If You Hear "You're Under Investigation", Don't Believe Straight Away

[Music] hello hello are you the party to whom I am speaking I am with the FBI yes that FBI got a call saying you're under investigation hang up immediately each year more than 15 million Americans fall for phony schemes connected with identity fraud and this figure just keeps growing as the deceptive techniques these criminals are using increase in number and sophistication with every passing week nowadays you have to be especially cautious because scammers are using a new trick called spoofing this scheme allows identity thieves to create fake emails phone numbers or IP addresses so that they can pretend to be someone else in order to get a hold of your personal information and in this video you'll learn why you should hang up immediately if you get a call and the other person on the line tells you that you're under investigation unfortunately that's not the only trick criminals use that's why it's a good idea to click that subscribe button before you start watching the video on the bright side of life you'll always be kept updated on the newest frauds and criminal ploys out there alright let's get back to this whole spoofing thing it may be a bit unsettling to hear but it's super easy for those who know what they're doing to hijack let's say a phone number there are programs out there such as spoof card that allow practically anyone to disguise their phone number with one of their choosing it might be the coffee shop next door or the phone number of the local police station what's even scarier is that services like spoof cars can mask a phone number so well that it'll even show up on your bill as the police IRS or any other organization of the like this also doesn't make life easier for victims of stalking they can't get enough proof that their stalker is harassing them so that they can seek legal protection the creators of the app apparently don't give two hoots about this serious problem one of the most recent blog entries on the company's website explains step by step how you can contact your ex if they've blocked your number disgusting and irresponsible I know you may be wondering why these sorts of applications were created in the first place their original intent was supposedly for private investigators debt collectors and people of similar professions who needed to conceal their true identity but since these apps were available for anyone to download phone pranksters were also more than happy to have fun pretending to be FBI agents or police officers but what started as an innocent form of entertainment well maybe not so innocent but still soon gave scammers an idea on how they can use it to their benefit the gear under investigation scheme so here's how this type of fraud works first of all do you know many people who are eager to answer a call from an unknown number me neither typically most of us are suspicious of calls from numbers we don't recognize that's why criminals have to create an atmosphere of urgency to achieve this they begin a string of calls one after the other in the span of a couple of minutes let's imagine you're getting such a call at first you're totally unwilling to pick up after three or four calls you start thinking that it's probably important and that you should answer but before doing that you decide to check the number with the help of Google and what do you see on the screen in front of you it's the number of the FBI who man your heart stops so you either call them back yourself or answer your phone when it rings again the person on the other end calls you by your name and immediately starts building up the sense of urgency they inform you that the matter is extremely important and ask you if you are aware that you're under investigation by the FBI they're pretty good at making it sound believable too they may ask questions like have you been briefed on your file do you know that it's very serious and right now agents may be on their way to arrest you aha what you're getting more and more confused and nervous but when you try to get more information like what crime are they investigating me for when where what you're given just more threats in return you're at a loss probably hysterical at this point and don't know what you should do there's only one right course of action hang up immediately that's not a federal agent it's a scammer oh by the way the choice of nasty epithets to call the scammer just before you hang up on him is entirely up to you that's the creative part left just for you kiddo Paige Hanson the chief of identity education at LifeLock a company that specializes in identity theft protection explains that this is one of the most common tricks criminals use to get your personal data it happens to plenty of people and unfortunately many fall for it the thing is that there are a lot of skilled psychologists among scammers they understand that when a person receives a lot of calls over a short period of time it becomes hard to resist the urge to answer the phone and as soon as they do they hear a fear-inducing message spiced up with a feeling of urgency who wouldn't fall for this at least in the first few minutes these types of fraudulent calls caused countless problems for regulators who are trying to stop them the Federal Trade Commission reports that in New York State alone there have been more than 16,000 documented complaints of impostor calls on a national scale the number of these calls reaches 300,000 