If you receive a text message to your phone, supposedly from your bank, informing you of an “unusual activity” or other event that could cancel your account, and for this you must confirm your information: Stop! ! Keep in mind that there is a high possibility that you are being victimized by a digital scam scheme, whose sole purpose is to steal your personal information.
The warning about the high proliferation of this scheme, known as electronic fraud (‘phishing’) was issued this week by the New York State Division of Consumer Protection.
“Anyone who receives unsolicited dubious text messages should delete them immediately,” Secretary of State Robert J. Rodríguez exhorted in a statement.
In a nutshell, the advice is not to share your banking information, much less your social security number and other personal information, with who could be fake bank agents or other institutions. Neither by calls, nor by responses to requirements on web pages or text messages.
The tactic
The tactic of the network of scammers it is generally asking users to confirm their account information, make a payment or claim a prize.
The link can also ask the unwary to click to a web page, within an SMS text, which directs them to a fake site that looks like the website of their financial institution. This can allow criminals to install programs on your phone, which will make it easier for them to spy on all your data and even “clean” your bank accounts, in the worst case.
“Anyone who receives a fraudulent text message, you must delete the message immediately”, warned the state official.
For his part, the director of information for the state of New York, Angelo Riddick, reiterated that one of the most common online is ‘phishing’, which is nothing more than an attempt to request personal information from users, pretending to be a trusted entity.
“New Yorkers must remain vigilant and they should delete the fraudulent text message immediately. The public should always remember the importance of protecting their personal data from cybercriminals,” he said.
Care for the elderly in NYC
Of According to data from the New York Attorney General’s Office and the New York City Consumer and Worker Protection Agency (DCWP), there is a consensus that the elderly have frequently been the most vulnerable victims of all kinds of fraud, including ‘phishing’.
The balances of federal agencies indicate that this group of victims is extracted through various methods, the alarming amount of $3, million, on average, each year.
Even during the pandemic crisis, fraud schemes in the Great Apple for appointments for vaccines and other supposed benefits, which ended only in a criminal tactic to extract personal data and money.
So cu Throughout the year, families are encouraged to keep an eye on the movements of the elderly in the digital world.
The NYC Department of Aging (Aging NYC) Elderly Crime Victims Resource Center helps older victims protect themselves from crimes committed by strangers. Crimes can be financial, physical, emotional.
Perpetrators who don’t know their victims often target them for money through the IRS, investments, home improvements, charities, and others types of scams.
In this new wave of fraud through text messages, Aging reiterates this call: “Never give personal information to unknown people. If in doubt, hang up and call the official institution. Always protect your bank account, Social Security number, and Medicare and Medicaid information.”
If you are a resident of the Big Apple and suspect that you are being victimized by a digital scam, please call 311 to connect with the services available by the City.
Basic tips for braking to cybercriminals:
The New York Division of Consumer Protection in these times when reports of digital scams have risen considerably recommends:
- Inspect the sender information to confirm that the message was generated from a legitimate source, but never click on the link or call the number that appears in the text .
Do not reply to the text. Even typing STOP will let the scammer know that your number is real, and they can sell your number to other scammers. - Always remember: Banks will never ask you to provide sensitive information via text message. Requests to do so, as well as poor spelling, are telltale signs of a scam.
- If you are suspicious, call the suspected bank or financial institution directly to understand the protocols for alerting customers to potential fraud.
- Do not post sensitive information online. The less information you post, the less data you make available to a cybercriminal to use in developing a potential attack or scam.
- Watch out for misspelled words used to bypass a phone provider’s fraud filter system.
You can lock your phone:
A simple method to prevent spam text messages is to block unknown senders on your cell phone:
- Go to your phone settings
- Click messages or block numbers (depending on your phone type)
- Tap “Filter unknown senders” or tap “Block numbers” (depending on your phone type)
Find free resources to help you:
- The New York State Division of Consumer Protection York serves to educate, assist and empower the State’s consumers. You can contact the Consumer Assistance Helpline at 1-800-697-1220 from Monday to Friday from 8: 30 am to 4: 30 pm, excluding state holidays. You can also file a consumer complaint at any time at https://dos.ny.gov/consumer-protection.
- For more information on phishing scams as well as steps to mitigate a fraud attempt, visit the New York State Office of Information Technology Services Phishing Awareness resource page at https://its.ny.gov/resources
- You have the option of knowing the advice page of the Division of Consumer Protection Prevention of phishing scams: https://dos.ny.gov/identity-theft-prevention-and-mitigation-program .
- For more consumer protection tips, follow the Division on social media on Twitter: @NYSConsumer and Facebook: www.facebook.com/nysconsumer .
- Do not post sensitive information online. The less information you post, the less data you make available to a cybercriminal to use in developing a potential attack or scam.