Scams and Phishing Reflection

 

When first analyzing videos and historical accounts of alleged phishing attempts, I was surprised by the gullibility of individuals, yet also disappointed in the lack of education around these topics. Upon a deeper dive, I realized the true sophistication of certain scams and how they play on individuals emotions. For example, targeting and taking advantage of a lonely uneducated windowed woman with plenty of free time on her hands rather than going after a busy educated individual. Additionally, I was surprised by the statistics - such as the fact that phishing losses exceeded $10.3 billion in 2022. The idea that a massive amount of money is associated with deception is saddening and shocking, and, surprisingly, it is not discussed more.

In my personal life, I experience scam attempts on a weekly basis. Whether that be a Texas Toll Tag fraud master persuading me to pay a bill, or an individual impersonating my boss and requesting my personal information. Through online training at work, I have developed a sense of skepticism to avoid falling for these traps, though on occasion, I check with a coworker or a friend to get a second opinion if the message seems believable.

Learning about scams and phishing, what they are, and how to identify them, is important in today's world for all ages because they are a new phenomenon. While scam artists have always been present, the internet has opened new doors for them to easily reach people near and far. Specifically, I think this has been difficult for older generations to grasp because technology is generally less intuitive for them, making them more susceptible to phishing. In my personal experience, my grandmother has been scammed several times, which has led her to be apprehensive about trusting individuals, especially those she meets on social media.  

Comments

  1. williams.dan76September 9, 2025 at 11:44 AM

    Thanks for posting. I think you are right in stating how prevalent phishing has become due to the development of technology and social media. Sorry to hear your grandmother has been scammed. The elderly are vulnerable targets. Preying on elderly and/or lonely people is unconscionable, but then those phishing have no conscience. Social media has made the world seem more prefatory to me. I appreciate your responses.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hoaxes

  In class, we discussed hoaxes and the many reasons of motivation behind them. Our discussion reminded me of a recent time when I hoaxed a friend, Rocco, for fun. When recently in Las Vegas, my friends hired a bodyguard, Mark, to come to different events with us. Rocco befriended Mark, who inspired him to sign up for jiu-jitsu classes. After returning to Texas, in good fun, my friend Anna Clay created a fake burner phone number and sent a text to Rocco pretending to be Mark. Rocco, being gullible, fell for the hoax and was sad when he found out his new friend Mark actually wasn’t checking in on the jiu-jitsu training. With this recent experience, it reminded me that hoaxes sometimes are easier to fall for when they cause the hoaxee to believe something they already wanted to believe. This shows confirmation bias and makes people more likely to fall into the trap. I enjoyed our discussion of hoaxes and found it to be transferable across multiple historical events, from the Cardif...
Read more

Millerite Movement

  I found interesting in the Millerite Movement how so many people collectively went against what the Bible says. The Bible says we do not know the time of the rapture, so to not go looking for it. However, people were so anxious for the coming of the Messiah that they jumped the gun and went looking anyways. Additionally, I think it is interesting how these predictions still happen today. Several churches I have visited throughout my faith journey have shared thoughts of “the rapture coming during our time.” Part of me sees this as a marketing ploy – to keep members returning to church so they will be sanctified when the rapture does occur. However, I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that church leaders genuinely believe in what they are preaching. I was also shocked by the Millerite Movement’s ability to retain followers after failed predictions. I think people continued to follow the movement because people like to have something to believe in. The movem...
Read more