How to Spot Scams and Protect Yourself

Scammers look for any way to obtain personal information and access financial accounts.
They use social media platforms like Instagram®, Twitter® and Facebook® and make phone calls, emails and text messages. They pose as friends, family members and co-workers and even pretend to be employees from your financial institution — anything to trick you into giving them your personal information.

These are what is known as “spoofing” techniques, and they are why it is important to remember to never give out your personal or financial information, especially your online banking usernames, passwords or other account access details.

There is no reason to be alarmed. But it is important to be aware. Common identify theft/spoofing scams include:

  • SMiShing: Have you ever received a text message from an unknown sender? This could be a Cyberfraud scammer attempting to steal your information through a scam called SMiShing. A text message may appear like it’s a legitimate message from your financial institution that is asking you to take action. A common type of SMiShing is a phony fraud alert from your financial institution requesting to confirm potential fraudulent charges on your account. The message may even advise you to call the phone number provided to discuss any potential account issues. SMiShing attempts will often have an attached link, which could take you to a website that looks real but isn’t. If you log in, the scammers could gain access to your username, passwords and financial information.

  • Vishing: When your phone rings, it’s hard to determine who’s on the other end. If it’s someone you don’t know, it could be a scammer attempting Vishing. The scammer may claim to be an affiliate of your financial institution, Social Security office, Internal Revenue Service, law enforcement or even offering an unsolicited loan. In order to confuse victims, scammers will often spoof phone numbers, such as a financial intuition, to appear legitimate. Once you’ve been caught off guard, the scammers will persuade you to share personal or banking information.

  • Phishing: A commonly used when a scammer sends fake emails to trick you into giving them your personal information. This type of scam is an attempt to steal your passwords, account numbers or Social Security number. The information is useful to scammers to gain access to email accounts, bank accounts and more. Emails can look like they are from well-known or trusted companies but aren’t. Often, Phishing emails trick you into clicking on a link or opening attachments that could lead to compromised personal or financial information.

Protecting Yourself

Given the different ways scammers can try to obtain your personal information, it’s important to protect yourself. Here are some best practices to follow:

  • Keep all your personal information, passwords, usernames and PIN numbers to yourself.

  • Never click on any links in text messages or emails from unknown senders.

  • Never respond to suspicious emails or text messages.

  • Never download anything from unknown sources.

And remember, VyStar will never call you to ask for you code word or passwords.