Discover how to defend yourself from the most frequent internet frauds and schemes
Everyone being online all the time, especially in the last few epidemic years, has benefited thieves greatly. According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers would lose more than $5.8 billion to fraudsters in 2021 due to such a broad array of ruses and gimmicks that a library would be required to catalog them all.
While senior persons are the most common victims of these operations, young people are not immune: those under the age of 20 had the greatest rise in fraud reports between 2019 and 2020. Rich folks are duped. Smart people are duped. Everyone has the capacity to be a victim. Here are some of the most common internet frauds to be aware of—and how to prevent them.
Scams in online dating
Romance scams are as basic as they come: convince someone on Tinder, Hinge, or Trek Passions that you are in love with them, then request money from them. The ultimate outcome can be more traumatic than anything in The Tinder Swindler, with victims lucky if they merely lose money. Consider the terrible case of Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto, an Australian grandmother. She met "Captain Daniel Smith" over the internet. He first persuaded her to wire him all of her money, then encouraged her to go through customs in Kuala Lumpur with a rucksack full of meth. The ignorant drug mule was apprehended, prosecuted in a Malaysian court, found guilty, and sentenced to death. Fortunately, her appeal was successful, and she served only a few years in a Malaysian prison. On the positive side, some romance fraudsters are apprehended!
How to recognize this scam: If an online match is evasive about their personal information, proclaims love immediately, or refuses to meet offline, you should be extremely cautious. However, the true "tell" is when they beg for money. Don't provide money to anyone you meet on internet dating services.
Scams involving NFTs and cryptocurrencies
Scam investment schemes have been around for a long time, but decentralized, uncontrolled marketplaces provide a haven for criminals who prefer financial hoaxes to face-to-face robbery. Due to the difficulty of tracing money in unregulated marketplaces, NFTs and cryptocurrency frauds are so profitable and simple that scammers got off with $14 billion in 2021. They employ high-tech techniques of attracting victims and obtaining payment, although the majority of crypto scams are structured similarly to old "fiat-currency" con games and phishing expeditions.
How to Spot and Avoid This Scam: The easiest way to avoid crypto frauds is to be extremely skeptical. Do your homework. Don't put your money into anything you don't comprehend. Keep your wallet safe. Check all URLs thoroughly. There is no safety net in place.
Scams involving Google Voice verification
I just sold a futon on Craigslist and had far more scam responses than genuine futon buyers. All of the fraudsters played the same game: they'd text, "I'd like to purchase your futon, but I need you to prove you're not a scammer by answering with a verification code I'll provide," and then a Google Voice verification message would appear on my screen. If I had reacted with the message's digits, the fraudsters would have created a Google voice number linked to my phone (they would have had to start the procedure to even get the verification sent to the number) in order to swindle people anonymously. (And they wouldn't have bought my futon anyway.)
How to recognize and prevent this scam: Google sends you verification numbers to confirm that you requested the phone number. They will never be shared with a third party. If your associated Google number has already been claimed, follow these steps to reclaim it.
Scammed tech support
There's a whole subgenre of humorous YouTube videos of young wags toying with the fraudsters that operate different viral scams, but they're not funny to the victims. The procedure works as follows: a non-technical person sees a pop-up window warning of a computer virus and containing a phone number for tech assistance. They then dial a number and are connected with a fraudster who convinces them to grant access to their computer for a "virus scan," and the specifics vary from there. Scammers may ask for money in exchange for "fixing" the computer, or they may use basic HTML tactics to make it appear as though a significant deposit was made in the victim's bank account by mistake, and they must repay it. Whatever path they follow, the final goal is always "give me gift cards."
How to recognize and prevent this scam: This scam is particularly devious because it targets the elderly who are unfamiliar with computers. Please warn your parents, aunts and uncles not to contact these numbers.
Sextortion swindles
This devious con mostly targets horny men. The offender pretends to be a lady online, opens up a dialogue with one of the aforementioned eager gentlemen, and wants a naked photo. When "she" receives it, the seductive period ends and the extortion period begins. The fraudster writes something like, "I will send this photo to your whole contact list if you do not pay me money." Embarrassed and fearful of being discovered, the victim does as instructed. A version involves the scammer sending naked photographs to the victim, followed by a message from "her" "father" saying something like, "My daughter is only 15, and if you don't pay me money, I'll tell the authorities you have child porn images of her."
How to recognize and prevent this scam: One solution is to avoid taking photos that you would not want shared with your contact list. However, if you provide compromising photos to a scammer, you should be ok. Unless they have a specific vendetta against you, a scammer is unlikely to transmit your photo to anyone: it takes time they could be using to defraud someone else, and once they disclose your picture, you have no incentive to pay them money anyway. So just block, report, and proceed.
Third-party automobile warranties
The practice of selling third-party warranties for used vehicle repairs isn't always illegal—it depends on where you live and the conditions of the warranty—but the industry's use of robocalls is so prevalent and bothersome, and its sales methods so slimy, that it should be. There may be a few instances where purchasing third-party repair insurance for your automobile makes sense, but if so, look for a reputable business rather than reacting to a cold call.
