With the recent wildfires in Southern California, there are imposters cropping up, saying they are collecting for the Red Cross, Wildfire Relief, or other charities. Here are some tips from the Citibank website at citi.com to spot phone, text, and email imposters before giving away money or important information.
If it’s incoming, be suspicious—Scammers can fake phone numbers, email addresses and URLs. The person shown on caller ID may not be who they say they are. Don’t use an incoming number to call a company back because it may be the impostor’s number instead of the legitimate company. Stop, hang up and call the company directly.
If they ask for information—Ignore any incoming requests for information, such as account balances, debit PIN, one-time passcodes or online credentials. Remember, if you give out your information, your bank may not be able to protect you from fraud. Stop, hang up and call the bank directly using the number on the back of the credit card or statement.
If they ask for payments—A highly suspicious sign is when a caller asks to be sent a payment—especially electronically through a wire, PayPal, Zelle or other payment apps. Before sending money to an unfamiliar account, stop, hang up, and call the company directly.
Overall, it’s just common sense to stay vigilant in protecting information and accounts. If a phone call, text, or email comes asking for donations, it’s best to communicate directly with the charitable group or agency—not the scammer—to donate to the cause.
—Sandy Homicz
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