How my brain was hijacked: Tips to avoid being scammed

Recently, I received an email that looked, at first glance, legitimate. It came from PayPal (with what appeared to be the company logo) and sought to confirm if I had “incurred a charge in the amount of $463. If this amount is not correct, please call the number given.” Readers, let me start here with my first tip: Never call the suggested number! This is a red flag. Call the company making the claim directly.

You may have heard of or even encountered another common phone scam. You’ll receive a call or text claiming that “We are closing your account due to suspicious activity, please call the following number…” These calls always come from a seemingly legitimate organization, such as Amazon, your bank, the IRS, or other government agencies. A sense of urgency makes you want to act fast. Our brains get hijacked by fear.

I became unnerved after receiving one such message. I called the number and a man answered, ready to “help” me correct the supposed fraudulent charges. All I had to do was follow some steps. My brain was then fully engaged in following directions correctly and stopped evaluating what I was doing — let alone any serious attempt at thinking rationally.

I’m a person who trusts authority or someone who seems willing to help solve any problem. I followed all the steps in order to save myself from whatever dire consequences would occur if I didn’t do as I was told. Nothing in my brain was telling me “Whoa! Call PayPal, you dummy!” So I obediently (if not blindly) followed the directions, always having been a good student, and continued tapping the links as this nice man urged me to do. I am hard of hearing and have a difficult time understanding or even following his instructions, not being very adept at technology (who is at 96?). Nonetheless, he was very encouraging, saying, “We have been working together now for 30 minutes; you can do this.”

I was searching for free desktop remote access that he told me to download and install on my desktop. After several attempts to install the app, my brain suddenly had a flash of doubt… “What am I doing?” I suddenly thought. In a new panic, heart pounding, stomach aching, I called Luis, our expert IT man on staff, who advised me to “immediately shut down my computer,” so I did; I turned off my computer, tablet, and iPhone. Subsequently, I had a strange feeling come over me: the realization that no one could reach me, nor could I reach anyone, except by my landline. Using my home phone is not the way I normally operate it because I often can’t understand what people are saying. All of a sudden, I felt isolated from all normal contacts, having always been available 24/7, answering my emails as they come in, and replying immediately. It made me very aware of my reliance on Google or Wikipedia for all questions, on Amazon for all purchases, on staff for dinner reservations, the clinic for health issues, and research for my columns.

Even so, dear readers, my story ends well. Luis came the next day and was relieved that I had not downloaded the app correctly. My incompetence saved me this time. Let this be a lesson for all of you to please take note of the following suggestions; they might prevent a lot of aggravation and stress.

All scams have the same goal: They want your data, and your information, such as usernames, login IDs, passwords, account numbers, etc. They will get this by tricking you into giving them your personal information. Once they obtain your personal data, they could gain access to your email, bank, or other accounts. They want to get you to download a program or click on a link or an attachment that will allow them access to your data. Never do so and never send any money. These are the tactics they used to hijack my brain: Inducing fear; creating a sense of urgency; trusting in authority; taking advantage of your gratitude; wearing you down with specific directions, and aggravating your feelings of incompetence!

BE AWARE! Take a breath before any knee-jerk reaction on your part. Ask for their number and tell them you will call them right back. Then contact your bank, credit card company, or the vendor directly at the number you have on file in order to resolve any issues of fraudulence and avoid identity theft. Hopefully, my sharing this misadventure will prevent you from falling down the same rabbit hole.