GREENSBORO, N.C. — Someone's knocking at the door, somebody’s ringing the bell. Besides signing along with Paul McCartney, what do you do? Your choices are to answer it, peek through the peephole, or ignore it.
A lot of folks are answering the door because they believe the person on the other side is with a company they do business with, but what’s happening is anything from a scam to bad business practice.
CPI Security customers are getting an email warning them about these door-to-door issues.
Competitors are committing fraud by posing as CPI employees or they're providing deceptive information about CPI.
What kind of deceptive information? The claim is they're with a new company that bought CPI and your service needs to be changed over or they're with CPI and they need to do some updates on your control panel
Both claims are false.
CPI offers these 4 steps to protect yourself, and really, these are pretty standard for any company-- even if you don't have CPI.
Examine their attire. Look for logos. Now, we know scammers can make their own so, don’t just rely on this one.
Verify their employee ID. There is actually a website where you can put the number in-- or you can just call the mainline.
Here's the biggie: No employee will ever come to an existing customer's home to sell equipment or upgrade your system unannounced.
And last, contact CPI directly, with the number you have on your bill.
Since we're on the subject of your money and possible scams, this is timely since Tax Day is May 17, 2021.
DON'T FALL FOR TAX SCAMS
Be very careful about how you share your tax-related information, and follow these tips to avoid scams:
- Verify that the message is authentic. If the sender is someone you know, call them and confirm that they actually sent the message. If you’re not familiar with the sender, don’t respond and report the email to your company’s IT department and to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
- Beware of scammers posing as the IRS and demanding tax payments over the phone. If you get a call from someone claiming to work with a government agency, chances are he or she is a crook. Unless you have received written communication from the IRS that outlines your tax debt, the IRS is unlikely to call you to collect. Ask them for the caller’s name and identification number. Then, hang up, look up the agency’s telephone number and call the agency directly to confirm the information. Also, if anyone demands you make immediate payments using gift cards, money orders, or wire transfers, hang up the phone – it’s a scam.
- Guard your personal information. Identity thieves can use your Social Security number to take out loans, open credit cards or even collect your tax refund. Remember, email is vulnerable to hackers, so avoid emailing your Social Security number or other confidential information to a tax preparer or accountant. If you’re using a website to file your taxes, make sure your information is secure by looking for the lock icon on the address bar.
- Watch out for tax refund thieves who file returns in your name and collect your money. If you receive a notice or letter from the IRS indicating that more than one tax return was filed in your name, respond immediately to the IRS employee whose contact information was provided.