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Jan 18, 2024 · In an attempt to stay up to date on the latest schemes, The Globe and Mail consulted anti-fraud experts and government agencies to put together a list of the most common scams currently taking...
- Phishing scams. Cybercriminals have been able to bait many people with their phishing attacks in recent years, costing phishing victims over $54 million in 2020.
- Ransomware. A cybercriminal may infect your computer with malware called ransomware, if, for example, they are successful with phishing scams. Once installed, the cyberthief could encrypt your files and demand a ransom payment, typically in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.
- Scareware. Scareware can come in a couple forms, but possibly the most common of this internet scam is fake antivirus software. How it works: A pop-up alerts you of a virus that infected your device.
- Travel scams. Online scammers even have been able to leverage our wanderlust to con people out of more than $175 million in 2020 in the form of online travel scams.
- How Scams Find You
- Wrong Number (But Not Really) Scams
- War as A Scam
- Fake Invoice Scams
- Costly Cryptocurrency Scams
- Love and Money Scams
- A Good Scam Isn't Hard to Find
- How to Avoid Online Scams
In a video call, Bogdan Botezatu, Bitdefender's director of threat research, warned that despite the numerous ways scammers go after their targets, spam email remains the most prevalent. Using telemetry from Bitdefender customers, Botezatu was able to give me a high-level view of what email scams people are most likely to encounter. "We have seen t...
A common tactic is the "wrong number" scam, with which you are likely very familiar. In this attack, the scammer sends a seemingly innocent or flirtatious text message to their target, and then declares, "Whoops, wrong number." The apparent serendipity is meant solely to get you to interact with the scammer, Wisniewski told me. From the faux-accide...
Whether you’re hoping to score the hottest Prime Day deals, find out the latest COVID-19 information, or simply pay your taxes on time, scammers have figured out ways to capitalize on the internet’s omnipresent status in our lives. Scammers are also savvy and will quickly change tactics. "We see lots of experimentation," remarked Wisniewski. "They'...
Scammers are not only quick to change how they disguise their scams, they also change tactics. "The trend is toward having you retrieve the bad thing instead of them sending the bad thing in," said Wisniewski. He described a "fake invoice" scam, where attackers send their targets emails posing as a bill or invoice of some kind. These emails don't h...
The rise of cryptocurrency has made an enormous impact on online scams. At first, it was merely a means for bad guys to gather money directly from their targets without having to rely on intermediaries who might cut off their efforts. Perhaps because cryptocurrency is now more widely known, scammers are getting more creative with their crypto scams...
Scammers often use strong emotions to trick their targets, and few things are greater motivators for the human animal than the desire for love and money. On the love end, a frequent tactic is the romance scam, a form of catfishing. This relies on the very human desire for love and sex to, again, lead targets into making bad decisions. Many of the o...
Not too long ago, I would have advised people to watch out for unusual grammar, misspellings, or strange punctuation as signs of a scam message. In the fake invoice scam I received, there weren't any misspellings, but the wording was too awkward for a message delivered from a company that wants to retain my business. However, that's becoming a less...
Fortunately, there are still things people can do to protect themselves from online scams. The experts I spoke to offered the follwing nine suggestions for thwarting scammers:
- Max Eddy
- Lead Security Analyst
Mar 7, 2024 · 20 Online Scams to Watch Out For. Unfortunately, that text is not from a company that wants to send you free money. It’s just another phishing scheme — we checked. Shannon Sanford....
- Shannon Sanford
Sep 13, 2022 · Tech Support Online Scams. 1. Phishing email scams. More than one third of all security incidents start with phishing emails or malicious attachments sent to company employees, according to a new report from F-Secure.
- People can be easily scammed by “too good to be true” bank offers that might guarantee large amounts of money and have already been pre-approved by...
- As the Internet plays an important role in our social lives, with apps like Facebook or Instagram we access everyday, it’s inevitable to use apps t...
- Facebook. Everyone is talking about it these days, and the scandal about Cambridge Analytica firm harvesting personal data taken from millions of t...
- Cyber criminals will lure you into believing you can make money easy and fast on the internet. They’ll promise you non-existent jobs, including pla...
- Many websites have a loyalty program to reward their customers for making different purchases, by offering points or coupons. This is subject to an...
What are the top online scams today? Learn about internet scams, including romance scams, lottery scams, website scams & fake websites.
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May 6, 2024 · An online scam is a deception carried out over the internet with the aim of tricking individuals into giving away personal, financial, or other sensitive information, or directly stealing their money.
