People who access their email account on a device other than their private computer should use two-factor authentication. “When you use another computer the chance that your password can be captured is way too high,” Jacobs said.
Phone Scams
According to Jacobs, the percentage of all phone calls that are scams has gone from 3 percent in 2017 to 18 percent last year, and it’s projected to hit 48 percent this year. These scams include being approved for something you didn’t apply for or winning something you never sought to win. Other scams involve people impersonating the police or IRS agents who either say there’s a warrant out for your arrest or who threaten to seize your bank accounts if you don’t pay a fine right away.
“They typically want payment via systems that are fast and relatively untraceable,” Jacobs said. “How do people fall for this stuff? I don’t know, but they do.”
He added that the government never calls you when you’re in trouble. “They either show up at your door or they send you a letter,” he noted.
Then there’s the “You have a computer virus” warning that can scare people into following instructions to do something they think will fix the problem when, or course, it’s just a hoax designed to rip them off.
“Microsoft or other legitimate support sites will never call you about the state of your computer,” Jacobs said.
Telemarketers—scams or otherwise—have become a pox upon the land. The best way to avoid this is to let unknown callers go to voicemail. The name of the game is to avoid getting roped into a scheme.
“If you ever succumb to a scam, even to stage one of a scam, they sell that information to other scammers,” Jacobs said. “Once you're on those lists it can take 10 to 20 years to fall off of those lists.”
Jacobs said various apps such as AT&T Call Protect, T-Mobile Scam ID/Block and Verizon Call Filter can block suspected scammer calls. Some of these apps are free.