Latest / Challenges of Faith Radio Program / Did u spot the person trying to deceive U? Ep 3384

Transcript

Did u spot the person trying to deceive U? Ep 3384 · Challenges of Faith Radio Program

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  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Challenges of Faith Radio Program. I'm Gary McKenz.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for joining. Thank you for joining. I'd like
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  Speaker 1: to acknowledge God and you, our listeners, here on episode 3384.
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  Speaker 1: The topic for today is deception and scams. And I'm
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  Speaker 1: sure that sometime in your life, whether it's personal or professional,
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  Speaker 1: that You've come across individuals who have deceived you, attempted
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  Speaker 1: to deceive you, or have tried to lay out some
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  Speaker 1: type of scam on you. But how about when you're
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  Speaker 1: searching online and you're coming across those individuals who are impersonators? Yes, yes, yes, impersonators.
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  Speaker 1: So let's talk about it today. Are you planning to
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  Speaker 1: pay a bill online? Well, before you begin, you want
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  Speaker 1: to start searching for the company's payment site. You want
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  Speaker 1: to know that dishonest companies sometimes use paid search ads
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  Speaker 1: to trick you into paying them instead of the company
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  Speaker 1: or agency that you're looking for. Now, think about it.
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  Speaker 1: You're talking about some guy, some lady, some lady, some
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  Speaker 1: guy behind that human trying to deceive you and trying
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  Speaker 1: to get something out of you. You know it's true.
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  Speaker 1: But the question is, how does it happen? Think about it.
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  Speaker 1: You need to pay a bill so you search online
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  Speaker 1: using a search engine irrespective of what the search engine is.
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  Speaker 1: Let's say it's a Google search. Or let's say it's
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  Speaker 1: Bing for the company's payment site. In this example from
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  Speaker 1: the Federal Trade Commission versus Doxo Inc., the top result
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  Speaker 1: looks like it belonged to a well-known lab company, but
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  Speaker 1: it's a paid search text ad. It's going to end
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  Speaker 1: up taking you to another company's site And then when
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  Speaker 1: you click on the link and you go to the
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  Speaker 1: company's site, you don't realize it doesn't have a relationship
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  Speaker 1: with the lab company. And then when you go to
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  Speaker 1: pay your bill, the company may add additional fees that
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  Speaker 1: you didn't expect. Well, according to the Federal Trade Commission's complaint,
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  Speaker 1: DOPSO using search engines such as Google Search or Bing,
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  Speaker 1: what they did was misrepresent that it was an official
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  Speaker 1: payment channel for companies and agencies including LabCorp, AT & T,
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  Speaker 1: and state toll authorities. So the question becomes, how can you,
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  Speaker 1: we're talking to you now, because you don't want to
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  Speaker 1: become a victim, do you? Whether it be a relationship
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  Speaker 1: or some type of crime. So how can you make
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  Speaker 1: sure you're going to the real payment site? Well, the
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  Speaker 1: first thing you want to do is scroll past the
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  Speaker 1: paid search results to help make sure you have the
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  Speaker 1: right website or contact information. Then you want to type
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  Speaker 1: the company's website address, if you know it, directly into
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  Speaker 1: your browser to find the right payment site. But think
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  Speaker 1: about it. So if you see a bad business practice,
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  Speaker 1: go ahead and let the Federal Trade Commission know about it.
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  Speaker 1: And you can do it at reportfraud.ftc.gov. And since we're
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  Speaker 1: talking about a scam, a fraud, how about that unexpected
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  Speaker 1: package that you just received? Think about it. Could it
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  Speaker 1: be a brushing scam? Well, the Federal Trade Commission staff
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  Speaker 1: had laid it out. They asked the same question. Did
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  Speaker 1: you get a package you didn't order? Because it could
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  Speaker 1: be a brushing scam where a scammer, you know, again, somebody,
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  Speaker 1: some man, some woman, some woman, some man trying to
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  Speaker 1: deceive you, trying to trick you. But it could be
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  Speaker 1: a brushing scam where a scammer uses your name. And
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  Speaker 1: what they end up doing is leaving a fake review
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  Speaker 1: for that package that you didn't even order. It could
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  Speaker 1: also be a sign that someone has or is looking
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  Speaker 1: to steal your personal information. And so it begins with
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  Speaker 1: an unexpected package that looks like it's from a known company.
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  Speaker 1: Let's say like Amazon or from a personal business that
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  Speaker 1: you've never even heard of. The package is addressed to you,
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  Speaker 1: and recent reports that's come to the Federal Trade Commission
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  Speaker 1: says that it usually has something cheap and random inside,
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  Speaker 1: like baby wipes, toothpaste, or seeds. You know, S-E-E-D-S. But
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  Speaker 1: the question you've got to ask and answer yourself, why
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  Speaker 1: would someone send you something like that? Because you've got
