There are always two sides to a coin. The introduction of any new technology, from phones, to computers, to the Internet is yet another avenue for criminal activities to run rampant. Even until this day, many criminals are still attempting to use phone calls to try to scam people of their hard earned money. If you would like to keep your money safe and sound, do keep these tips in mind the next time you're on the phone with a stranger.

1. Never Give Any Details Over The Phone

When you're sitting on the sidelines, it might be easy for you to say "I would never do something that stupid!" But, often times, it is exactly the same people that fall for it. The technique is called social engineering, whereby they manipulate your emotions and judgment to get you to trust them and provide private information.

They might convince you that there is an issue and need to "transfer" your call to someone with authority. They might say that they need some seemingly unharmful information for background checks such as birthdays and house address.

Remember: Any information you give, however big or small, can be ammunition for a larger scam. You might receive another call a few weeks later claiming to be the police, and you might believe them because they have all the right information (which you gave them)!

2. Never Give OTP

This is one of the easiest and effortless scams to pull off, especially in this day and age of fintech. e-Wallets such as BigPay and GrabPay require only a phone number and no password to sign in. They will then send you a one-time password or OTP to make sure you are the owner of the phone. 

Therefore, once the scammers get hold of your phone number (which is pretty easy, you can basically buy a list of numbers off the dark web and try them 1 by 1), they can act as an employee of the fintech company and tell you that they require the OTP to "release your account" or "complete the transaction".

Remember: Official employees of ANY COMPANY/WEBSITE will NEVER ask you for an OTP or personal details through the phone. This is usually also written when you receive an OTP!

3. Hang Up & Call Back

There are times when you will receive phone calls from people who claim to be the police, from the bank, or perhaps a lawyer. The key is to get you to believe they are someone trustworthy so you will give them what they need.

The best thing to do here is to politely tell them you want to hang up and call them back. Then, only call the official number for the company (which you can easily Google). If they offer you a number to call, ignore that as well.

Remember: If the call claims to be from a bank, this is especially important. Hang up, and call the number behind any of your debit or credit card. This is the best and safest way to make sure you are calling the actual bank.

It pays to be safe than sorry. Never ever be over confident about your ability to detect a scammer because these things always hit when you least expect it. Share this with your friends and family to keep them safe, and remember these 3 tips the next time you pick up that phone.