How to recognize scams
New scams seem to appear every day. We try to keep up with them in our Security Tips & Talk blog. To see the latest scams, browse through our fraud section. In addition, you can learn to recognize a scam by familiarizing yourself with some of the telltale signs.Scams can contain the following:
· Alarmist messages and threats of account closures.
· Promises of money for little or no effort.
· Deals that sound too good to be true.
· Requests to donate to a charitable organization after a disaster that has been in the news.
· Bad grammar and misspellings
How to report a scam
You can use Microsoft tools to report a suspected scam.· Internet Explorer. While you are on a suspicious site, click the gear icon and then point to Safety. Then click Report Unsafe Website and use the web page that is displayed to report the website.
· Hotmail. If you receive a suspicious email message that asks for personal information, click the check box next to the message in your Hotmail inbox. Click Mark as and then point to Phishing scam.
· Microsoft Office Outlook. Attach the suspicious email message to a new email message and forward it to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. To learn how to attach an email message to an email message, see Attach a file or other item to an email message.
You can also download the Microsoft Junk E-mail Reporting Add-in for Microsoft Office Outlook.What to do if you think you have been a victim of a scam
If you suspect that you've responded to a phishing scam with personal or financial information, take these steps to minimize any damage and protect your identity.· Change the passwords or PINs on all your online accounts that you think might be compromised.
· Place a fraud alert on your credit reports. Check with your bank or financial advisor if you're not sure how to do this.
· Contact the bank or the online merchant directly. Do not follow the link in the fraudulent email message.
· If you know of any accounts that were accessed or opened fraudulently, close those accounts.
No comments:
Post a Comment