{"id":68187,"date":"2023-10-03T09:16:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T13:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/news\/lucky-me-so-many-prizes-to-collect-in-one-week-by-clicking-on-a-link-too-bad-they-are-all-scams\/"},"modified":"2023-10-03T09:16:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T13:16:04","slug":"lucky-me-so-many-prizes-to-collect-in-one-week-by-clicking-on-a-link-too-bad-they-are-all-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=68187","title":{"rendered":"Lucky Me! So Many Prizes To Collect In One Week By Clicking On A Link. Too Bad They Are All Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If I didn\u2019t know better, I had hit the jackpot recently. Several recent emails trumpeted that I had won a Wal-Mart gift certificate, an expensive electric toothbrush, a $500 gasoline gift card, a 225-piece tool kit, drill bit set and an unspecified package to be delivered.<\/p>\n

While I\u2019m indeed fortunate to have a wonderful wife and children, good healthcare and live in a great community, I\u2019m not that lucky when it comes to prizes. The so-called prizes were a wave of \u201cdelivery\u201d scams.<\/p>\n

How did I know they were scams? 1) I had never entered a contest in hopes of winning these things and 2) They wanted me to click a link to \u201cconfirm,\u201d where they were either asking for an upfront fee or financial information. They all bore the same sloppy, amateurish subject line to get my attention.<\/p>\n

Since I\u2019m always on the alert for swindles \u2014 I\u2019ve been a victim of identity theft multiple times \u2014 these emails smelled of old onions. So I didn\u2019t click through the links.<\/p>\n

I must have gotten on some list or someone grabbed my email online somewhere. I routinely get warnings from my various cybersecurity programs, so I\u2019m extra vigilant. Then there\u2019s the \u201cdark web,\u201d a shady part of the internet where cyberthieves sell stolen information like email addresses and Social Security numbers. Maybe my email was posted on the \u201clikely sucker\u201d site.<\/p>\n

<\/fbs-ad><\/p>\n

Among other forms of fraud, this is how delivery scams works and how you can avoid them, according to the Federal Trade Commission:<\/p>\n

\u201cSweepstakes, prize, and lottery frauds are among the top scams people report to the FTC. These scams usually start with a call or message that says you\u2019re a winner. (A lie.). They say to get the so-called prize you have to send money or click somewhere to give your information. Don\u2019t. The most recent FTC data shows people reported losing $301 million to this type of fraud. That\u2019s an average loss of $907 per person.\u201d<\/p>\n