March is Fraud Prevention Month – if you have a computer, are connected to the internet, have an email address, social media accounts, smart phone – and yes, even land lines aren’t immune, its most likely a criminal has attempted to extort money or personal information from you.
It’s disheartening – but, you can never let your guard down.
Phishing scams – aptly pronounced fishing, are traditionally associated with misleading and deceptive emails, falsely claiming to be from a legitimate organization such as a financial institution, business or government agency in an attempt to have the consumer surrender private and personal information.
These scams have the same basic goal – to get access to your bank, credit cards or to extort money. You may receive an email or text message telling you that you have ‘won a prize’ or they owe you money and would like to send you an e-transfer.
