Do you want to avoid online scams? If so then it’s important to take the right steps to avoid certain big scammers money scams. There are many kinds of scams but here are some of the most common ones:
1. Astrology/Psychic
What’s your zodiac sign? In this scam, psychics share some good news that you’re going to become rich. All you have to pay a fee to get lucky numbers, golden eggs, etc.
People who have fallen for his scam have sent thousands of dollars to get good luck. They usually end up with cheap cards or beads. Another issue with this scam is that after you respond once to the scam, you’ll then become the target of other scams.
Solution: Don’t ever respond to the request in any way. The problem is once the cyber-criminals sense you’re interested in playing their game they’ll keep bothering. In particular, don’t provide financial info including bank account/credit card details. Once the scammers have that information, you’ll be vulnerable to other scams, which is something you’ll certainly want to avoid.
2. Prizes/Lotteries
Who doesn’t like to win stuff? The bad news is that prizes and lotteries can be part of big scammers money scams. This can involve various types of items. Typically you’ll get an email or text informing you you’ve won a prize, contest, vacation, etc. A red flag is you can’t win lotteries and contests you didn’t enter, so keep that in mind. Sometimes there are low-quality objects for sale as part of the scam.
There are also cases where the scammers ask for personal info instead of money. This is worse because it can expose you to other scams. This could involve unauthorized bank account withdrawals or credit card charges.
Solution: Keep in mind that if you’ve won something you shouldn’t be paying anything except maybe some taxes for lottery winnings, for example. Even in that case, there would be no reason for you to supply personal/banking info to claim your prizes.
3. Advance Fee
The so-called “Nigerian” scams are one of the most common types of advance fee scams. This type of scam typically involves a letter from a government official who typically is from an African country. They ask if they can use your bank account so they can get funds from their home country.
The problem starts if you reply to the request. It will result in them requesting advanced money to process either process the payments or bribe government officials. The latter action is probably a red flag that something is amiss.
Solution: Don’t reply to the email and more importantly don’t provide any personal/financial information. There’s a slim chance the story could be true but even if it is you don’t know the person, so it’s better to be on the safe side and simply don’t reply to the request.
These are some of the main big scammers money scams you should be aware of. The good news is there are solutions to deal with them effectively.
