In recent years, online scams and frauds have skyrocketed by almost 40%, which is unmatched by any other known form of crime.
The Internet is also the place where the fewest criminals are arrested. Only 5% of fraudsters and thieves operating on the Internet manage to be apprehended by law enforcement authorities.
But what are the most common types of online scams? In this post we tell you more about them.
Pishing
Every morning our email inboxes are flooded with messages. I know it can be annoying, but we have to check the most important messages calmly and not open those we don’t trust.
Phishing consists of receiving fake e-mail messages supposedly from banks and other sites requesting our personal data, as well as entering passwords to access online bank accounts.
The objective of the thieves in this case is to collect as much information as possible for later fraudulent use.
Vishing and Smishing
This modality, vishing, is a mixture of phishing and phone call. The idea is to obtain the victim’s information through his own voice and then operate with the data provided.
Smishing is, on the other hand, the application of the same method but using messaging systems such as WhatsApp messages, SMS, Telegram and others.
Here there are two fundamental modalities. One in which the victim accesses a fraudulent web page and another in which the victim downloads malware that steals their data. In both cases the scammers usually impersonate traditionally safe and prestigious entities such as parcel delivery companies, telephone companies, etc.
Fraudulent gambling sites and online casinos
The pandemic and forced isolation have led to a boom in online gambling and casino games.
Hackers and fraudsters have taken advantage of this booming business to create fraudulent gambling games and sites.
On these sites you can “win” more easily than in the more well-known casinos but, after depositing the initial money, you never get your winnings back nor will the casino pay out any revenue for the wins you have made.
It is very important for those who practice online gambling to know which are the best trustly casinos in order not to be cheated and swindled.
Fraudulent online stores
When you are surfing the Internet and you find an online store with incredible prices, be wary, it could be an online theft scheme.
In general, fraudulent e-commerce websites usually display prices significantly lower than those of the traditional market. In addition, they almost always offer the possibility of fast shipping and demand a lot of sensitive data, such as the capture of our identity documents.
Of course, the purchased products never arrive and these websites usually disappear once the victims’ funds have been stolen.
The servers of these types of fraudulent e-commerce sites are often located in third countries, where they cannot be traced by the police or the judiciary.
Fake rentals
They tend to proliferate more frequently during the summer and it is a model of scam that is currently booming.
Through the Internet, someone offers homes for rent with conditions that seem to be taken from a fairy tale. The images and the price seem perfect. The trap is to ask for money up front as a down payment or reservation. This is where many desperate people pay before seeing the place with their own eyes and checking all the documentation. It is the trick of the bargain and the “flash offer”.
False technical assistance
I’m sure it has ever happened to you that you enter a website and a pop-up message tells you that your computer is infected by a very dangerous virus that can even render your computer unusable or delete sensitive data.
This type of online scam usually asks affected users to provide a contact phone number that a technical support team will call to remove the damn virus.
If the call comes through, the tech team will most likely ask users to download an application that will supposedly fix the problem, but in reality allows remote hackers to access our most sensitive data and information.
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