A woman went viral for sharing a rubber band “hack” thieves were using to intrude on someone’s home. While it may not be legitimate, it poses an interesting topic. Today’s scams are becoming increasingly more believable, catching people in all sorts of uncertain situations. So, what are things to look out for and how do you avoid falling victim?
Rubber Band Hack
While internet scams can be costly and disheartening, they’re far less dangerous and terrifying than a home invasion. As such, Kim Fleming Cernigliaro posted a warning on social media on April 21st, 2016 that burglars were putting a rubber band on the outside of doorknobs to create an opportunity to enter a home. Seemingly, she posted the warning online in a good hearted attempt to warn others to stay safe and vigilant.
Issuing the Rubber Band Warning
“Warning!!! Two weeks ago during the day, a hard knock was at my front door, not a regular knock but almost pounding,” she captioned the post.” (I honestly thought something may have happened to someone and they needed help) but something didn’t feel right…and I DO NOT answer the door when I am here by myself. So don’t bother!” Kim wrote.
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The Rubber Band Post Continues
The post continued: “After several Knocks, they finally left. I glanced and could see it was a man through the stained glass of my door. After about 30 minutes I walked outside to look for what I thought would be a brochure, but instead found a rubber band around my knob to hold the door to open when I unlocked the latch,” she wrote, concluding: “I called Ron and he told me to get the gun out and leave it out.”
A Claim Fueled by Trauma
The Texas native had been the victim of burglary a few years before the rubber band incident and appeared to be shaken up still because there doesn’t seem to be any evidence to back her claims.
Disproving the Rubber Band Theory
Snopes disproved the rubber band theory, writing: “The method described in this Facebook post doesn’t seem to provide any advantage to a would-be robber. The scenario imagined above involves a thief’s standing outside of a locked door and waiting for it to be unlocked before barging in — but hanging around the porch of a house waiting some indeterminate amount of time for the door to be unlocked is an awfully conspicuous and inefficient break-in method.”
No Evidence to Back the Runner Band Theory
However, that’s not the only issue with Kim’s rubber band claims. Rather, Snopes also noted that she posted how the burglaries have “been happening all of a sudden” yet no news reports were found with evidence to match her claims. While there doesn’t seem to be any weight regarding the claim that a rubber band has been helping in aiding a burglary, people are finding more creative ways to take from others.
Common Scams to be Wary about
Romance Scams- people have sent thousands of dollars to someone they thought they were in a relationship with. However, they later found out the person wasn’t who they claimed to be. Instead, they had several suitors from whom they were taking money, or never showed themselves at all.
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Celebrity Endorsement Scam
Celebrity Scams- Purportedly, people have been making fake endorsement videos, featuring celebrities representing certain brands like Gordan Ramsay and Hex Clad or Taylor Swift and Le Creuset.
Job Board Scams
Job boards like Indeed were once a helpful resource for connecting employees with companies. However, many have reported scam job postings made by fake companies to attain information like your social security number. One young professional warns that if a job posting or company sounds “too good to be true” it probably is.
AI Warning
AI is Alarmingly Realistic- Experts warn that AI is making it easy to create or learn new scams with little effort. “The superpower of generative AI is that you can actually give it a goal; for example, tell it, ‘Go find me 10 different phishing email ideas on how I can lure person X,’” explains Eyal Benishti, CEO and founder of the cybersecurity firm Ironscales, according to AARP.
A Second Expert’s Warning
Meanwhile, expert and analyst at TrustedSec, Alex Hamerstone explains: “It’s just like downloading any other app. If you were recording this conversation, you could feed it into the software and type out whatever you want me to say, and it would play my voice saying that.”
“It’s unbelievable to see it,” he added. “You cannot tell. It sounds just like the person. … It’s just much more difficult to tell what’s real and what’s fake.”
Avoiding Falling Victim
There are some easy methods to avoid falling victim to scams and burglary.
Firstly, large companies don’t reach out to individuals to ask for information. Rather, any communication with them will happen on a secured line or through a message center from their website or app. As such, if you’re receiving texts or emails asking for personal information it’s best to reach out to the company directly to confirm they’re trying to get a hold of you.
Secondly, don’t share any personal information. Most people who need your information already have it or can access it without sending a generic notice.
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Contact Organizations for Help
Thirdly, report any suspicious activity. One option is the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). They won’t always be able to retrieve funds or data but will often conduct an investigation to locate the source of the scam or scams.
Another option is the Internet Crime Complaint Center. However, they request a report in less than 24 hours after the incident to have a better chance at retrieving the losses, explains Marti DeLiema.
