The Most Common Internet Scams On The Network

Internet scams spread across a multitude of areas and platforms. 

• Frequent Scams
• Internet scams account for nearly 90% of all cybercrimes
• Scams are becoming more varied and sophisticated, making it difficult for victims to detect them.

Scammers and scammers have been around forever. However, since the emergence of the Internet, they have become sophisticated and have increased their reach exponentially. 

So much so that, today, cybercrimes already represent 16.3% of total crimes, according to 2020 data from the Ministry of the Interior. In addition, 89.6% of these cybercrimes are computer frauds that play on the trust of their victims. We want to warn you about the most common scams on the network so you don’t fall into the trap.

Phishing

Phishing is the most widespread form of Internet fraud. It is based on the impersonation of a company, person or entity to obtain the user’s personal data, whether banking, passwords or other information.

Messaging

It is a kind of phishing that is done through messaging applications (SMS or WhatsApp) or even by phone. The scammer can employ two methods: install malware on the victim’s device in order to access all of their personal data or redirect the victim to a web page controlled by the criminal.

Online Stores Or Sales

Another common scam is to offer products at prices lower than those of the market, so that the potential victim formalizes a purchase. The scam is that those products do not exist and will never arrive.

Fake Offers

It is increasingly common to see fraudulent rental or job offers. In the first case, the rental of a house is usually offered at a bargain price and a prior payment is requested for the reservation or the deposit. The problem is that the property often does not exist or is not for rent.

In the case of job offers, positions with very good conditions are usually promoted and the victim is asked to make an income or provide their bank account in order to start collecting. In reality, that job does not exist and what scammers will get is to steal your money or use an account in your name for their illicit activities.

Something similar happens with sentimental scams (surely it sounds like The Scammer of Tinder, on Netflix). They are people who know each other from messaging applications, earn the trust of their victim and ask them for a small income of money.

Fake Contests, Sweepstakes And Easy Money

On social networks there are many fake sweepstakes and contests in which you must provide your data or even pay a small amount of money to participate. Again, you will never win the prize and what you will get is that the scammers access your information and steal your money.

There is also something similar with investment offerings that promise extraordinary financial returns. Scammers recruit their victims through social media to steal their money.

How To Avoid Internet Scams

Although we are very careful, we can all be victims of an Internet scam, since the methods of scammers are perfected day by day and can become difficult to discriminate against. However, if you follow these tips it will be much more difficult for you to fall into the scams:

• Be wary of bargains, promises and messages that ask for your personal and banking information.
• Do not open spam messages or click on any links, images, or attachments.
• Do not provide your email or personal data for free.
• If you have doubts about a certain email, phone or online store, search Google to know if it has been reported as fraudulent.

Also Read : Web Marketing