A scammer is someone who impersonates a legitimate service provider or worthy cause in order to get money or information. Scammers were around long before telephones and email, but the long-distance nature of digital communication allows them to hide from their victims and the law. Here are six scenarios that should always arouse suspicion.
Problems with your account
“There is a problem with your account on Google/LinkedIn/Amazon/Barclays/NatWest. If you wouldn’t mind providing your credit card or bank details, we can sort this out.” No reputable company asks for account details by phone or email. VoIP is bundled with caller ID so you can validate whether a caller is who they claim to be.
You may be owed money
The government could have handled PPI compensation better. The very people who stole your money in the first place are now employed in call centres stealing your compensation. You can discover if you are owed money without a middle man. There are free tools at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/ppi-loan-insurance/.
Technical assistance
A caller claims to be from Microsoft, BT, your ISP or an IT department. To fix a problem on your network, they need you to install a small app. These scammers are trying to hijack your computer or network. Even if you don’t fall for it, someone else in the company may, but once you’re signed up with a wholesale VoIP termination provider such as https://www.idtexpress.com/, you can auto-forward suspicious numbers to the desk of security-trained personnel.
Investments
It used to be Brazilian real estate, then it was gold, and now it’s bitcoin. If these things were truly good investments, why would anyone be selling them?
Business Loans
Liquidity is a frequent frustration even for healthy businesses. Scammers know this and target them with attractive finance offers. Unfortunately, as soon as they have bank and business details, they disappear. Those details are used to exploit other people – who soon come asking you for their money back.
Telesale scams
Call recording should be routine in our homes and businesses. Scammers bank on today’s high volume of calls to pretend someone in your family or company agreed to purchase some random product. They may even send a low-value item before demanding payment. Once you’ve switched to VoIP, archiving all your calls is easy. You can quash these liars before they even get started.
