Ray warns of scams

Danny Ray, Branch Retail Manager at Southern Bank, recently presented on scams at the Kennett Rotary Club.

The first common scam deals with relationships.

“Basically, someone sends you a message saying you’re beautiful or handsome,” informed Ray. “You click on it and then they’ve got you.”

Ray continued, “It starts out as a general conversation, but you take somebody that’s a widow or widower, and they’re lonely. They’re looking for companionship.”

“They’ve heard stories about how people have met on-line, and think, maybe, this is my chance,” he added.

“They start talking and then as things progress, they get hit with, hey, my rent’s due, or I’ve got a friend who’s trying to get into the country, and they’ve got a check, but no bank account here,” said Ray. “Is there a possible way I could send this to you and you deposit it, and then send me back cash in a wire transfer or something?”

Ray shared that people from the Midwest tend to be softhearted.

“We’ll act on impulse," he stated. “A lot of scams are impulse, and they’re trying to have you make a quick decision.”

“They’re trying to trick you,” Ray added. “You find somebody lonely, or down on their luck, and they’re susceptible.”

Text messaging scams are also quite common.

“They’ll send text messages in the form of a political ad, wanting you to donate to a certain candidate’s campaign,” said Ray. “Be very cautious on that.”

“Another text scam states you’ve got a delivery from UPS, and once you click on it, they’ve got you,” shared Ray. “You have to be very careful. Know before you click.”

What happens once you click on to one of these emails or texts?

“Once they get you, they capture your phone,” Ray explained. “Some just want to watch and see what you’re doing. They have access to your camera, and to your personal data.”

Ray provided, “They’re trying to get to a credit card number, a bank account number, or a social security number.”

One of the latest scams involves QR codes.

“Say, you go to a hotel and you’re there for a meeting,” said Ray. “The meeting information is located off the lobby on a QR code.”

Ray continued, “All someone has to do is print off a QR code of what they want that’s similar, place it on the wall, and you see it, and think there’s my meeting info QR code, swipe your phone, and they’ve got you.”

“They’re now monitoring all your information,” he added.

You must be careful at the gas pump as well.

“When you go to the gas pumps, they’ve got this little tool that fits over the card reader, and when you slide your card, it reads your information.”

Ray encourages when using technology today, everyone needs to protect themselves from those who continually try to scam us.

“Get educated and be aware of these scam” informed Ray.