While the online world has brought about many fantastic changes in society, it has also brought out the worst in society. There will always be people in the world looking to take advantage of you. The internet is no different. These scams will look to steal your identity or money and leave you with almost nothing. Always watch what you are doing on the internet and never give out personal information unless you have verified the source asking for it.
Here are five common online scams to watch out for and avoid.
This is one of the most common online scams used on the internet. It still works on some people, which is why it still exists. With this scam, you will receive an email from someone claiming to be a Nigerian prince, with a large sum of money. They will tell you that all of their money is trapped behind a bank account pay wall, if you give them the money to access it, they will give you a large percentage of it. This is a scam and they will quickly vanish with all of the money that you have given them. According to eBroker, many people go to reputable loan sites in need of large sums of money hoping to collect what this Nigerian prince is offering.
Do not take out money for this. Do not ever send over money to these people. If you get an email from someone like this, simply ignore it and nothing else will happen. If you know someone who is being affected by this, help them so they don’t fall victim to it. Watch out for the Nigerian Prince emails appearing in your inbox.
Have you ever had a phone call from someone claiming to be with the IRS saying you have committed tax fraud? This is another common scam that is used by people. It can be quite scary if you have never heard of it, and then receive something like this The person on the other end will say that you owe them a huge sum of money to pay in taxes and that if you do not pay, they will send a police officer over to arrest you. Many people panic when they hear that they are getting arrested and as a result will pay the money.
When you get a scam like this, just hang the phone up and it ends there. Avoid speaking to them and avoid any conversation as they might record your voice. If anyone ever calls to collect money, hang up and do not speak to them.
This is another online scam that can seem very believable and be quite scary. Due to the nature of the internet, databases of websites that you might have created an account at can get hacked. Meaning, all the usernames, emails, and passwords get leaked. From there, a scammer will find your email and the password you have used. They email it to you stating they have a video of you pleasuring yourself and will send it to all your friends unless you pay them. Now they do not have any video of you and are just trying to extort you in this situation. Then they will ask you to give them bitcoin for all of this.
Once again, when you get something like this, just ignore it and move on with your life. It might sound shocking but you will be perfectly fine and nothing will happen if you ignore it. Do not fall for the password scam email.
When contacted regarding this online scam, a person will claim that you are entitled to a refund for software on your computer that is outdated. They will bring you to your bank account page and then using a screen editor tool, show that you have been given money into your bank account. This is all fake as it is just an edited image. They will claim they accidentally gave you too much. To fix the issue you have to buy google play cards or bitcoin to transfer to them. Do not fall for this scam as there is no actual money being given to you. The way to avoid this is to simply ignore emails and phone calls regarding this matter.
Similar to other online scams here, the travel scam works by either calling you or emailing you saying that you’ve won a trip or a cruise vacation. They claim that it is absolutely free, all you need to do is pay a small processing fee and everything will be yours. If you pay the fee, they will vanish and that is the last thing that you hear from them. If you ever get an offer that is too good to be true, chances are that it is.
Always exercise caution when using the internet and responding to emails and phone calls. Be on the lookout for anyone asking for money and if they offer you something for free, it is probably a scam. There are also many affiliate marketing scams that promise big money for little work to be aware of. By being aware of these online scams, you can spot them and avoid them before you end up in financial trouble. What scams have you seen on the internet?
