Frauds and online scams have become more prevalent in recent years and we all need to be aware of the fact and on the look out for them. let’s take a look today at why these have risen, how they present themselves and what we can do to protect ourselves to and to prevent them.
How scams have risen online
Social media has become a huge part of the way we entertain and inform ourselves and of course a huge part of incentivising us in our shopping habits. Scammers target social media users by offering products that do not exist or they don’t provide but get you to want them with fake claims and alluring adverts. How easy it is to pay for something without checking out the stores credentials Just a few clicks and your card information and monies are gone. The more social media we consume the more we lay ourselves wide open to this and our appetite grows all the time.
Email scams
And of course how busy we all are these days and how many of us work at home. Emails come thick and fast and oh it is so simple to believe an emails saying you need to pay for a parcel delivery or that you owe a copyright fee on a photo and you just to pay up when actually you aren’t dealing with a company at all just a scammer.
Dating
And online dating? SO many people now go online to meet their partners and get scammed by fakers in fact according Federal Trade Commission said there were $1.3 billion in losses from romance scams in the last 5 years. isn’t that just shocking!
Gambling and gaming sites
In case you have fallen into a card scam relating to any gambling or gaming site, your next steps need to be more specific. Casinoalpha describes 4 steps that you must take. Also, never forget that once a breach to your safety has happened, you also need to change all your security keys, like passwords and PINs. It is also recommended to set up 2-factor authentication.
I could go on and on and on about the different types of online frauds and scams there are but you probably (sadly) have either experienced a couple yourself or know someone who has. The big and important question is how do we prevent them?
