Tech Corner with Louis Arias<\/p>\n
This not-so-fairy-tale began as a generously compensated secret shopper job opportunity received through my DSC email.\u00a0 It (supposedly) came from a fellow student who also works at the college.\u00a0 Another one of my classmates, who also received this email and knew I was looking to earn extra income, even forwarded it to me.\u00a0 It mentioned DSC\u2019s Job Placement office.\u00a0 Everything seemed perfectly legit.<\/p>\n
The poison-pill email included a link to the fictitious employer\u2019s site that directed me to a page with a very simple application form. It just required my name, address, email and telephone number to send the application packet in the mail.<\/p>\n
Safety is as simple as ABC:\u00a0 Always Be Careful.\u00a0 I know that.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t check with the \u201csupposed\u201d sender before I clicked on an email link. \u00a0I also neglected to go directly to the company\u2019s website to check it out first. \u00a0Ouch!<\/p>\n
Daytona State College has a very efficient and thorough Internet Security department, but in the cat-and-mouse cyber-security game, it\u2019s only a matter of time before a digital rodent will weasel its way through the firewalls and operational-technological safeguards.<\/p>\n
One did this time. The email address I gave in the linked application became compromised\u2026 And a FedEx envelope arrived at my house on the next business day. To my surprise, instead of a packet, it contained a set of instructions for my first assignment\u2026 and a cashier check for $2,950. Computer technology has not only given hackers the ability to gain access to carefully protected email lists., it also has also given con artists the ability to print very good counterfeit checks.<\/p>\n
Bank regulations require that financial institutions make funds available before they can verify the authenticity of cashier checks. This process can take up to a couple of weeks. Victims of the scams are accountable for the moneys they receive plus the bank fees. A quick YouTube search on mystery shopper or cashier check scams can clearly demonstrate how prevalent this problem is.<\/p>\n
When I called the number on the instruction letter \u00ad\u2014 which requested that I buy two gift cards for $1,300 each and send them pictures of the receipt and security codes via text message\u00ad \u2014 a recorded message informed me that the number was only set up for texts. \u00a0Now, the red flags were just too many.\u00a0 After going to the bank and verifying the bank account on the check did not exist, I immediately reported the issue to the Orange City Police Department.<\/p>\n
Officer Jamila Rodriguez advised me that because I had not fallen victim of the scam, filing a report would serve little to no purpose. She did inform me, however, that three people in my area had recently fallen for this scam and also advised me that money-transfer, gift card and cashier check scams were on the upswing.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez also warned me that smartphones are now also being cloned without people\u2019s knowledge giving criminals access to any financial apps and information stored on them.\u00a0 It\u2019s always important to remember our ABCs.<\/p>\n
After \u00a0my local police office, I contacted and forwarded the emails in question to DSC\u2019s Internet Security department. Paul Wheeler, Chief Security Officer said of the security breach, \u201cYes, unfortunately, phishing emails are a very real threat to employees and students alike.\u00a0And once someone internally gets compromised by an external phishing email, their internal account now begins sending out phishing emails which seem more legitimate to their recipients.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this way, the perpetrators were able to put their deceptive message in front of many College users, driving them to their propped up website to record their contact details to then be used as part of their gift card ruse.\u201d<\/p>\n
With current technological advances, safety might not be as simple as ABC anymore. We need the help of dedicated and competent security professionals.\u00a0 We also need to cooperate with them and mind their recommendations.<\/p>\n
And, of course, we must Always Be Careful.<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Note:<\/strong> The College recently released the following statement regarding this incident.:<\/p>\n \u201cRecently a number of students received an email that appeared to come from the College\u2019s Job Placement office advertising a mystery shopper-side job in which students could make an easy $3,000.\u00a0And even though some students got large checks, they were fake.\u00a0 Bottom line, these \u2018spoofed\u2019 emails were a scam in which students were encouraged to buy thousands of dollars in gift cards then scratch off the backs and send the perpetrators the codes.<\/p>\n \u201cTo keep from becoming a victim of scams like these, visit the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s website<\/a>.\u00a0 And if you want to read more about Mystery Shopper scams, in particular, check out this the FTC\u2019s Mystery Shopper Scams article<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tech Corner with Louis Arias This not-so-fairy-tale began as a generously compensated secret shopper job opportunity received through my DSC email.\u00a0 It (supposedly) came from a fellow student who also works at the college.\u00a0 Another one of my classmates, who also received this email and knew I was looking to Continue reading Online Scams\u2019 Sophistication Can Fool Even Seasoned Pros<\/span>