There are many sophisticated scamming methods being used on the Internet today and consumers need to be educated about the signs of a scam site. Find out what signs to look for and how to suspect whether a site may be fraudulent before it’s too late. Scammers are waiting for you to fall into their traps and are busy targeting unsuspecting people every day online. You don’t need to be one of them.
Fear and Greed
Scammers often use fear and greed as motivation to draw in unsuspecting victims as their targets. In terms of greed, a site may promise the moon and much more to its potential victims in order to lure them in. This could be in the form of a huge payout or free items.
When it comes to fear, the scammers will provide a threat that something will occur if you don’t do something specific. For example, if you don’t sign up for malware from a specific company, your computer will be hijacked. Another way this is done to feed your fear is to give you a time limit in order to claim your prize or to tell you that you must purchase an item before it is sold out.
Poorly Designed Website
When you see a website that looks like it has been designed by an amateur, this is another red flag to take note of. A real company invests in a site that has been professionally designed in order to boost its business. If you happen to land on a website that looks like it was put together in less than an hour, click off the site as quickly as possible.
Spam Emails
It’s common to see emails full of English grammar mistakes and spelling errors. Some of these spelling errors have been made intentionally on the title of the email and filled with other optics substituting for letters in order to fool the spam filters. Sometimes the person sending the email is simply illiterate but at other times the email title has intentionally been made this way. If you see this type of email and it’s asking you to click on a link to go to another site, avoid it. If it’s a site you usually frequent you can get to the site the way you usually do through a bookmark or with a Google search.
Perform Tasks for Money
Many fraudulent sites will ask you to do a simple task like answer a five minute survey in order to collect a prize. You’ll end up being a winner and asked to send in all of your personal details in order to get the prize. The survey keeps you on the page while you are filling it out, which means that you’ll feel a bit more invested in the website and will be less likely to bounce off the page when you are being asked to make a payment or send in your details.
Watch for Phishing Casino Sites
While most casino sites are legitimate and provide a secure way for you to play games online, there are some fake websites on the Internet that you’ll want to avoid. Again, a real casino site will have been professionally designed so if you happen to land on one that looks suspicious, go to another site. There are legitimate casinos that ask for verification through documents but you can also find a legit casino that doesn’t request documents. The verification will be done using a different process.
A general rule of thumb is to never send a payment or your personal details to another company when you feel uneasy about doing so. Don’t click on website links that are suspicious. Governments and banks no longer send out emails with links on them just for this reason. It’s easy enough to get to these websites on your own.
As well, never send money if you’re asked to pay a small fee to register at the site or to get your credit card verified. The fee is usually small but once the criminals have their hands on your credit card details you may end up being a victim of a larger fraud. Always be ready to question everything before making a payment on the Internet and if something feels suspicious to you, there is a good chance that it probably is.
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