They may even be prompted to perform explicit acts while being secretly filmed.
They are then asked to pay a fee to prevent the photos or videos from being released. This terrifying scam involves threats of physical violence and even death, usually sent via email. The claim is often that the person sending the email has been hired to kill you and will relinquish their role in exchange for a fee. Emails might include personal details garnered from social media or other sources to make them seem even more threatening. Aside from going after your money, some scammers also try to obtain your personal information for use in identity theft.
Again, the basic premise is that your life will be spared only if you pay up. Another one playing on the fear of recent world events is the bomb threat scam.
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This is an email telling people that there is a bomb planted in their building and it can disconnected only if a certain fee is paid. Distributed Denial of Service DDoS attacks are similar to ransomware attacks, except that instead of file encryption you often have whole websites or internet services taken down. Web servers hosting these sites and services are flooded with dummy traffic that overwhelms them, slowing the site down to a crawl or even shutting it down altogether.
Victims are instructed to pay a fee to gain back control over the service. Businesses are often prime targets for this type of attack. The odds of pulling off a successful scam are low, so the pool of potential victims has to be very large. The easiest way to contact a large number of people with almost no effort is through email. In a dedicated phishing post , we look at the how to avoid or repair the damage done by common phishing scams, some of which are explained below.
Spear phishing is very targeted and the perpetrator typically knows some of your details before they strike. This could be information gleaned from social media, such as recent purchases and personal info, including where you live. A phishing email or message might be crafted based on those details, asking for more information including payment details or passwords. This is geared toward businesses and targets high-level executives within corporations who have access to the email accounts of someone in authority.
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Once they have access to that email account, they can use it for other means such as accessing employee information or ordering fraudulent wire transfers see also: Recents cases have involved schools, hospitals, and tribal groups, as well as businesses. The email might be from an actual or spoofed executive account or might appear to be from the IRS or an accounting firm.
Once provided, the documents give criminals everything they need for identity theft. This way criminals can get an increased payload for their efforts. Voice phishing vishing scams are not really online scams, but they are often linked and are becoming more sophisticated so are worth mentioning here.
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They use voice solicitation to get information or money from consumers or businesses. The scammer calls the victim and attempts to use social engineering techniques to trick the victim into doing something, often to give credit or debit card details or send money. Sending email spam and SMS spam is very easy and costs almost nothing. Calling an intended victim personally, on the other hand, takes more time and effort.
While phone calls are more expensive than email, VoIP has made mass calling far more accessible to criminals. To make matters worse, it is almost trivial to spoof a caller ID number these days. Scammers will typically pose as a financial institution representative and tell you there has been suspected fraud or suspicious activity on your account.
While some will then try to extract personal or bank account information, other scammers have different tactics. The first contact via phone may be automated meaning scammers can reach a huge number of targets very easily. It also means they only have to actually speak with anyone who calls back.
See more tax scams. Fake prize or contest winnings are often communicated via a phone call or automated voice message. Promised prizes could be in the form of cash, a car, or an all-expenses-paid vacation. In reality, fraudsters are looking to find out personal details including your address and social security number for use in credit card fraud or identity theft. The tech support scam often starts as a phone call and ultimately ends up online, similar to the bank scam mentioned above.
Once you do, the fake tech can do whatever they want with your system, including installing malware or ransomware. They then have all of your payment info and in some cases can continue to access your computer through the remote access software whenever they want.
The popup is usually difficult to get rid of which serves as motivation to call the number provided. Criminals prey on this fear and often pose as police or government officers to phish for personal information.
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Bear in mind, any such legitimate contact would be dealt with in person or at the very least by mail. While many of the other scams on this list could potentially be carried out through social media, a few very specific ones have popped up on social platforms. Scammers capitalize by posting ads for such a feature. This scam involves a clickbait-style headline on Facebook relaying some fake celebrity news, such as the death of a well-known star or a new relationship in Hollywood. They can then reach out to your friends and family with friend or follow requests and once connected, pose as you.
These trusted connections can then be used for a whole host of purposes such as spreading malware or requesting money for made-up scenarios. One app released in called InstLike asked for usernames and passwords in return for follow and likes. In fact, they simply collected the credentials of , users and turned them into participants in a large social botnet. Basically, the app did deliver on its promise but used the accounts of those who signed up to do so. A job offer scam might be run through email, but is commonly conducted through professional networking site LinkedIn.
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In some cases, these can lead to scams whereby you become the middleman for transferring funds. Many people purchase airline tickets, hotel rooms, and even entire vacation packages online these days. Scammers know this and there has been a rise in fraudulent travel sites selling fake tickets and non-existent vacations. Travel is usually a big-ticket item, which spells big bucks for criminals. There may be no record of you having a booking at all. These scams may be initiated via phone or email, but typically the target is told that they have won a vacation.
In order to claim, they either have to pay a small fee advanced fee scam or provide credit card details for a deposit. In the former case, the thief takes off with the money. In the latter, the credit card details can be used in credit card fraud. In this case, someone posts an ad claiming that they have purchased a ticket for a trip they can no longer go on.
They then sell the fake tickets for a much lower price than their face value. With insurance company agencies making it so difficult to get refunds on tickets, the fact that someone might be selling tickets online is made more believable, fueling the success of the scam. In a points scam, the target is called or emailed and informed that they have won a huge number of points, through a travel points card program or a travel credit card points scheme.
All they have to do is provide some details to confirm the transaction. This may include account information, credit card details, or other personal information. The vacation rental scam involves fraudsters posting ads for property in desirable locations for bargain prices. The victim is required to send a deposit or the full amount up front.
Criminals look to exploit both taxpayers and the government using a range of tax-related scams.
Examples of What Online Dating Scammers Say to Trick You
In a fake audit scam, targets are contacted by someone claiming to be from the IRS or similar tax agency and told that an audit has identified a discrepancy. Oddly, in Canada, it is reported that many of these particular scams involve payment requests via iTunes gift cards. This one targets people who are expecting a tax refund. Again, criminals pose as the IRS or similar agency and prompt targets to click a link through which they can claim their refund. However, the link leads to a phishing site where the victim is asked to provide personal information such as their social security number and banking details, which can be used in identity theft.
This scam is a bit more sophisticated as it actually uses real client details stolen from accounting firms via hacking or phishing. The information is used to file a fake tax refund request which is processed by the IRS, and the client receives the refund amount. The scammer then poses as the IRS or a collection agency, tells the client the refund was issued in error, and demands the money be returned. Of course, the payment is directed toward the fraudster, not the IRS. This case spells double trouble for the client.