Computers do not scam people. Scamming is the work of people who misuse electronic devices including computers for their selfish gain and pose a threat to both you and your data. Today, data is the most valuable thing in the universe. Protecting it from getting leaked or sabotaged and securing your computer devices is a challenge for software companies, individuals and associated agencies.
You might have heard of online crimes that are prevalent today and end up robbing people of their money and data. But do you know that while you are sipping your tea and talking about how balmy the weather is today, there is someone who is trying to gain access to your computer system? You will be alarmed reading this, but it’s true.
Every minute, roughly thousands of people fall victim to one or another type of cybercrime. Now imagine 80% of people falling prey to cyber crooks only because they weren’t aware of the tactics used by such criminals. This is the reason why you must know about online frauds and scams used by cybercriminals to mock you and loot your fortune (including your precious data!). Here are 7 online scams you must steer clear of.
- Technical Support Scam
Topping the list of online frauds and internet scams, we have technical support scam which some of you might be aware of, some of you might have fallen victim already. Tech support scam is one of the most notorious scams in the world wherein a so-called customer support representative (scammer) will call you and manipulate you into providing your information such as- name, address, phone number, bank account etc and pretends to fix your issues whether it be a certain software not working, computer stopped responding, or anything else.
In the worst case, the scammer may even try to convince you to pay for their faultless software or support. Well, you can imagine the extent of the tactics these scammers use to fool you and steal your money right from under your nose. So beware! Next time someone says you need to pay to get your computer fixed, hit the ‘call end’ button and cut the call. Or you can also check their authenticity i.e. whether they are real technical support representatives (just go to the official website of that particular product and look for authentic support numbers) or not.
- Phishing Scam
Next online scam in line is Phishing that accounts for almost 90% of data breaches. Statistics show that around 1.5 million new phishing websites are created every month and scam more than 60% of the world’s population. Call it lack of awareness that people indeed are negligent towards internet crimes that they end up blaming everyone be it government, companies or any individual. So what exactly are the scams that fall under Phishing?
Phishing scams are usually based on email or social network-based communication wherein cyber crooks will try to trick you into giving them your sensitive information such as login details. Interestingly, these emails or webpage will appear to come from an official source. However, in reality, they are the cloned versions of the websites created using social engineering techniques to convince you to log into such a website. The malicious link when clicked will divert you to a website that looks legit, but it’s actually controlled by them. You will end up providing your valuable login details and bam! Congratulations! You’ve now lost access to your account. So what have you learned from it? NEVER EVER click any link you feel is suspicious.
- The Nigerian Scam
One of the oldest tricks used by hackers or cybercriminals to fool people to help them in exchange for a large sum of money. How does that happen? This scam is full of drama which involves an emotional and heart-wrenching email from a wealthy Nigerian who will ask for your help in retrieving a large sum of money from a bank or sob story of a daughter who is suffering from XYZ diseases (operating which will require money), paying initially small fees for papers and legal matters.
For your help, the scammer will promise to give you money that sounds too-good-to-be-true. You’ll get papers that’ll make you believe that everything that scammer said is indeed true. But, don’t fall into this trick otherwise all you’ll be left with is empty promises and no money at all. The scammer will even take your money instead. So now you know what to do when you get such an email or message from a random Nigerian. Stay alert! Stay safe!
- Fraud Job Offer
Who can resist a job offer from Dubai, or UAE or Canada? No one can. But behind this glossy job offer is the cruel reality that can drain you of your wealth completely. Fraudsters have leveled-up their game and are now resorting to tactics that sound dreamy to a potential target and trick them providing sensitive information only to rob him/her of his/her money.
What scammer usually does in this fraudulent activity is promise you with a lucrative non-existing job in a random country that will fetch money in a short time. When you provide your information to such scammers, you are signing up for something else. What you get in the end is literally nothing, not even your money as by the time you gain some sense, the money in your bank account is already flushed out by the scammers.
- Travel Scam
Scammers and cybercriminals have literally expanded their horizons. They have left no area untouched where they cannot fool innocent people and steal their valuable information that ultimately opens the doors to money. Travel scam is a fairly new type of scam where cyber crooks try to convince you to book a travel package that is hard to resist.
This scam usually goes around in peak seasons where you get an email stating the offer to visit destinations that is otherwise not possible owing to their luxuriousness. You start daydreaming of your trip to that exotic destination without verifying the validity and genuineness of the offer and book that travel package. And what comes next is enough to give you a heart attack as you find out that they wasn’t such an offer at all, no tickets were booked by that so-called travel agent/agency and all you’re left with is an empty wallet. To avoid such unfortunate circumstances, only book travel packages with a trusted website or a well-known travel agency.
- Make Money Sitting At Home Scam
Statistics reveal that make-money-sitting-at-home types of scams are targeted towards unemployed individuals or those seeking an easy way to earn money. Easy-money, as they put it, isn’t so easy to earn after all. The scamming method involves an advertisement that looks fancy often stating ‘I have earned $3000 by working at home’.
When you click on such an advertisement, you are directed to a webpage that shows fake testimonials of people who got benefitted from work at home job. Since you are already tempted, you create your profile and provide the scammer with access to your vital information that can easily be used to hijack your bank account. And thus you got fooled by cybercriminals. So the next time you get a pop-up ad showing how to earn extra income by working at home, don’t be a fool and stay cool (don’t click the ad/link or create profile).
- Fraud Lottery
The great lottery is a classic scam that never ceases to amaze cybercrime experts. One trick that hasn’t lost its charm in the past few decades is the lottery scam. Even today, millions of people fall prey to this scam and end up shattering their dreams altogether. This scam comes in form of an email that informs you that you have won a huge lottery and to claim the prize, you have to pay a small fee. When you pay that oh-so-small fee and give your information to the scammers, you can imagine what comes next.
This lottery fraud never fails to trap people into its web as it addresses some of our wildest fantasies such as- living in a mansion, becoming rich overnight, quitting jobs and living off the fortune for rest of our lives, etc etc. Instead of surrendering to the temptation, what you can do to protect yourself is ignore such emails and put them in trash where they truly belong.