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  Speaker 1: to remember now, scammers, you know, those who are trying
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  Speaker 1: to trick you, deceive you, mislead you, They do this
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  Speaker 1: so that they have a validation of delivery. Then they
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  Speaker 1: end up using your name to place fake reviews online
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  Speaker 1: about their business to brush up their sales. And sometimes
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  Speaker 1: the sender might leave a note with a QR code
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  Speaker 1: inside the package. And it might say to scan to
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  Speaker 1: find out who sent the package or to go ahead
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  Speaker 1: and process the return. But you need to think about it.
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  Speaker 1: Scanning could take you to a phishing website. And I'm
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  Speaker 1: not talking about one you go out and get the
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  Speaker 1: fish that you eat. But it could take you to
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  Speaker 1: a phishing website designed to, guess what, steal information like
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  Speaker 1: your credit card numbers, your usernames, or your password. And
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  Speaker 1: if you did receive a package that you know you
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  Speaker 1: didn't order, change your passwords and all your online shopping
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  Speaker 1: accounts in case they were compromised. And if the package
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  Speaker 1: came from Amazon or another online marketplace, go ahead and
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  Speaker 1: message the platform so that they can investigate removing the
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  Speaker 1: seller And while you're doing all that, go ahead and
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  Speaker 1: take a moment to check your credit weekly for free
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  Speaker 1: at annualcreditreport.com. You want to make sure you're monitoring the
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  Speaker 1: information in your credit report because you want to look
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  Speaker 1: for signs of identity theft. Know the law where you
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  Speaker 1: live at. Know it. Because you don't need to return
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  Speaker 1: things you didn't order. And you don't have to pay
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  Speaker 1: for them either. But you want to be cautious about
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  Speaker 1: using the product because after all, You don't even know
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  Speaker 1: who sent it to you. You know it was true.
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  Speaker 1: And then finally, for the veterans, you know the veterans
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  Speaker 1: who are trying to protect the country here in the
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  Speaker 1: United States? Do you even know how to spot a
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  Speaker 1: postcard scam that's targeting them? Think about it. Veterans across
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  Speaker 1: the country have reported getting postcards in the mail saying
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  Speaker 1: that they or their spouse might qualify for extra monthly
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  Speaker 1: veterans benefits. But the veteran savings program mentioned in the
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  Speaker 1: mail doesn't actually exist. Guess what? You got it right.
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  Speaker 1: It's a lady or a guy, guy or lady, just
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  Speaker 1: a scammer fishing for personal or financial information. But the
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  Speaker 1: question you got to ask is, so that you can
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  Speaker 1: know how to prevent it, how does it work so
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  Speaker 1: that you can at least avoid it? Well, what normally
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  Speaker 1: happens is the scammers often pretend to be affiliated with
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  Speaker 1: the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, you know, the VA.
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  Speaker 1: But in this new twist, scammers are mailing postcards to
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  Speaker 1: veterans promising extra money through a veteran-saving program. Remember, it's
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  Speaker 1: not a real program. The postcard might list the state
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  Speaker 1: you're living in and mention real VA benefits like CHAMPA
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  Speaker 1: or TRICARE for life. And the reason why is so
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  Speaker 1: they're hoping to seem more real. And the message tells
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  Speaker 1: you to call right away or risk losing out. Think
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  Speaker 1: about it. The scammers always hope you'll act quickly rather
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  Speaker 1: than pause, you know, and think about it and do
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  Speaker 1: some research. Because their goal is to, you guessed right,
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  Speaker 1: deceive you, trick you into calling and sharing personal information
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  Speaker 1: like your invaluable social security number or your invaluable bank
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  Speaker 1: account details. So if you get a postcard like this,
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  Speaker 1: don't respond. Because legitimate VA communications are not going to
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  Speaker 1: pressure you to respond immediately or give sensitive information over
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  Speaker 1: the phone. And what you want to do is contact
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  Speaker 1: the VA directly, especially if you have questions about your benefits.
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  Speaker 1: And always use a number you know is real, never
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  Speaker 1: the one in the postcard. You want to start with
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  Speaker 1: the VA Benefits Hotline. And you can call them at 1-800-827-1000.
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  Speaker 1: And while you're calling them, don't forget to spread the
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  Speaker 1: word because scammers typically don't just contact one person. And
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  Speaker 1: you know what? Sharing this advice can help others in
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  Speaker 1: your community look out and avoid the guy or the
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  Speaker 1: lady trying to scam you. If you want to have
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  Speaker 1: more updates on the latest scams like this one, go
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  Speaker 1: to militaryconsumer.gov. I know you're on your way there.