Bridge Magazine, February 2020

Just after Christmas, a church member (let’s call her Brenda, though that isn’t her name) received an email claiming to be from me, asking her for a “favor” [sic].

Being a very kind lady, Brenda ignored the American spelling and offered to help, and was asked to go to Tesco and buy four £50 gift cards, take photos of the codes and PIN on the back, and email them, so that “I could give my niece a Christmas present.”

Thankfully Brenda wasn’t able to go through with it – and a relative realised something fishy was going on, and prevented her falling victim to a scam.

Subsequently, I’ve discovered several people in the Upton area have been contacted by email scammers pretending to be me, and so I thought that I’d write a slightly different type of article this month to draw attention to the situation, and hopefully reduce the likelihood of it happening again!

So here’s a quick guide to making life as tough as possible for the scammers!

1)     Beware the common email scams!

• “The Nigerian Scam” – a prince / pastor / politician needs your bank account details to get money out of a war-torn African country.
• The “Can you do me a favor?” request email. This is very common in businesses and community groups eg churches.
• Blackmail scams: Send money now to avoid arrest for unpaid taxes, or looking at illegal pornography.
• Threat-based scams, eg, “Someone paid me to kill you”
• The email Greetings card (don’t click the file, its probably got a virus in it)
• Too good to be true scams, eg The lottery win, or that gorgeous-looking person who canted you through your internet dating site, who needs cash to come to the UK to meet you in person.
• Phishing email scams – usually pretending to be from a bank.
• “Your computer is infected, download this file now to fix it”
• “I’ve lost my passport and need money to help me get back to the UK”

For an even longer list, visit this website. And remember they’re always coming up with something new, so be sceptical!

2) A spotters guide to scams.

Be suspicious of emails containing bad grammar, misspelt words, and Americanisms! A lot of scammers are based outside the UK and English may not be their first language!

Look at the email address. If the email claims to be from someone you know, make sure it’s the email address the person normally uses. If it isn’t, be suspicious!

Beware emails that attempt to move you to action by tugging on your hearts strings, making you feel guilty, or stupid.

Get a second opinion. Copy the first sentence of the email and the word SCAM into Google and see what Google finds. If that doesn’t reveal anything, also ask a friend or family member to look at the email for you. And if the email claims to be from a friend or your boss or the vicar, telephone them to double-check the details!

Finally, will the money you send be traceable? Are you paying into a recognised bank account, or is it something anonymous like Bitcoin or gift vouchers? I read about one scammer who pretended to be an Inland Revenue investigator chasing unpaid taxes. Amazingly, he asked to be paid in iTunes vouchers. Even more amazingly, people paid him!

 

3) Reporting a scam email.

If you receive an email that looks like it might be a scam:

• Don’t reply to it.
• Don’t click any links or open any attachments in it.
• Do report it to the email company that was used to send you the email. (Nearly all email suppliers have a system allowing you to report scam emails. They can then close the email address down.)
• If you’ve sent money to a scammer, it to the police via ActionFraud
• If in doubt, call the Citizens Advice UK helpline: 0300 330 3003.

4) Where do scammers get names and email addresses from?

There are huge lists of email addresses and other personal details for sale in the darker corners of the internet. However, scams like the one Brenda nearly fell for, work best when sent to networks of people who know each other, eg businesses, community groups and churches. To get a list like that, scammers infect a computer with a virus that steals the person’s email address book. A quick search of the address book would reveal my title (Reverend), and they could then send the email to everyone in the address book in my name.

5) How can I prevent my data from being used like this?

The key is to keep your computer up to date. Microsoft no longer supports Windows Vista, XP or Windows 7, so if your computer uses these operating systems, you are vulnerable and really should consider updating it to Windows 10. It is still possible to do this for free, but if you’re unsure how to do it, it’s best to ask a knowledgeable friend or relative. The classified section of this magazine also has details of some local IT companies that can help with upgrades, and who can also help you out if you think your computer has a virus.

But even if you’re using Windows 10, you need to make sure your antivirus is running and up to date. That should happen automatically as Windows 10 has one built-in (it’s called Windows Defender), but it’s always best to check. To do this, type “Windows Security” into the search box in the bottom left-hand corner of your screen, and click on the Windows Security app link that appears. This will open a “Security at a glance” page, which will tell you if there are any problems that need attention.

Whilst there are several other things you can do to make your computer even more secure, installing Windows 10 and making sure your antivirus is running, is the best way to protect your data, and to protect your friends and family from being exploited by scammers.

 

Barry Unwin Jan 2020