WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.516 --> 00:00:03.930 (gentle bright music) 2 00:00:03.930 --> 00:00:06.090 Welcome to "Hadley Presents." 3 00:00:06.090 --> 00:00:08.280 I'm your host, Ricky Enger, 4 00:00:08.280 --> 00:00:11.160 inviting you to sit back, relax, 5 00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:14.280 and enjoy a conversation with the experts. 6 00:00:14.280 --> 00:00:15.600 In this episode, 7 00:00:15.600 --> 00:00:18.386 we discuss tips and tricks for avoiding scams, 8 00:00:18.386 --> 00:00:22.590 and our guest is low vision blogger Veronica Lewis. 9 00:00:22.590 --> 00:00:24.420 Welcome to the show, Veronica. 10 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:26.160 Thank you so much for having me, Ricky. 11 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:27.870 I'm so excited to be here. 12 00:00:27.870 --> 00:00:30.510 It is delightful to have you. 13 00:00:30.510 --> 00:00:32.340 I've read your blog. 14 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:34.170 Sometimes I read it on your website 15 00:00:34.170 --> 00:00:36.690 and sometimes I find the info elsewhere, 16 00:00:36.690 --> 00:00:40.470 so you do get reposted a lot, which is fantastic. 17 00:00:40.470 --> 00:00:42.420 For those who are not familiar, 18 00:00:42.420 --> 00:00:46.350 you have the site Veronica with Four Eyes. 19 00:00:46.350 --> 00:00:47.550 That's your blog. 20 00:00:47.550 --> 00:00:50.700 And we're going to talk about scams today. 21 00:00:50.700 --> 00:00:51.750 But before we do that, 22 00:00:51.750 --> 00:00:53.250 I'm wondering if you could just tell us 23 00:00:53.250 --> 00:00:54.630 a bit about yourself. 24 00:00:54.630 --> 00:00:56.610 Thank you so much for having me again. 25 00:00:56.610 --> 00:00:59.681 Yeah, my name is Veronica Lewis. 26 00:00:59.681 --> 00:01:02.998 I run the Low Vision Assistive Technology website, 27 00:01:02.998 --> 00:01:04.740 Veronica with Four Eyes, 28 00:01:04.740 --> 00:01:07.650 where I help people with visual impairments 29 00:01:07.650 --> 00:01:11.347 learn to thrive both inside and outside of the classroom, 30 00:01:11.347 --> 00:01:15.120 workplace and in their living environments. 31 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:17.591 I started Veronica with Four Eyes back in 2016 32 00:01:17.591 --> 00:01:20.580 because I noticed there wasn't 33 00:01:20.580 --> 00:01:23.010 a whole lot of resources out there, 34 00:01:23.010 --> 00:01:26.670 specifically targeted at living with visual impairment, 35 00:01:26.670 --> 00:01:29.430 and I wanted to share the things I had learned 36 00:01:29.430 --> 00:01:31.260 with others as well. 37 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:36.260 My website can be found at V-E-R-O-N-I-I-I-I-C-A.com, 38 00:01:39.270 --> 00:01:41.820 so that's Veronica spelled with four I's. 39 00:01:41.820 --> 00:01:42.930 Love it. 40 00:01:42.930 --> 00:01:46.560 And we will have a link to that in the show notes. 41 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:49.230 So if you're frantically writing and didn't quite get that, 42 00:01:49.230 --> 00:01:51.270 no worries, we'll have that for you 43 00:01:51.270 --> 00:01:53.700 and it's well worth the read. 44 00:01:53.700 --> 00:01:55.620 So, as I mentioned, 45 00:01:55.620 --> 00:01:58.530 we are going to be talking about scams today. 46 00:01:58.530 --> 00:02:00.990 Certainly not everyone's favorite subject, 47 00:02:00.990 --> 00:02:03.720 but a necessary one. 48 00:02:03.720 --> 00:02:07.080 You know, I think any general info about scams 49 00:02:07.080 --> 00:02:07.980 is a good thing. 50 00:02:07.980 --> 00:02:11.310 So, if you're watching maybe the local news 51 00:02:11.310 --> 00:02:13.230 and there's a segment about scams 52 00:02:13.230 --> 00:02:15.655 or maybe you're reading something in a newsletter, 53 00:02:15.655 --> 00:02:17.967 that info is always great. 54 00:02:17.967 --> 00:02:22.710 But I'm wondering about, for our discussion, 55 00:02:22.710 --> 00:02:26.320 are there things that people with vision loss, 56 00:02:26.320 --> 00:02:29.842 maybe some characteristics that may make us 57 00:02:29.842 --> 00:02:32.790 a little more vulnerable to scams 58 00:02:32.790 --> 00:02:36.270 because of some aspects of our vision loss? 59 00:02:36.270 --> 00:02:37.290 Absolutely. 60 00:02:37.290 --> 00:02:42.240 So, one that comes to mind is that people may have trouble 61 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:45.510 reading things very carefully or picking up on differences 62 00:02:45.510 --> 00:02:48.510 maybe with formatting or spelling. 63 00:02:48.510 --> 00:02:52.320 So for example, a lot of scam emails 64 00:02:52.320 --> 00:02:55.710 come from what looks like a real company, 65 00:02:55.710 --> 00:02:58.260 but maybe one or two letters have changed 66 00:02:58.260 --> 00:03:01.650 or maybe the font has changed, so the logo looks different, 67 00:03:01.650 --> 00:03:05.730 and these may not be details that people would pick up on. 68 00:03:05.730 --> 00:03:08.268 I know I get a lot of emails in that nature 69 00:03:08.268 --> 00:03:10.882 where it will claim to be from PayPal 70 00:03:10.882 --> 00:03:14.100 or from all of these different 71 00:03:14.100 --> 00:03:16.620 social media sites or websites, 72 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:20.301 and it'll have the name of the company in it, 73 00:03:20.301 --> 00:03:23.033 can even just have different phrases 74 00:03:23.033 --> 00:03:24.900 and weird things in there. 