Watch Out for These Top Internet Scams and Keep Your Elderly Loved Ones Informed

The internet market is full of scams nowadays. You might think that an app or website is doing legit business but in reality, they are just running an operation to steal money from users. 

According to a special report published by the FBI, more than $3.5 Billion was scammed in the year 2019 from individuals and corporations. The number might surprise you but trust me, it can get worse over time unless we learn to protect ourselves from these evildoers.

In this article, I'm going to give you some tips that will help protect you and your loved ones from falling prey to these online criminals. If you follow the tips carefully, you can keep your hard-earned money from being stolen by individuals or certain organizations that use the internet to scam people.

Strangers Asking for Monetary Donations

If you browse the internet or social media sites for a few hours these days, chances are you will come across a few advertisements or even get direct messages from strangers seeking donations. Most provide sad stories of patients in hospitals who are not able to pay their medical bills. In extreme cases, they will also share interview videos from patients to make everything look more legit. Seeing the clips, you might not give a second thought to donating a small amount of money. But here's the thing: Just like you, thousands of people usually end up giving money to evil scammers who use this nefarious method to steal -- while the actual patients won't even get a cent from the donations.

If you have a big heart and you wish to offer financial help to other people - especially the sick and suffering - amidst the pandemic or in these trying times, it's best to call foundations or even get in touch with hospitals to get a legitimate list of patients who could greatly benefit from your assistance. Getting recommendations from trusted friends and loved ones on who needs your monetary assistance the most is also a good idea. But if your heart is easily tugged by stories and messages from strangers needing financial help in hospitals and you are keen on giving a big amount, I think it's best to contact the hospital where the patient is confined and inquire about his or her needs to know how you can help.

Phishing scams

Millions of dollars are lost every year due to phishing scams. These are done by "experts" who use tried and tested techniques in duping people. Let’s say, all of a sudden you receive a suspicious email from a service that looks like Netflix telling you that you need to update your credit card information in their payment system or else they will freeze their account. Thinking that the email is from a legitimate source, you would click on their link bringing you to a website that looks like Netflix. But unbeknownst to you, both the email and the website are actually fake and were just created to get your credit card information. This is the core of phishing scams.

Use Premium VPN to combat Phishing Scams

Phishing scams have become very dangerous nowadays largely because of fake websites that look like the real thing. If you are in a rush or if you're not careful, you can make the mistake of providing your personal or bank details to these phishing site portals. To avoid such critical mistakes, we strongly recommend that you use a VPN service provider. Check our vpn (CyberGhostVPN) and enhance your security. Once you start using the VPN in your device, the hackers will lose their power to track your IP address or geographical position, which can offer an additional layer of protection. Once you develop the habit of using VPN or implementing online security methods, you will naturally be more careful when clicking on links or replying to emails from unknown sources.

Tech Support Scams

These days, one of the most profitable scams for hackers is called a techsupport scam. Here, the hackers will call your phone number, say that they represent a big company, and offer you attractive deals. On initial contact, they will try to gain your trust and once they succeed in doing so, they will work hard to gain access to your computer. In most cases, they target the elderly as they easily believe such calls and give out important personal details. However, younger people can also fall for such traps and lose a big sum of money. Hence, it pays to be cautious when you get a call from the tech support team out of nowhere -- and to let your parents and grandparents know that these scams exist.

The tech support scams usually work in two methods. First, the hackers try to extract any financial information such as bank account number, credit card details, etc. from your personal computer. Once they manage to do so, they will use your details to steal money from your bank account. The second method is that they will charge a decent amount of fee stating that they have solved a complex problem in your personal computer. If you're gullible, you will believe them and happily pay a decent amount of money.

Fake Online Stores

Thousands of e-commerce websites today are selling legit products at a very competitive price -- and hackers know this. These evildoers have decided to take advantage of the exponential growth of the e-commerce industry to earn dirty money. 

Hackers create fake online stores and sell products - including luxury items and daily necessities - at an unbelievable price. Without checking the legitimacy of websites, gullible customers will believe these fake offers and pay using their credit cards. With this, hackers get critical bank information and steal money. The hapless victim won’t even realize that he or she has been scammed until the delivery date for the fake purchases lapses.

To avoid being scammed on fake online stores just avoid jumping on offers that sound too good to be true and try to only shop via trusted e-commerce websites.