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Scams are more prevalent than ever, from spoofed phone calls to text messages containing malicious links to sites and apps looking to borrow our data. If you want to stay safe online, you need to be vigilant at all times. , especially in a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic, which actually ends up pulling scammers out of thin air.
To protect other people from those scams, Google this week introduced a new program called Scam Spotter. As the call suggests, Scam Spotter helps you stumble upon visual scams and avoid giving your details or cash to bad actors. Those of us who spend all day online want to become adept at spotting and avoiding scams, but that’s not the case for everyone, and it can be an incredibly valuable resource.
When you access the website, you will see the 3 golden rules for scam detection:
Data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shows that as of May 27, more than $40 million in fraud losses similar to COVID-19 scams have already been reported. A vast majority of those scams involve vacations, which makes sense, since millions of other people have had to cancel trips due to the pandemic.
Of course, reading the tips and implementing them in your life are two other things, which is why Google has also included a questionnaire on its online page that will check whether or not you can fall into the trap of a scam. One scenario, you get a text message from someone saying their child has had a twist of fate and wants help paying medical bills. They say you can help them by sending them gift cards, and if you browse the site, know that gift card scams like those are incredibly common. Click on scam!and move on to the next question.
As smart as you think it is, it’s not a bad idea to at least take a look at the Scam Spotter site. At worst, keep in mind that you were already well prepared to spot and avoid non-unusual scams.
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