Scams are becoming more and more common every day. People now encounter scams more often than they encounter something real. When you check your email or your text messages, your inbox is filled with scam messages. In some messages, you have won thousands of dollars, and in some messages, you are supposedly getting expensive rewards. You would be surprised to know how many people fall for these fake reward traps. But can you blame them?
Scammers are getting smarter every day. They lure people towards their scheme because it feels authentic. Plus every one of us is trying to have an amazing every day, so when we see a chance to grab something really cool, we run towards it.
These are the hottest trends this year. Some of you may have seen some of them, but for those who have not, let’s check them out to avoid falling into the trap.
Car Wrap Scam
You might come across this scam through email or advertisement. Here the scammers claim they will pay you only to drive your car around the town. If you answer this mail or advertisement, they will ask you to put an advertisement with their logo on your vehicle and then just drive around like you normally would. This scam does not feel like a scam at all, right? It seems like they are only paying you to publicize their advertisement. When you accept their offer, they will send you a check for several hundred dollars, which will cash at first.
After this, they will ask you to go to their supplier, who is a professional in car wraps, and give them the money. And they will ask you to pay the guy in a way that you cannot reverse, like a wire transfer or money order. After some time, the bank will realize that the check was fake, and the money will be deducted from your account. And you have lost the money you paid to the fake professional as well as the check money. You would be left with nothing. You might come across a similar scheme where a company contacts you to ask you to buy something with their money. Do not go for it. It is fishy and it will cost you. Beware!
Family Emergency Scheme
In family emergency scams, someone from your family will call you (of course, they are only scammers), and they will claim to be in a situation that requires instant money. It could be about a fight – they could say that they are in jail or that they have to pay someone right away. In these cases, people panic because they want their family to be out of trouble quickly, so they just pay the money without checking the situation out at first.
Older people are the most common target for these scams. And the scammer pretends to be their grandchildren who are in trouble. These grandparents get emotional and pay the scammer without first confirming if their children are in trouble or not. The scammers make sure that you do not check their story out by saying “Don’t tell mom or dad, otherwise, they will be worried, or they will kick me out of the house.” If you ask why they do not sound like your grandchildren, they will say because they were in an accident or fight that left them with a broken nose. So if you ever get a call like this, verify the story first; it will only take a few minutes to confirm it, and nothing big will happen in that short period of time.
Fake Amazon & Apple Support Calls
In this scam, people receive calls from Amazon or Apple customer support, saying that your order has been placed or is in process. Before calls, they used to send emails and try to trick the person into clicking on the page. On the call, there won’t be a person but a robot voice saying, “This is a call regarding this or that order.” They will give you the option to cancel the order by pressing a button. If you pick up a call, a scammer will probably talk to you in a professional tone, but they will ask you for your credit card info so that they can send the money back to your account.
If you receive a call from Apple, they will say that an unauthorized access of your cloud has been attempted and they will instruct you to call this number or talk to a customer representative. By calling that number, you will connect with the scammer. If you ever receive such a call, do not continue on the call or press any button, otherwise they will know that it is a working number, and you will receive more calls like these.
So what you can do is first avoid picking up calls from callers you do not recognize. If you aren’t sure, then find the true number for Amazon or Apple or go to their legitimate websites. For example, if the call is from Amazon, go to your Amazon account and connect with them. If it is from Apple, then go to Apple’s official website and call the number they have provided there. It is a safer way to deal with this situation.
Overpaid Utility Bill Scam
In this scam, you will receive a robocall or a customer representative call which will claim that you have overpaid your electricity bill and now you are eligible for cash back. They will ask you to press some button or ask you to confirm some details so that they can apply a discount on your next bill. When you connect with them over a call, the scammer will ask you to confirm your bank account details or credit card information so that they can apply the discount.
In the best-case scenario, this is a sketchy marketing scheme in which some company that is tricking customers into connect with their company instead of their old one. In any case, you do not want to connect with a scammer so avoid these calls.
Package Waiting Scam
This scam has been around for a long time now, but it has evolved. Now, they send you text messages instead of just emails about an order confirmation. Sometimes, they even know your name and will use it to try and intimidate you. When you receive a text, it will say “click this link to find out how to receive your package.” When you click on the link, it will take you to a log-in page that might look exactly like Amazon or any other company’s log-in page.
When you use your information to log in, they will steal that information and use it to order from your account. This is how they steal your money. If you are curious about the scam or are just unsure, do not click on the link. They have trackers on those links, and they will know who clicked it. And when they know it’s a working number, you will receive even more scam texts.
Income Scams
The income scam is a category for a number of scams. These scams are growing in number so rapidly that the FTC even started a campaign to raise awareness. These scams are income scams because they lure people by telling them that they will get a nice income. The car wrap scam falls under this category. You might come across it through mail or text message. It will be a fake job posting where the scammers will tell you that you can work from home and generate a large income.
The ad posting will be too good to be true. When you finally reach these people, they will try to get money from you in one way or another. They will ask you to buy something from their supplier or ask you to pay them for something. Either way, they will steal money from you while tricking you into thinking they are giving you a job.
The clear key to recognizing this scam is that they will somehow ask you to invest your own money. They will try to hide the fact that you are using your own money. So, if you come across such a thing, first think: Why do they need me to invest my money if they are going to reimburse me anyway?
Covid Relief & Stimulus Scams
Coronavirus scams and stimulus scams are another big one that has been easily scamming people. They can reach you by any method, whether text message, email, or phone call. The message will claim that you are eligible for the stimulus package and all you need to do to claim it is click on this link. When you click on this link, they can steal your money or your information. They can say that your check is ready to be deposited, if they could only get your bank information to make the deposit. When they have this information, they can empty your account.
They can also say that you need to sign up to get the relief package. They will require you to click on a link so they can steal from you. If you are confused about whether or not it is a scam, then it is best that you rely on official sources. Find local news where you can confirm your eligibility.
Vaccine-Related Scams
State and local governments themselves are trying to make people aware of vaccine-related scams. Scammers are luring people using the vaccine as their excuse. These scammers can scam people in any way. They will send you text messages or emails, asking you to put in your personal information. They will say that in order to be put on the vaccine list, they need all your information, including address, bank details, and other info.
There is one more scam where they say if you pay a little fee, they can help you get in front of the line so you can get the vaccine first. But this is just a scam. You cannot get vaccinated first by paying some fee. Instead of believing in these messages, confirm whether they’re true on the official website of your local government. If there is nothing there about it, then it’s certainly a scam.
Be aware of these scams in the future and try to make others aware as well. If you come across anything that seems like a variation of these scams, avoid them. Or if they are very confusing, then double-check them before going through with any process. These scammers and their scams are very neatly built; they intend to confuse and trick their targets. This is why some people still manage to fall into these traps even though there are so many awareness programs.