Semalt: 10 Email & Internet Scams – How To Stay Safe?

Spam emails have been a conventional method of facilitating cybercrime on the internet. Twitter and Facebook as the leading platforms for social networking are the new methods in cybercrime after the old spam emails.

The Senior Sales Manager of Semalt, Ryan Johnson, specifies the spam email and internet scams and how to avoid them.

1. Lottery Scams

A spam email framed to be from an official lottery corporation congratulates and announces money won by the victim even when they did not participate in any lottery activity.

The spam email is a scam if it is an individual, the name of the addressed is missing, the lottery does not exist, and the spam mail asks for sensitive personal information.

2. Survey Scam

Some spam emails that lead to fraud may come as an invitation to a survey activity. Clicking on the link provided download a program that spy on the activities on the computer leading to stealing of passwords, bank information and personal information that result to the disappearance of cash.

3. PayPal or Online Credit Card Scam

An email that seems to be legit from an online money transfer or credit card company may ask for urgent action. Information provided by the victim ends up manipulating their account to lose the amount available or identity theft.

In most cases, the address of the sender is suspicious, the email does not have a particular addressee, the link associated is not legitimate, and the email includes a threat to the victim.

4. Mystery Shopper Scam

A spam email that promises amount of money by doing mysterious works online is a scam. The scammers promise to pay you to do shopping online. However, one needs to pay for training, or they provide their address to receive a fraudulent check.

5. Foreign Check Scam

This spam email involves a royal sounding sender who needs help to recover large sums of money held in an oversea account. The addressed become lured to send transfer fees several times without settling the deal.

6. Hijacked Profile

Online scammers may hijack a social media account to ask for favors from the list of friends in the account. The victims of the frauds send money to help their friends unsuspicious of being a con.

7. Quiz Scam

Apart from the spam emails, fraudsters post links to quizzes and of games that require phone numbers. Participating in these games exposes the user to frauds.

8. Suspicious Photo Scam

An alarming message shared on social media causes curiosity. A message suggesting an exposure of naked pictures of the user triggers urge following links that expose them to hacking.

9. Hidden URL Scam

You may receive a Twitter invitation from the suspicious user. Clicking their link directs you to websites that may have downloadable spyware or malware without your knowledge.

10. Sick Baby Scam

A posted picture of a sick baby on social media asks for a donation of funds for treatment. People touched by the message donate and share the news with other people without knowing it is a scam.

To stay safe, delete unsolicited emails, do not believe in prizes and promises of money from strangers, quest any request for money online, never disclose sensitive personal information and never click on suspicious links.