There is something that most of us are not aware of. Something that relates to the security of our personal information. Almost everyone in USA has shared their information with either their financial institution or retailers or any other service provider. Each of these providers have strict security against personal information theft. Still, as per the recent investigation, it has been found that one among three American is a victim of these thefts. These scams are significant in every part of the world and carry critical damages.
Here are those 11 scams that have forced everyone to think twice before sharing information with the legitimate institutions as well.
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Remote PC repair scam
This scam starts from scaring the victim of probable virus attack over phone and ends up by getting the remote access to their PC. Once the access is granted by the owner of the computer, the scammer takes all the privilege to infect the computer with a virus that would land the owner to the third-party website for confirming the damage, every time he would try to surf the net. If the customer enters the credit card details into the website, the information is quickly hacked and stored in the hacker’s system.
This scam started from India and has been able to fool a lot of people around the world. To avoid such scam, you should never permit anyone to access your computer remotely. You should always prefer a local repair service to help you with problems like these.
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Counterfeit Scam
In today’s time, when Ecommerce has taken over the market, we are getting dependant on online stores as they cater to almost all our needs. The scammers are so cunning and perfect in mimicking the actual websites that it is almost impossible to find a difference between original and fake ones. Most of these sites have been found out to be originating from China. They lure customers by offering high discounts.
The aim of these sites is to get the personal information of the customers who make impulse decision in buying these products. Then, this information is sold to the black market.
As an individual it becomes difficult to curb these scams. Hence often, huge corporations whom these scammers mimic are the one who discover these illegitimate sites and take actions against them. All you can do is, be vigilant. If you have doubts on the authenticity of a website, try to contact the brand whose product you want to purchase through the information provided on the website. This will help you to identify if the provider is legit or not.
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Fraudulent check scam
This is the most common scam asking for cash in return of check with bonus. The scammer tries to convince random victim to accept check in exchange of cash. They send an email with details of reason they are not able to access cash. In the same mail, these con artists lure the person by offering added bonus for the help. After the cash is lend, the check bounces and the victim get nothing for the money paid.
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Pet for Sale Scam
This scam starts through a webpage that offers pets for adoption. These websites charge for only insurance and shipping. These sites look very genuine and provide vast variety of breeds and animals to choose from. Usually they accept payment through Moneygram, Western Union or those gateways which provides non-returning money transfer.
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Grant Scam
Here, the information is purchased from big corporations. The scammers pose as some government agency aiming to provide financial aid to those who are under huge debts. Using these personal information, these con artists offer a big grant money just for a processing fee. As they act as government officials, it becomes easy for them to gain trust of the victims.
They ask for their savings to get them bigger amounts after a certain time period. Once they get hold of the savings, they sell their personal information in the black market.
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Collection Agency Scam
Scam artist take advantage of the fact that collecting agencies possess the right to collect debts from the individuals. Hence, they represent any anonymous or fake agency and threaten the victim to pay against the debt. This harassment call continues till the victim breaks and pays over phone. They do the same with other victims and the cycle continues.
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Property Rental Scam
After the property market collapsed, the trend for giving away houses on rent increased and so did the property rental scam gain its peak. Scammers create fake advertisement listing attractive pictures of properties at lower rates.
When the victim gets into the trap, these scammers create a fake agreement and ask to send the first month’s rent through online transfer.
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Payday Loan Scam
These scams target vulnerable individuals who are under huge debts and are looking for another loan at lower interest rate to pay the prior one. The website that these scammers build asks for personal information. Then these scam artists call these people to confirm that they have become eligible for the loan. They ask for a security fee as a guarantee amount or ask them to link their bank account to the loan account for direct transfer of loan amount.
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Timeshare Resale Scam
This scam advertises to sell the vacation deals at a high-end resort at lower cost. In this scheme, the customer is required to pay an upfront fee. This fee combines Broker’s fee, closing and property appraisal amount. Most of the providers bind the customers into a long agreement and great losses. Hence, it is always better to read the agreement in detail before making any signature on the deal.
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Work from Home Scam
Scammers set a fake website to lure individuals into believing in their work from home tasks. This usually are the international shipping departments. So, the interview happens on a messenger and email is used for correspondence.
After accomplishing certain task, the company sends a pay check that is more than the amount worked. When employee tries to reach the company for a correction, it asks the employee to transfer the extra amount to their account before submitting the check in the bank. Later, the check bounces.
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Dating Scam
As we have shifted our interest in finding romance online, the number of dating scams have accelerated along. Con artists build an attractive profile usually with fake identity, high income and great appearance. They try to build trust by messaging and being in touch for weeks or a month or so. Then they start asking for money because of sudden urgency. It goes on and on. The research reveals that people conned through dating scam keep sending money in a hope that the guy would be genuine and will return the money sent altogether.
CONCLUSION
There are various other scams including these. We need to be alert and do not let others take advantage of our innocence. Think more than once, before sharing your personal information especially your bank accounts and card details. The more you will pay attention to the details, the more you would be able to find the scam behind a great deal.