Scams are big business for criminals, but if it seems like they target only the inexperienced, we’ve got news for you.
There’s bad news if you think experience could make you immune and impervious to the moves of scammers infiltrating your inbox and phone’s text messages folder, because anyone can get affected.
While some people may be better at handling and reading the vibe on some messages, the reality of scams and scammers is that their words can affect anyone, with so many reasons flagging that possibility. Surprise. Urgency. Not checking the message properly and accidentally falling for the content inside said message.
“Anyone can be fooled by scammers and the problem is growing as reported by Scamwatch,” said Mark Gorrie, Senior Director for NortonLifeLock in the Asia Pacific region.
“Scammers are getting more and more sophisticated in how they are targeting Australians,” he said. “This includes legitimate looking texts and robocalls and asking you to call a phone number adds a certain legitimacy to the scam.”
Scam texts with the obvious spelling error and poor grammar are still a thing, but in the past year, we’ve seen scam messages that grow ever more convincing, making it ever more difficult to work out how to recognise a scam. When there are more words and more need for a complete sentence, scammers hailing from other parts of the world may struggle to build a complete sentence, but in the space of a short text message, those needs change, and the abrupt nature of phone messaging means they may get away with more.
In the case of the Flubot messages sent to nearly everyone this year, but mostly targeted at Android phones, some of those messages were so short, they could have been more convincing, aside for a link that was clearly dodgy.
Still, this information is necessary to help the every day user understand just what they’re being sent, what is going on, and why they shouldn’t click on the link and fall for the line. It can happen to anyone and everyone, making the education ever important.
“It is possible for anyone to be fooled by a scam because so many scams can look and feel so real,” said Alex Merton-McCann, Cyber Safety Ambassador for McAfee in Australia.
“Savvy scammers also know how to press our buttons,” she said. “They understand that a successful scam needs to elicit an emotional response. Whether it’s the joy of winning money or finding romance online or the fear of potentially fraudulent activity in our bank account, these emotions coupled with a sense of urgency from the scammer, will often prompt a response by the recipient.”
As such, it’s relatively easy for anyone to fall for a scam, potentially becoming a victim and yet another number in the list.
While there’s no sure fire way to protect yourself, being cautious seems to be the one consistent way to stay on guard, whether that means reading every email or text carefully, particularly if it comes from a contact you don’t know, or listening to a caller you’re not familiar with, even if it’s from a local number. With emails, scammers can be convincing with urgency, with SMS even more so. In phone call scams, Australian numbers can be spoofed to make you think you’re not just getting yet another robo-call or a scam caller from an overseas call centre.
There are numerous ways for scammers to lend the idea of legitimacy to their actions, and almost no way for you to tell without paying close attention. So do that.
Pay close attention to your inbox, your message, and your phone if you don’t want to get caught, because anyone can, and you’d hate it to be you.
