Wednesday 6 November 2013

Online Safety

Internet scams have been around ever since the internet first came on to scene. Fraudsters with an internet connection are constantly finding new techniques to con unsuspecting innocent users, all thanks to the internet. In this guide, you’ll learn the various and most popular scams e-crooks use to steal your money and your identity.

The Nigerian Millionaire Widow Scam:
You receive an email from a young Nigerian widow who is in need of desperate help. She has inherited over a million dollars from her dead husband and is offering to give you a significant cut. If you help her retrieve her money by sending her a few hundred dollars which would cover the legal and administrative fees needed to release her inheritance. Using powerful persuasion techniques and emotions, most people are easily overwhelmed by greed and believe this is the real-deal. This is just one variation of the scam, there are many others using just as powerful persuasive stories to win over your trust. Once you end up wiring the money, don’t be surprised if you never received the promised million dollars. You my friend have been duped!
Preapproved Home Loan Scam:
Despite your horrible credit history, you receive an email stating you are preapproved for $500,000 mortgage loan. All that is required is that you pay an upfront annual fee before the loan could be issued to you. Just think about it, why would any bank be foolish enough to loan you half a million dollars despite your bad credit? Sadly, it’s a scam. Once you pay the so called “up front annual fee” you won’t hear back from them. While most people can easily come to know about the scam just by dubious request for an upfront annual or service fee, some, unlucky folks are stupefied into paying the upfront fee.
You Won the Lottery Scam:
Do you know a person who doesn’t want to be rich? Probably not, the reality is that every human being desires to be wealthy. Scammers have used this human weakness to their advantage. Perhaps this format of scam is the most common, and it’s likely you’ve received a similar email in the past. You receive an email message stating you have won 2 million dollars in state lottery. Whether you have participated or not, the mere concept of you winning 2 million dollars is enough to cloud your judgment, and that’s where you end up sending fixed amount of money to scam artists.
Public Wifi Hazards:
Avoid using public Wifi services, they may be free, but you may end up paying by having your identity stolen. Always use Wifi encryption software to mask your identity and encrypt your data using software that can act as File Lock.
Phishing and Fake Links:
Perhaps it’s very easy for anyone to fall victim to phishing scams. This type of scam is perhaps the most sinister and damaging. E-crooks usually send you a fake link instructing you to click on that link and to login to your e-banking account. As you enter your username and password in their respective fields, your credentials are being recorded in the background by a key logging software. These fake bank sites seem extremely convincing as the real deal, however, they are not. How can you distinguish fake from the real deal? Simple, make sure the website starts with HTTPS instead of HTTP. If you have any doubts about the validity of the website, contact your bank immediately.
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