Latest Online Scams You Need To Know About | Data Breach 101 - video Dailymotion

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Welcome to Data Breach 101, a Tom's Guide limited series dedicated to smarter online decision making when it comes to your personal data. Scams are more sophisticated than ever, and the best way to protect yourself is to stay up-to-date on the most common scams out there today. From fake job offers to deepfake calls to suspicious unpaid toll texts, consider this classroom-style video your no-shame guide to becoming a pro scam spotter.

Transcript

00:00You clicked it. You panicked. Maybe you even entered your password. Don't worry, we've all

00:06been there. Today, we're tackling the biggest scams happening right now, and more importantly,

00:12how to dodge them like a pro. Scams are basically emotional landmines. They're designed to make us

00:17panic, rush, give us a sense of emergency, or maybe get way too excited about that opportunity

00:22that almost seems too good to be true. And the kicker? New tech like AI deepfakes make scams

00:28even more convincing. Last year alone, people lost nearly $12.5 billion to scams. That's

00:35billion with a B. But don't worry, after this episode of Data Breach 101, you'll know exactly

00:42what to watch for. So what are the scams you're most likely to run into online these days?

00:47Let's go through them rapid fire style. You must settle the balance within the next 12 hours to

00:54avoid severe penalties. Pay now with a link to complete payment. This one is good. It's

01:00threatening. It's realistic. But if you look closely, random number, strange URL, nothing too

01:05specific. I'm a recruiter, and we're currently looking for a part-time assistant to join the

01:11team. You can work remotely on the job, and the job only takes one hour per day, and you'll get paid

01:16up to $1,300. Guarantee you, you reach out to this WhatsApp number. They'll ask you for your bank

01:22information to pay you. Real jobs don't ask for sensitive info like this before you've even

01:28interviewed. Hey, Dad, I was just in an accident, and I need you to send me some money. I will send

01:33you a link to pay with. Imagine getting a frantic call from your loved one, only it's not them. AI can

01:41out fake voices and videos so well, it's scary. Rule of thumb, if the urgent request feels weird,

01:47double check through another channel. Don't be afraid to sound a little insensitive in order to

01:52validate that the loved one calling you in an emergency is who they say they are and actually

01:57needs what they're asking for. Send me your email address right now so I can send you payment. If you're

02:03trying to sell products in an open marketplace, beware of interested buyers demanding your personal

02:09information such as your phone number, email or financials. Big Zelle and PayPal scams are rampant

02:16these days. Use services that offer seller protection or insist on cash in person at the time of the

02:22exchange. Stay suspicious and trust your gut. Okay, now that we know some of the most common scams to be

02:29on the lookout for, let's play a quick round of Is It A Scam? We have limited your account due to

02:37suspicious activity. Click here to restore access. Is it real or is it a scam? Fake! Hover over the link,

02:48it doesn't even go to paypal.com. Always check the URL before you click. You get a DM from your friend.

02:55They say they're stuck overseas. They lost their wallet and they need you to wire them $500 ASAP.

03:02A real friend who needs your help? Or a bad actor with a knack for impersonations?

03:10Fake. Most likely. This is a classic scam called a stranded traveler scam. Even if losing a wallet in

03:18Prague is totally something that would happen to your bestie, always double check with them using another

03:23method. Don't just reply to the DM. Last question, be sure to sound off on how you're doing so far in

03:29the comments. So, you get a voicemail saying the IRS is filing a lawsuit against you and if you don't

03:35go back immediately, there will be legal consequences. Is jail time on the table or are you being targeted?

03:45Fake. Big time. The IRS and other government agencies do not call you out of the blue threatening

03:52lawsuits. They don't text you, they don't demand payment over the phone, and they definitely don't

03:57sound like a robot on 2% battery life. Thanks for playing.

04:05Before we move on to our scam spotting survival tips, we've partnered with Jen for this

04:10Data Breach 101 series. Let's hear what their experts have to say about the state of scams today.

04:16Every day a new type of scam is popping up and likely you are actually hearing some stories from

04:22your people around you. First of all, whenever you receive anything online, you have to actually

04:28really stop for a second and think. This is like I think the most important one. And then you have to

04:33verify who you're talking to. I think the most interesting one are actually the deepfake scams.

04:39With AI, a lot of data is out there. People tend to share much more and when they share much more,

04:45basically the attackers will be compromising that and creating very personalized deepfake scams.

04:51And it's becoming much more difficult to spot them and it's so much more successful. We are hearing a

04:57lot of like cases already where you're getting like a call, like in the past you would get this

05:02hi mom scam messages, which is like, okay mom something happened my phone broke and you know like

05:08I need you to send me a message right now or bring me money or whatever. But right now we have like more

05:12sophisticated version of it which your son or your daughter is calling you on the phone with their

05:17voice completely like very realistic and it's becoming much more difficult for you to spot whether

05:24this is scam or not. To be able to actually fight against scams, detection is not enough. So actually in

05:30scam anti-scam community there are three very important pillars. One of them is actually a pillar that

05:37is focusing on pre-scam so education and awareness plays a very important role here. And the second

05:44pillar of course is detection and we talked about it but the third pillar is actually support. Still

05:48might want to have a support to figure out how to actually act when the scam happens or if the scam was

05:55a little bit more emotionally damaging you might want to actually get support emotionally to recover from it.

06:01We are actually trying to identify the vulnerable populations, people whose data is breached so we

06:07can actually inform them that the scam can happen and at the same time try to actually delete their

06:13data as much as possible so the scam doesn't happen to them. People will need to be really vigilant,

06:20try to like always think like a couple times before they make any online decisions and well be well aware of

06:27scams and try to protect themselves as much as possible. Layla, thank you for those awesome tips.

06:33Okay, how do you actually spot a scam when it lands in your inbox or your texts? You just need to remember

06:40one word, slams. S, sender. Check who's really sending that message. Scam emails often come from weird

06:48addresses like this one or random Gmail accounts pretending to be a company. L, links. Hover before you

06:55click. If the link looks off like not an official website, it's spelled weird or filled with random

07:01numbers, do not touch it. A, attachments. Be super suspicious of unexpected attachments. Even if they

07:08look harmless like PDFs, they could be hiding malware. M, message. Read the message carefully.

07:15Typos, bad grammar, super dramatic urgency like act now or lose everything. Scammers love that energy.

07:23S, suspicious elements. This is your catch-all. Anything that just feels off like wrong logos,

07:31generic greetings like dear customer, fake urgency, weird payment requests. Trust your gut. If something

07:38slams you in the face, slow down. It just might be a scam trying to slip past you. Even if you spot

07:44all of the red flags, know what to look out for, and keep your safety tools in mind, mistakes will still

07:51happen. Scammers are getting smarter every single day. So if you ever think you might have fallen for

07:56one, don't panic. In Episode 2 of Data Breach 101, we'll go over your game plan of what to do if you

08:03got scammed. If you found this video helpful, subscribe, and let's help each other out in the comments.

08:09Tell us about the scams you've been seeing online lately. That does it for me. But just remember,

08:14stay smart, stay skeptical, and stay tuned.

Latest Online Scams You Need To Know About | Data Breach 101

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