A quick moment of suspicion saved me from a scam. Here is what happened.
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Welcome to "Storytime Saturday", where we teach you through stories. In today's era of technology, we scammed through different techniques. We all think we are too smart to get scammed by scammers. I also think too, one afternoon when I almost fell for one of the tricks. I was checking my emails quickly between my tasks. I saw one from a popular online store. The subject was:
Urgent: Action required on your recent order.
I thought, did i order something and i forgot? I opened it. The email looked perfect. It had the right logo, the right colors and the legitimate looking message. It said that there was a problem with recent transaction and that my account was temporarily locked for security reasons. To unlock it, click the link below to verify my identity. As I was busy, I just wanted to fix the problem. I distracted and hovered over the link. But something look strange. I took a deep breath and did two things: - I did not click the link, instead I opened a new browser tab and went to my store's website. - I logged into my account. No messages. No locked account. No recent orders. I felt a relief. I had almost given my login details to a scammer because i was busy.
The Lesson I Learned: - Urgency is a Weapon - Never click the link - Look closely
What is the most common phishing scam you get? a) Fake delivery notifications b) Account problems c) Suspicious acting alerts d) I do not get them
Discussion Questions Have you ever had a call with a scam? What is you number 1 rule for spotting a phishing email? Who is the most scam-savvy person you know? Stay Smart, Stay Secure!