7 Tips to Prevent Yourself from Becoming a Victim of Online Scams

Do you know around six million frauds and cyber-crimes took place last year in England and Wales as per the Office for National Statistics? Becoming a victim of online scam or fraud can prove fatal as it will ruin your finances. Online scams come in various forms and are often hard to detect. Also known as internet fraud, these scams lure internet users with heavy discounts, offers, lottery etc.

Fake websites are set up by scammers which resemble the actual ones. These may be a popular e-com portal or online medical store. Apart from look & feel, scammers even use similar URL making it difficult for users to detect. However, there are certain warning signs which you must follow to remain alert.

• Products are advertised on fake sites at the extremely low price compared to genuine sites.
• Sufficient information of the seller is not listed on the website such as contact details.

Some Safety Tips to Follow:

Stay away from Lotteries promising large rewards

One of the most common scam tricks, ‘lotteries’ attract people who believe in quick fortune. Online lotteries should be avoided to the most possible extent. These may never bring you the reward promised but you may end up paying processing fees or other charges. Read our post on online lottery scams to know more.

Donate only to reputed charity organizations

Helping the needy is always a noble activity but you must be sure that you yourself do not land up in trouble. There are many fake charitable organizations, which collect money floating emotional pictures. The money may never reach the mentioned cause. So always verify the organization to which you are donating.

Don’t get attracted by quick profit generating investment plans

Stay away from those who contact you with the low-risk or high investment return offers. Also stay away from those who guarantee big profits and promises no financial risk, or those who demand you to send cash immediately. It’s better to report the same to the legal authorities.

Beware of Fake Job Offers

Employment seekers are often tempted to job openings that offer handsome salaries and other opportunities without much requirements. Such fake job offers can cause a serious harm to the privacy of the target as they aim at collecting personal information such as name, address, credit/debit card details, bank details, etc. Attackers send phishing emails that claim to offer lucrative job opportunity from big brands. Phone calls are also used as a medium to trap job seekers. It is therefore quite important to figure out whether the opportunity is genuine or just another job scandal. Read How to Stay Safe when Hunting for a Job?

Don’t put your personal info at risk when Shopping Online

Online shopping gives us the convenience of ordering stuff sitting in the comfort of our own place. But those malicious eyes are always on a hunt to track your credit/debit card details when you make online payments. It is better to exercise some security measures while shopping online in order to stay safe from attackers. You can learn more here – Online Shopping – How to Shop Safely on the Internet?

Looking for a Dating Partner? Be cautious! 

Online Dating appears to be an easy way for people to connect and share, however, cyber criminals fool others by executing dating scams on the internet for their own benefit. If you’re trying to find a partner through the internet, it is important to ensure that you do so only through well-known and reliable dating websites. Don’t get trapped into anyone’s sob stories and attractive pictures as they will ask for money from you.

Links and attachments sent by anyone over a dating portal could be a malware to infect your system. So do not click on such content. Also, if you feel uncomfortable talking to someone over a dating portal or find yourself in trouble, immediately block the person or get help from the support staff of the website.

Never disclose your financial details to anyone

Never disclose your personal as well as your private information password, login details etc. to anyone, even if it’s your bank. Fraudsters seek information via email, personalized message, phone call and even through various advertisements. Banks or financial companies never ask personal details of their customers. If required, visit your branch & immediately check the issue.

With the above safety tips, you can avoid becoming a victim of an online scam. You can also read our post on Signs of a Zombie Computer – How to Secure Your PC from Botnet Attacks?

Note- This blog post has been republished with the latest facts and statistics.