The Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents of a recent uptick in fraud activity, and advising how to avoid being scammed yourself.
There are several ways to protect yourself from fraud. The absolute best way is to never give your personal information out over the phone or via the internet. Personal information includes: full name, date of birth, social security number, full address, usernames, passwords, mother’s maiden name, answers to security questions, banking institution names, and such.
One particular scam that has been seen recently is where a scammer will pose as your banking institution and contact you asking if a specific charge was made to your account. Once you respond to this, the scammer will contact you via telephone call posing as the bank, asking for the verification code sent via text.
According to the sheriff’s office, “This is essentially you giving the scammer the code that is needed to log into your account […] because at this point they already have your username and password, [and] are attempting to log into your online account from a device that the bank does not recognize. You giving them the verification code is telling the bank that everything is ok and to allow the login from the unknown device.”
The sheriff’s office further advises citizens to never click on suspicious emails or QR codes and give information; never give someone remote access to your computer; and generally be wary of others online.
There are several scams that people can fall for, with scammers pretending to be everything from down-on-their-luck royalty to one’s own grandchildren, so staying alert and keeping information private is the best way to keep your money from falling into the wrong hands this holiday season.
