The Most Common Online Financial Scams
In the internet age there are more ways than ever to get into contact with people around the world and make money in various ways, but with that however, also come a long list of financial scams. Online scams are more common than ever and that’s why I want to provide you with my list of five of the top financial scams and the ways to spot them.
Department of Justice virus scam: While this is mostly a virus, it is also a financial scam because it asks that you pay a sum of money disguised as a fine from the Department of Justice. It’s important to note that the United States government will never lock you out of your computer in such a manner. The virus will fool you by locking certain programs to make it appear as if what is stated is actually occurring to your computer and it will also access your webcam to pretend that the Department of Justice can see you. To avoid this, don’t download anything suspicious and if you happen to acquire it you will need to start your computer in safe mode and perform a system restore. Once done, download Malwarebytes and remove the Trojan from your computer.
Email Lottery Scam: If you have ever received an email entitled “You have won the lottery!” your best bet is to immediately delete it. I get these common email scams all the time claiming that I have won a lottery due to a random drawing of my email address. You will never be notified through email from the lottery commission that you have won. If you ever see anything along the lines of winning the lottery through your email, don’t open it, delete it.
Work from Home Email Scam: Usually, scams like these are entitled with something like “Job offer” or “work from home” and contain a lucrative financial offer within. Never trust such emails as they are more than likely those that are associated with some illegal activity or those that look to acquire your personal information.
Paypal Account Lock: This online scam is starting to be more and more common and I encountered it a few weeks ago myself. The email is laid out just like a Paypal email is and the scammers even went to the extent to copy all the logos and the rights information present in a traditional Paypal email. The email informs you that your account has be hacked and you need to reset your password, but even though the site that it has you go to seems legit, don’t believe it. Paypal will never ask you to reset your password through email, so if you ever see these, ignore them and notify Paypal through their site.
Email hacked/locked out: Typically in this online scam you will get an email telling you that your account has been hacked and that you need to input your information to restore full functionality. This is an effort by scammers to get a hold of your personal information. Email providers will never notify you with such emails, so never trust these and notify your email provider immediately.