75 00:03:24.900 --> 00:03:28.722 But if you're looking at something non-visually 76 00:03:28.722 --> 00:03:31.110 or reading through a screen reader, 77 00:03:31.110 --> 00:03:34.470 you may not immediately pick up on these things. 78 00:03:34.470 --> 00:03:37.620 Another thing that also comes to mind is, 79 00:03:37.620 --> 00:03:41.100 I feel like a lot of people will share 80 00:03:41.100 --> 00:03:44.250 a lot of personally identifiable information online, 81 00:03:44.250 --> 00:03:47.910 especially when they're new to living with visual impairment 82 00:03:47.910 --> 00:03:50.670 and are just desperate for resources. 83 00:03:50.670 --> 00:03:52.952 I get messages from people sometimes 84 00:03:52.952 --> 00:03:56.700 where they will include their full name, 85 00:03:56.700 --> 00:04:00.480 the city and state they live in, their diagnosis 86 00:04:00.480 --> 00:04:04.110 and even things like sometimes their phone number, 87 00:04:04.110 --> 00:04:06.060 their address. 88 00:04:06.060 --> 00:04:09.780 And I am always surprised when those come through 89 00:04:09.780 --> 00:04:14.100 because you have no idea where that email's going 90 00:04:14.100 --> 00:04:16.500 or who could actually be receiving it. 91 00:04:16.500 --> 00:04:21.500 So, I think the nature of, again, also oversharing 92 00:04:23.430 --> 00:04:25.133 in an attempt to find resources 93 00:04:25.133 --> 00:04:28.152 can also make people particularly vulnerable to scams 94 00:04:28.152 --> 00:04:31.950 because you can sometimes track down 95 00:04:31.950 --> 00:04:35.370 someone with a visual impairment with as few two pieces 96 00:04:35.370 --> 00:04:37.890 of personally identifiable information. 97 00:04:37.890 --> 00:04:40.830 Even a first name and a diagnosis can sometimes be enough 98 00:04:40.830 --> 00:04:43.410 to find a lot of information about somebody, 99 00:04:43.410 --> 00:04:46.455 and having that information in so many places online 100 00:04:46.455 --> 00:04:48.720 can definitely make people 101 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:51.420 more vulnerable to scams in that regard. 102 00:04:51.420 --> 00:04:52.680 Yeah, that makes sense, 103 00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:54.840 and it's actually a little bit terrifying 104 00:04:54.840 --> 00:04:56.010 if you think about it. 105 00:04:56.010 --> 00:04:58.825 And it's no wonder that a lot of people, 106 00:04:58.825 --> 00:05:02.797 I hear this all the time, where people say, 107 00:05:02.797 --> 00:05:07.797 "You know, I just wanna avoid all of this. 108 00:05:07.890 --> 00:05:11.315 I'm not going to mess around with any of this online stuff. 109 00:05:11.315 --> 00:05:13.050 It's just too much. 110 00:05:13.050 --> 00:05:16.590 I'm gonna stay safe just with my phone. 111 00:05:16.590 --> 00:05:19.140 Maybe I'll do a little texting or whatever, 112 00:05:19.140 --> 00:05:22.290 but not going online to where the scams are." 113 00:05:22.290 --> 00:05:26.460 But the truth is, the scams are everywhere. 114 00:05:26.460 --> 00:05:30.360 They happen on the phone and text too. 115 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:32.610 So maybe let's talk about that. 116 00:05:32.610 --> 00:05:35.070 What are some scams that can happen, 117 00:05:35.070 --> 00:05:37.530 maybe by phone or by text? 118 00:05:37.530 --> 00:05:40.020 So, I know one thing that comes to mind 119 00:05:40.020 --> 00:05:42.000 is a lot of text alerts 120 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:45.265 for fake two-factor authentication codes 121 00:05:45.265 --> 00:05:47.580 for logging into a website 122 00:05:47.580 --> 00:05:51.630 or people may be prompted to give login information 123 00:05:51.630 --> 00:05:54.570 through unencrypted text or things like that. 124 00:05:54.570 --> 00:05:56.610 Another example that came to mind as well 125 00:05:56.610 --> 00:05:58.770 was just spam phone calls. 126 00:05:58.770 --> 00:05:59.603 Right. 127 00:05:59.603 --> 00:06:01.680 You have no idea how many calls I've gotten 128 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:03.630 from my car's extended warranty, 129 00:06:03.630 --> 00:06:06.480 and I've never operated a motor vehicle. 130 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:11.480 It's been pretty bananas just to see how many spam calls 131 00:06:11.807 --> 00:06:15.382 and texts people can get in just a single day 132 00:06:15.382 --> 00:06:18.903 and how many of them can look realistic 133 00:06:18.903 --> 00:06:22.620 and, like, something that people need to respond to. 134 00:06:22.620 --> 00:06:25.080 I feel like a lot of these scammers 135 00:06:25.080 --> 00:06:29.610 have become skilled at sending messages or phone calls 136 00:06:29.610 --> 00:06:33.270 that generate anxiety or fear and things like that 137 00:06:33.270 --> 00:06:36.390 and make people feel like they have to reply right away. 138 00:06:36.390 --> 00:06:38.141 So learning to spot those tactics 139 00:06:38.141 --> 00:06:41.040 can help to protect people as well. 140 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:43.800 You know, that's a really good point. 