How to avoid getting scammed online
A RUNDOWN OF THE MAJOR ONLINE SCAMS IN 2017 — AND HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THEM.
EVEN IN AN age when the Nigerian Prince scam has been reduced to a punchline, online scams are still a big business. Last year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission received over 150,000 reports of scams, with losses totalling nearly $84 million — and those are just the ones that were reported to the ACCC. The biggest medium for those scams was the good old phone, but email followed a close second, with websites coming in third.
So this month, we thought we’d go through some of the most prevalent scams you might encounter. While you, the intrepid TechLife reader, might be aware of some or all of them, it may be worth forwarding this on to people in your family less in the know!
THE PHISHING SCAM
By far the most common type of scam, the phishing scam is one where the scammer tries to get to you give up information about yourself — most especially financial details, such as credit card information and online bank logins.
It commonly takes the form of an email, phone call or text message that purports to be from your bank, complete with bank logos and similar trappings to make it look legitimate. It warns of something dire that might happen to your finances if you don’t confirm your account details either over the phone or by logging into a website (linked in the text or email). Once you ‘confirm’ your details on the phone or by visiting the linked site, they’ll use that information to charge your accounts.
There are other phishing attacks as well. You might get an email purporting to be from a utility or service that you use, with a claim that they’ve lost your account details and needs to update your information. Whatever it is, if you receive an email, text or phone call asking for bank or account information, never trust it.
UNEXPECTED MONEY
The category of ‘unexpected money’ covers a huge range of scams, but the essential theme is the same: give us a little bit of money now and, in return, you’ll get a windfall. Some of the common scams include:
The famous Nigerian scam. A story about money that is “trapped” by political unrest or government restrictions — but with a little financial help from you, it can be released, at which point, you’ll be rewarded handsomely for your help.
The inheritance scam. You get a message from someone purporting to be a (possibly foreign) lawyer or banker, saying that you’ve inherited a bunch of money, but it’s tied up in red tape. But we can put you onto someone who (for a fee, it will turn out) can cut through that tape.
The government reclamation scam. In this case, the scammer calls you and tells you that the government owes you money (a tax rebate or reimbursement), and for a small administration fee, you can access it.
Travel prize scams. Congratulations: you won a free trip overseas! You just need to buy some travel vouchers or pay a small fee upfront in order to claim your prize.
The lottery scam. You get a letter telling you that you’ve won a lottery or competition that you automatically entered by visiting a website or performing some common action. Just contact them (and pay an admin fee) to collect your money. Essentially anybody offering you free money is likely to be scamming you. It should be noted that they almost never ask for money in the initial email or call. It’s only once they’ve hooked you that the fees and charges start coming.
INVESTMENT, JOB AND PURCHASING SCAMS
This is another big category of scams. Some common ones include: Scams using classifieds (in print and on sites like Craig’s List). A great deal is offered for whatever it is (rental property, car, bike... whatever), but the seller is moving or has moved overseas and a friend/agent will send you the goods/keys once they’ve received payment. Overpayment scams. Somebody who has purchased something from you online sends you a cheque for too much money.