The modern age of technology brings with it many exciting things – social media to stay connected with all your mates, internet banking to save you a trip to the high street, and online shopping to do away with the chaos of a shopping centre.
However, with modern technology comes modern crime, like online scamming which has targeted a whopping 73% of UK adults, or 40 million people, according to the National Trading Standards.
So, to ensure you don’t become one of those unlucky lot who find themselves targeted by scammers, experts have issued a stark warning on three specific words in scam text messages that should ring alarm bells.
The experts over at Reader’s Digest have issued a warning on this seemingly harmless phrase that, apparently, scammers love to use and explained exactly why this trio of words should make you suspicious.
So, what is this phrase?
Well, it’s none other than ‘would you kindly’ and, according to the experts, even the latter word ‘kindly’ is enough in its own to raise your brows.
Tim Bajarin, a 40-year veteran technology analyst, explains: “The word ‘kindly’ is simply something we don’t use in our common vernacular in the U.S.
“You’ll often hear it used in countries with British influence, perhaps once a colonial country, where English isn’t their mother tongue.”
He adds: “If you see this word or phrase, it’s a red flag, similar to poor spelling or grammar.”
Doug Shadel, founder of the Fraud Prevention Strategies and former Fraud Investigator and Special Assistant to Attorney General’s Office in Washington State also adds that there’s more to be wary of than simply certain phrases or typos.
“Really, any communication that you get that’s unsolicited—whether it’s a text or robocall, social media message or email—should make you highly suspicious,” he says.
“If you didn’t initiate this correspondence, chances are it’s a scam.”
Shadel went on to warn: “If it’s an ‘imposter’ message, like someone claiming to be from, say, Bank of America or the IRS, never click on the link or attachment.”
He advised: “If you’re not sure if it’s [legit], you should independently log into that account with your own login and password—not what was sent to you—to see if the institution truly was trying to contact you.”
So, you may want to bear all that in mind to make sure you don’t end up like one of the 19 million Brits who lose money because of this criminal offence.
Content by: Rhiannon Ingle
