Digital Lies: My Take

Digital Deception

          As part of Generation Z, technology has pretty much always been at our fingertips. We have grown up in an era where smartphones, the internet, and social media have been easily accessible since birth. This constant immersion means that for many of us, navigating online spaces and platforms come pretty naturally to us. However this familiarity with technology isn’t the case for everyone. A personal experience Ive witness firsthand is with my dad. My father is in his 50’s and originally from Costa Rica where he spend most of his life. My father is a smart intellectual, but since English isn’t his native language, navigating American online spaces can become more of a challenge for him, making him more susceptible to scammers. These scammers aren’t usually highly skilled hackers, there just good at playing on people’s trust to snag some personal information and or cash.

You know those calls that look like there coming from your bank, or emails saying theres something wrong with a “certain” package you ordered, telling you that you MUST click a link in order to solve the problem. The core purpose of these scams is to illicitly obtain personal information or money. They achieve this by mimicking what some people might view as legitimate sources to create a false sense of urgency or concern. They often request payment via untraceable methods like gift cards or wire transfers to further their goal.

To avoid falling victim, it’s crucial to be vigilant and always verify any suspicious contact by using official contact information from the company’s website, not the details provided in the suspicious message. You should also examine emails closely for subtle errors in the sender addresses, poor grammar or generic or robotic type greeting. Be extremely wary of any  requests for personal information, and ultimately just trust your gut. If a solution feels off, is best to take a moment step back the situation and check with precaution before taking any action.