Dangers on the Internet: What You Should Know
The Internet is a wonderful tool. But it also poses a danger to its user's privacy, PC security and financial well-being.
Scams that have been circulating prior to the advent of the Internet are now being used to victimise unwary users on a massive scale through emails and fake websites. Not only that, your privacy is no longer assured even if your doors and windows are shut. As long as your computer is connected to the Internet, your personal information stored on the harddisk could potentially be stolen.
These are the different types of danger that you should be aware of:
SCAMS
Fraudulent schemes to swindle victims of their money, possessions and even identity.
Advance Fee Scam - These scams often come unsolicited via email.
The storyline of this type of scams may differ but the common theme
is you are told that a substantial amount of money is available to you,
but you are required to pay some sort of transaction or administration
fee upfront before the money can be transferred to you. The transaction
fee, which is the aim of the scam, asked by fraudster may range from as
little as twenty dollars to thousands of dollars. After you have sent
the money, you will never hear from the fraudster again. Advance fee
scams include the infamous Nigerian scam, lottery prize scam, holiday
prize scam, and inheritance or estate scam.
Affinity Fraud - Affinity fraud refers to scams that prey upon members of social groups, including religious, elderly, ethnic, and professional groups. The fraudsters are group members, claim to be members of the group, or enlist respected leaders within a group to spread the word about a deal, usually an investment opportunity. These scams exploit the trust and friendship that exist in groups of people who have something in common. Churches and bowling clubs are common targets of these scammers.
Astrology, Psychic or Clairvoyant Scam - A psychic or clairvoyant scam can come to you in many ways: through the post, in an email, by a telephone call or even face-to-face. There are a few different versions, but all of the scammers want to trick you into giving them your money. Generally, a psychic or clairvoyant scam will claim to know that you are in some sort of trouble and offer a solution. This ‘solution’ could be some winning lottery numbers, a lucky charm or the removal of a ‘curse’ or ‘jinx’. The scammer will tell you that they will help you in return for a fee.
Assassination or Extortion Scam - An email is sent to the victim's inbox, supposedly from a hitman who has been hired by a "close friend" of the recipient to kill him/her, but will call off the hit in exchange for a large sum of money. This is usually backed up with a warning not to contact the police.
Business or Franchise Scam - Want to buying a business with tried-and-tested business model and guaranteed earnings? A guarantee is not much of a guarantee if the company selling the franchises goes bust.
Cheque Overpayment Scam - This scam usually occurs in association with online auctions. A fake bidder offers to buy a product over the internet and sends a cheque for more than the agreed amount. The bidder then contacts the seller and asks for the additional money to be refunded by money order. Once the seller sends the overpayment, the bidder then cancels the original cheque leaving the seller out of pocket.
Dating, Dowry or Romance Scam - Some of these scams work by setting up a dating website where you pay for each email or message you send and receive. The scammer will send a whole series of vague-sounding emails filled with gushing talk of love or desire, in an attempt to keep you writing back and paying money for use of the scammer’s dating website. Another related scam involves people claiming to be terribly poor or have a very sick family member and are in the depths of despair (often these scammers claim to be from Russia or Eastern Europe). After they have sent you a few messages, and maybe even a glamorous photo, you will be asked (directly or more subtly) to send them money to help their situation. Some scammers even arrange to meet with you , in the hope that you give them presents or money, and then they disappear.
Donation Scam - Also called Charity Scam, these scams usually follow a major international disaster and pose as a charity raising funds for victims of the disaster. 9/11, Asian tsunami, Bali and London bombing were all used as an excuse by swindlers to collect 'donations'.
Employment or Work-From-Home Scam - Would you like to earn thousands of dollars every week by working a few hours a day? That's the promise. The catch? Well, you have to pay to obtain the secrets to riches - either a booklet or a software. Sometimes, you may get nothing after you have sent the money. In other cases, you will get a booklet that teaches you how to con people using the same method. Yet in some circumstances, you actually receive a gambling or investment software, that you paid good money for. You'd wonder if the software is so good, why is the seller selling his trade secret instead of using it to make tonnes of money? Other types of employment scam involves getting you to become a money transfer agent or payment processing manager (see Money Transfer Scam), or a salesperson in a pyramid scheme (see Investment Scam).
