Skip to main content

Google’s New “Scam Spotter” Website Aims to Help People Avoid Scams

Google Scam Spotter feat.

There was a time before the internet when people used to con other people through physical contact. However, as the internet has made communication effectively contact-less, online scams have become much more popular in recent times. Now, for people like us who know the internet like the back of our hands, it is easy to spot the scammers. However, for a layman who receives an email out of the blue stating that he/she has won a lottery of Rs 50,000 would surely believe it. So, to help these people spot and avoid these types of scams, Google has come up with a new “Scam Spotter” website.

“Scam Spotter” is not actually a tool for the users, rather it is an educational website for the scam-spotting-noobs out there. The Mountain View-based tech giant has partnered with Cybercrime Support Network to build the website. This website provides information that will be help users to spot who a scammer is and who is in real need of money.

Now, when you go to the homepage of the website, you will encounter the “three golden rules” that should be kept in mind to spot a scammer.

Now, the site says that the first rule is to “slow it down” a little bit. According to the site, when a scammer calls or emails, he/she is always in a hurry to make money from the victims. So, the guide suggests the respondent remain calm and “avoid being rushed into a bad situation”.

The next rule, “Spot Check”, states that the victim, after the call or the chat conversation, should always do a background check of the organization, be it a bank or an agency.

The third and final rule, “Stop! Don’t Send”, suggests that scammers often demand you pay them through crypto-currency or buy them gift cards. So, if the agent asks you to send a gift card or transfer funds directly in a given bank account, just stop talking, hang up the call or exit the chat and send the contact details straight to the block list.

So, if you experience any of the above red flags in a conversation, then there is a high chance that the person on the other end is a scammer. However, if you still have your doubts, Google also has a built-in “quiz” that you can take to test your knowledge about scams.

Now, hackers and scammers are getting stronger and better than ever in this time of global crisis. We recently saw the CERT-In release a warning to Indians that suggested not falling prey to a new email scam. We also saw how a dating-service scam cost a Bengaluru man a massive amount of money.

Also, going by the website, it also states that hackers and scammers are now planning to steal over $2 billion in 2020 alone, using the Coronavirus as a stimulator. So, to stop these scams and protect the users’ money, Google has started this “Scam Spotter” to halt the efforts of these scammers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i Review: A Powerful Workhorse

It’s been quite some time since Intel announced its 11th-gen laptop processors, complete with the new logo design and Intel Iris Xe graphics. And yet, so far I’ve not gotten my hands on a laptop packing the new processor and iGPU. That all changed when Lenovo sent over the IdeaPad Slim 5i (Rs. 61,990) with […] The article Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i Review: A Powerful Workhorse was first published on Beebom
Post a Comment
Read more

Twitter Wants to Build an ‘Open and Decentralized’ Social Media Platform

In an attempt to create a Facebook competitor, which everyone flocks to, Twitter became increasingly centralized over the years. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey believes that’s the case and has now tweeted a lengthy plan to fund research to build an open and decentralized standard for social media platforms. It will “ultimately become a standard” that Twitter’s client will be based upon. Dubbed Bluesky, this project will see a team of up to five researchers , which could include open-source architects, engineers, and designers, being on-boarded in the near future. Currently, Bluesky has no team members but Dorsey tweeted that Twitter’s CTO Parag Agrawal has been tasked with finding a lead. The folks over at Firefox have already extended a helping hand, saying how the non-profit has contributed to decentralization. Enough jibber-jabber, but what exactly is Bluesky? And what does it intend to achieve? Dorsey, in his tweetstorm , states that the challenges being faced by centralized social
Post a Comment
Read more

Mysterious Drones Spotted in Colorado and Nebraska; Sources Unknown

A group of drones was reportedly been spotted in the sky at night last week in Colorado and Nebraska that made the residents anxious and worried. The police officials in charge have no idea regarding where these drones are from. “They’ve been doing a grid search, a grid pattern. They fly one square and then they fly another square,”  Colorado’s Phillips County Sheriff Thomas Elliot told the Denver Post. The drones have an approximate six-foot wingspan and stay 200 to 300 feet away from buildings. At least 17 drones have been spotted till now. They appear at around 7 PM at night and disappear at around 10 PM . Until now, the drones have not been caught doing any illegal or unofficial activities.  “They do not seem to be malicious. They don’t seem to be doing anything that would indicate criminal activity,” Sheriff Elliott added. The Federal Aviation Agency, the Air Force, Drug Enforcement Administration, and US Army Forces Command confirmed that the drones did not belong to them.
Post a Comment
Read more