It's important to us that our clients, candidates and teams all feel safe both online and on the telephone.
Scammers are constantly finding new ways to defraud people, but there are things we can all do to protect ourselves as well as the company we work for.
Four signs that it’s a scam.
1. Scammers PRETEND to be from an organisation you know.
Scammers often pretend to be contacting you on behalf of the government. They might use a real name, like the Social Security Administration, the IRS, or Medicare, or make up a name that sounds official. Some pretend to be from a business you know, like a utility company, a tech company, or even a charity asking for donations. They use technology to change the phone number that appears on your caller ID. So the name and number you see might not be real.
2. Scammers say there’s a PROBLEM or a PRIZE.
They might say you’re in trouble with the government. Or you owe money. Or someone in your family or within the Company (often the owners or most senior persons) have an emergency or an urgent errand for you to run. Or that there’s a virus on your computer.
Some scammers say there’s a problem with one of your accounts and that you need to verify some information. Others will lie and say you won money in a lottery or sweepstakes but have to pay a fee to get it.
3. Scammers PRESSURE you to act immediately.
Scammers want you to act before you have time to think. If you’re on the phone, they might tell you not to hang up so you can’t check out their story.
They might threaten to arrest you, sue you, take away your driver’s or business license, or deport you. They might say your computer is about to be corrupted.
4. Scammers tell you to PAY in a specific way.
They often insist that you pay by sending money through a money transfer company or by putting money on a gift card and then giving them the number on the back. Some will send you a cheque (that will later turn out to be fake), tell you to deposit it, and then send them money.
What to do to avoid a scam.
Report any form of Scam immediately.
Always have unwanted calls, text messages or emails blocked and request any scam to be investigated thoroughly via https://www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing or https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
Don’t give your personal or financial information in response to a request that you didn’t expect.
Legitimate organisations won’t call, email, or text to ask for your personal information, like your Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers. If you get an email or text message from a company you do business with and you think it’s real, it’s still best not to click on any links. Instead, contact them using a website you know is trustworthy. Or look up their phone number. Don’t call a number they gave you or the number from your caller ID.
Resist the pressure to act immediately.
Legitimate businesses will give you time to make a decision. Anyone who pressures you to pay or give them your personal information is a scammer.
Know how scammers tell you to pay.
Never pay someone who insists you pay with a gift card or by using a money transfer service. And never deposit a cheque and send money back to someone.
Stop and talk to someone you trust.
Before you do anything else, tell someone senior in your Company or someone you trust the scenario; Talking about it could help you realise it’s a scam.
Together we can all help create safer working environments.