FBI warns NJ, PA residents of 2 dangerous holiday scams
Officials with the FBI are alerting those in New Jersey and Pennsylvania of two dangerous scams.
And while you may think these scams are easy to spot and there's no way anyone could fall for them, countless people's lives are turned upside down as a result of these fraudsters every year.
Romance Scams
As the holidays approach, the FBI says to be particularly careful not to fall for romance scams.
In romance scams, a criminal uses a fake online identity to gain a victim's affection and trust. The scammer then uses the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim.
Typically, a scammer will work to establish a relationship as quickly as possible, endear himself to the victim, and gain trust. Scammers will often seem genuine, caring, and believable, and may propose marriage, but will likely use any number of excuses to avoid actually meeting in person. At some point, the victim will be asked to give the scammer money, sometimes under the guise of needing cash or gift cards for a medical or personal emergency.
Keep in mind that scammers can easily go through social media accounts and harvest lots of information about you, even on verified platforms like dating websites or apps, which may make the fake relationship seem that much more genuine.
Experts say if someone wants to build a relationship with you, proceed cautiously, do your homework, and never send money or gifts to someone that you've never met.
Ransomware
Also around the holidays, the FBI says you need to be aware of ransomware attacks.
Ransomware is a type of malicious software — or malware — that prevents you from accessing your computer files, systems, or networks and demands you pay a ransom for their return.
You can fall victim to ransomware simply by opening an email attachment, clicking on an ad, following a link, or even visiting a website that's embedded with malware. This time of year, be cautious of emails or text messages regarding package deliveries or purchases that you may or may not have made.
Once the code is loaded on a computer, it will lock access to the computer itself or data and files stored there. More menacing versions can encrypt files and folders on local drives, attached drives, and even networked computers.
Most of the time, you don’t know your computer has been infected. You'll discover the problem when you can no longer access your files or you see messages demanding ransom payments.
Again, do your homework — for example, if you are not expecting a package delivery, don't click on an email that says you are.
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