141 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:46.590 There is a staff member at Hadley, Lisa, 142 00:06:46.590 --> 00:06:51.590 she tells the story of her dad getting this call, 143 00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:56.227 and the caller on the other end says, 144 00:06:56.227 --> 00:07:00.367 "Devin is in jail," and this is his grandson, 145 00:07:00.367 --> 00:07:03.420 "and we need you to respond immediately. 146 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:05.173 I'm the police officer. 147 00:07:05.173 --> 00:07:09.270 You do need to pay in order to get him out of jail," 148 00:07:09.270 --> 00:07:11.128 and all of that. 149 00:07:11.128 --> 00:07:15.420 So it's a huge adrenaline spike, right? 150 00:07:15.420 --> 00:07:17.720 Well, fortunately Devin just happened 151 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:21.930 to be visiting her dad, so he was right there in the room. 152 00:07:21.930 --> 00:07:24.210 That scam didn't go so far. 153 00:07:24.210 --> 00:07:29.210 But what happens if you don't have your grandson 154 00:07:30.210 --> 00:07:32.430 right in the room and you get a call like this 155 00:07:32.430 --> 00:07:35.707 that is really playing on these 156 00:07:35.707 --> 00:07:39.240 "you have to respond now or else" kind of things? 157 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:41.160 How do you deal with that? 158 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:45.330 I think it helps to know how these processes actually work 159 00:07:45.330 --> 00:07:48.300 and know that there will never be a situation 160 00:07:48.300 --> 00:07:50.490 where you'll have to wire money over the phone 161 00:07:50.490 --> 00:07:51.990 to get somebody out of jail. 162 00:07:51.990 --> 00:07:55.020 Like, that's not a thing that happens. 163 00:07:55.020 --> 00:07:57.390 Another thing that stood out from that story though 164 00:07:57.390 --> 00:08:00.780 is how did they know her grandson's name, Devin? 165 00:08:00.780 --> 00:08:01.613 Yeah. 166 00:08:01.613 --> 00:08:03.450 Where did that information come from? 167 00:08:03.450 --> 00:08:06.300 So it can also be if you have Facebook, 168 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:08.374 kind of just locking down privacy settings, 169 00:08:08.374 --> 00:08:12.390 so not anybody can just find out that information 170 00:08:12.390 --> 00:08:16.380 or find out all of these other names as well. 171 00:08:16.380 --> 00:08:18.210 One of the things that can help 172 00:08:18.210 --> 00:08:20.970 with the adrenaline rush situations 173 00:08:20.970 --> 00:08:25.230 is also knowing how to contact, say, the real business 174 00:08:25.230 --> 00:08:28.350 or the real agency that gave you a call to begin with. 175 00:08:28.350 --> 00:08:31.440 Like, let's say if it's the grandson's in jail, 176 00:08:31.440 --> 00:08:34.524 know that you can hang up with this person 177 00:08:34.524 --> 00:08:38.010 and then call back the jail and talk to somebody else. 178 00:08:38.010 --> 00:08:39.480 In that real situation, 179 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:42.150 they'll understand that you want to verify things 180 00:08:42.150 --> 00:08:45.300 and make sure things are the way that you say they are. 181 00:08:45.300 --> 00:08:46.890 I think it's also important, 182 00:08:46.890 --> 00:08:49.207 with some of these scams to know that they will say, 183 00:08:49.207 --> 00:08:52.320 "Hey, I can call you back and you'll see on my caller ID 184 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:54.900 that I really am with this agency," 185 00:08:54.900 --> 00:08:57.930 but the thing is, is that they can spoof the caller ID, 186 00:08:57.930 --> 00:08:59.880 they could spoof a phone number. 187 00:08:59.880 --> 00:09:01.740 It's no grand accomplishment 188 00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:04.140 that they were able to call you back with the phone number 189 00:09:04.140 --> 00:09:07.620 that they say on the other organization's website. 190 00:09:07.620 --> 00:09:08.940 It's important to take the time 191 00:09:08.940 --> 00:09:11.040 to make those calls for yourself 192 00:09:11.040 --> 00:09:14.100 and just make sure you're doing your research 193 00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:17.340 that this organization is who they say they are. 194 00:09:17.340 --> 00:09:20.220 Yeah, and it sounds like really what you're talking about, 195 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:22.020 this are some great tips. 196 00:09:22.020 --> 00:09:27.020 The overall feeling is to take that step back 197 00:09:27.060 --> 00:09:30.210 and let the logic come into play. 198 00:09:30.210 --> 00:09:32.419 So don't respond immediately. 