In today’s evolving digital world, where protection comes in multiple forms so do new and creative ways for that protection to be breached and removed from you. More often than not, people all over the world are becoming victims of scams, whether it be through something as simple as an email or as complex and twisted as a romance scam.
No one is safe from the risks and schemes that are in place in hopes of stealing a pretty penny from us here and there. The best thing that we can do to protect our peace going forward is learn how to put a strong defence against all of these scams. But first, in order to use the tools to protect yourself, you need to understand what type of scams you might fall under risk with.
To help you stay safe online, we have compiled together a list of popular scams that are still in full swing and methods that you can begin to do to protect yourself from these harmful situations.
Most Common Types of Scams
Phishing Scams
Phishing is a kind of computer fraud when scammers send emails to victims pretending to be from reputable companies, such as banks, mortgage companies, or internet service providers. The customer is requested to submit personally identifiable information. After that, a con artist utilises the data to access the victims’ already-existing accounts or open new ones. Customers can avoid falling for phishing schemes by following a few steps, like not answering emails or pop-up windows that request personal or financial information.
A similar scam but through text messages, is called smishing.
Imposter Scams
An imposter scam occurs when a scammer takes the identity of someone else, whether it’s a professional or someone you might already be familiar with. They take these identities to deceive you, manipulate you and possibly even guilt you into sending you some money. There has been one circulating recently where you might receive a text from a new number pretending to be your spouse, child or other relative saying they’ve lost their phone and need you to send them money for a taxi or whatnot.
Even something as little as that happens and thousands of people unfortunately do as it says without thinking about it so imagine how much that accumulates too.
Romance Scams
If you aren’t familiar with the Tinder Swindler story, then we will explain what is defined as a romance scam. In romance scams, victims are tricked into giving money to scammers who go to tremendous measures to win their confidence and pretend to be in a real relationship. They deceive, convince, and take advantage of others using language so that pleas for money do not raise red flags. Some of these requests—such as when offenders say they need money for emergency medical attention or to cover the cost of transportation to see the victim if they are abroad—may be quite sentimental. Over time, scammers frequently establish a rapport with their victims.
Investment Scams
This could include any form of investment, including the current most popular form, such as crypto scams or any other form of investing. You might be contacted or they appear to be a highly reputable broker. These scammers will feed you information on guaranteed outcomes and wins, causing you to share your money for them to place the investments. It’s hard to monetise, track and trace any transfers through some platforms, so thousands of people have fallen for these empty promises and have not been able to get help from them.
Job Scams
Unfortunately, scammers are looking to target the most vulnerable who are looking to make money. They will offer a simple yet confusing job and offer payment through crypto, this is all a scheme to get you to send money to receive what you are owed. It’s an awful and conniving method to get you to trust them.
Tips to Protect Yourself From Scams
While these scams are very specific, there are many similar ways you can protect yourself from these scams and prevent any new forms from creeping up and catching you on their web.
Be Sceptical
Whether you are receiving new emails from an unsaved number, an email from a business you are in contact with, or even a romantic interest that you have met online. While it’s important to not trust strangers, you need to ensure that you are checking the validity of everything. especially when passing over any sensitive information. Double- or even triple-checking everything should be a must in these situations. Even clicking on odd links should be a no-go in any and all circumstances.
Never Share Personal Information
You should never share your personal information online where it’s open to be shared and used against you. Keeping your personal information safe and secure is crucial, even for your close friends and family. Therefore, you should never respond to queries regarding any of your financial or personal information that could be used to gain access to anything you own.
Strong Passwords
Using the same password for everything is just not the sensible thing to do. While it can be hard to keep note of your passwords, our phones do this amazing thing right now: keep it saved for future use so you never need to worry about loads of your accounts being compromised and can rely on your phone’s security to do its job.
Don’t Act On Urgency
Where scammers get their most payouts by playing on their victim’s emotions and creating a panicked, urgent feeling where they leave with no time to think about what they are actually doing is what gets people every single time. Be sure to understand that nothing requires so much urgency and, in fact, you can wait till you’ve had a chance to assess yourself.
Especially when it’s from random numbers claiming to be family members or an unrelated email from a company or person you’ve been dealing with. Take time to reassess everything, double check and make sure you are confident with who you are sharing information with.
Stay Educated
Staying on top of any recent scams that have gotten people is very important, whether you are consistently online or just generally enjoying a scroll now and then. This will keep you ahead of the game and prevent any feelings of anxiety or uncertainty when targeted.
Final Thoughts
Staying ahead of scams and potential online threats can come at trial and error, unfortunately, but with the right tools and resources, you can flip the script and protect yourself from all angles from any and all online threats. Be sure to stay educated and tread carefully, whether it’s ordering from a new online store or connecting with a new romantic interest. The extra 10 minutes checking something is worth saving the upset and stress that follows being scammed.
