Avoid those Frauds and Scams in the Internet

More and more people are using the internet to shop, to do business transactions, bank online and others, because of this internet frauds and scams became more and more common. The crime has not only increased in numbers but their methods have become cleverer and also more sophisticated that any follow-up incident handling will be left confused on how the crime is perpetrated. So what can we do to not become helpless prey of these fraudsters and scammers? If you want to know how to deal with them, then continue reading to know how.

Each and every one of us is aware of the danger of viruses and other similar programs. In fact, because of our sensitivity against this issue fake virus threats float here and there in the Internet. One example is the Death Ray virus; it is a virus scam that threatens user that their computer will explode to smithereens. A poor ignorant user would quickly contact an incident response team to handle the said problem, only to realize that it was just a false alarm. A virus can only damage the software not the hardware itself. If you receive such emails, just ignore and delete it.

And here comes the classic Nigerian Money Scam. Originally, these types of scam started off from Nigeria, but nowadays it could come from any country. Scammers would send emails stating that their huge savings or bank account is tied up and they will need money so that they could pay bills or leave their country. They would plead for your help, asking that their money will be transferred to your bank account and that you will have a percentage on the cash allowed for access. Sounds tempting, but once these scammers have your banking details, you will have to say goodbye to the money inside your account.

There is also phishing; a nasty scam that uses a victim’s personal details, bank account, credit card, social security and other information needed to withdraw money or purchase any goods. Everything can be done all in the name of the poor victim. Never give the personal details in any email and make sure that the web page asking for personal information is secure. Check first for the security certificate of a website before continuing with any transaction.

If you receive any message saying that you won a cash price or an item in a lottery that you don’t remember entering, then probably it is bogus. There are many kinds of this scam like free soft drink cases, free clothes from famous brands, free computers or free cellular phones. Usually, they will ask you to pay a certain fee in order to get the price, but once the fee has been paid you will hear nothing regarding the price or on how to get them. Sometimes they would even ask for sensitive information regarding credit cards or bank account.

Another scam floating around the internet is those work-at-home scams. These scams prey on those people who have low income, unemployed or people having problems with dire situations and are in desperate need of money. Scammers offer promising opportunities including large sum of money just to carry out tasks like filling envelopes. But before getting the job, scammers will ask the potential victim to pay a fee for the supplies that are needed before the victim can get started. Once the supplies arrive, you will automatically know that you have been scammed because the supplies sent is really way cheaper compared to what you have paid for them. Furthermore, these scams will not pay the victim regarding the tasks they have completed. The truth is, no legitimate company will contact a person first when it comes to work; they will not ask for any amount of money just to get started. If you want to work at-home then look for any legitimate company and do a research on them beforehand.

You don’t have to undergo any incident response training against common scams; this training is just for hackers not for the common scammer or fraudsters. Be aware on these types of scams and frauds and any other scams that are closely similar to them. It is important to stay alert and protect your identity and information.

The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in cybersecurity and e-commerce. It is the owner and developer of 20 security certifications. EC-Council has trained over 90,000 security professionals and certified more than 40,000 members. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies. They also offer trainings in incident response.

More information about EC-Council is available at www.eccouncil.org.