Question: How are scammers going to find me?

Answer passage (source: Australia):
page_title: Current COVID-19 (coronavirus) scams
section_headers: How scammers contact you
section_content: During a crisis like COVID-19, you may be isolated and using online services
more than ever, so it is important to think about who might be really
contacting you. They may find you by:

calling you or coming to your door
contacting you via social media, email or text message
setting up websites that look real, and impersonating government, business or even your friends
collecting information about you so that when they make contact they are more convincing.


Reviewer feedback on this answer:
Has detailed information about how scammers contact people during the pandemic.
This gives bullet point answers for how scammers can find you.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Excellent

Answer passage (source: Australia):
page_title: Current COVID-19 (coronavirus) scams
section_headers: Phishing – Other impersonation scams
section_content: Scammers are pretending to be from real and well known businesses such as
banks, travel agents, insurance providers and telco companies, and using
various excuses around COVID-19 to:

ask for your personal and financial information
lure you into opening malicious links or attachments
gain remote access to your computer
seek payment for a fake service or something you did not purchase.

Tips to protect yourself from these types of scams:

Don’t click on hyperlinks in text/social media messages or emails, even if they appear to come from a trusted source.
Never respond to unsolicited messages and calls that ask for personal or financial details — just press delete or hang up.
Never provide a stranger remote access to your computer, even if they claim to be from a telco company such as Telstra or the NBN Co.
To verify the legitimacy of a contact, find them through an independent source such as a phone book, past bill or online search.


Reviewer feedback on this answer:
Has detailed information about detecting scams and how scammers can contact people.
This answer allows a person to comprehend how scammers can operate and how they target you.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Acceptable

Answer passage (source: Australia):
page_title: Current COVID-19 (coronavirus) scams
section_headers: Phishing – Government impersonation scams
section_content: Scammers are pretending to be government agencies providing information on
COVID-19 through text messages and emails ‘phishing’ for your information.
These contain malicious links and attachments designed to steal your personal
and financial information.
In the examples below the text messages appear to come from ‘GOV’ and ‘myGov’,
with a malicious link to more information on COVID-19.
Scammers are also pretending to be Government agencies and other entities
offering to help you with applications for financial assistance or payments
for staying home.
Tips to protect yourself from these types of scams:


Don’t click on hyperlinks in text/social media messages or emails, even if it appears to come from a trusted source.


Go directly to the website through your browser. For example, to reach the MyGov website type ‘my.gov.au’ into your browser yourself.

Never respond to unsolicited messages and calls that ask for personal or financial details, even if they claim to be a from a reputable organisation or government authority — just press delete or hang up.


Reviewer feedback on this answer:
Has detailed information about how scammers reach out to their victims during the pandemic.
This answer talks about the practices scammers use. It can be improved by adding how they find you before they implement their scam.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Could be Improved