Internet Safety: How to Avoid Online Scams

Internet Safety: How to Avoid Online Scams

Internet fraud is alive and well and it’s costing victims thousands of pounds. The threat of a cyber attack to an individual, user or organisation, and the unauthorised access, theft or damage that could result means you need to be on your guard at all times.

Your bank will never contact you and ask for your personal or account details by phone, email or text message. Do not give out private information (such as bank details or passwords), reply to text messages, download attachments or click on any links in emails if you’re not sure they’re genuine. Here are a few of the common scams that you need to be awrae of.

The Safe Account Scam
If someone contacts you saying you need to move your money into another bank account for any reason, it’s a safe account scam. Beware of anyone:

Telling you your account is at risk – they’ll often create a sense of urgency to try and fluster you into believing them. Claiming to be from organisations you know and trust, like the Bank or the police, even if their contact ID looks like it’s actually coming from that organisation. If you’re ever unsure, hang up and call the organisation back.

Be cautious of anyone reaching out and asking you to Provide any of the following:

• Your PIN
• Your Account Number
• Your Card Number or the security code on the back of your card
• Your Online Banking Username or Password
• Any verification code from your Online Banking or app
• Your SMS one-time passcode

No bank will ever contact you and ask for the personal information above. Scammers could reach out through a range of methods, most commonly calls. To help remain safe, treat anyone contacting you to transfer money cautiously, and if you’re ever unsure, hang up and call your bank, preferably from another telephone.

The Money Mule Scam
If a scammer convinces you to use your bank account to transfer money illegally, you become a money mule – even if you don’t know it’s happening. Falling for this scam could result in you having a criminal record, damaging your credit and risk blocking your bank account. Beware of:

>>> Anyone who contacts you asking to deposit money into your bank account – and don’t be tempted by promises of a cut or percentage of the money they want to deposit.
>>> Offers of quick cash, too good to be true investments and even out-of-the-blue job offers.
>>> Suspicious online behaviour or approaches, especially on social media, dating apps and the like.

Strong Password Protection
Make sure your shopping, online banking and payment accounts are protected by strong passwords that you don’t use for any other account. If you’re using the same password for lots of accounts, criminals could steal your password from one account, and use it to access your other ones.

For this reason, you should make sure that all your important online accounts (such as email, banking, and social media accounts) have unique, strong passwords.

Online Romance Scam
Dating websites can be great for meeting new people, but unfortunately, romance fraudsters, aka catfish, also use these sites to find their victims. And, according to the FBI, romance scams result in greater financial loss than any other internet-facilitated crime, with the average victim losing over $100,000.

This type of fraud takes on many different forms, but typically it starts with the scammer developing a supposed online romance with the victim. Once the scammer gains the victim’s trust, they’ll ask for money. They often claim to need money due to a personal emergency or to buy a plane ticket to visit the victim.

Romance scammers have even gone so far as to persuade their victims to give them access to private financial accounts. It’s also not uncommon for these conniving criminals to convince their victims to commit financial fraud on their behalf.

How to avoid this scam
Older adults should be especially cautious using online dating websites, as some romance fraudsters specifically target older citizens. What’s more, women are victimized at a much greater rate than men.

No matter what your age or gender, review our tips for dating online safely and how to tell if you’re being catfished to help minimize the chance you’ll get duped. Don’t hesitate to break contact with anyone who tries to scam you, and you should always report them to the dating website.