Today, you can do almost everything online or by phone: make an appointment with a doctor, pay bills or purchases, sign documents. Therefore, calls allegedly from a clinic or bank do not seem unusual.
However, it is important to remain vigilant and not be shy about checking information. Here are the signs that give away scammers in a conversation.
They ask you to act quickly. Scammers always call for urgent reasons. For example, they say that if you do not renew your contract with a mobile operator, tomorrow the number will be disconnected and you will not be able to use it.
This trick is needed so that the person does not have time to analyze what is happening and recognize the deception. If the interlocutor persistently rushes you and pushes you to answer, most likely, this is a scammer.
They cannot answer clarifying questions. In a conversation, scammers usually call a person by name or mention other personal information such as date of birth. They take this information from leaked databases. But they cannot know everything about the life of a potential victim.
Svetlana Zheltova, a communications specialist and founder of the Efcom.pro project, advises clarifying as many details as possible: “If they call you on behalf of a mobile operator, ask what your current tariff plan is or what your account balance is. If they call supposedly from a clinic, ask the name of your local therapist, the number or address of the clinic. You can find out the name, rank and address of the police department from the police officer and ask if you can come there in person.”
They ask you not to tell anyone about the conversation. This is often done by fake “police officers.” They may even refer to a criminal article under which you can allegedly be held liable if you tell anyone about what is happening.
A ban on communication with relatives or colleagues is a clear sign that you are being contacted by scammers. Real law enforcement officers will never contact civilians by phone with a request to participate in a secret operation.
They threaten criminal or administrative liability. In conversation, scammers can vividly describe the terrible consequences that will occur if the potential victim does not do as they ask. In particular, they can threaten with fines or prison time.
This is also a clear sign of fraudulent actions. Until a person is officially charged and it is proven that he has committed illegal actions, he cannot receive any punishment.