Scammers have taken a whole new level when it comes to exploiting people to get money. The new trick that scammers are using came to light during an investigation over the fake death certificate of a living doctor.
The Indian police said that the scammers had even opened up a fake account by allegedly impersonating as the doctor’s wife to claim the insurance amount. In connection with the incident, an FIR was registered at Sector-29 police station. The complainant Deepika Bhalla told the police that she was the nominee of her husband Prashant Bhalla’s PNB Met Life Insurance policy. Deepika said that it also seems to be a case related to cyber-crime. Their policy information has also been leaked by the insurance company. However to make matters worse, the death certificate of a living person was also made by the health department. The investigation continues.
Even though there are no exact details of how this could be achieved, to stay one step ahead, it’s important to practice the following:
- Beware of fake invoices or suspicious emails. Be sure to check and verify the sender’s email address. The name may be familiar, but the email address may be a long string of unrelated characters.
- Scammers will pretend to be from an institution you are familiar with. You’ve probably received these emails or phone calls. Someone reaches out to you claiming to be from the IRS, the Social Security Administration, or another government organization. The caller says you owe money and that you must pay, or legal action will be taken.
- Scammers will tell you how to pay. 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.
- Pop-up warnings. Tech support scammers may try to lure you with a pop-up window that appears on your computer screen. It might look like an error message from your operating system or antivirus software. It might use logos from trusted companies or websites.
- Avoid phishing scams. Phishing is a cybercrime in which a person is contacted by email, telephone, or text message by someone posing as a legitimate institution to lure individuals into providing sensitive data such as banking, credit card details and passwords. Phishing emails and text messages spin a tale in order to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment.
Most people believe that they are safe and not a target for cybercriminals. However, it has become apparent that anyone can be a target. Cybercriminals have started to create sophisticated scams to trick people into giving their personal information. To stay one step ahead, it’s worthwhile investing in cybersecurity awareness training programs. That way you can become aware of how to stay away from scams, and spot the signs of one easily.