By Jan Thornborough
It’s that time again when the unprepared amongst us have only just realised that it’s Mother’s Day this weekend.
Quick! Jump online and type in “gift for mum”. You will get a dizzying array of offers popping up. Some will be legitimate, and some will be scammers trying to steal your credit card details, leaving you moneyless, and in your mother’s bad books.
How do you tell the difference? Well, one sure-fire way is to look at the price you are getting. Is it an incredible bargain? Then it’s probably a scam. Next, look at the address it is coming from. If it bears no resemblance to the name of the company you think you are buying from, step away fast.
Finally, how are they collecting your credit card details? Is it a simple form, or are they redirecting you to a legitimate payment site (see the previous advice about checking the address again)? This isn’t always a sure-fire way of telling if you are being scammed because scammers use legitimate online payment sites too sometimes. But if something smells off about the transaction, then it probably is.
Your mother will forgive you if you don’t buy her that $30.00 twenty-two carat gold necklace, but your partner may not if you get your bank account cleaned out in the process. As your mother always says “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is”
Have a happy scam-free Mother’s Day.
Jan Thornborough is a Kāpiti based cyber security specialist. For more see: www.intelligensia.co.nz
