Spot an impostor before it’s too late

Scams

What are some of the most common signs that the person behind the screen or on the other end of the line is not who they say they are?

April 18, 2024
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5 minutes. Light

Our world is becoming more impersonal as it becomes more digitally focused. And because we can’t see the person or organization on the other end of an email, social media message or text message, it’s easier for scammers to pretend to be something or someone they’re not. This is identity theft fraud and is quickly becoming one of the highest sources of revenue for cyber criminals. According to the FTC, scammers posing as businesses and governments earned $1.1 billion from their victims in 2023.

Identity theft fraud can take many forms, but if your eyes are on the telltale signs of a scam, your personal information and hard-earned money will remain under lock and key.

What does identity theft fraud look like?

Like most frauds, identity theft scams are designed to trick you into sending bad actors money or personal/financial details that they can sell on the dark web or use to commit identity fraud. Phishing is perhaps the most obvious type of identity theft fraud: a scammer contacting you pretending to be a trusted entity requesting money or information.

But there are other varieties. Fake social media accounts pose a growing challenge; used to spread scam links and too-good-to-be-true offers. Additionally, fake mobile apps might impersonate legitimate apps to collect personal information, flood your screen with ads, or sign you up for premium-rate services.

Identity theft scams are also evolving. According to the FTC, they are increasingly confusing channels and techniques, so much so that “a fake Amazon employee could transfer you to a fake bank or even to a fake FBI or FTC employee for fake help.”

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not just seniors who are at risk for identity theft scams. Research in the UK found that people under 35 are more likely to be targeted and fall for this type of fraud. With that in mind, watch out for these warning signs:

• Requests for money: A message via email, text or DM from someone claiming to be a close family member or contact. They will require urgent financial assistance due to some excuse, such as they are stranded abroad or need medical assistance. Scammers can take control of legitimate social media and email accounts to make it look like it’s really your friend/family contacting you.
• Remote Access: In tech support fraud, an official from a technology company, telecommunications company, or other seemingly legitimate organization requests access to your computer for some made-up reason, such as because it has been compromised by malware.

• Accessing your account: A police officer or a government official suddenly contacts you claiming that the money in your account needs to be analyzed as part of an investigation into money laundering, drug trafficking, or some other serious crime. They offer to “keep him safe” by moving him elsewhere.
• Pressure: The person on the other end of the phone, email, text message or social media channel urges you to take action immediately. They will try to panic you into making a decision without thinking about it, such as sending money to a friend in danger or urgently transferring it to a government official. It’s a classic social engineering technique, sometimes even conducted in person or with a potentially scary twist courtesy of artificial intelligence tools that can be co-opted to perpetrate virtual kidnapping scams.

• Fake couriers withdrawing money: An official offers to send a courier to your home address to collect cash, cards, valuables or PINs under all kinds of false pretenses, such as helping your relative out of trouble or solving a shady payment on your credit card credit.
• Account security warnings: These fake notifications often ask you to “confirm” your details first – another way scammers can get hold of your personal and financial information.

• Unusual messages: Phishing emails often contain inconsistencies that identify them as identity theft fraud. Scammers will try to spoof the display name to impersonate the sender. But by hovering over the name, you can see the masked email address underneath, which may appear unofficial. Keep in mind, however, that scammers can also take control of legitimate email accounts and use caller ID spoofing to make it harder to tell the real from the fake.
• Fake Delivery Problems: Legitimate-looking postal/logistics companies require you to pay a small fee or hand over your bank details to allow safe delivery of the non-existent package. In other scenarios, scammers will do it present itself as a well-known delivery service and alert you to “problems” with your package.

• Gift Cards: You are asked to pay one-time fines or fees for purchasing high-value items or gift cards. The scammer wants you to do this rather than a bank transfer, as it is much harder to trace.
• Fake Subscription Renewals: These may require the scammer to connect to your computer to renew your subscription or process a non-existent refund.

• Fictitious freebies or discounts: These require you to pay a small “fee” to claim them. It goes without saying that there are no rewards or discounts as this is simply a variation of upfront fee fraud.
• Unusual language: Another telltale sign of phishing attempts could be poor grammar and spelling or imprecise language in messages, although with scammers using generative AI to create their fake messages, this is becoming less common.

Be careful

Remember, identity theft scams are constantly evolving, so the above list is certainly not exhaustive. The next evolution of such scams is coming thanks to AI-powered deepfakes, which can imitate the voice or even appearance of a trusted individual. These are already tricking employees into making large transfers of company funds to accounts under the control of cybercriminals. And the technology is used impersonate trusted people on social media to induce followers to make reckless investments. As deepfakes become cheaper and more accessible, they could also be used for small-scale fraud.

With any identity theft fraud, the key is: be skeptical, slow down, and independently verify that they are who they say they are. Do this by contacting the organization or individual directly, do not respond to an email or phone number listed in the initial message. And never hand over money or personal information unless you have confirmed that the contact is legitimate.