 You may think of scam calls as a pitfall of your great-grandmother or a warning at your local grocery store to be careful when sending gift cards. The hidden danger of scams in the 21st century is that they aren’t always as obvious as a far-off prince who’s having money trouble. With the rise of technology over the past few decades, a multitude of weaknesses have been identified in our online safety. Phishing is one of the most common kinds of internet scams. Phishers disguise themselves as a representative of your bank, superannuation, or insurance company to lure you into giving them sensitive information, which they can then sell or use to access your accounts. Luckily, there are ways to identify scams and avoid falling victim to them. Step One: Identify If an email you receive has any combination of the below, it may be a phishing attempt:
Additionally, if a phone call you receive has any or a combination of the below, it may also be a phishing attempt:
Congratulations, you’ve successfully identified a phishing attempt! Though this list doesn’t encompass all possible phishing scams, it gives you an idea of how they operate to convince you to fork over money or information. If you'd like to test your ability to recognise a scam, the Australian Government has a short quiz to test your knowledge. Step Two: Diving Deeper Some scams are not overtly suspect. Below are a few examples of scam premises that have risen in popularity over the past decade:
And even when scams aren’t high tech, we can sometimes let confirmation bias steer us toward belief:
Each of these prey on our situational awareness. They make sense in the context of our lives and can easily let our guard down. Step Three: Confirmation If you believe you have found a scam but are not sure, you can go to an official source such as a website or office. Most companies will have a set phone number or email that all correspondence comes through, or a specific domain which is listed in all their email addresses. They may also have a list of information that they will never request from you, such as passwords for accounts or portals. A quick google search can help you identify if a number or email is legitimate, but you should also make sure that the source is correct before you rely on any information from it. If in doubt, call the official number of the company who supposedly reached out to you and clarify if the correspondence is legitimate. For example, let’s locate the phone number for Australian Retirement Trust (ART). First, I googled “Australian Retirement Trust”. In this case, their website showed up right away, but sometimes the first few results may be sponsored or illegitimate sites, so be sure to look for the official domain name.  I then navigated to the contact button on the top ribbon.  Here I can confirm the contact numbers or even start a live chat to ask any questions I might have.  Most companies will have their information available on their website similar to this. It’s a great way to confirm that a phone call is coming from the official source.
Step Four: Action If you identify a phishing attempt there are a few ways to resolve it. Firstly, do not:
Instead, you should:
If you suspect that you have accidentally responded to or fallen for a scam, report it to the government hotline. It’s important to be vigilant when it comes to your cyber security. That’s why it is vital to receive financial advice before accepting offers that seem too good to be true, or that came from questionable sources. If you’ve been cold called or emailed about creating an SMSF, investing, or insurances, our office can help identify the benefits and risks of acquiring those products. If you’re interested in speaking to one of our advisers, you can do so here. Comments are closed.
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