Common internet scams and how to avoid them

Safeguard yourself against online scams

Features By Sead Fadilpašić, PC Plus published 17 December 2024

These days, internet fraud is omnipresent. Most people and most organizations, regardless of their location or industry, were probably targeted multiple times already. The line between those who fell prey and those who didn't is thin - the victims were, most likely, just a bit naive.

People who get their bank accounts drained first reach out to the banks, an anonymous bank manager told PC Magazine. The banks, however, can do very little, and instead redirect the victims to the police.

"It's very sad," they said, speaking about the real-life effects of internet crime.

Criminals don't care if their victims are in good standing or poor. They will target their life savings, home, and dignity, all for a little profit. Phishing remains the most prevalent attack, deceiving unsuspecting victims into believing they are interacting with regular people, their friends and family, or legitimate institutions. By enticing victims to click on malicious links, criminals gain access to sensitive login credentials, compromising bank accounts and other valuable information.

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Cheating the system

"I call phishing 'out cheating'," says economist Dr Darrin Baines. "You must at some level trust the person who's conning you. So, for example, someone sends you an email saying 'I'm in Africa, why don't you send me some money?'. There must be something in that narrative that triggers the feeling that they're worth trusting."

Happily, shoppers are becoming more web savvy, spending more online, and getting ripped off less. "Last year an estimated £153million of card fraud took place over the internet – a decrease of 16 percent from 2008, when e-commerce card fraud losses were approximately £182million," says Mark Bowerman, spokesperson for the UK Cards Association.

In the same period, credit and debit cards were used to buy a record £47billion worth of goods and services online, which was up 15 percent from 2008. So the percentage of dodgy web transactions is dropping – but that doesn't mean you should get complacent.

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