We all know that scammers often ask you to pay in ways that make it tough to get your money back. So to help you not lose your money here is a quick rundown
- Most legitimate businesses will give you time to think their offer over and give you written information about it before asking you to commit. Take your time. Don’t get pressured into making a decision on the spot. There’s never a reason to send mobile money, wire money, put money in an account, use a money transfer app or directly hand over money to someone when you barely know the details. Or have NO way of being able to prove the transaction.
- If you’ve paid a scammer, the sooner you act, the better. You may be able to stop the transaction if you act quickly! Contact your card, mobile money company or your bank right away. Tell them what happened, and ask for a “chargeback” to reverse the charges. If you paid a scammer with a wire transfer, call the money transfer company immediately to report the fraud and file a complaint. Ask for the money transfer to be reversed. It’s unlikely to happen, but it’s important to ask.
- If you gave a scammer remote access to your computer, update your computer’s security software. Then run a scan and delete anything it identifies as a problem. If you gave your username and password to a scammer, change your password right away. If you use the same password for other accounts or sites, change it there, too. Create a new password that is strong.
- One thing you should never do is trust the caller ID especially if you do not recognize it. Even if you do, be careful as scammers can make any name or number show up on your caller ID. So even if it looks like it’s an ID of a government agency or your bank it could still be a scammer calling from anywhere in the world. As, some scammers can use the internet to make calls from all over the world. You are better of blocking them. If you do not know how to, ask your phone operator.
- Do report any scams immediately to the relevant authorities. And if you’ve already lost money to a phone scam or have information about the company or scammer who called you, you can still report them. Yes, it is very embarrassing to have been duped but report it! You will not be arrested. Report the number that appears on your caller ID — even if you think it might be fake — and any number you’re told to call back. Your report will help someone down the line and will help catch scammers!
- Do know that Government agencies and banks do not call (or message) you to ask to confirm your sensitive information. They have other ways to confirm such sensitive information. So it’s never a good idea to give out sensitive information like your personal identity number, your passport number, registration card and Bank account number and PIN. And please do not press any numbers if you are transferred to an automated system!
