Laura Kirkland, a 78-year-old retiree, lost $15,000 after a caller posing as a bank fraud specialist convinced her that her account had been hacked. Sounding credible and armed with personal details, the scammer persuaded her to grant computer access and wired the money overseas before she realized it was a fraud.
Scams like this are increasingly common. Cybercrime is now the primary way money is stolen, affecting millions of Americans each year. Criminals often impersonate banks or authorities, create a sense of urgency, and use personal data gathered from public records, email breaches, or social media to appear legitimate. Newer schemes include fake “account hacked” calls and AI-driven kidnapping scams that clone voices of loved ones.
If You’ve Been Scammed
What to do depends on how and what was breached. The first step is to figure out what happened and why and then take steps to minimize the damage. This could be as simple as changing a password or as complicated as freezing your bank, custodial, and credit accounts, and making filings with the FTC, FBI, and local law enforcement.
How to Protect Yourself
- Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t answer calls from people who aren’t in your contact list. A legitimate person will leave a message and a callback number.
- Approach with Caution. Most successful scams attempt to get you to act quickly and will sound like an authority figure. Be skeptical, and don’t get swept up in their urgency.
- Assume the worst. Neither your bank nor government agencies like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will call you about a problem. The bank will freeze your account; the IRS will send you a letter.
- Don’t share PII. Do not provide personally identifiable information (PII)—like passwords, and account, credit card, or Social Security numbers—to anyone who calls you on the phone. Legitimate service providers don’t typically ask for this kind of information over the phone.
- Call back. If you suspect you’re getting lured into a scam, hang up and call your bank, broker, or other service provider at a verified number
- Protect your social media accounts. Criminals can use photos, videos, and check-ins shared on social media to target you unless you engage privacy settings on these accounts.
For the full article on Outwitting Hackers and Avoiding Scams from CAPTRUST at Work, click here.