It seems that we hear and see possible scams throughout our everyday lives these days. The level of intelligence and sophistication within scams also seems to have gone up rather than being blatantly obvious. Unfortunately, some of the stories do not have happy endings.
Therefore, with that in mind I thought it would be a good idea to provide 5 key points on how to avoid scams which are outlined below.
- Be alert to the fact that scams exist and could be anywhere.
This seems like an obvious one, but the reality is that in our day to day lives we can often forget important things like this and let our guard down. This could be in-person, over the telephone, messages and emails.
- Don’t just take things at face value.
Whilst we are always trying to remain positive in all circumstances and would encourage you to do the same, this does not mean that everything should be trusted implicitly. Therefore, be prepared to do your research, don’t be afraid to walk away/back away from something and get second opinions (we are always happy to be that person).
- Do not open or respond to suspicious calls, messages and emails or click on links.
Again this might seem like an obvious one, but the reality is that often things can be worded and disguised so well that your brain is in auto-pilot and you do something by accident.
- Keep your details secure.
Scams and technology is so sophisticated these days that it wouldn’t take much to do some serious damage. Therefore it is more important than ever to keep your details secure, particularly online. Not saving logins and passwords to your computer and using a password manager is vital (if you want a suggestion on this please ask).
- Think ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it is probably is’
Have you ever seen a pig fly? I haven’t, but did see a video of them running recently.
Have you ever seen a real life unicorn – as much as my daughters would like it they don’t currently exist. Always think about whether the catch and if you can’t see one then it is probably too good to be true.
Finally, in the interest of helping each other and trying to prevent anyone else from being scammed you should always try to report this.
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