How to detect online scams

A British Broadcasting Corporation film series enlightening viewers on the antics of con artists or fraudsters intermittently had the lead character tell his co-con artists; “You can never con an honest man.”

This invariably means that if you are honest you shouldn’t fall for a scam, well sadly, it doesn’t work that way as con artists often play other vulnerabilities of an honest man, like fear and vanity. Where a person is either  vain, lonely, desperate and most importantly, greedy, he or she is most likely to fall for a scam. The chances of falling for a scam has quadrupled with the coming of the internet. This means that you can sit in the comfort of your home and be conned, worst still you will proceed to make payments from the comfort of your home, thanks to online banking. 

Here, we have compiled likely instances of online scams and even if not an outright scam, avenues that can let viruses into your device; phones, tablets, laptops or desktops.

If you receive a message or visit a site that says you are in danger unless you download a certain application, that’s a red flag for a scam. The message is playing on your fear. Always view these messages with scepticism and caution. Research the application before you download and install it.

Social  networking sites 

While on social networking sites you may receive a message containing a link that says something like, “You won’t believe how great you look in this video!” This appeals to the vain side of humans. Most of us would be tempted to follow the link and watch the video, particularly if we were worried it might be embarrassing. Scam artists know this and capitalize on it to direct you to links that will give them access to your computer and all your personal details. Using the details,  a scheme can be used to rope you into a scam. Worst still your passwords can be copied when these viruses gains access to your computer. It does not stop there, the scam artist can go ahead to use your details to transact and leave you broke.

The most popular inlet is the email. Sometimes a mail could come into your inbox that looks like it is from your bank telling you that an amount of money has been deducted from your account for a monthly magazine. Then they tell you to click unsubscribe if you are not interested in the magazine, clicking this link is the beginning of a hack and a scam. It is advisable to delete this mail. Nonetheless, if you actually subscribed for an e-magazine, open other mails from your bank and compare it with the deduction mail. Delete and block the mailer if a slight difference is detected.

Another form of mail scam involves cooking up stories to solicit for funds. First, don’t transfer money to a complete stranger with hope that it will be doubled, tripled or refunded. Second, no matter how single or lonely you are, do not fall for stories from complete strangers about being in love with you, these are designed to take advantage of your lonely side.

Summarily, when dealing on the internet double check everything. There are sites and search engines where mails sent can be verified. You can copy an email addresses, mail content and links and paste them on these sites or search engines to verify them. Phone numbers in text messages should also be double checked. Suffice to say, don’t believe everything you read and always think before you click.