It hurts getting dumped. But do you know what hurts more than that? It’s getting scammed and losing money in your bank account.
Scammers are out there, courting us until we give them our personal information, which they’ll use to steal our money. Tulad ng manlolokong ex mo na pinaglaruan lang ang feelings mo dati.
According to a report by the US Federal Trade Commission, $143 million was lost from more than 21,000 cases of romance and dating scams in America last 2018. The numbers have increased since 2015, which had 8,500 case reports and $33 million stolen.
But the more important concern now is. How do you protect yourself?
‘Eto and mga tips para maiwasang ma-fall sa mga love scams, na “˜di lang masakit sa puso, kundi rin sa bulsa. Ito ang ilan sa mga paalala mula sa mga kaibigan natin sa BDO ngayong buwan ng Feb-ibig.
Signed, sealed, delivered!
This is a common scam that you should beware of.
Pwede kang makatanggap ng text message na nagsasabing merong bulaklak o Valentine’s gift na ide-deliver sa “˜yo.
Nakalagay sa text ang iyong pangalan, isang order tracking number, at isang link papunta sa isang website kung saan mo pwede makita ang details ng package. Siyempre, curious ka kung ano ba itong Valentine’s gift na ito. So you will go to the website link.
But, if you go to the website link to check your package, it will then ask for your personal information. They will say that it’s needed for them to deliver your package. Sometimes, they’ll also ask for your credit card number, in exchange for an additional special gift.
Love Note #1: “˜Wag basta i-click ang mga pekeng website
Scammers use fake websites. They’ll copy the design of bank websites to fool you. Then they’ll use the fake website to get your personal information or your username and password of your online banking.
This is called phishing. So always check the website address if it’s correct. It’s better if you will type directly the address and not click the links in your email.
To fight phishing, iniiwasan ng maraming kumpanya, lalo na ang mga bangko na gaya ng BDO, na magpadala ng mga text o email na may website link.
Remember that, BDO will NEVER send a text or email asking you to verify your account. If you receive this kind of message, then please report it to [email protected].
Matchy matchy!
Do you use dating apps? If so, then be careful.
Scammers create fake profiles in dating apps. They will use a good-looking photo and pretend to be someone decent and interesting. So, you will talk to them.
Once they have your trust, they’ll mention that they have financial problems. This can be about their family, or their business, or a relative who is sick.
Gagawa siya ng kwento para makahingi sa ‘yo ng pera bilang tulong sa problema niya. They will ask you to deposit money in their account, or worse… ask you personal information, so they can hack your account. So, be alert! “˜Wag ma-fall sa mga ganyang panloloko.
Love Note #2: Don’t share personal information, lalo na sa hindi kilala.
Don’t trust people easily, or else you can become a victim.
Cybercriminals are always out there, not just during Valentine’s season, but all year round. They’ll pretend that they’re interested to get to know you, but in fact, they’re just trying to get personal information from you.
Or, they’re just getting your trust and sympathy, so that they can ask or borrow money from you — which they don’t have plans of paying back. So always be careful!
Maging alisto sa inyong mga nakakahalubilo, online man o offline. Wala namang problema na mag-share kayo ng mga kwento ukol sa isa’t isa, pero “˜wag ang inyong sensitibong impormasyon na dapat kayo lang ang nakakaalam, tulad ng account usernames, passwords, at one-time passwords (OTP).
“˜Wag na wag i-share ang mga sensitibong impormasyon kahit kanino, kahit sa kamag-anak, malapit na kaibigan, o kahit sa nagpapakilalang taga-BDO. Tandaan: hinding-hindi hihingin ng BDO ang inyong personal na impormasyon.
Love Note #3: Spread the love!
Iwasan ang mga walang pusong mga scammer. They are always out there, and they don’t take a rest. So, you should always be careful and alert.
But more than this, you should also tell your family and friends about these lessons above. Spread the love and help them also how to avoid scammers and cybercriminals.
Share them this article. Para sama-sama natin labanan at iwasan ang online scams.
Disclosure: BDO is a content partner for this article.
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