Social Engineering: Getting Information out of a Target
Hackers are getting very sophisticated these days and many people fall prey to their schemes. One type of scam which can be very effective is the phone scam. With tax season coming up in the United States and many people not knowing how the IRS or the government works, people can fall prey to scams easily especially if there is a threat of action on the part of the government. Elderly people are usually the targets of these scams because they are vulnerable, as well as young families and single people just starting out or who are not computer savvy. These scams can be quite elaborate and use social engineering tactics that can allow the attacker to get information out of the subject as they are being threatened and coerced into something because they are unknowing, scared or caught off guard.
Catching you off guard makes you vulnerable and the attackers will use that fear to get additional information out of you like where you work, your address, or other personal identification details.
With all the data breaches that have gone on, there may be hackers already with your information. Companies that have been breached have caused the release of personal and banking information to hackers and this data gets sold around and attackers use it to steal your money and commit fraud.
Elaborate Phone Fraud: The Back Taxes Scam
One particular scam is for the tax season where a threatening phone call will be made and the subject is concerned and calls back the number. The message is innocuous but serious and it usually gives the target enough pause to call and engage. In situations like this, sometimes your phone will warn you of the scam when the call comes in. If you get a call you don’t know from an unknown number then don’t answer it.
The government will never contact you via the phone, this is another thing that you should know. So any threatening agency that calls you and says you have not filed taxes or something like that and want to get you for back taxes that were unpaid, then know that the IRS will contact you via the mail system and not over the phone.
In one of these elaborate schemes the attackers tell you they have Homeland Security, the IRS and law enforcement ready to engage and try to scare you into believing them. They will ask for your zip code and find a store then they will send you to that store to purchase gift cards for an exorbitant amount. The government does not work on the weekend and they will not contact you over the phone on a holiday. In this scenario, the attackers will try to rob your money by making you purchase gift cards and then make arrangements for your to hand over these cards. This is potentially dangerous as you do not want to tell the attackers your address. They may also ask for additional information about you which you should not give like birthday and personal identification numbers.
How Companies Try to Protect You
In these gift card scams sometime when the target goes in to make a large gift card purchase, the bank can block the transaction because they will see it as fraud. The company in question where the gift cards are trying to be purchased can also stop the sale if they think something is suspicious. If you suspect someone is trying to defraud you on a phone scam you can also talk to the point of sale store manager and let them know what is happening or you can contact your bank and enable them to check your transactions so that they are being careful to protect you as well if you are targeted.
You can also set daily limits on bank cards and credit cards, which the banks can also sometimes do, or have the bank setup on your account that you need to call them to authorize transactions at the point of sale.
How You Can Protect Yourself
Protecting yourself is to make yourself aware that hackers are out there and will try anything to get at your money. We are all human and at times vulnerable. Even people that are aware of how these things work and have protected themselves can fall prey to these scams. Like I said before holidays and dates like the United States tax season are prime targets. Attackers will also try to break into mailboxes and intercept mail for tax refund checks, social security payments, MediCare reimbursement, SSI disability payments, and any form of check that may be sent in the mail. It is good to have these deposited electronically directly into your bank to ensure mail fraud does not happen to you.
I do not list every tip in this post, and hackers are constantly changing their tactics so the scams and fraud constantly evolve. It is best to keep aware of your surroundings and make sure that you remain aware that hackers are constantly trying to get in. With the amount of data breaches that happen every day and contact information being compromised, just know that we will likely be targeted at some time. Keep your wits about you and keep yourself aware that hackers are out there and will try anything to defraud you.