“HUH?!? Who falls for this stuff!” was my exact statement (out loud, to myself, glad no one was around) when I read the alert distributed this morning by the BBB. Someone falls for these scams (even though some are SO OBVIOUS) or criminals wouldn’t continue the endeavor.
The BBB announced today that it has joined Walmart, Target, and a few others whose name is being used in an email scam promising gift cards. “People nationwide are receiving emails informing them that (the) Better Business Bureau is giving away $1,000 Visa gift cards.” HUH? The BBB giving away $1,000 Visa Gift Cards? Oh come on! That has SCAM written all over it. But one does have to wonder just how many people will in fact fall for this new round.
So let’s shelf our natural cynicism for a moment and play a game – The rules are simple – post what email based scams you’re seeing in your area and what methods your institution uses to educate consumers (and employees, let’s not forget sometimes even our employees fall for this stuff). How can we help our community navigate email landmines that can lead to data collection, future scams, ID theft, Account Takeover, and more.
Who wants to play…What email based scams have you seen recently that made YOU go HUH? And what has your institution done to help spread the message – IT’S A SCAM!