Scams This Week 8/30/22

August 30, 2022

Scammers don’t even have to talk to you directly to victimize you. A common type of “cold contact” happens through emails.

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Phishing Emails: These emails are made to look like they came from a known reputable source. It could be a service or business like Geek Squad, Norton, Amazon, or someone you know like your supervisor, or even your spouse. The key is the scammer is posing as a person or organization you trust.  The content of the email is about an action required and is usually a response to “suspicious activity” on your account, or alerting you of a purchase you did not make.  The email will likely say External in the subject line and will not be from the email you know. But it is designed to instill a quick fear reaction.

There are multiple iterations of how the scam will play out depending on the target's response. The email could contain Spyware that infects your computer, take you to a site where you need to enter personal and banking information, or provide a number to call which is to the scammer.

  • Never call numbers provided in emails: Look them up yourself and call the actual business.
  • Never click a suspicious link.
  • If the email is just a name hover the cursor over the name to see the actual email address.
  • Always question, and then confirm before clicking or providing money or information due to an email.

You can contact Det. Thorne on Facebook or follow @DetThorneBPD on Twitter.

Find more scam prevention tips on our website.

Contact: Boise Police Media Relations

BPDMedialine@cityofboise.org

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