There are more scams you need to watch out for if you’re shopping online, especially on sites like Facebook Marketplace or CraigsList.
What may seem like an attempt to verify your identity during a sale may actually make you a target for scammers.
Here’s how it works…
Scammers reach out to you and say they want to make sure you are who you say you are, so they send you a text with a Google Voice verification code. They then ask you to send them that code. Once they get it, they can use it to create a Google Voice Number connected to your phone, which helps them conceal their own identity.
“If any individual is ever asking for a code, that’s an immediate red flag,” said Victor Wieczorek, Vice President of GuidePoint Security. “Those scammers could use that phone number which is tied back down to that individual who fell for it, so if they use that phone number for either malicious activity or scams, then potentially that phone number could be tied back to that individual who fell for that scam in the first place.”
With enough information, scammers could also access your accounts or open new accounts in your name.
Cyber security expects say you should never give your verification code out and to only use them for the sites they are intended.
“You have to watch out, you have to use that sixth sense, if something feels strange,…
