KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — Bob Randolph likes spicy food so when he got an email saying to fill out a survey to win a set of spices, he went for it.
“I’ve heard so much about so many of these things, but it seemed like a legitimate thing on the face of it,” Randolph said
He told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke that he had to share his credit/debit card information in the process.
“I sat around for a while. I never got an email, telling me anything,” he said.
He says he always keeps a close eye on his bank account, which is a good thing. He noticed two charges for about $90 he didn’t recognize.
“Told my wife. I said, ‘I think I screwed up,’” he said.
He then noticed red flags he didn’t catch earlier. For example, much of the email wasn’t in English and whoever sent it used a Gmail account.
“It didn’t seem legitimate, really,” he said looking back.
And he says the scammer hit him up with another survey since then, probably because he fell for the first one.
“It looked very similar with a screwy email address so I just threw it in the trash.” Smart move.
Protect yourself:
- Be suspicious of emails you didn’t ask for.
- Don’t click on links you don’t recognize.
- Think twice if it comes from a personal -- not official -- account. You can even hover your cursor over the address to see the real one.
- You shouldn’t have to pay money to get money -- or any prize.
Keep these same rules in mind for text messages, too, Stoogenke said.
VIDEO: Did you get a random item in the mail you weren’t expecting? It could be a brushing scam
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