199 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:37.419 Have that time to do the research, to make the call back. 200 00:09:38.010 --> 00:09:42.210 Don't react to what's happening. 201 00:09:42.210 --> 00:09:43.740 Take that step back 202 00:09:43.740 --> 00:09:48.690 so that you're absolutely sure about what's happening. 203 00:09:48.690 --> 00:09:53.370 I'm wondering also about, if you're planning ahead, 204 00:09:53.370 --> 00:09:57.450 are there things like talking with family members 205 00:09:57.450 --> 00:10:00.300 and having maybe a code word in place 206 00:10:00.300 --> 00:10:03.990 or something that if you needed to verify, 207 00:10:03.990 --> 00:10:06.180 it was definitely your family member? 208 00:10:06.180 --> 00:10:08.970 You've talked about it over beforehand 209 00:10:08.970 --> 00:10:10.590 about what to do in this situation. 210 00:10:10.590 --> 00:10:12.420 Have you heard of people doing this? 211 00:10:12.420 --> 00:10:15.317 Absolutely, and it's something I have with my family 212 00:10:15.317 --> 00:10:17.310 and my friends as well. 213 00:10:17.310 --> 00:10:22.020 Everybody has their own special word where I can verify it. 214 00:10:22.020 --> 00:10:26.340 And another thing too is I've made it a word that, 215 00:10:26.340 --> 00:10:28.410 or an interest or something that 216 00:10:28.410 --> 00:10:30.840 that we don't talk about on social media 217 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:32.460 or on public platforms. 218 00:10:32.460 --> 00:10:35.617 So somebody else wouldn't be able to say like, 219 00:10:35.617 --> 00:10:38.040 "Oh, I'm pretending to be this friend. 220 00:10:38.040 --> 00:10:40.020 I saw your post at one point 221 00:10:40.020 --> 00:10:43.230 about how much maybe you love this certain activity, 222 00:10:43.230 --> 00:10:44.610 so I'm going to say 223 00:10:44.610 --> 00:10:46.545 a word that's associated with that activity, 224 00:10:46.545 --> 00:10:50.333 so you know it's maybe associated with this person." 225 00:10:50.333 --> 00:10:52.740 So I think that's really valuable, 226 00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:55.650 just keeping that information safe 227 00:10:55.650 --> 00:10:58.528 and making sure that no one else would be able to guess 228 00:10:58.528 --> 00:11:00.390 what the word is. 229 00:11:00.390 --> 00:11:02.910 I think another thing too was, 230 00:11:02.910 --> 00:11:05.160 I know some people answer a question 231 00:11:05.160 --> 00:11:08.040 that I think only this other person could figure out, 232 00:11:08.040 --> 00:11:10.710 but again, with all the publicly 233 00:11:10.710 --> 00:11:13.050 identifiable information online, 234 00:11:13.050 --> 00:11:16.080 you have to really make sure it's a strong question 235 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:19.170 and not something like a security question 236 00:11:19.170 --> 00:11:21.360 about who's my favorite teacher, 237 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:22.950 where did I go to high school? 238 00:11:22.950 --> 00:11:27.030 Because I'm sure people could go back and find that. 239 00:11:27.030 --> 00:11:28.680 Yes, indeed. 240 00:11:28.680 --> 00:11:31.950 These are some good plans to have in place 241 00:11:31.950 --> 00:11:34.650 if something like this should happen. 242 00:11:34.650 --> 00:11:39.556 Are there any tools for stopping these phone or text scams 243 00:11:39.556 --> 00:11:41.250 before they happen, 244 00:11:41.250 --> 00:11:45.077 like maybe a tool from your phone provider 245 00:11:45.077 --> 00:11:49.080 or talking caller ID, things like that that people might use 246 00:11:49.080 --> 00:11:51.240 just to be aware of what's happening 247 00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:54.660 before they even pick up the phone or look at that text? 248 00:11:54.660 --> 00:11:55.560 Absolutely. 249 00:11:55.560 --> 00:11:59.132 A lot of companies like Apple and Google 250 00:11:59.132 --> 00:12:01.710 have also created their own tools 251 00:12:01.710 --> 00:12:06.710 for iOS and Android respectively for screening scam calls 252 00:12:06.840 --> 00:12:09.630 and numbers that might be scams as well 253 00:12:09.630 --> 00:12:12.960 and having them just go straight to voicemail or disconnect. 254 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:15.720 The block tool is a really great thing to have. 255 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:17.612 There are also tools that will let you block 256 00:12:17.612 --> 00:12:19.239 for an entire area code 257 00:12:19.239 --> 00:12:21.760 if you're repeatedly getting spam calls 258 00:12:21.760 --> 00:12:24.000 from a specific area code 259 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:27.720 that maybe doesn't even exist in the United States. 260 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:30.540 Another thing that came to mind as well 261 00:12:30.540 --> 00:12:32.961 is there's a spam and blocked option 262 00:12:32.961 --> 00:12:35.940 for messaging apps a lot of times. 263 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:39.270 They'll filter through messages that seem to be a scam 264 00:12:39.270 --> 00:12:42.281 or associated with scam numbers, 265 00:12:42.281 --> 00:12:45.210 and those tools seem to work really well. 266 00:12:45.210 --> 00:12:47.370 There's also third-party apps as well 267 00:12:47.370 --> 00:12:49.744 that can provide more enhanced caller ID 268 00:12:49.744 --> 00:12:52.230 and protection features as well, 269 00:12:52.230 --> 00:12:56.130 and they also may provide more options for blocking as well. 270 00:12:56.130 --> 00:12:57.150 That makes sense. 271 00:12:57.150 --> 00:13:00.606 So, we've talked about some offline scams, 272 00:13:00.606 --> 00:13:03.780 and sadly there are a lot of them. 273 00:13:03.780 --> 00:13:07.505 For people who do choose to go online, 274 00:13:07.505 --> 00:13:11.318 whether it's for shopping or social media or email, 275 00:13:11.318 --> 00:13:15.480 all of these things are wonderful, wonderful tools, 276 00:13:15.480 --> 00:13:19.080 but they also leave us vulnerable to scams. 277 00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:22.230 So what are some of these common scams 278 00:13:22.230 --> 00:13:24.282 that people might find online? 279 00:13:24.282 --> 00:13:28.500 Oh, a lot of scams come to mind, unfortunately. 280 00:13:28.500 --> 00:13:30.060 Yeah, no doubt. 281 00:13:30.060 --> 00:13:33.420 I've seen a few things for fake job listings, 282 00:13:33.420 --> 00:13:35.610 fake products that are being offered 283 00:13:35.610 --> 00:13:37.590 through Medicare or Medicaid, 284 00:13:37.590 --> 00:13:40.830 especially, like, assistive technology products. 285 00:13:40.830 --> 00:13:44.220 I've seen a lot of times, 286 00:13:44.220 --> 00:13:47.250 if you're online shopping, sometimes. 287 00:13:47.250 --> 00:13:49.050 This is kind of funny actually. 288 00:13:49.050 --> 00:13:52.272 I get receipts from fake companies 289 00:13:52.272 --> 00:13:54.480 for things I did not order. 290 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:58.230 One of the examples I share on my website actually 291 00:13:58.230 --> 00:14:03.230 is I had gotten a fake order invoice that said, 292 00:14:03.305 --> 00:14:06.090 "We charged this to your PayPal." 293 00:14:06.090 --> 00:14:10.620 This receipt has your name and an address on it, 294 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:11.810 but it's for... 295 00:14:12.786 --> 00:14:14.640 I think it was for a 15-foot-tall 296 00:14:14.640 --> 00:14:17.880 inflatable water slide for the backyard. 297 00:14:17.880 --> 00:14:20.130 And they said, "If you didn't order this, 298 00:14:20.130 --> 00:14:22.290 please call us with your PayPal number." 299 00:14:22.290 --> 00:14:25.890 And it's like, "No, I'm not doing that." 300 00:14:25.890 --> 00:14:30.690 And besides, I knew that the address they had shared, 301 00:14:30.690 --> 00:14:35.690 the email and all these other things were definitely fake. 302 00:14:35.820 --> 00:14:38.250 Another scam also that comes to mind, 303 00:14:38.250 --> 00:14:41.884 which isn't necessarily the traditional thing you think of 304 00:14:41.884 --> 00:14:43.680 when it comes to a scam, 305 00:14:43.680 --> 00:14:48.282 but it's related to sharing images and things online is, 306 00:14:48.282 --> 00:14:51.630 I've seen some accounts on social media 307 00:14:51.630 --> 00:14:56.280 will put in fake or misleading alt text for images 308 00:14:56.280 --> 00:15:00.240 to get people to tweet them or reshare them 309 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:01.830 or whatever on their profile. 310 00:15:01.830 --> 00:15:04.410 So they'll think they're sharing a picture of one thing, 311 00:15:04.410 --> 00:15:06.660 but it's actually something much different. 312 00:15:06.660 --> 00:15:08.040 Oh, yes, right. 313 00:15:08.040 --> 00:15:09.150 This is a good one. 314 00:15:09.150 --> 00:15:12.000 So if you have enough vision 315 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:15.780 where you're able to discern images pretty clearly, 316 00:15:15.780 --> 00:15:18.480 this is probably not going to apply to you. 317 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:22.290 But if you're having the text on your screen read aloud, 318 00:15:22.290 --> 00:15:24.180 so if you're using a screen reader, 319 00:15:24.180 --> 00:15:27.720 this is definitely a thing that could happen. 320 00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:32.190 So when you encounter graphics or images, 321 00:15:32.190 --> 00:15:36.330 they might say "graphic" or "image" or "blank" or whatever 322 00:15:36.330 --> 00:15:39.692 because someone has not bothered to describe that image. 323 00:15:39.692 --> 00:15:44.692 But if someone does add a description, that is alt text. 324 00:15:45.228 --> 00:15:48.484 So what you might have is something like a picture 325 00:15:48.484 --> 00:15:52.410 of a black dog playing in the snow. 326 00:15:52.410 --> 00:15:55.770 And someone adds a description to that image 327 00:15:55.770 --> 00:15:57.547 so that your screen reader says, 328 00:15:57.547 --> 00:16:00.030 "black dog playing in the snow." 329 00:16:00.030 --> 00:16:01.800 I guess what's happening here, though, 330 00:16:01.800 --> 00:16:05.850 is that the description does not match the image. 331 00:16:05.850 --> 00:16:07.364 So you may think you're sharing 332 00:16:07.364 --> 00:16:10.710 that picture of a black dog playing in the snow 333 00:16:10.710 --> 00:16:12.960 but maybe not so much. 334 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:14.640 I actually had, 335 00:16:14.640 --> 00:16:18.180 this has happened to a few of my friends unfortunately, 336 00:16:18.180 --> 00:16:21.570 where one of them had reposted a picture. 337 00:16:21.570 --> 00:16:24.090 I think it was on Twitter at the time. 338 00:16:24.090 --> 00:16:26.520 And when I looked at the alt text, 339 00:16:26.520 --> 00:16:29.400 it said it was a picture of, like, a sunset 340 00:16:29.400 --> 00:16:31.560 with an inspirational quote, 341 00:16:31.560 --> 00:16:35.038 but the actual picture was something very much different. 342 00:16:35.038 --> 00:16:38.070 It was actually something that was explicit. 343 00:16:38.070 --> 00:16:41.647 So I ended up calling my friend on the phone and going, 344 00:16:41.647 --> 00:16:44.580 "Hey, did you mean to share this? 345 00:16:44.580 --> 00:16:46.950 Do you know what's in that picture?" 346 00:16:46.950 --> 00:16:50.790 And they were mortified because they had no idea. 347 00:16:50.790 --> 00:16:53.130 One of the posts I have on my website 348 00:16:53.130 --> 00:16:57.150 is about how to access images without alt text. 349 00:16:57.150 --> 00:16:59.160 And it's important, like, 350 00:16:59.160 --> 00:17:01.080 when you're on social media sometimes 351 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:04.770 where if you're resharing something from an account 352 00:17:04.770 --> 00:17:07.230 maybe you don't know, maybe it showed up in your feed 353 00:17:07.230 --> 00:17:10.013 through the algorithm or whatever, 354 00:17:10.013 --> 00:17:12.963 it can be helpful to just run the picture 355 00:17:12.963 --> 00:17:16.260 through, like, a visual assistance app 356 00:17:16.260 --> 00:17:18.570 to make sure it is what you think it is. 357 00:17:18.570 --> 00:17:20.220 Yeah, that makes perfect sense. 358 00:17:20.220 --> 00:17:23.010 So, if you're not able to see that image, 359 00:17:23.010 --> 00:17:26.310 be careful about what the alt text description 360 00:17:26.310 --> 00:17:28.890 is telling you it is. 361 00:17:28.890 --> 00:17:32.970 And sometimes even if you can see the image, 362 00:17:32.970 --> 00:17:34.980 there will be things that happen 363 00:17:34.980 --> 00:17:38.859 where on social media you might see a picture of someone 364 00:17:38.859 --> 00:17:42.930 and it says, "Oh, I'm going to miss him so much," 365 00:17:42.930 --> 00:17:45.657 and the implication is that the person has passed away 366 00:17:45.657 --> 00:17:48.570 and there's a link that you can click 367 00:17:48.570 --> 00:17:52.110 to learn more information or read the obituary 368 00:17:52.110 --> 00:17:56.461 or what have you, and the link for that is the scam. 369 00:17:56.461 --> 00:17:59.820 And when you click that, goodness knows where you go. 370 00:17:59.820 --> 00:18:04.820 So, again, it sounds like what we're really talking about 371 00:18:05.670 --> 00:18:09.899 is while we're sharing some specific scams 372 00:18:09.899 --> 00:18:12.600 that people might run into, 373 00:18:12.600 --> 00:18:17.600 the general thing to do is to carefully look 374 00:18:18.300 --> 00:18:21.450 at whatever it is you're doing before proceeding. 375 00:18:21.450 --> 00:18:24.240 Whether that means, if you're using a screen reader, 376 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:26.850 you're spelling things letter by letter, 377 00:18:26.850 --> 00:18:29.520 or if you're reading it visually, 378 00:18:29.520 --> 00:18:32.190 that even though you've got that eye strain, 379 00:18:32.190 --> 00:18:34.650 it can be important to just take the time 380 00:18:34.650 --> 00:18:39.294 to carefully look at those things to make sure 381 00:18:39.294 --> 00:18:43.500 that it's what you thought it was at first glance, right? 382 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:44.640 Absolutely. 383 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:47.160 Another strategy that came to mind as well 384 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:49.470 for helping with email scams 385 00:18:49.470 --> 00:18:54.060 is I take the trusted domains for websites. 386 00:18:54.060 --> 00:18:56.100 So, maybe for example, 387 00:18:56.100 --> 00:19:00.300 I need notifications from WordPress for my website, 388 00:19:00.300 --> 00:19:04.080 I whitelisted the WordPress email extension 389 00:19:04.080 --> 00:19:07.200 so I know that any email that comes from there 390 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:08.700 is likely from WordPress, 391 00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:11.580 and I filter those to a folder in my email 392 00:19:11.580 --> 00:19:14.160 so I know that when I open that folder, 393 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:16.380 it's actual emails from WordPress 394 00:19:16.380 --> 00:19:20.310 as opposed to the scam emails pretending to be WordPress 395 00:19:20.310 --> 00:19:22.110 that may show up elsewhere. 