Some time ago, my mother fell victim to an SMS scam that was circulating around our country. It was a phishing scam, where the perpetrators used a mock-up of the postal service website to trick her into giving out her bank details, and effectively stole thousands of dollars from her. She had reported it to her bank, but we are uncertain whether or not the money can be recovered.
I was having afternoon tea with my mother as she recounted the story to me. I slowly became horrified as she detailed why she fell for the scam. The postal service website was near immaculate to someone who probably seldom visits it, and she was expecting a parcel. After I told her I was aware of the scam for quite some time, she admonished me for not warning her.
I had little to say to that, other than as someone who had a doctorate, I thought she would have been much smarter than falling for such an obvious ploy.
It goes to show that even the smartest individuals can be tricked and fooled by bad actors, and everyone should be more careful in their interactions.
That said, I do feel that warning people that a scam is going around should be taken more actively, by friends, families and particularly the companies whose platforms on which these scams are being perpetrated on.
I’ve seen outreach programmes by authorities, advisories on the radio warning of scams, and even cybersecurity warnings in the cinema. But I’ve yet to see any warnings or advisories on the very platform these scammers are using it on, at least, on the telecommunications service I’m using.
I’ve seen promotional material from them, advertisements on services and products, but I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to send warnings to not give out personal details or click on suspicious SMS links claiming to be from government agencies.
I can’t help but feel it would have spared us a lot of pain if an SMS warning us of the scam came immediately after the scammer struck. Even if my mother fell for it the first time, perhaps the damage could have been minimal had she acted more promptly. Even if not, there are still scams coming out every now and then, so these alerts would have helped to put all of us on a vigilant footing.
Various circumstances can make us vulnerable, and while personal responsibility goes a long way in protecting our well-being and finances, I honestly believe, at least at the ethical level, that there is a ‘duty-to-inform’, which belongs to the companies whose services we use on a day-to-day basis.
Watcher
