The common denominator in all these cases is a person: the victim who, motivated by the fear or urgency caused by the scammer, decides to provide confidential information in an email, text, or call. This is the first mistake, which leads us to the first golden rule we have already discussed in this series: Never give anyone your personal information unless you are 100% sure that the person is legit.

Keep in mind the following to verify the authenticity of the approach:

        Did the person call you, or did you initiate the call?

If someone calls or writes without you asking to be contacted, NEVER give them your information!

      Did the person asking for your information tell you it’s urgent?

If the person calling you is using an extreme scenario as an excuse to ask you for your information and insists that it’s urgent that you provide the information right then and there, don’t do it! If the person identifies themself as an official representative of the bank and you want to make sure that it’s true, hang up and call the bank directly to confirm. Better safe than sorry!

Another golden rule is to NEVER open an email attachment or click on an external link sent from an email address you do not recognize, even if it bears the name of an institution or person you know. 

In this series about phishing, smishing, vishing, and other tall tales of our digital era, we have learned that anyone can fall for these scams (link to first post), but we can all be prepared to recognize them (link to the second post). Finally, in this last post, we learned some rules we should follow to avoid falling prey to a scam.

If you believe you have been the victim of a scam:

• Report the incident to the FTC.

•  Tell your friends and family about your experience. You might help them avoid falling for a scam.

Haven’t you read the first post of this series? Click here.