Understanding the Different Types of Scams and How to Avoid Them
Scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated in today's digital world. Learning to recognize these tactics is the first step in protecting yourself and others from financial loss and theft.
Romance Scam:
Scammers will claim utilize dating sites or actively seek out someone who may have just lost a loved one to exploit that loneliness. They will begin to ask for money for various things such as bills or groceries. The amounts will start small and continue to increase. Eventually they will ask for larger amounts saying for instance that they need help buying a plane ticket so they can come live with you and take care of you. When the scammer never shows, they will provide an excuse such as having a family emergency or that they missed their flight.
Grandparents Scam:
Scammers will call and inform you that either a grandchild or another relative in distress. Sometimes they will pose as a police officer, a hospital representative, or even as the grandchild themselves. They will state that there is some type of emergency that requires money be sent either for bail or a hospital bill. They will leverage your compassion for a loved one to exploit you.
Online Shopping Scam:
Scammers deceive online shoppers by setting up fake websites or social media ads to offer eye-catching deals on popular items. They may impersonate a legitimate business or person but never deliver on the promised goods and services. Some websites may even use fake checkout processes, which can lead to buyers losing money or even becoming victims of identity theft. They can also set up recurring charges for various services that you may not be aware of.
Rental Property Scam:
Scammers advertise rental property that doesn’t exist or is already rented. These tactics include fake listings on legitimate platforms and the use of fake websites. They will claim an upfront payment is required for an application fee, usually through a digital wallet such as Venmo or Cash App. Once the scammer receives the funds, they may then ask for first and last month’s rent without ever showing the property in person, or cease contact all together.
Scams Posing as a Financial Institution:
Scammers will use various tactics while posing as your financial institution to gain access to your accounts and personal information. Some of these include sending text messages to confirm a transaction or your identity, an email including a link for an updated banking app or website, or a phone call to verify personal information.
Compromised Card Scam:
Scammers call claiming to be from your bank and say that your card has been compromised. They’ll attempt to have you provide your card information to ensure it is correct. Though they may seem to be legitimate, once they have your cards information, they’ll use it to steal money from the account.
Tech Support Scam:
This type of scam occurs when someone claims to be from a legitimate company such as Windows or Apple offering technical support. Contact can be initiated in one of several ways:
Phishing/Quishing/Vishing/Smishing Attacks:
Phishing attacks are an attempt to get you to either click on a link or contact a phone number that is sent through an unsolicited email in hopes of compromising your personal or banking information. The message typically has a sense of urgency to it such as a fake invoice demanding payment, a pending charge that the scammers want you to verify, or an alert stating your information has been compromised. As technology has advanced, so have phishing attacks. There are now several different variations such as Quishing, which utilizes a QR Code that acts as a link that can direct you to a malicious site. There are also Vishing attacks that use voice via a phone call in an attempt to have you divulge your information. The voices may be from a live person or a computer-generated voice such as AI. Lastly there are Smishing attacks which use text messages to send malicious links rather than through email. No matter the method the end goal remains the same, for you to take the bait!
Job Scams:
Scammers will post listings for work from home jobs with the promise of flexibility and great pay. They will use legitimate companies’ logos on the job description or web page to make it look more official. The scammers tell you that certain items such as a laptop or supplies are necessary and will mail you a check or to buy those items. The check will be written for a larger amount than what you spent and they will request the difference be sent back to them. When the check is returned you will be liable for paying the money back.
Scammers will claim utilize dating sites or actively seek out someone who may have just lost a loved one to exploit that loneliness. They will begin to ask for money for various things such as bills or groceries. The amounts will start small and continue to increase. Eventually they will ask for larger amounts saying for instance that they need help buying a plane ticket so they can come live with you and take care of you. When the scammer never shows, they will provide an excuse such as having a family emergency or that they missed their flight.
Grandparents Scam:
Scammers will call and inform you that either a grandchild or another relative in distress. Sometimes they will pose as a police officer, a hospital representative, or even as the grandchild themselves. They will state that there is some type of emergency that requires money be sent either for bail or a hospital bill. They will leverage your compassion for a loved one to exploit you.
Online Shopping Scam:
Scammers deceive online shoppers by setting up fake websites or social media ads to offer eye-catching deals on popular items. They may impersonate a legitimate business or person but never deliver on the promised goods and services. Some websites may even use fake checkout processes, which can lead to buyers losing money or even becoming victims of identity theft. They can also set up recurring charges for various services that you may not be aware of.
Rental Property Scam:
Scammers advertise rental property that doesn’t exist or is already rented. These tactics include fake listings on legitimate platforms and the use of fake websites. They will claim an upfront payment is required for an application fee, usually through a digital wallet such as Venmo or Cash App. Once the scammer receives the funds, they may then ask for first and last month’s rent without ever showing the property in person, or cease contact all together.
Scams Posing as a Financial Institution:
Scammers will use various tactics while posing as your financial institution to gain access to your accounts and personal information. Some of these include sending text messages to confirm a transaction or your identity, an email including a link for an updated banking app or website, or a phone call to verify personal information.
Compromised Card Scam:
Scammers call claiming to be from your bank and say that your card has been compromised. They’ll attempt to have you provide your card information to ensure it is correct. Though they may seem to be legitimate, once they have your cards information, they’ll use it to steal money from the account.
Tech Support Scam:
This type of scam occurs when someone claims to be from a legitimate company such as Windows or Apple offering technical support. Contact can be initiated in one of several ways:
- Pop-up or Locked Screen: A window appears on your computer screen with a security warning and phone number to call for help but is actually an advertisement that can be closed safely
- Cold Calling: You receive an unsolicited phone call from a someone posing as a legitimate company who tells you that your computer has viruses that can be fixed by providing remote access.
- Paid Search Results: Scammers can pay for their phony websites to appear at the top of the results which can be indicated by the term “Sponsored Link.”
- Typosquatting: Scammers can register misspelled URL domains that are very close to legitimate companies in the hopes of someone accidentally typing the wrong website address. The link is often just one letter off from the real one such as www.amazom.com or ends with a .com when the legitimate site ends with a .org for example.
Phishing/Quishing/Vishing/Smishing Attacks:
Phishing attacks are an attempt to get you to either click on a link or contact a phone number that is sent through an unsolicited email in hopes of compromising your personal or banking information. The message typically has a sense of urgency to it such as a fake invoice demanding payment, a pending charge that the scammers want you to verify, or an alert stating your information has been compromised. As technology has advanced, so have phishing attacks. There are now several different variations such as Quishing, which utilizes a QR Code that acts as a link that can direct you to a malicious site. There are also Vishing attacks that use voice via a phone call in an attempt to have you divulge your information. The voices may be from a live person or a computer-generated voice such as AI. Lastly there are Smishing attacks which use text messages to send malicious links rather than through email. No matter the method the end goal remains the same, for you to take the bait!
Job Scams:
Scammers will post listings for work from home jobs with the promise of flexibility and great pay. They will use legitimate companies’ logos on the job description or web page to make it look more official. The scammers tell you that certain items such as a laptop or supplies are necessary and will mail you a check or to buy those items. The check will be written for a larger amount than what you spent and they will request the difference be sent back to them. When the check is returned you will be liable for paying the money back.