TRI-CITIES, Wash. — As technology continues to develop and electronic devices become more ingrained into everyday life, Tri-Cities officials with the HAPO Community Credit Union are warning you to stay vigilant as online impersonation scams are on the rise.
According to Jennifer Kasparek, HAPO’s Fraud and Account Recovery Manager, the scams might not look like what you’d think or what you could be used to.
Nowadays, they come in the form of phone calls, emails, text messages, and even pop-up links on websites. Most commonly, they’ll be vague yet urgent, pretend to be a financial institution or some other monetary-related company, and have links they’re encouraging you to click.
Kasparek recommends “stopping and taking a breath” if you receive a strange message.
“They prey on that fight or flight that we all have, which is good most of the time, but they want you to act quickly so you do an action before your brain really has a chance to catch up with yourself,” Kasparek said. “They’ll either ask you to divulge your card number, your PIN number. We’ve even seen it go as far as, ‘hey, I need access to your phone.’”
Kasparek said ‘anyone’ can fall prey to online scams.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re 16 or 65,” Kasparek said.
If you do become a victim, the first step is to call your financial…
