🔒 Ways to identify phishing scams

Saturday,
October 14, 2023

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The week in review

• Consumer price inflation rose 0.4% month-over-month to match the previous month’s annual rate of 3.7%. Meanwhile, core inflation, which strips out energy and food prices, increased by 0.3% month-over-month, while the annual rate declined from 4.3% to 4.1%. Housing costs accounted for more than half of the increase.

• The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed to 7.67% in the first week of October, the highest since November 2000.

• The U.S. economy added 336,000 jobs in September, nearly double what economists had expected. It marked the strongest job growth in eight months, with the bulk coming from leisure and hospitality, government, and healthcare sectors. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.8%.

• Birkenstock made its debut on Wall Street, IPOing at $46 per share, and valuing the company at roughly $8.6 billion. The stock ended its first trading day nearly 13% lower at $40.20.

For more economic news, visit On the Money — SoFi’s one-stop-shop for news, trends, and tips!

Ways to Identify Phishing Scams

The costs of cybercrime are estimated to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025. That’s trillion with a ‘T’, meaning that it's ever more important that you do everything you can to protect yourself from scams. Phishing is defined as sending messages pretending to be from a reputable source to get you to reveal personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers. Here are a few things to look out for to help you identify phishing scams.

Look Out For Bad Grammar

Messages from scammers and cybercriminals are often riddled with poor grammar, misspellings or just feel "off". This can be a red flag, especially if the message supposedly comes from a major corporation. You can also check the email address the message comes from to make sure it's from the registered domain of the company it says it's coming from.

Be Careful If It's Urgent

Scammers often prey on people's sense or urgency. Maybe it's a supposed friend or relative in a dangerous situation, or a special offer that will only be available for a limited time. Many phishing scams depend on this sense of urgency — if you get an email or text message that requires immediate action, make sure to confirm that it's real.

Another way to protect yourself against phishing scams and other cybercrime is through cyber insurance. Learn more about SoFi’s cyber insurance from Blink℠ by Chubb®.

This week’s top stories

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Why now could be a good time to book your next flight
The post-pandemic demand is changing, and budget airlines have started cutting prices for domestic tickets.
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You’re not alone in your frustration with this housing market
Leading housing market associations penned an open letter to the Federal Reserve, calling for an end to interest rate hikes.
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Deep dives from SoFi Learn

How to stop being stressed about your finances
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Tips to help pay your student loans off quickly
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This is how inflation affects your student loans
Prices remain high in America but it doesn’t affect all types of student loans in the same way. Here’s what you need to know.
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