Getting scammed is a very unfortunate thing to happen to anyone. If this occurs to you, there are few steps for handling such type of situation.
- Stay aware of what has happened to you and try avoiding further potential danger.
- If the scam results in you losing your money, you should try to get it back.
- Acknowledge your local authorities about being a victim of a fraudulent activity
Avoiding potential danger
To successfully avoid getting into scammers’ hands you need to be aware of scenarios that are used by tricksters to con people. An example of such a case is described on the Octapay reviews site.
Currently, the number of scams has increased during the coronavirus pandemic, here are some examples of situations, where you should be extremely cautious:
Internet advertisements about someone selling surgical masks and/or
- advertising face masks or any other kind of medical supplies for the price below the market one
- messages from impersonators of your local authority or county administration encouraging you to visit some other website
- messaged regarding the COVID-19 cure, emergency vaccination, coronavirus insurance, etc.
- individuals that go door-to-door and raise money for “charity”
General rule — don’t visit any websites that you were not aware of previously. Be very cautious when someone reaches out to you from an unknown or unusual email address. Avoid leaving your personal and bank information on any websites that you see for the first time, same with strangers that ring your doorbell. If you want to donate to charity or help your community battling COVID-19, donate to a well-known charitable foundation to make sure your money is spent the right way.
The moment you realize that you are involved in a scam scheme, you have to make sure that your actions will not make things even worse than they are. Your actions will vary from situation to situation, let’s go through all the most common scenarios, so you know what to do:
If you receive any threat messages
In case you face someone threatening you, don’t hesitate to immediately report the incident to your local police by calling 911
If you encounter strangers asking for money
If you are faced in person by a potential scammer or receive a call from an unknown number asking you for money — don’t follow a person’s requests yet try to make some kind of a recording to be able to report it and show proofs.
If scammers obtained access to your personal computer/mobile device
There have been lots of cases when people received random calls from people claiming to be their internet service provider or some other “technical support”. Scammers’ idea, in that case, is to access your computer in order to infect your device with malware that might steal your personal information, bank details, and passwords.
If it’s already happened and the offender has accessed your personal device, make sure to completely change your passwords so scammers can’t reach your accounts. Get in touch with your bank and warn them about your bank info being potentially stolen and equip yourself with a trustworthy antivirus
If you lost any money to scammers during the past twenty-four hours
Call your local police department and report the situation as quickly as possible.
If you lost access to your bank account
If you can no longer access your bank account or you think that your credit card information is compromised — reach out to your bank so they can perform all the necessary defensive actions. Don’t forget to report all transactions that you were not aware of.
If you suspect that scammers obtained your login credentials to any website
If you suspect that any of your passwords are compromised make sure to change them ASAP. In general, try not to use a single password on more than one website/service. It is highly advisable to generate random passwords and store them in specialized password keepers like 1Password or Dashlane.
If you think that you fell victim to a hacker attack
It doesn’t matter where and how you are being attacked, the best idea would be to call 911 and provide your local enforcement with detailed information about your situation.
Getting your money back
After getting conned, it is quite improbable that you will receive your money back, you certainly won’t be able to force scammers to return your money all by yourself. Contact your bank and police (if necessary) and let them help you.
Report the scam
When it becomes clear that you were scammed — always report such accidents to someone, that you think might have an impact on the situation.