With the pandemic changing the way people transact, the task of managing finances, settling bills, and transferring money have become online activities, too. Unfortunately, scammers have taken note of this and are now coming up with increasingly creative ways to steal your data or hard-earned money from your savings plan.
The Common Scams Rampant Today
To get up to speed with what fraudsters are up to, here’s a brief list of their MOs. Don’t be surprised if you think that you might have been targeted at one point with the following scams.
- Phone scams – Because Filipinos usually have such a large network, it’s easy for someone to pretend to be a family member’s friend and say that they are supposedly in an accident. These people may ask for financial help right away, leveraging on the panic they’ve created.
- Lottery scams – This type of fraud may come as an SMS saying that you’ve won something from a contest you may or may not remember joining. Before you get to claim your so-called prize, you’ll be asked to divulge sensitive information—but not get anything in return.
- ATM fraud – Some ATMs may have information-capturing devices installed in them that can steal your data, such as your card number and PIN. This can make it easy for scammers to buy products online using your details.
- Fake sites – Beware of the stores popping up online! It’s difficult to trust just any website—they could lead you to a fake portal that records your card information, but does not fulfill your order.
- Email phishing – You may get some pretty convincing emails that seemingly come from your bank, but when you click the link to log-in to your online banking portal, it may end up just being a trap to access your account.
How to Protect Your Money against Scams
Taking the necessary steps below will instill cautiousness and prevent you from being easily deceived by the numerous scams online.