To detect and avoid this, register your phone number with the national do not call registry and utilize your phone's junk call blocking tools. If none of these work, simply hang up on every robocall.
Scams based on current events
Bottom feeders are cunning. They've figured out how to commercialize everything, including the seething political indignation that's ruining our country. Scammers exploit hot-button subjects to connect with you, whether it's official-looking COVID emails, urgent communications from a "family" stuck in Ukraine, a Gofundme effort to build a border wall, or a yet-to-be-determined fraud centered on Roe v. Wade repeal. Once you feel you're speaking with folks who share your enthusiasm for [THE POLITICAL THING], the phishing/scamming becomes simple.
How to Spot and Avoid These Scams: If you're interested in politics, online activism may feel wonderful, but your time would be better spent helping someplace. If you must contribute to a cause, make it to a well-known, verified non-profit or political organization, such as the ACLU.
Digital Kidnapping
The term "digital kidnapping" refers to a particularly sinister internet behavior. There are bizarre online corners devoted to role-playing as families or children, utilizing photographs of strangers' children hacked from social media. Strangers are commenting on the stolen photographs and even setting up "virtual adoptions," so it appears that this is largely a pastime.
It's clearly upsetting for parents whose children's photographs have been taken, but it might also go down worse paths. "People are developing virtual dreams, as well as fantasy adoptions." It may be an obsessive behavior on their part, but it may be exploited to become hazardous," said Len Edwards, head of the Commission for Missing and Exploited Children. "This might escalate into a genuine kid abduction or possibly child pornography."
How to recognize and prevent this scam: If you must publish photos of your children on social media, make sure your privacy settings restrict who may access them.
Scams on Amazon
Amazon is used by almost everyone, and fraudsters have made a cottage business out of leveraging its brand to empty people's bank accounts. According to the New York Post, Amazon scam emails have "skyrocketed" by 500% since last year, with the most popular scam being emailing Amazon customers (i.e., everyone on the planet) receipts or shipping orders for transactions they never made. These emails instruct recipients to "click this link to take care of it/verify your account." Victims are then sent to a professional-looking (or extremely phony) "Amazon" account page, where they submit their personal information.
How to recognize and prevent this scam: Go to Amazon's account page directly from your browser, not through a link in an email. Amazon will not send you an email asking you to confirm your password in the first place, and all official corporate email addresses end in "@amazon.com."
Scams involving online lotteries and sweepstakes
You have not won the lotto if you receive an email, phone call, or text message stating that you have. Don't worry about it. If you follow the directions for collecting your millions, you will be asked to pay a charge (most likely in the form of gift cards) or give up your personal information. However, you will not receive any wins since there are none. Spending months attempting to reclaim your identity from a fraudster will be your prize.
How to Spot and Avoid This Scam: If you didn't enter a contest, you didn't win a contest, and even if you did, no reputable lottery will require you to submit money to claim your reward.
Scam of the 'Nigerian Prince'
People are still falling for "Nigerian Prince" scam emails in 2022, which is difficult to comprehend. This hoary con, named after the country that popularized it in the 1980s, has been around since the French Revolution, when it was known as the "Spanish Prisoner Scam." No matter its name, the specific details, or the means of communication, the scam has been the same since the days of the guillotine: a criminal tells a mark they have a ton of money tied up in some way, and if the mark sends them some small amount of money to get it out, they’ll split the windfall when it becomes available.
How to recognize and prevent this scam: Delete any emails from unknown sources, and keep in mind that if a foreign prince has a stash of gold bars worth $35 million, he doesn't require the assistance of a complete stranger to obtain them.
Scams in online buying
Online shopping scams are simple at their most basic, but the anonymity of the internet makes these operations lucrative and practically risk-free for crooks. It works like this: someone creates a virtual storefront and accepts payment for things that are never delivered. Scammers not only steal your money, but they also have your credit card information.
How to recognize and prevent this scam: Avoid questionable shopping websites in favor of well-known businesses. Check that the website begins with https:// and has the small lock icon next to it. This implies it's safe. Make sure you pay with PayPal or a credit card, as both provide some level of fraud protection.
Scams involving law enforcement
Scammers posing as authorities are not a new phenomenon. Even whether the means of communication is a phone call or an email, the tactic works for the same reason it always has: it's frightening when the cops (or the IRS) call. An irate agent accusing you of being involved in a crime is enough to send some people's more reasonable heads into a tailspin. Many people will give gift cards (it's always gift cards) to get rid of the fear of a legal nightmare or even jail time.
How to recognize and prevent this scam: If you commit a real crime, the cops will not contact your mobile phone; they will arrest you. They also do not offer to let you pay them to avoid arrest. In general, don't talk to cops unless absolutely necessary, and even then, make sure your lawyer is present.
#Scams #OnlineDating #Tinder #TinderSwindler #NFT #Crypto #Cryptocurrency #GoogleVoice #TechSupport #Sextortion #DigitalKidnapping #AmazonScam #OnlineLottery #OnlineShopping
SOURCE: lifehacker
What do you think of this blog? Write down at the COMMENT section below.
SOURCE: lifehacker
What do you think of this blog? Write down at the COMMENT section below.
No comments:
Post a Comment