online scams part III

Welcome to the third part of our series covering online safety. In case you missed part one, you can read it here.

Part 3 examines common methods used by scammers:

Scammers will take any opening they can to trick you out of your money and resources. They’re coming up with new methods every day. In this post, we will share some of the general categories these scams typically take. If you’re just joining the conversation, head back to our previous two posts to get caught up to learn what online scams are and what scammers want from you. 

Here are some common scenarios to watch out for:

The fake person:

Maybe you have gotten a message from someone you know with a link to a website saying things like, “This is you,” or, “OMG, I don’t believe this!” Maybe you started talking to someone new who is just the kind of person you were looking for. Online scammers often create accounts using pictures of other people to make you think you are talking to someone you know or would be interested in talking to. You might have heard the term “catfish.” This refers to anyone online who is not presenting a true image of who they are and it’s surprisingly common. Sometimes they pose as celebrities, attractive singles, or even your own family and friends. They will use these accounts to trick people into sending money or getting you to click on links to steal your information or get you to spend money.

Fake businesses:

Fake businesses can fall into two categories: businesses that do not really exist and websites that are a fake version of a real business.  

The business that doesn’t really exist likely just wants you to purchase a product or service but never delivers.. These are quick cash schemes that post popular or trending items for sale and even advertise them. As these websites are typically taken down quickly, not much work is done beyond the product page. In fact, if you click around the website you may quickly discover that the product you clicked on is the only one they are selling or they are selling only a few unrelated products, typically at discounts. They may also have reviews that are either very generic (This product is exactly as described. I love it!) or sometimes not even matching the products.

The fake website for a legitimate business is a bit trickier to tell what they are after. These websites can impersonate banks, online stores, streaming services, and even your favorite social media sites. Like the fake business, they may be getting you to purchase products or services that don’t exist. But posing as a real business can also be used to get into your account by bringing you to a fake login screen to steal your password. These sites will often provide a phone number where a scammer will answer the phone posing as an employee of the company. Once they gain access to your account, they have access to any personal and payment information as well as potentially granting them access to other accounts.

Fake viruses and alerts:

These types of scams have been around for years. The premise of the scam is to tell you there is something wrong with your computer or account to get you to try and fix it. These will sometimes be made to look like alerts generated from your computer or a common popular website. The message will describe a problem with your device or a large purchase or money transfer that occurred followed by a link or a phone number for support. Every individual path in the message is fake. The download is likely a virus, the link will be to a fake site, and the phone number will put you on the phone with a scammer who will try and trick you into giving them money.

Posing as Government Agencies:

Nothing quite gets your heart racing like a government agency telling you that you are under investigation and could face penalties such as fines or imprisonment. The good news is that these unexpected surprises are more often scammers rather than the police or an authentic government agency. If ever you are contacted by the IRS, the FBI, or any other acronym agency, get a name and a case number and call back on the main line from an official .gov website. 

Charity and dating website scams:

The most cruel form of extortion has to be by emotional manipulation. Online scammers that take advantage of the good nature of others have to represent the bottom of the barrel. Typically this scam is only looking for money under the false story of “collecting money for *insert recent tragedy in the news*,” or “they would love to finally be with you if only they could pay this one bill.” Charity scams are typically immediate payoffs where people see the topic, see a charity claiming to help, and then funnel the money directly into their own pockets. Dating websites, however, are typically longer term. They will be running the scam on multiple people all at once for weeks or even months making their target believe they found a kindred spirit. They keep convincing other people to send them money until the account gets reported at which point they abandon the account and make a new one with a new name and face. Always check who you’re sending money to and verify where it’s going from there.

Browser notifications:

Have you ever gone to a site and received an alert to turn on notifications?  That was intended for you to keep up to date on your email or favorite social media. Less trustworthy sites use it to flood you with advertisements or scams. Worse yet, they often show up in your phone or computer’s notifications making them appear official. Even if left un-clicked, these notifications can be annoying. If you regularly see these notifications, check the settings of your web browser to see which notifications are turned on and turn off any from sites you don’t recognize. 

Scam-Buster Tip of the week: Have you tried turning it off and back on again?

Many pop-ups will block off your screen, slow down your device, and make it hard to click on everything else in an attempt to scare you into clicking on them. The good news is that they are likely just presented in a browser page and not a real alert. If you close the browser or restart your computer it may just go away completely or at the very least you can pay attention to when the message comes up which is critical to finding out what is causing the problem.