but you should also take into consideration that most people don't report fraudulent calls which means that these figures might just be scratching the surface but how can I understand that the call isn't from a real FBI agent or police officer valid question so let's answer it first of all the FBI warns that they obviously never call private citizens and threatened to arrest them or demand money and chances are that if you really are under an FBI investigation they wouldn't inform you about this over the phone otherwise you'd have time to escape right uh-huh but you're going to be arrested in 3 2 1 scam one more identity fraud scheme involves a call from the number of the local police you pick up the phone and a robotic voice informs you that officers are coming to arrest you you hear you are going to be taken into custody due to a number of serious allegations you can get back to us so that we can discuss the matter before any legal action is taken against you well almost robotic a call like this will certainly evoke lots of questions why would they tell me in advance that they're about to arrest me to give me some time to escape why would the police want to negotiate with an alleged criminal a person with legit questions like this would probably just hang up on scammers upon hearing such nonsense however there are people who lose thousands of dollars after falling for this type of fraud the fraudulent activity on your account scheme threatening people who are according to scammers under investigation isn't the only way to make people give away their personal data one more technique criminals use is pretending to be authorities who investigate fraudulent activity on bank accounts one day you might get a call and the person on the line will present themselves as a police officer or a representative of your bank their phone number will confirm that of course they'll inform you that your bank has been exposed to fraud and that your account was compromised after that the scammers will explain that in order to find the guilty party and arrest them they'll need you to confirm your account information you'll be asked to provide your card number security code and even your pin number in some cases the scammer will ask you to enter your pin number into your phone where it'll immediately be captured by the identity thieves and while this scheme may seem brazen enough as is scammers take it even further they ask potential victims to withdraw cash from their bank so that the money can be forensically examined who after that you get instructions to put the money and perhaps your credit and debit cards as well in an envelope and hand it over to a courier that will show up at your door soon it's outrageous I know but if you voice your doubts the font stirs will calmly suggest that you call the police or contact your bank so that they can confirm the identity of those calling you but the thing is the criminals don't hang up so even if you've ended the call the line will remain open and when you call the police or your bank you'll be connected right back to the scammers they'll pretend to be other people this time and we'll do everything to convince you that the claims of fraud are valid well you're probably thinking that this sounds way too ridiculous to fall for but there are those who do it's usually people over 60 that fall victim to such manipulations and they are exactly how criminals are targeting in most cases so if you don't already try to make it a habit to keep your elderly relatives and acquaintances informed about this type of fraud so that they don't buy into it how not to become a victim first and foremost always keep your guard up if you receive a weird phone call you should already start getting suspicious remember that police and your bank will never ask you to reveal your PIN number or bank account details over the phone withdraw cash and send it somewhere with a courier send your personal belongings such as bank cards off with a courier or taxi or someone else if you want to check whether or not the number that's called you is fake wait for at least five minutes otherwise you'll probably get reconnected to the scammer if you're suspicious of a phone call report it to the police they may be able to figure out where the call has come from and please tell your older family members and friends about this fraud and help them stay safe and informed so that they don't get taken advantage of by these identity thieves so how would you react to receiving a fraudulent call would you just hang up and forget about the incident or go further and report it to the authorities tell us in the comments below also let us know about your experience with this type of scam if you have any and if you found this video informative and useful go ahead and give it a like and share it with everyone you know let's get the message out there so that these criminals can't prey on people anymore stay on the safe and bright side of life

Channel: BRIGHT SIDE

Views: 970,606

Keywords: phone scammer, phone scams, phone scammer prank, can you hear me, its FBI, fraudsters, save money, scamming, scammer caught, scammer prank call, scam fail, new scam schemes, spoofing, you’re under investigation, hang up immediately, stay safe, avoid scam, protect yourself, protect your data, save your money, how not to be a victim, bright side, brightside, bright side videos

Id: E7alOhdGCpU

Length: 12min 50sec (770 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 21 2018