Most people can spot a scam, but scammers are getting stealthier that makes them harder to spot. There are a couple of scams that you might have heard of but maybe there are some you might have encountered with no idea it’s a scam.
You might have received an email notification that seems like it’s from Amazon or Apple reporting that your account has been compromised, your order has been canceled or offering a free one-year Amazon Prime subscription by taking a survey. One of the common scams offers a free one-year Amazon Prime subscription if you complete a survey but get redirected to a website offering free Amazon gift cards that is a clear indication of being a scam.
Another common scam related to Amazon is getting a delayed or canceled order confirmation that you can double-check under your Amazon account and real cancellation notices from Amazon usually includes a picture with the name of the product. If you look at the bottom of the email and the sender’s email, this will give you some indication of scams if it isn’t a registered email with the proper domain URL.
There are also phone scams associated with Apple and Amazon where scammers will call saying there is a problem with your account then askfor a ton of personal information including your login information that can be compromised. One of the most common phone scams is getting a call to be informed that the warranty of your vehicle is about to expire sometimes claiming to be a dealership and possibly already having the information about your vehicle.
This scam is the most common as the make and model of vehicles registered in your name is public record that is how they get your personal information. If you actually try to talk to a representative, they ask you for personal information including your address, the VIN number of your car, and more that can be used for identity theft.
One tell-tale sign of a scam is that they attempt to have you volunteer your personal information that can be used to steal your identity that legit companies would ever ask for such as your complete driver’s license number, social security number, credit card numbers, and more. Another sign of a scam is getting a call with an automatic prompt to press a number to connect to a representative that is also uncommon with legitimate companies. You might have noticed when you get a spam call the number seems to be similar to yours with your region’s area code and typically the first three numbers of your own phone number that is known as spoofing.
One scam seems like an opportunity but like any scam, the only objective is to take advantage of unsuspecting people is a business opportunity or coaching scam. Business opportunity scams will have people claiming they make a high salary, and they will teach you how to achieve this goal making it seem easy for anyone to do.
They lure people in saying it will be free or low cost but once people are hooked in, they push to pay for thousands of dollars in coaching services. There are legitimate business coaching services, but the scams will make income claims with “guarantees” that will be easy. These are some scams to look out for but there are plenty of unsuspecting scams that can trick you but using your common judgment to determine whether you’re being taken advantage of.