Common Types of Online Scams Explained and What to Look Out For

One of the biggest banes of the internet is the growing increase of online scams and con artists who prey on unsuspecting individuals. Over the years, scammers from all parts of the world have come out with some crazy and ingenious scams that have resulted in individuals parting with their hard earned money.

While there are so many different scams out there, we focus on some of the most common scams that take place online.

COVID-19 Scam

Online scam artists like to take advantage of current circumstances to spin their own scam. The latest scam doing the rounds, especially in the United Kingdom is called the COVID-19 scam. The UK has been one of the countries that has been significantly impacted by the coronavirus. Several reports of such scams have even been reported to the Gablecross police station.

The extended lockdown has caused millions of Brits a lot of financial hardships. Scammers are targeting unsuspecting Brits with a new COVID-19 scam. The scammers get in touch with individuals informing them that the UK government is giving out a special payment of £284.76 to help fight COVID-19.

The fact that the amount is not huge and is being given by the government, makes it appear rather real to a lot of people. Individuals are asked to click on a link and register in order to claim their COVID-19 allowance. This is where they are asked to enter the financial and personal information.

The UK government has already sent out a warning clarifying that no COVID-19 subsidy of £284.76 is being paid out. Individuals are warned not to click on any such link and immediately report it to the authorities. We call all our Swindon readers to be on the lookout for such messages and to report them right away.

Online Casino Scams

The online casino industry has grown tremendously over the last decade as players from all over the world are happy to sign up at an online casino and play their favorite games from the comfort of their homes.

While there are hundreds of licensed and reputed online casinos, there are also quite a few rotten apples. These are unlicensed operators who have shady practices and look to prey on unsuspecting players. Some of these unlicensed online casinos scam their players by taking their deposits and then disappearing while others allow players to win big amounts and then make up excuses when it comes to paying out their winnings.

The best way to avoid these online casino scams is to always look for a licensed and reputed site. Alternatively, you can use an online casino review site and sign up at casinos that have trusted reviews.

The Nigerian Scam

This is one of the oldest scams that has been around for over a decade and has its roots in Nigeria, hence the name Nigerian scam. However, scammers from all over the world have borrowed this template and have tried to scam individuals in all parts of the world.

This scam initially used to happen via email but has since switched to WhatsApp, LinkedIN and other social media portals like Facebook. The scam artist pretends to be a kind hearted individual who has inherited millions of dollars and is looking for a trusted individual who will help them take the funds out of their country.

The scammer will promise to give the individual a generous percentage of their inherited millions. In return, the scammer will ask the individual to transfer a small amount of money so that they can process the banking formalities and transfer the money. Many individuals have fallen for this scam in the past but in recent years have become more aware.

The Fraudulent Tax Scam

Scammers usually pull out an individual’s email or phone details from the internet and then get in touch with them pretending that they already know them. The fraudulent Tax Scam is often run from a small hub in India where call center agents pretend to be from the Tax Department and try to scare the individual.

The tax ‘con artist’ man calls the individual and claims that they made an error with their tax filing by claiming they did not report their taxes properly and now are in trouble with the authorities. The fake tax man claims that if they don’t pay their outstanding dues within the specified period of time, they run the risk of being arrested and being put behind bars.

They use pressure and intimidation by threatening and shouting at the individual to get them to make their ‘tax penalty’ payment quickly. A lot of individuals end up paying these tax con men and realize later that they have been scammed.

Identity Theft

This is where scammers resort to phishing and steal personal and financial data of an individual. Most of these phishing activities take place online at social media sites or at sites that don’t have proper SSL encryption. These scammers commit identity theft and can either wipe out your account at one go or take small amounts on a regular basis so that you don’t really know your account is being pilfered.

If you find out you are a victim of identity theft, you need to inform the authorities and suspend all of your cards immediately, change your banking password and inform all financial agencies of unauthorized transactions.

How To Avoid Online Scams

The best way to avoid online scams is to never disclose personal or financial information to strangers or online sites that you are not familiar with. It is also good to follow this age old adage which is ``If it is too good to be true, then it is not true”.