How to Protect Yourself From Online Scams
Today’s internet has become a breeding ground for scam artists along with their clever and sometimes not-so-clever scams. If you are relatively new to the internet, there are a lot of things you need to learn about how things work online in order to protect yourself from such scams. Even those who have been online for a very long time are still not immune to being taken advantage of by scam artists. Scammers are constantly evolving their methods and developing new ways to cheat people online.
On the other hand, the internet is also a revolutionary invention that allows communication and exchange of information at a level far beyond anything that ever existed before. The internet offers several advantages, but in order to safely use it, you need to know how to properly protect yourself.
First and foremost, don’t open emails from unfamiliar senders. This is the most common way that viruses are distributed. Harmful programs are attached in emails and if the unsuspecting user downloads the program, their computer will become infected, at which point their personal information and data may be compromised.
Aside from the distribution of computer viruses, what are some other online scams to look out for?
Whenever you follow a link to a website, always check the address bar to ensure that the address matches the site you thought you were going to. Sometimes crooks design sites to look exactly like a trusted site, such as a banking site, in order to trick visitors into entering their personal information.
Dating scams are also very prevalent online. Con artists pose as singles looking for a partner and lure in unsuspecting victims by chatting with them. The goal is to eventually convince the victim to send money to the con artist, usually by convincing the victim that the money will be used to buy a plane ticket so that they can see each other. Once the payment is made, the decoy then disappears.
Some websites can harm your computer simply by visiting them. Once you visit such a website, a harmful code is executed in your browser and subsequently saved to your computer. Having an up to date antivirus program installed will limit the chances of your computer being harmed by this type of site.
Email scams from countries like Nigeria have gained a lot of attention in recent times. Con artists in Nigeria or other nations where there is little chance of prosecution target people online with an elaborate story about how they have a great deal of money tied up and need an American to help them access it, and of course they are willing to share the expected cash in return for the help. At some point they ask that you send them a few thousand dollars (or more, in some cases) to help cover expenses, after which the con artist disappears.
Another email scam concerns supposed lottery winnings. Emails are sent out to thousands by scammers telling them that they’ve won the lottery, and that all they need to do to claim their winnings is send a check to cover the taxes on the winnings. Surprisingly, several people fall for this scam every year.
Before doing business with any website that you donít absolutely trust, it doesn’t hurt to a little research first. Simply Googling the name of the site should return results that will help you decide whether or not they are a legit company. If a site has been involved with any type of scam activity, you will likely find consumer reports about it. You may also visit the Better Business Bureauís website to see what the companyís rating is.
Tags: online scams, phishing
