Authorities have issued an urgent alert urging individuals to halt their actions if they receive a particular type of email.
If your profession involves working with computers, it’s likely that you receive numerous emails in your inbox daily.
Even outside of work, it seems like almost every activity requires you to provide your email address, from getting a shopping receipt to connecting to train WiFi.
This results in numerous companies having access to your email address and, unfortunately, many individuals posing as trustworthy entities when they are actually attempting to deceive you.
So, how can you differentiate between legitimate contacts and scammers?
The X account Action Fraud has released guidelines on identifying potential scams.
“If you’ve received a text or email that doesn’t feel right, STOP!” the social media page posted, followed by instructions on subsequent steps to take.
They advised: “Break the contact – don’t reply, click on any links, call any phone numbers or make any payments.”
“Check if it’s genuine – don’t use the numbers or address in the message – use the details from their official website.”
There are countless scams to be vigilant about, and these fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their efforts to steal your hard-earned money.
Social media user Bo Braxton Da Savage, known as @fitbocop1914 on Instagram, shared that he discovered a ‘pretty smart scam’ that starts with victims receiving unsolicited gifts in the mail.
The issue arises because the package may appear to be from a familiar company, creating a false sense of trust.
“So what’s going to happen is, you get the package, you’re going to look at it and think, ‘Aw okay someone sent you a gift’. There’s going to be a QR code on the package or in the package,” Bo explained.
“[…] And you’re going to scan the QR code and once you scan the QR code every bit of information in your phone is going to get sent to the scammer – it’s going to send your credit card information, your bank information, your pictures, your phone numbers, your contacts. Everything that’s in your phone, after you scan that QR code, is going to get sent to the scammer.”
If you receive an unexpected package, the police officer recommends either keeping the gift or discarding it, but under no circumstances should you scan the QR code to discover the sender’s identity.