How To Spot a Scam

Lately there seems to have been an increase in scams via telephone and e-mail that have been inundating everyone. Our Communications Committee members have noticed an influx of attempted scams in their personal lives which is prompting this bulletin as a pro-active measure to keep our members informed. Hopefully none of our members have fallen for any of the scams that you are being presented with.If you receive a telephone call from a person with a heavy foreign accent claiming to be from Microsoft and having identified a problem with your computer it is a scam. Hang up!If you receive an e-mail from PayPal or your bank or iTunes claiming there is a problem with your account. DO NOT click on any of the links offered in the e-mail. It is an attempt to install malware onto your computer which could result in identity theft or other problems. Either call the financial institution directly to verify the information in the e-mail or take the time to manually go to the financial institutions web site and check out your account. Also check how to report suspicious e-mail purportedly from that instution or business.Lately there has been e-mail circulating from members and friends that invite you to “Click Here” DO NOT. If you do your address book may be compromised which is how you ended up with this e-mail from a friend or acquaintance. Before you click on the “CLICK HERE” link send a reply to the originator to ask if they sent the e-mail? If not you will have made your friend aware that their address book may have been compromised and they can take the necessary steps to check their computer for malicious malware or viruses.Have a safe and happy summer!

Your Communications Committee

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