Make Tech Easier - Friday, January 26, 2018 at 10:50 AM
Top 10 Internet Scams You Should Know and Avoid in 2018
You must have heard about internet scams or could have even fallen victim once
before. You’re not alone. Losses from online frauds are 19 times more than
offline scams. The trend is growing and means we must be careful about how we
use the internet.
Let’s explore ten notorious internet scams you might encounter and how to avoid
them.
1. Advance-Fee Fraud
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The advance-fee fraud is the commonest of internet scams. As the name implies,
this scheme works by requesting for advance payment.
The scammer will send you some products and services they
“sell/offer”<https://www.maketecheasier.com/common-online-shopping-scams/>,
usually at an unbeatable price. Then they demand payment of a small advanced
fee, say ten percent. To legitimize the scam, they claim that this money is for
processing your order.
The moment you pay the fee, they bounce onto the next victim!
To avoid being a victim, you must never deal with a stranger online without
some form of insurance. The best type of insurance, in this case, is an Escrow
service.
That way, the stranger only gets your money if he fulfills his end of the
bargain. Escrow is also dirt-cheap by the way.
2. The Impersonation Scam
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In this form of internet scam, the scammer poses as a longtime
acquaintance/family and requests to get to you. They contact you on social
media or telephone with an air of familiarity. Then next comes the barrage of
excuses why they are stuck in a remote location and can’t get out.
One of the favorite reasons they give is that they got mugged. Another is that
they lost some essential possession and needed urgent help.
Then, they go on to ask for some form of financial aid from you. The moment you
grant it, these fraudsters got you.
Always scrutinize “familiar” contacts before granting any requests.
A person impersonating your high school buddy should know what your buddy
knows, such as where you both hung out and played football. If they don’t, end
the communication.
3. Charity and Relief Internet Scams
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Scammers have no honor, so don’t expect them to play by the same ethical mores
as you. The relief and charity scam is one of the most effective scams in
recent times.
The format is simple; the scammer pulls up a sad photo of a child, people, etc.
in a terrible situation. They then spend a bit of time exaggerating their story
about these people. After the story, they proceed to ask that you donate some
money to this cause.
The reason why this internet scam is efficient is that it plays on your emotions
To stay away from this fraud, always ensure you verify the source of the
charity. If possible, request to see some form of documentation before you
donate. Most times, a little research online is all that you need to expose
these fraudsters.
4. Extortion and Blackmail Scams
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This form of online scam involves the scammer threatening you with some
leverage. This leverage may be real or imagined.
Fraudsters can use private sexual media content of their victim to blackmail
them. These criminals may threaten to upload the content online if the victim
fails to comply. To comply usually means paying outrageous sums of money.
The terrible nature of this scam is that it is the long-term. It could go on
for as long as the fraudster desires, and payment often does not solve the
problem.
To avoid getting into this form of trouble, always lock your private devices.
Never share sensitive content with untrustworthy people.
Talk to a qualified reputation management attorney. You may report to your
local authorities immediately if someone tries this stunt on you.
5. Phishing Internet Scams
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This type of scam involves some level of intelligence. The scammer sends you an
email containing some vital information. They design the email to resemble a
legitimate email from big brands.
The content of the email will request that you do some form of verification.
There is always some form of urgency attached to the email. The scammers put a
link for you to conduct your verification in the email. That verification link
leads to web application designed to steal your private information.
To avoid being a victim, always inspect the sender email with carefulness. The
email may be a good copy but can never match the exact address of the original
brand they are impersonating. Also, if you are unsure of your next step at any
point, contact the company support immediately.
6. Lawsuit and Legal Fee Scam
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This form of scam works because it preys on emotions.
The scammer often calls their victim impersonating police officers. They could
also impersonate some law enforcement agency. They claim that the victim has an
outstanding legal battle or fines.
They proceed by demanding immediate payments, and threaten the victim with
immediate legal action if they fail to comply by paying the fines.
If you ever get this sort of call, don’t panic. Place another call to the
organization your “caller” claims to be a member of and request for
clarification. This call is usually enough to verify the authenticity of such
calls.
7. The Email Attachment Scam
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The email attachment scam is another intelligent form of fraud. It works on the
curiosity of the victims.
The scammer sends an email to their victim with an attachment. The curious
victim proceeds to open the email and view the attachment.
This action installs malware or spyware on the victim’s PC. This malware steals
their private information for the scammer.
Never open an email attachment if you don’t recognize the sender.
8. Hijacked Profile Scam
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This type of scam is popular with the social
media<https://www.maketecheasier.com/how-facebook-scammers-work/>.
The hacker finds a way to access your profile. They do this by stealing your
information through suspicious links you visited, then proceed to demand some
form of compensation before they release your account to you.
If you ever fall for this sort of scam, contact the support team of the social
media account. They will restore your ownership and may even be able to
identify the perpetrator.
Always use your social media accounts with carefulness. Also, avoid clicking or
following suspicious links.
9. Online Quiz and Games Scam
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This form of internet scam is pretty basic. The hacker sends you a message
containing a link to a quiz or game. This game/quiz could be harmless in itself.
The problem starts when they demand some verification before they let you play.
Sometimes the website may request that you input sensitive details during
registration too.
Stay away from any quiz or game that requires credit or phone information. The
game/quiz may be harmless or not. Best not to find out!
10. Survey Scam
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The internet scams involving surveys work like the email attachment scam.
The victim receives a link asking that they take part in a survey. Some of
these polls promise some form of reward upon completion. As soon as the victim
clicks the link, a dangerous malware installs on their PC.
This malware steals and sends their information to the scammer.
Always avoid visiting suspicious websites. Also, never open links sent to you
from strangers.
Wrapping This up
The internet is like every other city. Your safety depends on where you go and
how you use it. Next time you boot your PC for some online time, keep watch.
You might be the next target for internet scams. Always listen to your
intuition. And most of all, rein-in your greed at all times.
https://www.maketecheasier.com/internet-scams-to-avoid/
David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info<http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.info>
