Guilford Police Alerting Residents To Dangerous Internet Scams

GUILFORD, CT - Guilford police are warning residents about the proliferation oh internet scams designed to steal your money and identity on social media.

On the Guilford Police Facebook page, is the following:

This might be a long read... but you will thank us when you are done... and you might hate technology a little more... sorry about that.

We have received numerous complaints regarding website phishing scams (spoofed websites) which have bilked some residents and local businesses out of thousands of dollars
So what is a spoofed website you ask???

Basically it is a website that appears to be so similar to the real website for a business that the user does not realize the error until it is too late. Sometimes they add a letter, change a letter, or add a hyphen to the website (URL) in order to get you to their site. Once you get to that site, it looks deceivingly similar to the real site. If you are attempting to log in, order a product, or enter personal information, your identity and finances will be compromised.

What should you look for?

Check the the website you typed in. Don’t just use the suggested website as scammers pay big bucks to have their sites advertised. Check to see when the website was created to determine if it is a pop-up scam site or the real company site. For simple instructions on how to find the date of the website, follow the link below.

https://www.google.com/…/find-out-webpage-published-…/%3famp

EXAMPLE: real website is SandersAutoSales .com but the FAKE website is SandersAuto-Sales .com
The majority of our victims in town followed links from Craigslist ads for products that were listed for sale. These fake websites are professionally done and often times even better than the real websites. They have hyperlinks for payment and processing and even links to fake PayPal sites, prompting you to enter your passwords.

The victims have often done their homework. They have researched the company, and validated the reviews and testimonials and the company checks out.... but the fake website for the real company leads them to the scammer’s realm.... and they get ripped off....

BEWARE OF THE EQUIFAX SCAM

There is also a huge increase scammers creating fake Equifax websites... victims of the recent hacking scam are attempting to log in and collect their money from the settlement. Unfortunately, people are logging into the fake sites and entering personal info to claim their settlement money
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/…/equifax-data-breach-beware-f…

No matter how careful we are... scammers are on the prowl... looking for any opportunity to sneak into our lives and wallet.... and ultimately assume our identities...

FREEZE YOUR CREDIT NOW
The following link has examples of phishing emails from scammers that appear to be from real websites... take a look and make sure you don’t fall victim to those pesky scam emails.
https://www.phishing.org/phishing-examples

Thank you for sharing and spread the word to your friends and family who are not on Facebook