By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Recently I was the victim of a phone scam.
Feeling like a total idiot and fool, I placed myself in a vulnerable situation by fear. These scammers sent me a text message saying I owed nearly $1,000 for an Amazon purchase.
I called the number and got in touch with a person with a foreign accent ready to get the script going. After having a couple of fraudulent episodes in recent months, I was prepared to go through the motions of getting this taken care of.
Talking 1,000 mph, the scammer blindsided me with instructions. To give a quick summary, I downloaded an app (AnyDesk) to allow these scammers to take control of my phone.
Access to my banking information and money was at their will. During this scam, my bank sent an alert to never give away sensitive details. The scammer would quickly delete that screen to get back to taking my money.
The only course of action I could take to stop the crime was to shut off my phone altogether. And trust me they will try to stop you from cutting off the interaction at all cost. The cost of your hard-earned money.
My bank, Bank of America, was awesome in the recovery process. And trust me there is a time you’ll need to bounce back financially, mentally and spiritually.
Being violated in this way was crushing. I was grateful that the fraud, technical and banking staff at Bank of America was so understanding, transparent, personable and simply kind during all the stages.
It made the long hold times worth it to secure the matter and recover from the scam.
Talking with the staff of Bank of America I got helpful tips I want to share with the public. I also learned there are hundreds of victims each day falling prey to some type of cybercrime. Whether it’s the computer or phone, there is a group of evil, lazy and trifling people out there to steal from us.
By the way, I found out AnyDesk is a legit app. It is used by millions of IT professionals worldwide to remotely connect to their clients’ devices to help with technical issues.
I will challenge AnyDesk to find some way to police its app better to stop scammers from misusing the technology.
These are my five Best Sellers’ List rules to hopefully help you not fall victim to a cyber scam.
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