From Scam to Success- A New Reality

A world with technology means faster shipping, simpler ways to complete tasks, and a more convenient way to connect with others. But as our society embraces new high tech tools, it also opens the door to new elaborate scams and ways people can be harmed in the process. Its pretty uncommon to not hear of the constant ways people try to take advantage of others through scams and hoaxes, and while many use the terms interchangeably, they do have their own characteristics. A scam is a tactic used to deceive people in hopes that the scammer can make a profit and make money off the person. A hoax on the other hand, is a way to deceive someone without looking for monetary gain. It’s important to know that a hoax can be used to complete a scam.

In my daily life, I have come across many scams on my phone via text or email. One of the scams I see more frequently are calls and texts stating that I have a loan consolidation that I can pay 300 a month for and that I need to call back to complete the process. By completing this scam, the person behind this was intending on getting my information and taking my money and from anyone else who got these messages. I can immediately tell it’s a scam because I do not have any loans or debts in my name. They also were not connected with a trustworthy bank, vaguely stating they were from an “approval office”. Other methods of potential scams include…

• Elaborate stories that sound too good to be true
• Request that need immediate attention or something bad will happen
• Very vague or not specific to the reader

These are signs other people can look out for when determining if they are going to get scammed. The best thing to do if a person does feel like they are getting scammed is to ignore it or report so that other people are not affected. In this day in age we have a lot to be appreciative for when it comes to the development of technology, but that also means as a society we have to keep high alert in order to protect ourselves and loved ones from losing all we have.