Online fraud

Such scams have increased exponentially in the past years, particularly during the covid lockdowns.  Common types are account takeover, advance fee; click domain name, recovery, investment, charity, government grants, health, lottery, recruitment, romance, inheritance, money muling and mass marketing. 

The criminals use internet-based tools to identify the victims, so the users should install firewalls and handle secretive information carefully.

How Does It Happen?

• The cheats offer non-existent products online through eBay or other sites, and the seller seeks a bank transfer or payment through PayPal or digital assets or vouchers from the buyer as these modes of payments are not protected.

• The online transactions can lead to identity theft, where the victims' details are extracted by the app they download through a link presented to them in emails or malicious sites.

• Email spam is a common method used by such pretenders to identify and target interested victims. For example, they send unsolicited emails to people and request the passwords/ PIN of the bank account or other details. 

• Catfishing or romance scams are committed by people who meet online and attempt to win the other person's trust at places like internet chat rooms. Then they seek favours in the form of cash transfers, or they ask the victim to invest in particular sectors or offer them to join illegal activities like betting or games.

• Often some websites may interest the users, but people should neglect bogus proposals and explore reliable approved propositions. 

How To Protect Yourself?

• Keep your computer system and device apps updated. An update can modify unwanted apps and services from disrupting normal functions. In addition, the newest fixes help in removing malefic files from the device/app. 

• Protect your account using strong passwords and watch out for phishing scams where the emails (or webpages) are designed in a manner primarily to trick users into disclosing private account information. In addition, do not click on malicious links or attachments or pop-ups from certain malefic sources. Finally, do not divulge personal details to fraudulent messages. 

• Do not access your accounts through a public network. Always protect the interface with a password. 

• If you are shopping, ensure the websites use secure technologies. For example, when logging out of a payment site, verify the address to check if it begins with HTTPS.

• Always read the terms and conditions of the site carefully before buying products online.