Top 10 ongoing Online Scams

This article is from Trend Micro

We are now living in the digital age where most of our time is spent browsing online and checking things over the internet. And as we continue to live the digital lifestyle, there are looming threats that could affect not just us, but also those we love like our kids or parents who are in their old days.

Top 10 online scams on the list

Today, we will discuss different online scams out there that could invade our experience online.

1.      Nigerian Scam
One of the oldest scams out there. Someone will send an email claiming that they are from a wealthy family in Nigeria or an African country and will seek your help to transfer their wealth. They will promise to provide you with a share of their riches in return for covering a certain fee needed to do the deed.

2.      Cryptocurrency scam
Since cryptocurrencies boomed and became popular, cybercriminals found ways to lure people to deceive them. They will encourage folks to invest in certain companies that are about to go up, but eventually, your investment will lead to nothing.

3.      Dating and Romance Scam
One of the ongoing and popular scams now. With the rise of dating and love apps, there are soulless hackers that will pray on the weak and lonely users that will make people fall in love via Fake user profile,s and afterward, they will ask for money.

4.      Shopping Scam
E-commerce and online stores are now a trend since it provides convenience to people by buying stuff without stepping out of the house. With this, there will be online stores or an email offering Branded, high-end, or quality products at reasonable or cheaper prices. But at the very end, you ended up with no product delivered to your doorstep.

5.      Fake Antivirus Software
There are non-technical people that go online and get deceived by some messages informing them that their machine is infected with viruses and threats and would require them to download certain Antivirus products. But alas, what users will download is most likely the virus itself.

6.      Account Failure
In this scam, you will receive an email informing you that there’s an issue or error with your account and you need to sign in or provide more details to have it fixed. Once you provide your account details, cyber attackers will now have your account credentials.

7.      Free-stuff Scam
Upon visiting a certain site, a message will appear that you need to answer a survey so that you will receive stuff like iPhone, new gadgets, and more. You also need to provide personal information to qualify. After answering, they now have your details. This also applies to free travel offers via cruise lines or air travel.

8.      Digital Greeting Cards
Even if it’s no longer rampant, there are still few traces of this scam where a scammer will send Digital Greeting Cards to various email addresses. Once it is opened, it will download malicious software that could potentially steal your information.

9.      Fake Charities
Every time that there’s a catastrophe or calamity in different parts of the world, there will be donations and charity drives created by scammers so that they can milk money from kindred spirits and kind-hearted souls that are willing to give aid.

10.  Work from Home Scams
When the pandemic hits, Work from home becomes one of the solutions for people that still need to earn their keep. And thus, scammers try to fool people by providing offers that job seekers will not resist. But in the end, after doing the jobs, scammers will not pay for your hard work and effort.

Other scams out there:

• Calendar Scam
• SMS Scam
• Pre-Approval Scam
• Fake Lottery
• False Surveys
• Fine Print Scams

Avoiding online threats

Usually, the top scams share common denominators and there will be situations and scenarios where you can avoid being fooled by the cyber scammers.

• If it's too good to be true, it probably is.
• Visit reputable sites.
• Avoid clicking ads and weird links.
• Close windows or tabs that suddenly appear while browsing.
• Verify contact and information.
• Cross-check details of promotions.
•  Read and examine the End User License Agreement.
• Guard and protect your personal information.
• Use antivirus software.
• Avoid public wifi and use VPN.
• When in doubt, NEVER click.

Protection from Scams

To safeguard yourself from various scams out there in the wild, you can opt to try Trend Micro Check. It is an all-in-one browser extension that detects scams and misinformation. It provides the following:

• Blocks dangerous websites in real-time.
• Remove browsing history risks
• Fact-check what you have read.

We hope this article provides more insights and details on how to be safe and knowledgeable in the digital world!