Online Scams aren’t new, They are used to deceive unsuspecting people, or to gain info or control. The online technological revolt has created new chances for these kinds of scams. scams are usually committed in an offline setting and are increasingly being transitioned to an online situation. This article covers a thorough breakdown of the most common types of cyber scams and steps to prevent these scams.
Types of Cyber or online scams
1. Phishing or Email scam
Phishing is when somebody attempts to get access to your account by sending you a suspicious message or link that requests your personal data or info. These requests for information may look genuine at first glance or may seem to come from an authentic source, but it’s not. E-commerce companies, Banks and online e-cash services are the common targets for phishing.
2. Online shopping scams
Online shopping is easy and suitable, can offer you better choices and help you find the very finest deals. But with 70% of all card fraud happening online it also permits criminals to attempt crimes from a distance, dipping their probabilities of being trapped.In this, Scammers use the newest technology to set up fake sites that look genuine. They may use similar designs and layouts of the sites, maybe stolen logos, and even a domain name.
3. Identity theft
Identity theft is when somebody poses as you to snip either from you or from others. Using your own info or data, attackers may be able to empty your bank or credit accounts, deceptively obtain new credit cards, cell-phone facilities, or loans.
4. Work from home scams
The Work from Home concept is very striking for most individuals, as the ads offer gigantic sums of money for a limited hour of simple work. These scammers are mainly after two things, your money or your identity.
5. Lottery fraud
A person is told they have earned a large amount of money in a lottery. In order to gain access to their prizes, they are required to send a comparatively small sum to cover taxes, managerial fees or duties charges. Scam delivery methods are mail, phone, e-mail, SMS/text message and In-person.
6. Matrimonial frauds
The fraudsters make fake profiles on matrimonial sites posing as some high profile professionals settled in an overseas country and target people who are a bit depressed or vulnerable. They will start enquiring about your money or property and will convince you that they are genuine but they are not.
7. Social media scams
Social media scams can take several forms, a link sent to your wall, feed, or sent through direct message could lead you to malware that can spread further through your account. This malware can crash your system or any device that you are using to open the link. Scammers will then get full control of your device with this malware.
Tips/steps to avoid internet scams
Online scams are a large business and notoriously hard to catch. Many individuals do not report the case because of shame. Technology has made it easy for scammers to reach the crowds through group emailing methods. Most of the scammers target individuals with emotional weaknesses and behavioural limitations.
Some of the steps to avoid these kinds of online scams are below:
Step-1
Banks don’t send emails or text messages that ask for personal information so do not share any personal information, especially PIN number, account numbers, or login and password information through email or text.
Step-2
If someone accesses your IDs, your content and your sensitive information are at risk. Many individuals have the terrible practice of using similar passwords across multiple accounts. If there is a security weakness on the account, everything could be compromised. So, better use mixed and complex passwords for all your accounts.
Step-3
Provide information only on sites that have “https” in the web address. Never share any information on sites that have “http” in the web browser because it’s not secure and there is a big chance of leaking your sensitive information from this web browser.
Step-4
Browsing, streaming and downloading content from untrustworthy sources can help you escape some obvious threats but securing your system doesn’t stop there, malicious content can be anywhere. It could be hiding in your email, on an unsafe website, or inside of a USB. The Use of antivirus and firewalls can minimize these types of intrusions.
Step-5
Updating the OS of your system regularly will minimize some of the patches or vulnerabilities in your system.
Step-6
Block texts or messages from numbers that appear as unknown.
Step-7
To protect your email from outside intrusions, you can install additional security email protocols.
Written By: Vishnu Kuttan
Reviewed By: Sayan Chatterjee
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