October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

By Maro Casparian | October 20, 2021

We talk about it all the time – change your passwords, secure your Wi-Fi network, enable multi-factor authentication, limit what information you post on social media, practice safe web surfing, and on and on. October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and we want to provide you with important tips to keep you cyber-safe.
Take the time to implement the tips below to protect yourself from security breaches and computer hacks. Download and save the tip sheets and forward them to friends and family.
Many of you responded to last month’s request and sent us scams that have targeted you. Keep them coming! Generally, scams come in waves, so it is likely if you got targeted, that same scam is circulating around the community. Sharing your story will help us warn our readers to stay alert. Check out two submissions below.
I hope you like the look of our new Scam Spotter Newsletter.

Stay safe and well, Beth

Your Scam Spottings

Alan wrote: I wanted to purchase a used pop-up trailer and found one on Facebook marketplace. I sent an email to the address listed and received a response stating that it was still available and that the owner was selling it via eBay. The owner stated that eBay would deliver the trailer to my home, so I provided my address and name. The next day I received an email and ‘invoice’ titled “eBay Buyer Protection Order #xxxxxxxx.” The invoice instructions were for me to purchase 7 – $200 eBay gift cards and send the codes to the seller.

Congratulations Alan for spotting that this was a scam. It often takes a few ‘red flags’ to realize what is happening. And thank you for submitting the scam to the FTC fraud website. No money was sent, no gift cards were purchased. Bravo! Remember no reputable seller will ask for payment with gift cards. While you can frequently find great deals shopping online through eBay, Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, it is advisable to be suspicious by watching out for red flags from the start of your search.

Frank submitted this: “Thanks for your messages about scams! Is this “invitation” a phishing email or a legitimate message? How can we consumers tell?”

We love this question! Click here for tips on how to determine if an email is real or fake. And by the way, we checked out this website to ensure it was real!

Do you have a recent scam story to share? Or a question about scams? Send them into amc@denverda.org.