“Congratulations! We’d like to offer you this position. Please provide your Social Security number and bank account information so we can get you set up with our HR Department for direct deposit.”
These words appeared in an online chat box after fifteen minutes of what seemed to be a legitimate job interview screening. Unfortunately, this was a part of an employment scam through Indeed, a reputable job posting site.
The above scenario is not something we made up to help warn you against scams. Rather, it was actually sent, in 2021, to our social media coordinator, Christina, before she worked at Willow Brook. The company she was applying to at the time appeared to be a legitimate company, and the company itself was, but their Indeed account had been hacked and scammers were posing as this company, sucking people into their fraudulent scheme.
Thankfully, the abrupt job offer, and the asking for personal information so early in the process and via a chat platform, was a red flag, and Christina did not provide the information. She called the company directly, through their legitimate phone number, and reported that their account had been hacked in hopes that others would not fall into the same trap.
Regrettably, not everyone catches on to the scam in time, before the damage has been done. Just this year, Cathy had a loved one who was a victim of a gift card scam. Every year, thousands of people, thinking they are dealing with legitimate businesses or services, are scammed out of their personal information and their money.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2021, 5.7 million consumers reported a scam. Potentially millions more people who fall prey to a scam either feel too ashamed and violated to contact authorities, or simply do not know how to go about the process of making a report. To be sure, scamming numbers are significantly underreported even as scams are becoming more and more common. Since 2019, reported financial losses to scams and fraud have tripled, to 5.9 billion dollars lost in 2021—and those are only the dollars that were reported.
Reporting resources:
Gentle readers, scammers will use every tactic in the book to get you to give them your money or your information. Scammers pretend to be charities, the IRS, computer support technicians, a potential suitor, or even a grandchild in need.1 Scams affect every age group and everyone who uses a phone, a computer, or opens their postal mail. In 2020, for example, the 20-and-under age group saw the highest rise in online fraud cases, which were up 116 percent from the previous year. That said, older adults are particularly vulnerable to scammers—vigilance is required to stay safe.
Last year, Willow Brook hosted cybersecurity workshops at our Delaware campuses facilitated by a scam expert who focused on educating residents about typical scams and how they are presented by e-mail, over the phone, and in the postal mail. Spreading the word about these scams is the best prevention.
According to the Better Business Bureau, here is a list of the top 10 scams reported in 2021:
One of the best online resources we have found regarding scams and fraud is from the AARP. In fact, as we were researching this blog post, the lead story on the Scams and Fraud page of their site was, “Retired Teacher, 77, Loses $45,000 in Gift Card Scam: Crook cajoled her into buying cards at Apple, Target and Macy’s.”
In short: if anyone asks you to make a payment in the form of a gift card, it is a scam. Do not do it. If anyone contacts you for your Social Security number or bank information, do not share it.
Nothing is sacred to a scammer. They will prey on your employment status, your veteran status, your charitable nature, your fear, your integrity, your reputation, your need for a home repair, your safety, and your family relationships. Becoming educated about scams, and the tricks fraudsters use to convince people they are legitimate, is critically important if we are going to stay safe when we answer the phone, use the computer, and open our mail.2
1. Have you heard of the grandparent scam? Check out this video to spot this scam, and please share it with your loved ones.
2. Because we know that not all of our readers may feel comfortable using a computer, please reach out to us in the comments if you would like The Babbling Brook to print out this post and the resources we have referred to and mail them to you or a loved one. Correspondence will come clearly marked in a Willow Brook envelope.
