– All forms of fraud are common. There are various attempts at fraud, and most people receive countless inquiries from fraudsters every day. That’s what Merethe Samuelsen, business contact in the Troms police district, says. The police regularly discover new forms of fraud. Recently, they warned against e-mails where someone pretended to be from the Police Security Service (PST). It can be difficult to know what is a scam and what is not. Samuelsen has clear advice on what to look for to avoid fraud. Merethe Samuelsen encourages people to be careful on the internet. Photo: Troms Politidistrikt Phishing For many people, messages pretending to be serious actors or acquaintances are coming in steadily and constantly. The bank that suddenly says that BankID has been blocked, the post office that asks you to pay duty on a package or Anders who sends a link to an article. What they all have in common is that they want you to click on a link to “fix the problem”. – Never click on a link without being absolutely sure who the sender is. None of them communicate with their customers in that way, and they never ask for information in this way, says Samuelsen. She says that the links may ask you to provide information, be viruses or give fraudsters access to monitor your mobile or PC – also known as phishing. Fraudsters often pretend to be someone else. The goal is for the recipient to click on the link. This email was received by the journalist. She does not have a Telenor subscription. Photo: Screenshot In some cases the fraudsters call and pretend to be the police, customer service or the like. – Then it’s a good idea to be careful and check up. Call the switchboard of the agency the person pretends to be from and ask to be transferred to the employee through them, says Samuelsen. If you are told that no one with that name works there, it was probably an attempt at fraud. Buying and selling When buying from private individuals, the most common form of fraud is that you pay for an item you never receive. – Those behind it often have fake accounts, says Samuelsen. Geir Petter Gjefsen, head of consumer safety at Finn, confirms that this is the form of fraud they see most. He says that the most important thing is to make sure that you get the product you pay for. – Then it doesn’t work to use cash on delivery, which many people think is a secure payment solution, then you are only guaranteed to get something, not necessarily what you pay for, says Gjefsen. Recently, they have also seen an increase in dishonest buyers. The seller is contacted on the sales platform or other messaging services, where they are persuaded to use a fake payment service. – Those with dishonest intentions explain that they want to do this via a secure payment solution to which the seller is sent a link. If you click on the link, you will be asked to register by filling in your BankID information, and this will then end up in the hands of the fraudsters. Social media Accounts on social media are also vulnerable to fraud. In some cases, the fraudsters hack into accounts or create a fake account. – Pay attention to friend requests from people you are already friends with, says Samuelsen. She recommends being skeptical if friends suddenly ask for a phone number, and contacting them in another way before giving out the phone number. It can be used to hack into your account. Fallen into a trap? This is what you do If you have fallen into a trap, there are still things you can do to limit the damage. – Contact the bank as soon as you realize that it could be a fraud, says Samuelsen. The bank can stop any payments or block the account if someone has obtained information to log into your online bank. Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, has previously said that hacked accounts can be reported to them. Samuelsen recommends securing evidence of what has happened, for example screenshots of conversations. It is important to have it with you if you are going to report the relationship.
ttn-69
The police’s tips for how to avoid being scammed – and what to do if you have been scammed – news Troms and Finnmark
