Almost every person uses the
internet to conduct some form of financial transaction or make a purchase in
this day and age. Why bother Christmas shopping in stores when you can buy all
your gifts from Amazon and ship them directly to your loved ones. The more we
use online services, unfortunately, the greater risk we have for experiencing
cyber fraud. See the examples of common fraudulent online schemes below to keep
from being scammed.
6 Types of Cyber Fraud
1. Automotive Scams
Automotive scams take place through
websites such as AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, and Craigslist where vehicles can be
sold “by owner.” Scam artists post a nonexistent vehicle on one of these sites
and list the price far below market value. The scammer informs potential buyers
that they are not in town and the car is out of the country. They offer to
deliver the vehicle through a shipping company and connect you to a fake
purchase protection agency to reinforce the legitimacy of the transaction. The
victim then makes a deposit or the full payment using a bank or wire transfer
like Western Union and never receives the car or hears from the person again.
2. Lottery Fraud
Lottery Fraud occurs when a criminal
sends an email to a potential victim congratulating them on winning a
significant amount in a lottery held internationally or another type of prize
drawing. They request the winner reach out to a company official to start the
process of getting their money. The victim is then fooled into providing
personal information, such as copies of a birth certificate or passport, to
confirm their identity and claim their prize. They also require the winner to
pay bank fees, taxes, and other kinds of fees before they will release the
money. Once the victim pays these fees, the cyber fraud criminal may ask for their bank account information to deposit the winnings, but simply drains the
account of all funds.
3. Miracle Health Scheme
A well-known cyber fraud scheme is
the marketing of untested and unapproved miracle health cures for weight loss
or other health care products that provide big benefits in a short amount of
time. Con artists market revolutionary products under the guise of an
alternative health or pharmaceutical company with no foundation for why their
claims. The products usually have no evidence of being medically helpful and
sometimes are even dangerous to the consumer. They offer useless guarantees,
contrived testimonials, and made up clinical research to convince victims to
buy.
4. Psychic Fraud
Psychic fraud, also known as
clairvoyant fraud, involves a scammer posing as someone with supernatural
powers who can see the victim’s future. They use email or clickable
advertisements to offer their psychic cyber fraud services. Sometimes it is to
break a curse, winning numbers for a lottery, or even just a summary of the victim’s
future. They buy the full report or pay money to receive more information that
never comes or is false.
5. Loan Scams
Loan scammers usually target victims
who are in financial trouble or impoverish situations. The victim searches the
internet for an affordable loan to help pay down debts or to cover expenses so
they need money fast and without issue. The criminal markets loans approved
quickly and without a credit history check. They ask for a deposit or loan
insurance fee after approving the victim’s loan. Once the scammer receives the
fees, the victim never gets their loan and loses the deposit money as well.
