With the majority of people spending greater time online amidst the pandemic, hacking scams are at their highest level. Fraudsters are lurking out on social media, hacking and spoofing the accounts on social media while tricking many people into giving personal information and money. Marlo Vena staying in Kennedy Township is recently learning how persistent and sneaky these cybercriminals are. She received a text on Facebook Messenger which appeared as if it was sent by her cousin living in California.
The message mentioned the good news of a charity responsible for helping people get through this pandemic. The message mentioned a number for Marlo to text for finding out the details of this charity which sounded very fishy to her. So, she connected with her cousin who revealed that the message was not from her and that her account was hacked. So, Marlo texted this number for finding out what the fraudster had to say. Then it became crystal clear to her that it was just like these online hacking scams which say that Marlo was eligible for receiving free money.
Alarming Rise In Hacking Scams
The Commission on Federal Trade reports that hacking scams inside social media have tripled during the last year, with all the victims reporting around $120 million in losses in 2020’s 1st six months. The Business Bureau in Western Pennsylvania mentioned that the Scam Tracker of BBB has also witnessed a massive spike in the hacking scams amidst the pandemic.
Warren King, President, BBB states that the cybercriminals are extraordinary in conning people. When one cybercriminal replicates a family member or a friend, they are playing on the trust of the person. These are basically people who have been familiar with you for many years. The hackers will try to make you act without thinking.
