With today's internet capabilities, online scams are becoming much more common. Although all internet users can become targets for internet scams, inexperienced users may fall into these traps more than others.
Inexperienced users on the web have the highest risk of being scammed. This group includes the elderly, children, and new users.
While you may think scams are easy to identify, cyber-criminals have been working on scams since the internet was created.
In order to protect your information, look for the following signs.
One of the best ways to avoid getting scammed is to keep your personal information to yourself. Keep your passwords, account numbers, and sensitive paperwork in a safe place. Do not keep this information on your phone where it can easily be found. Also, make sure that you don’t give this information out to anyone -- you never know who might use it for malicious reasons. In addition, don’t leave your mail somewhere where scammers might be able to get ahold of it. If you can, have your mail deposited directly into your home, as opposed to having it sent to a mailbox. If you do have a mailbox, take your mail out as soon as possible to avoid anyone else getting a hold of it. If you get a solicitation asking you for your personal information, never willingly give it out. Make sure you take extra steps to ensure the solicitation is legitimate before you move forward and give them your information.
If you get an email asking for your money or information, take the time to conduct an online search about the person or company asking for the information. You should never assume that a solicitation is legitimate. One source that is very helpful for checking the legitimacy of an organization is the Better Business Bureau, where you can do a search for whatever company is asking for your information and receive all of the information you would need on that organization. Another way you can check if someone is legitimate is by looking up the phone number they used if you were called and some of the top results will usually reveal if that number has been used for scams before.
Call people back using genuine phone numbers. Using the technology we have today, it is easy for scammers to manipulate caller IDs and phone numbers. Because of this, you should never trust the name and number as it shows up on your phone. If you get a phone call from someone, make sure to ask them for their name and the company they work for so you can call the company back. Once you get off the phone, look up that company's information online and only take time to call back legitimate numbers found on trustworthy and reputable websites. For example, if you get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and they say that they need some personal information, you shouldn’t give it to them just yet. Hang up the phone first. Go online to the IRS's official website and find the customer service phone number on the website. Call that number back and ask whether anyone would have called you asking for personal information. This way, if they say that they never asked anyone to do that, you will know if that call was a scam.
Never pay money upfront. Several scammers will ask you to pay them a small fee and will promise that you will receive a larger sum in return. Some also tell you that you have won a prize and that you need to pay a small fee in order to collect the reward. They may also request you to pay for a loan assistance, debt relief, or a job in advance. You should not pay the money for these upfront. Make sure to check the legitimacy of the program before giving them money. If these are scammers, you will in general not receive whatever you paid for or what you were promised.
Pay attention to the way the organization is asking you to pay. Many scammers ask for cash or prepaid credit cards in order to avoid detection. They will also request you to pay this way as it is difficult to track and also is almost impossible to reverse. You will be asked to pay using credit cards and personal checks by most legitimate companies.
Another way to avoid being scammed is to talk to people you trust. For example, you could talk to your family or friends. This is also especially helpful because there is a chance that one of them have also come into contact with the same company and can tell you if it is legitimate or not. You can also talk to a lawyer or another professional and ask them about the solicitation and if they have ever seen anything similar in the past.
Make sure to read the cancellation policies. A lot of free trials you see from scammers will automatically turn into huge monthly charges. Some trials don’t even let you cancel for a specific amount of time. Take the time to look over the company’s cancellation policy before you accept free trials for things (For example: a free trial for a television channel). A lot of reputable companies will, however, let you cancel at any time. With these companies that are run by scammers, though, they may continue to charge you until you resolve the charges with the bank. Also, some companies might only give you a free trial if you agree to buy more of the service or product at the end of the free trial. If you have accepted a free trial from a company, make sure to cancel in a proper and timely manner. After you cancel, regularly check your bank accounts for any suspicious charges.
One last way to avoid getting scammed is to avoid depositing a check without verifying if it is real. Many scammers offer you a large sum of money by a check if you send in a smaller amount of money. However, the check you are sent will almost always be fake. If a bank accepts the check upfront, it is always revealed at some point to be fake. When this happens, it is your responsibility to repay the money back to the bank.
Remember that scammers are everywhere, and they are crafty. Don't be afraid to research any contacts on the internet, just to be safe.
