Criminals can ‘effortlessly steal every last penny in your account’ with eerie ‘Scam 2.0’ attack – five rules save you
SCAMMERS have been posing as buyers to trick and steal loads of cash from legitimate sellers on message boards, it has been revealed.
But tech experts have shared five rules to help protect your hard-earned money from these crafty criminals.
Scammers behind this con are pretending to be buyers, warned cybersecurity experts Kaspersky last Friday.
The fake buyers reach out to legitimate sellers and pretend they want to purchase an item.
But there is a proviso - the transaction must be made as a secure payment on a so-called secure site that acts as a guarantor.
The fraudster then lies to the seller by saying they've transferred the funds.
However, to access the money, the seller is told to click on a link - which unbeknown to them, is a phishing one.
The thieves also tell them to enter bank card details, before pressing the “receive money” button.
But of course, the unsuspecting victim doesn't get paid.
Instead, the swindler has emptied their account.
RUSSIAN LINK
The brazen con stemmed from Russia - with similar attacks steadily rising since evil Vladimir Putin's blood-soaked invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
"Russia is a haven for cybercriminals," warned the U.S. Department of the Treasury in a report last February.
Kaspersky's experts said they had discovered sellers also being targeted across Austria, Canada, France, Norway and Switzerland.
Phone scam statistics
Americans are bombarded with three billion spam phone calls a month. What are the figures regarding the number of victims and the amount of money lost to fraudsters
- In 2022, Americans lost some $39.5 billion to phone scams, with 68.4 million US citizens affected, according to TechReport.
- The average phone scam victim lost $567.41 each in 2021, a major rise on the 2021 figure of $182 per victim, according to Hiya.
- The majority of scams happen over the phone, with fraudsters twice as likely to call compared to text in 2021, as reports the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
- In 2021, the US saw a 56% increase in spam phone calls with 60% of those being robocalls.
- US residents experienced an average of 18 spam phone calls per month, although some experts believe the true figure may be as high as 31 per month.
- Many phone calls from reputable businesses may be marked wrongly as spam, but 38% of companies have no idea whether they’re being marked as “potential fraud” or not, according to Hiya.
- Never hand over any personal or financial information if you suspect a phone call is a scam. For instance, your bank will never ask you for such details in full over the phone.
- To cut down on spam phone calls and scams, sign up for the Do Not Call Registry. Telemarketers, by law, will need to check that list before they call you up.
- Downloading third-party apps such as Hiya, Nomorobo, or Truecaller can help filter out annoying spam calls.
- Try not to share your phone number unless you have to, especially online or with sketchy sources.
Kaspersky said that the criminals targeted listings that sellers promote through paid advertising.
"This indicates the seller is more likely to have a fat wallet and is eager to make a quick sale — making them less likely to scrutinize a potential buyer’s legitimacy," it added.
Scammers also look for sellers willing to share their phone number.
The experts have dubbed this seller-targeted con "scam 2.0", as opposed to scam 1.0 or the “buyer scam."
The latter is where a fraudster asks the victim-buyer to pay for a product through a special link - and has their money stolen.
PROTECT YOURSELF
People were initially duped into trusting these thieves as they begin with a seemingly harmless series of questions - for example why they are selling the item and what condition it's in.
Then, sellers are informed by the fake buyer that they can't pick it up in person, so it needs to be delivered following a secure payment.
The first useful tip in this scenario is to simply refuse to accept this type of payment.
You should only trust official payment resources. Be wary of any recently created domains.
Scammers often try to move the conversation to WhatsApp or Telegram as quickly as possible to bypass security measures.
Kaspersky
"Carefully examine the website address and the page itself before entering your bank card details to avoid becoming a phishing victim," the experts added.
Thus, it is much safer to sell items locally or use cash on delivery.
It's also safer not to switch to any third-party messengers - only use the platform’s built-in chat.
"Scammers often try to move the conversation to WhatsApp or Telegram as quickly as possible to bypass the security measures built into most boards that block link sharing," said Kaspersky.
And be cautious when it comes to deliveries. Scammers are likely to pressure you into sending the item through what they claim is a trusted service.
Finally, if you use a virtual bank card, make sure, when selling an item, there are no funds on that card - so there is no money for the fraudsters to steal.
