Getting strange texts and Facebook messages? How to avoid falling for an online scam

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — Online scams have been growing exponentially in recent years, including right here in our area.

The goal of an internet scammer is to trick you by phone, text, email, or even Facebook message.

It may appear as an urgent request, alarming you that money is owed or that an account has been hacked.

Or it could be a wolf in sheep's clothing, saying you won a "grand prize" or that you can get "free" money.

"It's a real issue nowadays, because a lot of people are connected to the internet. A lot of people are using a variety of devices."

That's what Justin Williams, the IT Department Chair and Cyber Defense Coach at Mount Aloysius College, told 6 News on Friday morning.

Whatever the case may be, Williams says to be aware of those candy coated, empty promises for the safety of your computer and yourself.

"Normally people who are more susceptible to this -- may be more susceptible to being tricked or deceived -- and these criminals try to act upon that. They like to reach out and use emotions," Williams said.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, data shows that consumers reported losing over $8 billion to scams in 2022 alone.

Scams that are broader can be easier to spot, while more targeted attacks could be more difficult to discover the "devil in disguise," Williams says.

"These organizations spin themselves up in a building somewhere -- in some foreign country -- and then go out and target people, either broadly or very focused in nature," he told 6 News.

For example, you may get a message from a strange phone number or email address saying your Amazon account has been "locked."

Williams says that's more of a broad attack, where the scammer may send those messages out in mass quantities.

He says to check the validity of where the message is coming from -- including checking for poor grammar and spelling -- and ask the company if you're unsure.

A more personalized attack might come from Facebook, for example, when a scammer may steal the name and profile picture of your Facebook friend.

The scammer becomes an imposter -- messaging you as if they were who they claim to be -- saying you can get "$200,000 in free money" or other strange requests.

"Reach out to the person. Get that confirmation from them -- either via calling them or texting them -- being like, hey, do you want this amount? Because I got this over Facebook. It's kind of weird for you to be reaching out to me over Facebook for this," Williams said.

When in doubt, don't send that message back, don't click on that link, and don't ever give out personal information.

For an added extra layer of protection, Williams says you could download an anti-virus or anti-malware software.

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