It seems these days that detecting and reacting to scams forms part of our everyday routines. From deleting unsolicited junk mail, to keeping an eye on our current account balance it seems no part of our lives is safe from scammers.
Just as our technology evolves, so do the techniques adopted by criminals. No longer can victims be bundled into a poor unsuspecting group which should have known better. More and more often the so called technologically savvy are being targeted and indeed affected by more and more advanced techniques.
Love them or hate them phones have become part of our culture and in a majority of cases are necessary tools to navigating everyday life. Take them away for a few hours and witness firsthand how reliant we are on these machines. It is because of this reliance and the fact that the majority of adults have one that this market is so saturated with scammers. We intend to highlight in this article the most common phone scams and provide tips as to how to avoid falling victim to them.
1. Mis-sold contracts
We all love a great deal, and it would seem to the uneducated eye that phone networks love giving us a great deal. Every week you can get X amount extra minutes or Y extra texts, but sometimes these offers really are too good to be true. A large number of you will open your first monthly bill to be met with all kinds of additional charges and fees.
These charges more often than not relate to an extremely small download allowance, charges to other networks and money back deals.
Solution: Scrutinise the terms and conditions and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
2. Identity theft
Identity theft has been a hot topic for years now and unfortunately the mobile phone market has been heavily targeted by criminals. These criminals use your personal information to open mobile phone accounts then run up as many calls as they can before you discover their wrongdoing (more often than not through a large bill landing in your mailbox).
Solution: Use exactly the same methods as you would to prevent normal identity theft. Shred important documents, install the latest anti-virus software on your computer and keep a close eye on your credit cards. For more information on protecting your identity visit the specific FTC site.
3. Ringtone crooks
Not only do cheesy ring tones annoy almost everyone in close proximity, but they are also very likely to have even worse side effects. Some free ring tones and those which are exchanged via peer to peer platforms include virus’s created by phone hackers. These viruses have the potential to both steal your personal details and corrupt your phone. If this isn’t annoying enough; some ring tone companies invite you via text to purchase more, in doing so you are often left with a rather large bill or have inadvertently signed-up to a monthly contract.
Solution: Make sure the ring tones you do get are from well known, trusted retailers and refrain from signing up via unsolicited texts or calls.
4. The bogus up sell
Coming to the end of your current phone contract? Isn’t it funny how everyone else seems to know that too. You will no doubt get a host of sales calls most trying to move you away from your current provider. You may also get a few calls from companies pretending to be your current network attempting to up-sell new contracts. In actual fact more often than not it is still a competitor or another phone store trying to switch you to their package. Either way, deception is the wrong way to start any relationship.
Solution: Request the caller recall the last phone call you made or to what number you sent your last text. If they can’t, then they aren’t your current provider.
5. Phone theft or misplacement
Reports suggest that about 3 million phones are reported lost or stolen in the USA every year. If it were just the handsets that were valuable then it wouldn’t be too bad, but more often than not massive bills are racked up in the short space of time before the accounts are frozen. Possibly more important however is often the large amounts of unprotected personal data stared on phones; from bank account details to addresses, it doesn’t take a genius to mine a worrying amount of information.
Solution: Simple. Take care of your phone, treat it in the same manner you would your wallet or credit cards. If you do want to store passwords be sure to use one of the many secure applications available.
Image: Flickr.com (Yisris)
