Stay alert - there's a new scam, a new victim - don't let it be you...

“We live in an uncomfortable world,” observed my daughter last week.  An interesting observation which came up because I had my rewards account hacked and a substantial number of points stolen and used for a plane ticket.  My guess he was off on a world trip!

Then I had this red alert on my computer, saying my computer had been closed down because my credit card and bank accounts had been hacked, and for security purposes I had to phone this number so we could correct it.

I didn’t call.

Instead, I checked on the latest scams, and sure enough there it was.  But the noise and ferocity of the message were scary.  It was like one of those Amber Alerts when a child goes missing – loud and menacing. To get it to stop, I had to turn off my computer completely.

It all left me feeling somewhat unsettled, especially given that I’d had my rewards account hacked the day before. So I spent my afternoon, changing passwords and checking bank balances – all was safe.

However, it is a statement on our society today, and as my daughter suggested, it leaves you feeling uncomfortable, jaded.  Even with Google, you check something out, and next minute on Facebook there’s a related ad to what you’d been investigating.   Very Big Brother.

However, I have learned from this experience and I no longer store my passwords and account numbers on my computer … far too easy for someone to gain access. Unfortunately I have also learned to be suspicious of callers, email messages and the like.  I no longer take information at face value.  And that’s kind of sad.

A cautionary tale

“Flattery will get you everywhere.”  Well that almost worked with me, I humbly confess. It is amazing how your ego can trip you up.

It all started with an email saying I had been selected as a “woman of outstanding leadership.”  I was then invited to take my “place among other remarkable women: you have earned it and you deserve it.”  OK – I’ve worked hard – why not.  So I click on and sign up for their free registration.

But… and here’s the catch, a few weeks later I get THE call. I’d frankly totally forgotten about signing up but the woman on the phone mentioned it, wanted to hear my story…( more stroking of my ego)… offering opportunities to highlight me in their magazine.

Then comes the crunch… $700 plus to join.   I thought it was free? With great persistence the sales gal carried on to say since I was so special (read reluctant to shell out $700+) she’d do me a favour and offer payments by two installments. 

Still I resisted and then the price went down. But like a broken record, she continues to try and close.  What level of membership did I want x or y?  She’d ask over and over again.

I am embarrassed to report I caved in, and signed up.  She was wearing me down and I didn’t know, short of hanging up, how to extricate myself. But just a few seconds later, I totally regretted it and started to question myself … Why did I let myself get suckered into this? I don’t have money to burn. What was I thinking?. I spent quite some time berating myself.

When I looked into their website I could see a group of women who likely had also been coerced into this purchase.    Well not me. Quoting the Ontario law whereby you have ten days to legally cancel contracts, I got out of it.   

Then two days later, I receive the same email that started it all.  It is in my junk mail – where it rightly belongs. I guess I am still considered a woman of outstanding leadership J

So if something like this arrives in your inbox – my advice – delete..  Don’t get caught in a scam that plays to your ego.  Leave your ego at the door and say no.

As for me, I’ve been there, done that and embarrassingly getting rid of the T-shirt.

CAUTION - CHECK IT ALL OUT

First it was the email from Nigeria announcing an inheritance; then you’d won the lottery – and hard to believe some people still fell for it – part of their get-rich-scheme I guess, but these days, scam artists are getting much more sophisticated.

Take last week. My address book on Facebook was hacked into and friends received an email implying that I was stranded in London and needed financial help to get home. Given I am from the UK, this was quite plausible, however the colourful language used gave them away, and friends knew it wasn’t from me.

In sharing this tale with someone else, I learned of an even more sophisticated attempt to empty your bank account. My colleague was invited to speak at a conference in the UK, the invite seemed genuine, the location existed and they forwarded a professional looking contract, etc… She had done her due diligence and checked some of this out, and it all seemed above board. Until she got an email asking for her bank account information – supposedly so they could pay her honorarium in advance. That’s when she stopped, contacted the church where the conference was to be held and discovered it was all a scam.

Wow! I think several of us might have fallen for this one and the “ask” if you will wasn’t immediate, so you could be lulled into thinking this was the real deal. All of which flags, that sadly we need to be cautious and never take what seems like an amazing offer at face value. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.