Identity Theft - Identity theft happens in a multitude of ways. It can range from somebody using your credit card details illegally to make purchases over the internet or telephone, through to having your entire identity assumed by another person to open bank accounts, take out loans, and conduct other business illegally in your name.
Investment Scam - Achieve incredible returns in a very short
time. That promise almost always capture the attention of the unwary.
Unfortunately, the elderly are almost always victims in such kind of
investment scams. Gambling and share trading
software are sometimes marketed as investment opportunities. Some
victims have paid up to $20,000 to $30,000 for their 'investment'. Some
investment courses and seminars are similarly (overly) priced. Pyramid schemes and Ponzi scams also fall in this category.
Money Transfer Scam - Often advertised as a home business opportunity, the victim is asked to accept money into his or her bank account and then transfer the amount, less the commission, to a bank account outside the country. Unknowing to the victim, the money being transferred is obtained from crimes. The process is called money laundering.
Online Classified Scam - Scammers can pretend to be selling a product — often very cheaply — just so they can steal your credit card or bank account details. Similarly, they may take your money but send you a faulty or worthless product instead. In some cases, you might receive nothing at all after you have sent the money. These scams can appear on online auction websites, fake online stores, or even on unsolicited emails promoting products.
Phishing Scam - Phishing refers to emails that trick people into giving out their personal and banking information. These emails seem to come from legitimate businesses, normally banks or other financial institutions. The scammers are generally trying to get information like your bank account numbers, passwords and credit card numbers. This information is then used to steal your money or identity.
Software Scam - You are offered to purchase popular software such as Windows Vista and Symantec Internet Security for a fraction of the normal price. The problem is, you may be paying for pirated software, or you may not actually receive anything for your money. Worse, your credit card detail may be stolen and used fraudulently to purchase goods and services on your account without your knowledge. And if you do receive the software, a spyware may be intentionally embedded inside to steal confidential information from your computer.
Stock or Ramping Scam - The scammer (also called ramper) typically recommends a stock and highlights its huge
potential to rise in share price in the very near future. Some rampers
even go to the extent of disguising their email as a professional stock
report! There has also been cases whereby uninformed investors were sent offers to buy their shares at prices below market value.
Superannuation Withdrawal Scam - Superannuation scams are schemes which offer to give you early access to your superannuation (‘early release’), often through a self-managed super fund and/or for a fee. These offers may come from a financial adviser (or someone posing as a financial adviser). The scammers make their money by deceiving your superannuation fund into paying out these benefits directly to the adviser in cash. Once the scammer has your money, they may disappear and leave you with nothing, or take very large fees before forwarding the remainder of the super benefit to you.
University Degree Scam - Want to boost your educational
qualification without undergoing years of study? No problem. This scam
offers you bachelor, master or doctorate degree for a price. The spam
emails usually claim that the degrees are fully accredited, approved or
verifiable in some way. It is either a false claim or the accreditation
body itself may be bogus. Any degree or diploma procured in such a
manner is certain to be worthless.
SPAMS
Many of the above-mentioned scams are actually delivered through spams , or unsolicited emails. Spams could also carry computer viruses, trojans or other malwares that could compromise confidential information stored on your harddisk.
VIRUSES
Computer viruses are often spread through email attachments and downloaded files . When the virus-infected attachment or file is opened, the virus replicates by automatically distributing itself out to all contacts on the victim's email address book.
TROJANS
A trojan is a malicious program that poses as a harmless application. Unlike viruses, trojans do no replicate themselves and do not need a host program to attach to. Many trojan victims are tricked into believing that the program is harmless or even helpful. Some Trojans will claim to rid the computer of viruses or other harmful applications, but instead introduce viruses and leave it vulnerable to attacks by hackers and intruders.
RANSOMWARES
Also called cryptovirus, a ransomware encrypts data on the harddisk and displays a message on the computer demanding a ransom for the restoration of the encrypted data.
SPYWARES
A spyware covertly records the computer user's actions, personal information and login passwords, and sends them to the originator.
MALWARES
Malware (malicious software) is a general term that refers to software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. It includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, spywares, ransomwares, dishonest adwares, and other malicious and unwanted software.
Knowing the different types of danger is only the first step towards preventing yourself from falling victim. There are sensible steps you can take - such as strengthening your PC and browser security, as well as adopting common-sense habits - to avoid the pitfalls.
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