Don’t Fall for Fraudulent Phishing Texts, Calls, or Emails!
Phishing scams are on the rise. Learn how to recognize these scams and protect yourself from fraud!
Be cautious when someone claiming to be your insurance company, or another trusted contact like your bank, credit card, etc. calls, emails, or sends you a text asking for personal information and/or payment. It has recently been reported that people are getting calls out of the blue from someone claiming to be at their insurance company and they are asking for payments for expired insurance coverage. Your insurer won’t call you to notify you of policy cancellation. They will usually send you a written notice of cancellation in the mail.
There’s a reason that phishing has become so popular among scammers. It uses something called social engineering—a technique that relies on natural human instincts like trust, fear, greed, or the desire to help others. A cybercriminal will try to evoke these feelings in you, creating panic or other emotions that can cloud your judgment, and ask you to hand over money or other information to them. They might scare you by saying your money is at risk, inspire you with the promise of a great investment scheme, or beg you to help someone in need. In the moment, this triggers your desire to act quickly rather than think through the situation logically and calmly.
· Never share or confirm your personal details over the phone, even if the person calling is claiming to be your insurance company. No legitimate caller will ask you to do this.
· Don’t answer calls from numbers you don’t know. Let the call go to voicemail and assess it from there.
· Don’t respond to emails, texts, or social media messages asking for your phone number. This is often the first step cybercriminals take so that they can target you with a phishing call in the future.
When in doubt do not respond to these communications and directly call your insurance company or agent to confirm the status of your account.
You can learn more about how to avoid this at: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams
