In an era when fraudulent calls are easily recognised, getting a call from a Saudi prince or a broker on the New York Stock Exchange is almost impossible. Thanks to spam filters such as TrueCaller, many dodgy international callers are now automatically blocked. Internet scammers, however, are professionals who are constantly striving to create more realistic and sophisticated scams to lure unsuspecting victims. The more personal information scammers have about you, such as address, age or date of birth, the easier it is for them to convince you that their scam is genuine. As a result, personalised scams tend to be more difficult to detect:- www.deekpay.com

Cybercriminals often create fake customer service accounts that resemble branded or official bank customer service accounts and then contact you by phone or message. Here's what some innocent customers have actually received in scam calls. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't. Think about it, if someone is giving away an expensive iPhone at a low price, why would he/she contact you and how did they get your contact information?

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Unfortunately, many people do not file their tax returns on time. This gives scammers an opportunity to take advantage of them. However, whether you are a few days away from the tax filing deadline or have not filed your taxes yet, the tax authorities will not call you to extort money from you.

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By making their scams sound ridiculous, scammers ensure that the most gullible people are targeted. If you receive a call to become a "VIP customer", think about whether you have applied for such a programme recently. If not, it's probably not a legitimate programme. No one gives anything away for nothing.

There is nothing wrong with being lucky per se. But if you are really a lucky winner of some competition where the prize is a luxury home, an international trip or a racing car or motorbike, why would they charge you for prize delivery? Also, do you remember buying a lottery ticket?

This is clear intimidation. Do you remember being intimidated by a staff member while doing business at a bank branch? So why would the bank threaten you via email, phone call or text message? Remember, no one can take your money if you have done nothing wrong.

If you are not expecting to receive an email or phone call, always think twice when confronted with such calls or emails. If you're not sure, don't reply or click on any links - call the official company number you've been given directly to verify.