Cyber-crime awareness

By Nicole Rice, Community Service Officer (Crime Prevention), LBPD

There are many different kinds of cyber-crime that occur every day. To help identify if you are being targeted, here are three common types of cyber-crime to help you spot the red flags:

Phishing: Cyber attackers send malicious emails to trick users in sending them personal information such as passwords, credit cards, phone numbers, etc. An example of this is a fraud email stating your password to an account is expired and you need to update it. Double check who sent you the email and make sure they are a legitimate company. You can find this out by comparing the email sender to the one on their website.

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Courtesy of LBPD

Stay alert

Fraud businesses: This is where fraud companies will reach out to provide a service to you. They can offer great deals and fast service to get you interested in their company. Always check their credibility and ask for a license. If they ask you to pay in credit cards or all upfront, it might be a cyber-crime. No company will ever ask you to pay in credit cards.

Sweepstakes, prizes and lottery fraud: This attack sends individuals fraud “wins.” They can make you believe you really won a sweepstakes or a prize with convincing emails, phone calls, text messages, or mail. If you did not enter a contest to win a prize, it may be too good to be true.

Do not give them your personal information.

Stay safe and if you are never sure about an email, phone call, text message, or mail, you can always ask someone before replying back to the original sender. Sometimes these criminals will use fear or excitement to make you feel like you need to respond quickly or you will lose it or get in trouble. Always double check!