Protect Yourself from Online Scams & Fraud
1. Important Information Regarding Online Scams
With the advancement of technology and the increasing use of social networks, the proliferation of online-based scams has become a significant problem for the public today.
2. What is an Online Scam?
An online scam refers to deceiving and defrauding the public of money or personal information by utilizing online platforms such as telephones, social networks, websites, applications, and internet banking. It has been observed that commonly used services like Mobile Banking and Mobile Pay are increasingly being used as mediums for these scams.
3. Top 5 Most Common Online Scam Types
The most prominent online scam types include:
* 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝: Scams that obtain information by using fake applications, websites, or Facebook pages.
* 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝: Scams where individuals impersonate employees of banks, financial institutions, or mobile money service providers.
* 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝: Scams that involve building intimate relationships online to defraud victims.
* 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 / 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝: Scams that use business transactions or investment opportunities as a pretext for deception.
* 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐦: Scams that promise job opportunities to defraud victims.
4. Other Online Scam Methods
Other observed online scam methods include:
* Fraudulent solicitations for donations.
* Scams by creating fake online shop accounts and approaching buyers under genuine online shop live sales.
* Scams by creating fake accounts impersonating fortune-tellers or ritual specialists and repeatedly demanding money transfers.
* Scams by creating fake consultant accounts, obtaining personal information, and then extorting or defrauding victims.
* Scams that entice victims with promises of lucky draws by impersonating event invitations.
* Scams by impersonating administrative authorities and threatening victims.
5. Characteristics and Behavior of Scammers
* Operate in groups rather than individually.
* Include individuals proficient in IT.
* Create fake webpages and applications.
* Present themselves in a way that inspires trust.
* In some cases, victims are forced to participate through intimidation.
6. Recommendations to Prevent Online Scams
* Do not easily provide personal information (CSC, Password) to anyone.
* Do not download unknown applications.
* Only trust and communicate with verified organizations or individuals.
* Do not fully trust someone until you have verified their KYC (Know Your Customer) information.
* Do not easily follow advice from unknown or unfamiliar individuals.
* Do not easily access online links sent by unknown individuals.
