Posted on 08/10/22
| News Source: WMAR2NEWS
With many of us uneasy about the economy, COVID-19, Monkey Pox, and politics, it's easy to fall victim to a scam. That's because we are just not sure what to believe anymore.
Mary Powell thought she would never fall victim to a phone scam.
But when she saw her phone light up the other day, instantly, her whole world changed.
"I was at work," Powell said, "and I get a call with a girl sobbing in the background," she said. "It sounded like it could be my daughter."
Powell says she panicked.
"The only word I could make out was 'mom,' and suddenly a male voice gets on the line," she said.
"The man said something about Walmart, a parking lot, and a robbery, and I have your daughter's phone and wallet," Powell said.
He said he had her daughter and would only release her if she went to her bank and withdrew thousands of dollars in cash.
"I was very confused and panicked," she said.
But it was all a scam. It even has a name: the virtual kidnapping scam.
Powell's daughter was safe at home. Luckily, her husband texted her while all this was happening, and told her that the girl was safe.
Scams often work, get money from victims
But the truth is that it often works, just like hundreds of new scams targeting people this year.
Adam Levin is co-host of the podcast "What the Hack."
"It's always the same music, it's just different lyrics," he said.
Levin walked us through some of the top scams of 2022 so far.
LinkedIn scam
Besides the kidnapping scam, they include the LinkedIn phishing scam.
In that case, hackers try to impersonate your boss, or a higher-up at your company, to get you to wire money to someone outside the company.
"There is a sense of urgency to it and a sense that if you don't do it a contract could be lost, or a relationship could be destroyed," Levin said.
And employees worried about their job often fall for it.
Subscription renewal scam
Another top one is the subscription renewal scam.
In that case, you get an email saying you owe money to a computer or anti-virus company, because your subscription is expiring.
If you get a message like that, check your account.
Voice mail callback scam