396 00:19:22.110 --> 00:19:23.610 That's a really good idea 397 00:19:23.610 --> 00:19:27.090 to do some of that filtering beforehand. 398 00:19:27.090 --> 00:19:30.480 And if you're thinking, "I have no idea how to do that," 399 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:31.650 we're happy at Hadley 400 00:19:31.650 --> 00:19:34.530 to direct you to some of these resources 401 00:19:34.530 --> 00:19:39.530 for just the technical part of doing that. 402 00:19:39.540 --> 00:19:43.800 So, we can be as careful as possible 403 00:19:43.800 --> 00:19:48.007 and try and think through all of these and say, 404 00:19:48.007 --> 00:19:50.880 "Okay, I've got a plan in place and so on," 405 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:54.742 but sometimes the worst happens anyway, 406 00:19:54.742 --> 00:19:59.700 and we find that we have been the victim of a scam. 407 00:19:59.700 --> 00:20:03.150 So if that does come to pass, 408 00:20:03.150 --> 00:20:07.770 are there some tricks for just navigating that 409 00:20:07.770 --> 00:20:10.560 and getting safely on the other side? 410 00:20:10.560 --> 00:20:11.460 Absolutely. 411 00:20:11.460 --> 00:20:14.310 So, one of the things that comes to mind 412 00:20:14.310 --> 00:20:16.710 is that when it comes to changing passwords, 413 00:20:16.710 --> 00:20:20.190 the first one you should change is your email password, 414 00:20:20.190 --> 00:20:22.980 because if somebody has your email password, 415 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:26.665 they can hit the forgot password button on any other website 416 00:20:26.665 --> 00:20:29.460 and change all of the passwords for you, 417 00:20:29.460 --> 00:20:31.860 and then it'll be much harder for you to get them back. 418 00:20:31.860 --> 00:20:34.260 So, it's very important to make sure, 419 00:20:34.260 --> 00:20:36.000 if you have a compromised account 420 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:37.740 or anything was compromised, 421 00:20:37.740 --> 00:20:40.350 definitely secure your email first 422 00:20:40.350 --> 00:20:43.380 and then work on securing everything else. 423 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:44.760 Another thing that comes to mind 424 00:20:44.760 --> 00:20:47.550 is just being honest about what happened 425 00:20:47.550 --> 00:20:50.214 and reaching out to family members 426 00:20:50.214 --> 00:20:54.157 or other groups for help and saying, 427 00:20:54.157 --> 00:20:56.400 "Yes, I know I got scammed," 428 00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:58.140 instead of keeping it secret 429 00:20:58.140 --> 00:21:00.990 because you can't believe it happened to you. 430 00:21:00.990 --> 00:21:04.050 Be honest about it and let people help you 431 00:21:04.050 --> 00:21:07.380 try to get everything fixed again. 432 00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:10.860 I think that's really important as well. 433 00:21:10.860 --> 00:21:15.570 Another thing too is just, again, being on top of things, 434 00:21:15.570 --> 00:21:19.200 like, make sure that your bank account is secured, 435 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:21.900 like, changing the passwords there, of course, 436 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:24.180 freeze the cards if needed 437 00:21:24.180 --> 00:21:27.480 and make sure that when you are contacting 438 00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:28.770 places to help with this, 439 00:21:28.770 --> 00:21:31.530 that you are using their official phone numbers 440 00:21:31.530 --> 00:21:34.560 that you find directly on their websites, 441 00:21:34.560 --> 00:21:37.440 not something you may have found 442 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:40.376 in the recommended first result on a search engine 443 00:21:40.376 --> 00:21:42.900 because sometimes scammers will pay 444 00:21:42.900 --> 00:21:45.870 to have those phone numbers listed first. 445 00:21:45.870 --> 00:21:47.336 I had an issue at one point 446 00:21:47.336 --> 00:21:52.336 where I was trying to find a hotel reservation 447 00:21:52.770 --> 00:21:55.890 and I thought I had booked something over the phone. 448 00:21:55.890 --> 00:21:58.674 Luckily, I did not give any credit card information. 449 00:21:58.674 --> 00:22:02.100 I just had just given the information over the phone 450 00:22:02.100 --> 00:22:03.360 to book a hotel. 451 00:22:03.360 --> 00:22:06.300 And when I went there the next day, 452 00:22:06.300 --> 00:22:10.050 I found out I had never actually made a reservation. 453 00:22:10.050 --> 00:22:10.883 Oh my. 454 00:22:10.883 --> 00:22:13.860 So that was really frustrating, 455 00:22:13.860 --> 00:22:15.360 but I was able to get it fixed. 