Mystery Shopper | Mystery Shopper, Gift Card Offers Potentially Dangerous For Consumers
April 24, 2012 – 8:57 amSOUTH CAROLINA (WMBF)Officials with the Department of Affairs in thePalmetto Stateare coming together to warn residents of popularoffers coming into your inboxthat could be fraudulent ways to get your personal information.
The top three fraudulent offersare all digitally involved, and if you’re not careful, you could easily be the next victim from something as simple as a text message.
Mystery Shopper :Offers like these are a dime a dozen. However, there is a new twist in this old trick.
People posing as mystery shopper seekerssend a letter and a check asking you to test the wire transfer services of a company, sometimes Western Union.
By the time you realize the check is bad, you’ve already wired the money. Remember, if a check bounces, you are responsible for paying the bank back.
Grant Recipient :Callers arephoning consumers all over the state claiming they qualify for a government grant.
You will be told topay a processing fee, mailing costs, or donate to a “charity.”
Questions to keep in mind when dealing with unsolicited phone calls:
Did you even apply for a grant? Why would you be awarded the money if you didn’t apply for it?
Legitimate grants don’t ask you to pay in order to collect.
If you pay into these scams, you are likely to be targeted again in the future.
Gift Card Winner : Consumers report receiving text messages saying they have won a $1,000 gift card.
Supposedly retailers entered shoppers into this sweepstakes when they used their credit or debit card at checkout. The catch is, you have to send $25 before you can receive the gift card.
Better Business Bureau CEO, Kathy Graham, says there are ways to prevent becoming a victim of these fraudulent efforts made by hackers. She says being aware of what is going on, is the first step.
“If you don’t initiate contact, your bank or any of these random places aren’t just gonna pick you out of the blue and send you a hundred dollar gift card,”" Graham said.
Many people have become targets for the unwarranted messages. Graham says if the hackers use the messages to gain entry into someone’s personal information, it is illegal.
“The ones that are truly scamming where they’re sending links that you click on and you either get a virus or someone hacks into your computer. Now that is obviously illegal. And those are the ones you have be very careful,” Graham said.
Graham says prevention is not easy with cases such as these. Digital advancement is also on the rise, making it harder to distinguish the source of the message.
“Short of changing your telephone number, there really is no way. You can block them. So once they start coming in, block that number, block that number, block that number. But again, the best adviceI can give {you} is don’t answer it. Don’t open it if you don’t know who it’s from,” Graham said.
Graham says the hackers do not necessarily target a particular demographic group when sending out text messages, they pick random numbers. Once a response is received from a random number, whetherthe victimclicks on the link in the text or calls the number back, the hacker is most likely able to gain access into a person’s private information.
The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs wants all residents and visitors to the state to be aware of these consumer alertsand potential dangers when dealing withfraudulent businesses or individualsover the phone or online. Visit their website for more information.
Click here to view rest of article from original site
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
Tags: mystery shopper
