COMMON SCAMS

HERE are the top ways to be parted with your money over the internet.

● Lottery and competition scams are so common these days. You receive an email from someone you don’t know, claiming that you’ve won a prize in a lottery or competition. The thing is, some people get so excited about the windfall, they forget to stop and think about the fact that they’ve never entered the lottery. The scammers will then ask you to send a fee to process your winnings.

● Pyramid selling schemes and other chain emails catch a lot of people out. They are all about recruiting others to sell worthless products. They ask you to send money to other people on the list, promising you’ll make money as it continues to be sent around. You’ll never see a cent.

● And then there’s phishing. This is when you get an email, supposedly from your bank, asking you to confirm your bank account details. People get sucked in because the email looks genuine, and it’s not asking for any payment to be made. But a bank will never ask for your personal information like passwords or access to online banking. Ever!

● Online shopping fraud is rampant as people increasingly use the internet to buy. Never give your credit card details to a website unless you are absolutely sure it is secure and trustworthy. Look for things like an ABN number, a registered e-commerce certificate or a secure payment portal like ‘Verified by Visa’, to decide whether you can trust the site.