How to avoid online scammers

21 Jul 2021 11:02
Tags

Back to list of posts

What is internet scam?
Easy money on the Internet, sites with free music, financial pyramids, online casinos, beauties from a dating site, iPhones at half price are almost always a scam. Someone wants to take money from you under an innocent pretext.

On the Internet, crooks use the same techniques as in life: they play on greed and fear. Only the purpose of the fraud is not cash, but the data of bank cards and electronic accounts. When a scammer receives them, he can withdraw your money, transfer through several accounts and cash out - and it is unlikely that anyone will catch him.

To get caught scammers, you do not need to specifically look for the hottest places on the Internet. Scammers can find you on social networks, write you a letter, and even write on Skype. Gradually, they will begin to put pressure on you, rush you, force you to make rash decisions. They succumbed to emotions and lost their vigilance - they became a victim of fraud.

How to avoid becoming a victim of online scams
To avoid meeting scammers, follow the rules.

Don't look for easy money.  There is no such thing as quick money on the Internet. Only scammers promise to make you rich in a week without effort. An ad with the phrase “making money on the Internet without investments” means that you are being cautiously lured into a pyramid scheme or a fraudulent network. There are many of these on the Internet, and there are even courses that teach beginners to create branches of fraudulent networks on the Internet.

Don't take your friends' word for it.  Scammers often hack accounts and instant messengers in order to pretend to be your friend and take out money. You can recognize the scammers by their unusual behavior: your friend suddenly found himself at the dacha, without money, his phone number has changed, and some new unexpected circumstances have appeared. Sometimes the fraudster gives out that he has forgotten the rules of the Russian language.

Learn to use a VPN.  If a crook is watching a chain of cafes or an airport, then your passwords, intimate photos and correspondence on a dating site are at risk. A fraudster can carefully pump out compromising evidence from the computer, and then begin to blackmail you. To prevent him from discovering your secrets, always use a VPN in unfamiliar places.

Myths and benefits of popular technology

Come up with a strong password.  Enter any set of numbers, letters, emoticons and punctuation marks as the password for the Internet bank. The best passwords come up with cats when they walk on the keyboard. It's easier to recover your password than to recover the stolen money.

What to do if you become a victim of online scams?
If you suspect that you have become a victim of scammers, immediately call the bank and block the card. After that, report the fraudsters - even if no dubious transactions have occurred yet, and you just gave your card number to someone unknown. Better to be paranoid than no money.

Different banks respond differently to fraud issues. Somewhere you can write in the Internet chat or call the call center, somewhere you have to go to the bank and write an application.

How to save money when enemies are around

Online scams and false transactions should be reported as early as possible - ideally immediately. Maximum - during the day. If you are late, the bank may refuse to investigate.

Is it possible to get money back from internet scammers
You can return the stolen money. According to the law "On the National Payment System", the bank must return the money if the client reported online fraudsters within 24 hours. After the application, the bank will block the account and start checking. He has 30 days to investigate under the law.

While the situation looks optimistic, it is virtually impossible to get a decent amount of money back. If the fraudsters hacked into the Internet bank or another banking system - that is, the problem was on the bank's side - then the money will most likely be returned. But if you yourself told the criminals your card number, PIN code or SMS password, then the bank will throw all the blame on you and may not return anything.

Sometimes the bank can meet a regular customer and return a small amount of money, even if he himself gave the data to the scammers. But you shouldn't count on it all the time.

How to identify scammers?
There are many ways to deceive you on the Internet, but all of them, in one way or another, will include personal communication with a fraudster and entering your card details. You may be asked to participate in a competition, help out a friend, go through a security check, and whatever else the scammers come up with. But in the end, you will be asked to provide a card number or code from an SMS. In no case should this be done.

You can recognize fraudsters by the manner of communication and interest in your card data.

How to understand that you are being bred on the phone

If a fraudster determines your name and phone number, he will probably try to panic you. For example, an imaginary bank employee calls you and reports a terrible mistake: a large amount was accidentally debited from your card. For everything to be in order, he needs to find out your card details and the code from the SMS in order to cancel this operation.

Recognizing a fraudster is simple:

An internet scammer creates panic or excitement.
The fraudster asks to provide him with your data.
The fraudster introduces himself as a bank, friend, or someone known and trustworthy.
Remember
A bank employee will never ask you to disclose your details.

Therefore, do not enter into dialogue with the fraudster, but urgently inform the bank about the strange call. The bank will identify the caller and take measures so that the calls stop, and the fraudster goes to court.

Comments: 1

Add a New Comment

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License