456 00:22:15.360 --> 00:22:16.380 I was just... 457 00:22:16.380 --> 00:22:19.200 I felt very silly because I couldn't believe 458 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:21.480 that I had fallen for that scam, 459 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:25.230 but it turned out that the phone number I had called, 460 00:22:25.230 --> 00:22:27.390 if I had asked the Google Assistant 461 00:22:27.390 --> 00:22:29.310 to dial this hotel chain, 462 00:22:29.310 --> 00:22:31.440 that phone number was the first in results, 463 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:32.700 and that's what came up. 464 00:22:32.700 --> 00:22:34.752 So, that was many years ago. 465 00:22:34.752 --> 00:22:37.140 Luckily, that issue has been fixed, 466 00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:39.930 but that was another thing that came to mind 467 00:22:39.930 --> 00:22:42.450 as sometimes these fake phone numbers 468 00:22:42.450 --> 00:22:45.780 can take precedence in the search results. 469 00:22:45.780 --> 00:22:47.490 Another tip I had as well 470 00:22:47.490 --> 00:22:51.540 was to save the accessibility support phone numbers 471 00:22:51.540 --> 00:22:54.420 for tech companies and things like that. 472 00:22:54.420 --> 00:22:56.250 These are specialty phone numbers 473 00:22:56.250 --> 00:22:59.826 that are designed to support assistive technology users, 474 00:22:59.826 --> 00:23:02.040 such as people who use screen readers 475 00:23:02.040 --> 00:23:04.020 or screen magnification 476 00:23:04.020 --> 00:23:06.180 with being able to access their products. 477 00:23:06.180 --> 00:23:08.760 There's a lot of different companies that have these, 478 00:23:08.760 --> 00:23:12.417 like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, 479 00:23:12.417 --> 00:23:16.350 telecommunications companies and things like that. 480 00:23:16.350 --> 00:23:19.050 And those are another helpful thing to contact 481 00:23:19.050 --> 00:23:22.050 if you're having trouble with accessing a product 482 00:23:22.050 --> 00:23:24.000 or accessing a billing service. 483 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:26.550 Yeah, those are all really, really great points. 484 00:23:26.550 --> 00:23:30.090 And I especially appreciate when you said, 485 00:23:30.090 --> 00:23:32.452 be honest about what happened, 486 00:23:32.452 --> 00:23:37.452 because I do feel like there is some shame around, 487 00:23:39.547 --> 00:23:41.460 "Oh, I got taken. 488 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:42.900 I fell for this." 489 00:23:42.900 --> 00:23:45.480 And People are reluctant to admit that, 490 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:49.560 but the truth is that it can happen to anyone, 491 00:23:49.560 --> 00:23:53.683 and it doesn't do you any good to hide that. 492 00:23:53.683 --> 00:23:57.930 It's okay to admit that moment of vulnerability 493 00:23:57.930 --> 00:24:01.680 so that you can move forward and get things fixed. 494 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:05.783 So, this has been amazing and just a wealth of information. 495 00:24:05.783 --> 00:24:08.049 We'll have a lot in the show notes 496 00:24:08.049 --> 00:24:11.400 and direct you to some resources. 497 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:13.860 These are all really, really great tips. 498 00:24:13.860 --> 00:24:16.860 And it may sound a bit overwhelming at first, 499 00:24:16.860 --> 00:24:18.810 like, "I have to think about all of this 500 00:24:18.810 --> 00:24:20.416 before I even do anything?" 501 00:24:20.416 --> 00:24:23.489 But, you know, once we break it down and say, 502 00:24:23.489 --> 00:24:25.206 what you're really talking about 503 00:24:25.206 --> 00:24:30.030 is just taking that extra second or two 504 00:24:30.030 --> 00:24:32.670 to think through what you're doing 505 00:24:32.670 --> 00:24:35.041 and then deciding to proceed. 506 00:24:35.041 --> 00:24:38.880 Once you have all the info you feel like you need, 507 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:40.950 that can be a wonderful thing. 508 00:24:40.950 --> 00:24:42.750 And having those plans in place 509 00:24:42.750 --> 00:24:47.280 for if something unexpected does happen, 510 00:24:47.280 --> 00:24:48.990 you kind of know what to do next 511 00:24:48.990 --> 00:24:51.397 instead of reacting with that adrenaline and, 512 00:24:51.397 --> 00:24:54.300 "Oh, no, I have to get this fixed 513 00:24:54.300 --> 00:24:57.510 or I have to respond immediately." 514 00:24:57.510 --> 00:25:00.210 So, thank you again, Veronica, so much. 515 00:25:00.210 --> 00:25:02.790 This has been fantastic and informative, 516 00:25:02.790 --> 00:25:06.210 and so glad you took a little time to join us. 517 00:25:06.210 --> 00:25:07.623 Thank you for having me. 518 00:25:08.760 --> 00:25:10.470 Got something to say? 519 00:25:10.470 --> 00:25:13.890 Share your thoughts about this episode of "Hadley Presents" 520 00:25:13.890 --> 00:25:16.500 or make suggestions for future episodes. 521 00:25:16.500 --> 00:25:18.210 We'd love to hear from you. 522 00:25:18.210 --> 00:25:23.190 Send us an email at podcast@hadleyhelps.org. 523 00:25:23.190 --> 00:25:28.190 That's P-O-D-C-A-S-T@hadleyhelps.O-R-G. 524 00:25:29.700 --> 00:25:34.440 Or leave us a message at 847-784-2870. 525 00:25:36.660 --> 00:25:37.743 Thanks for listening.