According to the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission, more than two million consumers reported being the victim of financial scams last year, with losses adding up to billions of dollars.
On today’s episode of Dateline: True Crime Weekly, Andrea Canning talks to NBC News’ Senior Investigative Correspondent Vicky Nguyen about what you can do to be on the lookout for scammers.
You can listen to the full episode now, for free.
Plus, read a transcript of their exchange below:
Andrea Canning: Hi, Vicky. Thanks for coming back.
Vicky Nguyen: Great to be with you.
Canning: What kind of online shopping scams should people look out for?
Nguyen: There are so many, but number one: You definitely want to make sure that when you are shopping, you’re clicking on a legitimate website. You need to look for that retailer. Enter in the website. Look at the beginning of the URL. Does it say HTTPS? The S stands for secure. It means that website is encrypted. That’s what you want, because you’re going to be entering your financial information. Number two: If it’s a site you haven’t heard of but you’re pretty convinced that it is legitimate, enter the name of that site into Google and the word “review.” Look at that site on the website Trustpilot or the Better Business Bureau, because this is where you can rely on crowdsourcing and your peers and other shoppers who’ve had an experience with the site to let you know is it a green light, should you proceed, or is it a red light, should you stop. And so I really want to caution people against clicking on any links that are sent to them that are unsolicited from an unfamiliar retailer.
Canning: Um, what about phone or text scams?
Nguyen: Andrea, as we have become more accustomed to living our lives on our phones, the scammers have kept up with that. Now they’re sending pretty sophisticated-looking texts. It’s called smishing because it stands for short message service. So, instead of phishing with email, it’s smishing with text. It follows a similar pattern -- asking you to click on a link because of this great deal or “Hey, there might be a problem with your order. Click here. We’ll sort it out.” Never click on any links that are sent to you via text or email.
Canning: Uh, all right, so you realize you’ve been scammed, what is the first thing you should do once you know this has even happened?
Nguyen: This is so important. Number one: Don’t blame yourself. You’re not the bad guy. The bad guys are the bad guys trying to take your money. You’re the victim. So the moment that you start to feel in your gut that this conversation you’re having via text, or email, or even on some of the social media messaging apps -- when it starts to take a turn and suddenly this person you’ve never met is asking you for money, or wants you to send gift cards, or give them some of your personal information, that is when you should absolutely cut off communication, stop replying. Here’s the thing: Sometimes these scammers will get really aggressive at that point. “Why aren’t you, uh, messaging me back?” That’s when you know it’s a scammer, and so, I want you to feel OK walking away. Even if they threaten or try to extort you, odds are they will most likely just move right on to someone else.
Canning: So if you have already sent money is it even possible, at this point, to get it back?
Nguyen: You know that’s the frustrating part, Andrea. You’ve got to report it right away. Time is of the essence. So you’re going to report it to your local law enforcement. If it was your bank account or your credit card that were compromised, you want to tell those companies right away because they can help stop a payment, perhaps, or they can put a freeze on your account. Uh, sometimes credit card companies can refund you. But you do also want to make sure that you report it to the FBI at ic3.gov. The letters I C and the number 3. gov and the FTC, as well, at FTC.gov. Listen, they might not always be able to help you get your money back, but what happened to you might be part of something bigger that they’re investigating. Uh, and also it helps these government agencies put together press releases to warn people about the new and emerging scams because, unfortunately, these bad guys keep trying to stay one step ahead of the consumer and ahead of law enforcement.
Canning: Wow, these scammers are getting so good, which means we have to get even better with our vigilance. Vicky, your tips are amazing. Thank you so much for coming back to the podcast to share all of this with us.
Nguyen: Love to be with you. Thank you.
