Like all other things in the world, the internet comes with its pros and cons. One of the general issues because of the internet is online scams. According to recent stats, a mammoth amount of $323,722,996 was lost in 2021 because of various online scams. The top online scam types in 2021 were investment and dating scams.

Everyone using the internet should understand that they are not safe from scams. As soon as you get online for any purpose, you are vulnerable to various online frauds. While the cybercrime protection authorities around the world are doing their job to save people from online scams. You must stay vigilant and look out for any kind of scam.

Staying attentive and taking necessary preemptive measures will allow you to figure out an online scam and avoid it to keep your hard-earned money safe from scammers. It is observed that scammers use different kinds of scams to rob people of their money. We will discuss a few stand-out types of online scams and methods to avoid them here. Read on to know more.

Phishing 

Many people may have heard this term for the first time, but it is considered an effective method of scamming people online. The term ‘Phishing’ refers to the practice of taking someone else’s persona or pretending to be a person that doesn’t even actually exist. Phishing is generally used to scam people on social media and dating sites, where people are primarily relying on the profile you have made for the information related to you.

The phishing method has been used to rob people who use dating sites and apps to find their soulmates online. According to recent stats, people worldwide were scammed and robbed of money that adds up to more than $50 million online because of phishing on dating sites. Additionally, you may find a person who happens to be your long-lost friend trying to reach out to you and asking for help in terms of money. The aforementioned practice can be a scam as well.

Method to Avoid Phishing

Social media and dating platforms are great places to interact with people, but if someone asks for money, you need to be cautious. Once you notice the red flag, try to make sure the person you are interacting with is real or using the real identity. The first step towards verification is taking the picture of that person and using the Google reverse image search utility to find out if any other profile with the same name and picture exists online.

The image search utility displays results from all popular reverse image search platforms. If you succeed in finding multiple profiles with the same name and picture, this is the second red flag for you. After the second red flag, you should insist the person an in-person meeting with you, if the person denies it, then it is the third red flag for you. Once you have sensed all these red flags, it is time to cut off your interaction with the person and report the issue to the relevant cybercrime regulatory authority.

Promises of Easy Money 

Another effective method of scamming people and robbing their money online is claiming to be a helpful advisor or business entity that can help them earn easy money. Who doesn’t like to earn easy money? Many people fall into the trap of scammers and act according to their recommendation, which generally includes transferring a particular amount of money to a bank for investment purposes, or registering for investment in a specific company.

Once people transfer their money to the said account, the scammers vanish quickly and leave no trace behind for the person who is scammed online. According to recent stats, people around the world have lost around $170 million because of investment scams. Many people have been robbed of their fortune because of these scams, and it still continues to be the number one method of robbing people of their money.

Method to Avoid Easy Money Scams 

You should stay alert while browsing online and never trust random ads that promise to help you earn a huge capital on your seed money. In case, if a person who presents himself as a representative of particular company messages you to invest your money in a business to earn huge ROI, it is your responsibility to verify that the company actually exists. Try to visit the office of that company in person. Make in-depth research regarding the track record of your company.

If you fail to find out any noteworthy records of the company in the recent decade, then it is another red flag for you. Moreover, if they ask you to visit their website, pay attention to their URL. If the URL includes any other extension than ‘.com’, ‘.co’, or ‘.net’, then you should stay away from such an entity and report it to cybercrime regulatory authorities. 

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