What I Can (& Should) Do When I am Scammed

In any part of the world, staying safe belongs to you. In the groups of good people around us, some might not mean harm. But they can target your money. In other cases, they might find your Smartphone or the gift you are carrying for someone more useful to steal from you.

Although these people may not mean harm to us, we need to stay careful and defend ourselves and our families. It is because the liability of keeping us safe first belongs to ourselves.

But sometimes, we might get stressed or unaware of what’s happening around us. Plus, if you are in a situation where you are vulnerable, and the probabilities of such offensive activities are common, then you might get scammed.

Have you been scammed recently? Do you need help? Well, the first thing you need to do is to inform the matter to local police departments of and secure your other belongings as soon as possible. With that being said, read this blog more to know a few more points about what you need to do when you have been scammed already.

Don’t Panic and Do These Things If You Have Been Scammed

Someone stole away your money or some valuable items. You cannot do anything when the person or the offender is out of sight. Even if you can, you need to secure yourself first because offenders may carry deadly weapons, and they might not think twice before using them.

Your life is the most valuable asset you have got. With it, you can make marvellous results. So, keep safety as your priority first. One of the ways to do that is to avoid encounters with dangerous scammers. On the other hand, some scammers may stalk you after stealing from you.

We would like to start our first point with a safety tip. Please be aware of your situation and be mindful of the condition that you can still solve this problem. All you need to do is to be calm but very alert!

1.  Make Yourself Secure from Further Risks

As mentioned just now that you cannot always encounter a dangerous scammer. They might carry weapons.

But there might be other issues too. If scammers stalk you or follow you from a distance, then try to blend in by moving towards crowded areas. Watch the roads, though. Pick a safe spot and inform the police.

You can also head towards the police cars in trying to lose the scammer. Inform the police in person, and they will immediately help you.

2.  Ignore Redirected Connection

Some scammers are like predators.  They are going to keep watch over you for a long time. They might also collect your details either by local means or by hacking your data online.

What they might want to do at this moment is to blackmail you. So, they’re going to steal money or something else from you and then send you a text message or call you from anonymous numbers to ransom you (asking more money for what they stole from you. They will release it only when you pay them back.  This is a dangerous affair as well if done personally).

Do not take these calls or messages as prank calls. Ransoming someone is a serious offence. Some scammers may also use Ransomware, which is a cyber threat. Your digital devices (such as your phone or computer) will be locked until and unless you pay your offender a large amount.

Here is what you are going to do in situations like these:

• Do not reply to any phonecall or messages.
• Reset passwords
• Inform your bank as soon as you can about the mishap
• Update anti-virus software
• Inform the Police

Sometimes, remote assistance software can be a channel for communication with scammers. We will know about this in the next point. 

3.  Don’t Let the Scammer Hack Your remote Assistance Software

You must be careful if your phone or other devices have remote assistance software for accessing information. As a matter of fact, this software that we use for work can be an easy tool in the hands of your offender or scammer.

Updating software security is a good option to strengthen the firewall. Yes, resetting passwords will also do. But we have already discussed these points for the system and applications in the previous point. Although it is a good thing to do, these might take time, and by then, your scammer can take hold of your device remotely.

What is the solution? Well, simply go ahead and uninstall the app if possible. Also, remind the police and your bank at the same time.

4.  Report the Scam As Soon As Possible

Reporting the scam can safeguard you in an advanced way. You have to reach your closest authority or dial the contact number of the enforcement authorities. Tell them the problem in detail. Also, send them snapshots or any other evidence you have with you.

You must report the issue to your bank too. But if the scammer stole a device that has vital information such as ID details, credit card details or bank statements, then you can get into trouble. It is because scammers may misuse the data. Devices such as phones, laptops, tablets etc., carry such information. In these cases, do inform your enforcement authority of the device model number and Unique ID information that came along when you purchased it.

5.  Inform the Matter to Your Credit Card Provider of and Update Your Score

Why is it so important? Well, we can say that your credit card carries vital information that you do not want to lose. Through your credit card details, a scammer might take advantage of your finances and drain your savings as well. You might also be reported as a misinformed credit card user.

Credit card providers are fast in managing these issues. You can tell them about the mishap, and they will immediately lock the card to prevent fraudulent activities by the scammer.

You might suffer a bad credit score by chance. But scammer misuse of your card can drag the score to an extremely bad level. Locking it would prevent your credit score from going downhill.

Although we suffer from bad credit scores, we sometimes use our credit cards to fund emergencies. We might get scammed in such situations too. You need to manage to secure your card with your credit card provider first. If it is done and you need help getting emergency cash, you can look for loans from really bad credit lenders only. You can also use these unsecured loans to help you recover from this situation.

To Conclude

In such situations, you always have to remind yourself that you need to be calm. At first, it might seem very difficult. But, if you can get hold of yourself, the law can help you better.

Always remember that a scam can make problems. But most of them can be temporary, and you will eventually get over it. Besides, there are law enforcement officers. They will surely help you out. So, be strong, be alert and solve this problem as neatly as possible.