Covid-19 scam

Shine Your Eyes: How To Avoid Being A COVID-Mugu

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals in their bid to make money despite the crisis are falling into traps set by fraudsters, scammers and the popular yahoo boys. A typical example is the millions of people who were victims of Hushpuppi and his gang’s fraudulent online scheme.

As we know, he was arrested in Dubai, extradited to the U.S to face criminal charges and his acquired assets overtime, seized. The likes of him are the scapegoats, but there are still some out there with different tactics, ready to pick your pocket clean if you let them.

So, how do you avoid being scammed? Here are a few tips;

1. The ‘Too good to be true’ offers

Covid-19 scam

They are the likes of Ponzi schemes with ridiculous returns on investment and other ‘get rich quick’ schemes. If it is not a well-known site with a detailed step on how the money is made, you should know it’s a red flag and stay away.

2. Investigate the source

Covid-19 scam

When you receive a juicy message like that, don’t rush to drop your details or send funds to unknown accounts. First of all, investigate and not just by contacting the bearer of the message, but doing your research to see if it is a sight well known and patronised.

3. Compare

scammers

Do not stop at just researching. Compare the site with its competitors. The promos it offers are they remotely close to what the market is providing. They are usually not too different as everyone seeks to make a gain. Do the other brands know of their existence? Are they listed among their competitors’ list? Find out all of these.

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4. Do not give up sensitive personal information

online fraud

FCMB will always tell you, do not give out your passwords, pins or OTPs to anyone claiming to be a bank official. The bank will never ask for that. The same thing applies to other kinds of forms. Be careful what you fill.

5. Talk to someone

Covid-19 scam

When an investment comes, or someone calls to claim your account has been blocked, don’t go leaping into action just yet. First, talk to someone. Get a thoughtful unbiased opinion about it.

6. Do not fill every form that is sent to you

internet fraud

People’s details have been cloned and stolen to use in scamming others. For example, once a hacker gets the information of his victim, he can hack into the phone, impersonate, and send a message to all the victim’s contact to dupe them.

7. The government is not giving out money unless they publicly announce it

online fraud

Any site advertising free money is a red flag already. It’s not a ‘first come first serve’ scheme. If there ever is such a thing as government asking for individual’s detail to send money for free, they will announce it on TV and relevant blogs, not random sites.

Hey Flexxer! Now’s the perfect time to open a Flexx account with FCMB, if you haven’t already. It’s a pretty stress-free process and you get access to seamless banking solutions. Wanna get started?
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