Welcome to the Golden Age of Scams

#TheDrive with Skrypt: Financial scams are on the rise. Don’t be a victim

In today’s digital age impersonation scams are on the rise. And they present a very real threat to ordinary people and businesses alike. But what exactly is an impersonation scam? In a nutshell, it’s where a fraudster pretends to be someone they’re not (such as a reputable organisation, company employee or trusted individual), to get them to handover money or reveal sensitive information.

It’s a crime that’s based on trust. These fraudsters are clever. They do their homework. And they take advantage of unsuspecting victims. The scams themselves are more sophisticated than ever before, capable of duping the most skeptical consumers. There are romance scams, investment scams, and fake-job scams.

The COVID-19 pandemic is one reason. It made people lonelier and more isolated, which research shows makes them more susceptible to fraud, and it pushed more transactions online, where we can more easily fall victim. Members of Gen Z are more anxious and depressed than previous ­generations—and three times as likely to fall for scams as baby boomers.

But there are other factors. Technology enables scammers to reach more marks, robo-­dialing many more numbers in a day or using AI to send carefully crafted emails and text messages. It’s also given rise to online marketplaces selling hacker services, scam scripts, and other tools of deception. Social media helps scammers find information about individuals and use it against them. And fraudsters have more of that information because of increasingly common data breaches, and can use it to trick us into thinking they’re someone they’re not.

Listen to Skrypt’s take on the rise of scamming and why this is the golden generation for scammers:

Tune in to www.99fm.com.na to listen to more!