The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has sounded the alarm on potential scams on April Fool’s Day.
Scammers often seize the pranking holiday to orchestrate campaigns that include scam phone calls and emails, capitalizing on victims being in a hurry and not doing any research, Jessica Hamlin, Communications Director for the BBB, told NBC4 Columbus on Friday.
April Fool’s Day Scams
The BBB said April Fool’s Day scams can arrive via phone, pop up on a computer, as well as come in a familiar or “fun” form.
“I personally have seen a lot of fun April Fools pranks coming from a lot of the brands that I follow and enjoy,” Hamlin said. “It’s very easy to impersonate that account, and basically, it means information has been hacked, and now your information is compromised.”
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has been at the forefront of alerting the public about various scams targeting unsuspecting individuals at different times of the year.
The organization and the FBI continue to shed light on the growing menace of socially engineered scams like cryptocurrency fraud. These scams have left victims with substantial monetary losses.
How to Avoid Falling for Scams
The BBB advised netizens not to click on links in emails from unknown senders. The organization also emphasized the importance of not disclosing personal information easily or being pressured to move quickly by suspicious or unknown individuals.
It is key to “vet before buying,” Hamlin said. “So, it’s a good idea to go to a resource like BBB.org to look at those reviews where every single review has been vetted and confirmed to come from a real, true person that has interacted with that company.”
The BBB also advised users to opt for traceable payment methods such as credit cards over cash or Venmo for purchases. This approach, Hamlin noted, allows individuals to reclaim their funds and identify the perpetrator should they fall victim to a scam. “Trust your gut. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is,” Hamlin added.
Kaspersky also warned about fake April Fool’s Day promotions in an email to VPNOverview. The cybersecurity company suggests being wary of offers that seem too good to be true and doing a Google search on any company before interacting with their website.
In addition to these security tips, we recommend using a top-rated antivirus solution to protect your device from malware, harmful links, and phishing web pages.
Here’s a video of NBC4 Columbus’s news piece about April Fool’s Day scams:
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