Scams on the Internet

Author: Anita Gotić

Date of Publication: 02/05/2023

Today, there are more and more Internet scams and they can appear in many forms and are increasingly difficult to recognize. For this reason, it is important to be careful when doing business or communicating with people online.

Here are some of the most common types of Internet scams:

Phishing scams

These scams include emails, text messages, or pop-ups asking you for personal information, passwords, or credit card numbers. The messages look convincing and like they come from legitimate sources. For instance, your bank or a subscription. However, they're actually fake.

Tech support scams

This scam involves a fake tech support representative contacting you and claiming that your computer has a virus or some other problem. Then they will try to convince you to pay them to fix the problem. Otherwise, they’ll ask you to give them access to your computer so that they can "fix" it remotely.

Online shopping scams

These scams involve fake websites or sellers on legitimate sites. Actually, these will take your money and send you a fake item. They can even not send anything at all.

Lottery or sweepstakes scams

These scams involve emails or letters claiming that you have won a lottery or sweepstakes. Yet in order to claim your prize you must first pay a fee or provide personal information.

Social media scams

They work by showing different posts on your news feeds such as desired vacation spots and discounted luxury products. In fact, their goal is to trick you into clicking on a link that could potentially contain malicious software.

How to protect yourself

In order to protect yourself from online scams, it is important to read the messages or offers you receive. Apart from that, you have to do your research before providing personal information or making payments online. For example, check website security when shopping online by looking for "https" in the website address. Also, you should check the lock icon in the browser address. Moreover, you should use strong and complex passwords for all your online accounts and never share them with anyone. Last, enable two-factor authentication whenever possible to add an extra layer of security.