I’m sure many of us are used to hearing, "Don’t pick up the phone for unrecognizable numbers, or don’t answer emails asking for money." But nothing seems to sink in as much as the stories we share of being scammed ourselves. We wanted to share a few stories that have happened to team members, family, and friends. Don’t let yourself get scammed this new year.
Scams can come through in all sorts of ways, phone calls, emails, private messages, mail and more. Our first story depicts an email scam received. My grandmother was relaxing one day when she received a email from her 'son'; the email explained that he needed gift cards as his credit card was hacked. My grandmother, being the kind and helpful person she is, sprang into action. She immediately went to the store to purchase 3 gift cards for her 'son' to use until his cards came in the mail. The email asked her to take pictures of the gift cards (front and back) and to attach the photos to an email. Luckily for us, my grandmother did not know how to attach a photo to her email through her computer.
She instead texted a picture to her son's actual phone number. When he received the gift card photos, he was very confused and asked her what they were for. It was at this point we learnt what had happened. Thankfully the scammers never got the money, and my grandmother was able to use the gift cards. One of the ways you can avoid this scam from hurting you or your loved ones is to always contact the person asking directly. Call them from your phone (typing in the number yourself), message them, or get a hold of them some other way. By doing this you can confirm if they need your help or need money. As a side note, most of your family and friends won’t ask for money over an email or text message; most would have that conversation with you in person.
The next scam story we are going to share can be more difficult to identify. This is a newer scam taking place with the use of A.I. (artificial intelligence). The scammer will call you and play a recorded message of someone you know crying, in distress, and/or panicking. The call will make it seem as though they need you to send money or provide access to something urgently to help your loved one. These recordings tend to be collected through the various calls we get, when we answer but no one is on the line (you talk to an empty line). Then by using A.I. technology the scammer can get the computer to say what they want to in the tone of your voice.
I once had a friend tell me they received a call from me, where it sounded like I was crying and needed help. They were able to beat the scammer by calling me directly to see if I was okay, they even took a picture of the call history showing me that it came up as my contact. One of the main ways to avoid this scam is to hang up the call immediately, then call the person back from your contacts or put in the number yourself (do not click the number from the call log). By calling the person yourself you can ask if they had just called you and ensure your loved one is safe. An important note to keep in mind is again that your loved ones won’t call you hysterically for money.
The final scam story we wanted to share is a newer one for 2025. This happened to one of our team members on New Year's Eve this year and has caused them to need a new debit and credit card. The scammer will call you and state your bank account has had suspicious activity on it, when they do this, they will also provide you with your personal information you would assume the bank to have (i.e. your birth date, full name, address, etc.). They will then explain to you they will call you on the banking line so that you know it is them and then they can take you through the verification process. They will then contact you from your bank's customer support line and ask you to verify your identity with the last 10 digits of your debit card. Once you have done this, they will begin to attempt to access your online banking account, and you will start receiving text notifications about forgetting your password, adding new contacts, etc.
Luckily our staff member noticed this was all very odd and ended the call. This is when the second part of the scam takes place, as the scammer will then repeatedly call your phone, making it very hard to call the bank yourself. Once the staff member was finally able to put a call through and get a hold of the bank, they were able to lock everything in their account and the scammers got nothing. However, they learnt this is the new scam coming through for the New Year, calling from the ‘bank number’. Our suggestions for how to beat this scam are to one, end any call from the ‘bank’ if you did not initiate the call (typing it in your phone yourself); however, if you find yourself talking to one of these scammers, don’t give them any card information, if they are actually the bank they would have that information already. One way to detect this scam is when they call you won't hear an automated message of "this call will be recorded for privacy and training purposes", so if you don’t hear this and they claim to be the ‘bank’, hang up.
We hope that no one will have to experience a scam, however, one of the best ways to protect yourself and prepare is by being informed. Therefore, we highly encourage everyone to chat with their loved ones and talk about scams. Talk about what is currently happening in the world and what to look out for. Come up with a safe word that only you and your family members know. Have your bank number saved in your phone, so you can call them faster in an emergency. Most importantly though, check in with your family regularly, if you are in contact regularly you will have a better idea of what your family is up to; therefore, making it less likely to be scammed by a caller saying they are in trouble. You can also sign up for various scammer prevention courses or contact your local non-emergency police number to learn more about what to look out for.
We wish everyone a safe and scam-free 2025!
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