Common Online Scams

You must be aware of the most common online scams. If you are aware and have the proper tools you can be better protect from online scams. Keep reading for more information

Online scams that are commonly used are to obtain information on you to utilize it against you. How, you ask? You ever get those emails telling you how your banking info has been online & you need to update your account immediately in order to stop the terrible thing happening to your account? That’s considered phishing for information. I get them all the time.

Spoofing is another way online scammers get your information by sending you farce emails stating that you won the lottery in some country I am pretty sure you have never even heard about or much less been to. They are able to screen you and when you sign up, they add you to a different list, which brings me to my next subject; Nigerian check scams also known as the 419. This is a very serious one because not only are you involving yourself in fraud but you are messing up your financial foundation and potentially put you in jail for aiding such scam. I know that it seems hard because you are thinking you are the victim when that’s not the case in the banks or law official’s eyes. They believe that you should know better in which honestly I believe that.

I have heard people who say “Oh, that’d never happen to me.” You’d be surprised the things people will do out of desperation or even greed. The ones that do it out of greed are usually the ones that I have a hard time with because they know what they are doing yet they feel they can just fall back on the victim act. The ones who do it out of desperation, I also believe whole heartedly that they know what they are doing but they can’t see past that because they look at the mounting pile of bills & think “Well, if they send me that money I’ll be caught up on all my bills & they’ll never know that I cashed the check.” I have seen people where they have cashed the check, then close their accounts and transfer all the money out of account. Yes, there are people out there like that.

What are scammers looking for in “potential” victims? They usually prey on job boards, offering enticing rewards just for cashing checks & sending the rest to them because for some crap reason or another, they can’t accept overseas payments. This should be your first warning bell indicating that something is wrong with this picture. I have seen many scammers prey on the personals section posing as a wealthy magistrate or something & they need their potential girlfriend to send the payments over because that’s all he has to trust. Second warning bell should be sounding off right about now. While the percentage seems easy enough to do a simple task, the rewards are not sometimes.

How to protect yourself is easier said than done, we can write lists after lists on how you should never give out your info or you should contact your local bank should your information be compromised. My advice plain & simple is use your brain, it was meant to be used anyway, so why not use it in a way that’ll benefit you in the long run & keep you safe from the big men in black trench coats coming to your door demanding you give them your computer. If you follow this saying, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

Related:

• A Simple Guide to Being Safe and Secure Online
• What You Need to Know About Spyware