NPD FACEBOOK POST 9.19.14 - Phishing Scam Tips
Hi Everyone,
Well – we 
made it through another week! The weekend weather looks great, but it was noticeably cooler this morning – I’m afraid it’s time to break out the jackets & sweat shirts!!
Being Friday, id like to offer out our NPD Friday Tip!... The Naugatuck PD from time to time takes calls regarding possible scams through the internet. We discuss these issues at many of our community and neighborhood watch meetings, but thought I would cover some tips for all of our facebook friends…straight from your friendly NPD Expert Fraud Investigators (AKA: “Cops”).
First thing is to know what “Phishing” is … No its not a hip new outdoor sport – Phishing is a type of scam in which an email pretends to be from a bank or other financial institution in which they try to trick you into providing your personal information. Scammers use this info to then withdraw money from your bank account or to steal your identity. A red flag should come up if an email indicates that the issue is “Urgent”, as Phishing emails often indicate sense of urgency such as a claim that “unauthorized charges” were made on a credit card and that you need to immediately verify your information.
Now – I will say that these lowly creatures that “Phish”, not only try and scam you posing as a big bank, but they can also slither a little further below the barrel and hack into your personal email and start to contact your friends asking for money or personnel info…This , by the way is an excellent reason to hang up on any relative asking you for money, as from this day forward you can all claim that you were just being safe and trying to prevent a potential scam!!...
So, lets review and look at a couple things that might tip you off that someone may be trying to scam you through “Phishing”.
- A caller tries to obtain personal information like Social Security Numbers or bank account numbers… Be suspicious as a bank will NEVER as you for their own bank account numbers
- If the caller is pushy or flat out rude… or indicates the issue is urgent …the best thing to do is tell the caller your like to call them back – many times they will simply hang up or scare you into thinking that if you disconnect there will be some type of repercussion
– again, any reputable business will not treat customers like this.
- If a message is received through your email, look for spelling errors, bad grammar, threats or links in the messages that automatically connect you to other sites.
- Be careful not to open attachments on any suspicious emails, as these often contain viruses
So, that does it – this was our Friday Tip to get you through the weekend! Please remember that if something doesn’t sound or feel right, it probably isn’t – Always listen to your gut (By the way, mine is telling me it’s about time to have a “D Word”!!)… Please be cautious about the personal information you give out and if you are in question, we have Expert Fraud Investigators (AKA: “Cops”) here ready to help you… we are always just a call away!!
Thanks and please have a happy and safe weekend!