyone, and phone scammers and criminals can use it all to convince you that someone is out to harm your family (or has even kidnapped a loved one).

A very natural response is to take action and protect your family, but instead of giving in to the criminal’s demands, try contacting that family member or someone close to you directly. You can even ask the scammer to have the ‘kidnapped’ family member repeat a previously agreed upon ‘safe’ word (this word should only be selected and shared personally). If the scammer can’t get that word or phrase from their hostage, they don’t have them. Believe me, they never had them.

Don’t give in to emotion

The less you react and the more you analyze, the more likely you are to win when faced with the escalating demands of phone scammers. You see, they only have the power you give them. If you stop saying yes and start doing your own legwork, they usually get stuck and usually get in trouble.

Follow these tips and I bet you won’t end up like that author and you’ll never lose $50,000.