Cyber fraud: Deconstructing Some Myths

There are myths attached to almost everything, including cyber fraud. The funny thing about myths is that often people start to actually believe in them if they exist long enough.

Let us take a look at some of the common myths associated with cyber fraud:

1)      It will not happen to me

Cyber fraud can happen to anybody. In the real world, criminals often spot their victims ahead of their crime and start planning accordingly. It is a bit different in the virtual world. The fraud has no way of knowing who is a perfect target and who isn’t. For him or her, anybody who uses the internet is a potential victim. And that anybody could be you.

2)      I run a small business. Only big companies get attacked by cyber fraud

A fraud can target many small companies at one go. He will not think of targeting a specific company. Remember, even a little operation means a lot of money to them. More often than not, cyber criminals start out with targeting a small company. Why do they do so? It is because they are the most vulnerable.

3)      A cyber fraud is an educated person

Unfortunately, education has nothing to do with defrauding people. A cyber criminal could be poor or rich. He could be totally illiterate but a master with computers. He could also be a guy who was a topper at school and defrauds people for fun. There is not a single umbrella under which cyber criminals can be categorized.

4)      Whatever I do online doesn’t make a target

As mentioned before, cyber fraud can happen to anyone. Even people who access “safe” websites can be targeted. Hackers or frauds can infect legitimate websites or plant malware inside them. Any visitor who visits the website thereon gets affected, even if he or she doesn’t click on anything. 

5)      A website which hasn’t been taken down is safe

Sometimes there are reports of FBI closing certain websites because they were defrauding people. More often than not, similar websites crop up within a month’s time. By this time, the owner of the website which was taken down is in prison. But some acquaintance of his carries on with the work. These duplicate websites may take years to get detected by the authorities. 

6)      I use strong passwords and I am completely safe

Wrong, wrong and more wrong

The people who use strong passwords often use the same password for every website. Or they use it for multiple websites. If even one of those websites gets hacked, then the cyber fraud gets access to all the passwords they use. Using unique passwords for each and every website is the only way to stay safe online. Enabling “two step authentication” is another way of protecting yourself from cyber crimes. 

7)      Using social networks is safe

Social networking websites are as vulnerable as any other website. A cyber fraud can create millions of fake profiles on these fake websites and even install virus or malware on these sites.

How to Avoid Cyber Fraud This 2017

There are ways that you can do to prevent cyber fraud from ruining your life. Keep in mind that many users, businesses and organizations around the world have suffered in the hands of scammers and organized crime syndicates. Victims have been reported to lose a lot of money. For example, ActionFraud, which is the UK's national online crime reporting center, recently claimed that business victims of conveyancing scams in the country each lose £101,000 on average.

Also in the UK, ActionFraud claims that many members of the NHS (National Health Services) each lost an average of £34,000 because of a recent cyber fraud scheme that involves fake tax rebate services. On the other hand, Canadians have been reported to have collectively lost $17 million CAD to online dating scams last year.

However, many victims don't just lose money to cyber fraud. Some end up with ruined credit scores, damaged reputations, broken relationships with their loved ones, and even wrongful accusations among other legal complications. This is why you should do what it takes to eliminate or even significantly reduce your chances of becoming a victim. To help you out - Here are standard practices that you should remember during your day-to-day activities on the Web:

How to Avoid Cyber Fraud This Year

First, make sure that your devices and applications have the latest updates from its manufacturers, your OS (operating system) developers and third party software companies. Having outdated firmware components, OS versions, app editions and the like can make you more susceptible to the newest malicious technologies that are used by scammers and organized crime syndicates for carrying out their cyber fraud tactics and schemes.

Second, always ensure that the anti-spam and anti-phishing features of your apps and device OS, if available, are activated. These include the Web browsers that you use, along with your chat applications, email client programs, instant messaging tools, social media apps and the like. You'll be able to significantly reduce your chances of becoming a cyber fraud victim when you do this, especially since phishing attacks and spam are some of the most common schemes that are used by scammers to carry out their illegal activities on the Internet.

Third, keep in mind that if it sounds too good to be true, then it most probably is. Remember this mantra during your day-to-day activities on the Web, especially if you're hanging out in your favorite social networks, dating sites or apps, and even while browsing through your emails and chat messages. That's because confidence schemes and fake offers are among the most prevalent tactics that are used by fraudsters today to lure users into their cyber fraud traps.

Fourth, don't forget to always confirm the authenticity of any message that you receive, any link that you would want to click, any content that you intend to download, or any website that you're currently on. Rogue sites, tampered apps, content downloads injected with malicious code and the like are heavily distributed all around the Web. By authenticating the sources of those messages, content downloads, apps and so on - You'll be able to defend yourself against the most prevalent cyber fraud schemes at the moment. It might be in your best interest to use an effective system security tool with real time scanning and threat blocking functions. Just remember to get a trusted product from a reputable company since there are a lot of rogue tools out there.

Fifth, keep yourself updated about the newest cyber fraud tactics and schemes of crooks and criminal syndicates at the moment. You can do this by signing up at BigScammers.Com. This is an online community that offers a user-generated content database, which is always full of postings from other users who have recently fallen for the most widespread online crimes and Web scams today. By signing up at this website, you'll receive instant notifications and real time alerts each time a user posts or updates the content of this website's community repository.

You can also publish your own Web crime reports and scam complaints in this website, aside from benefiting from the helpful guides and useful pieces of advice from industry experts like cyber security specialists and anti-Web fraud agents of government offices worldwide. By knowing how to defend yourself against the latest scams and malicious programs at the moment, you'll be able to quickly recognize and steer clear from cyber fraud this 2017.

LinkedIn Users Targeted for Cyber Fraud This 2017

The popularity of online social networks has also spawned a lot of new tactics and schemes for committing cyber fraud. Many thieves and organized criminal groups are continuing to target job seekers in LinkedIn for their newest bogus money-making opportunities and fake Web-based job offers. Large numbers of victims have recently posted scam complaints and filed Web crime reports in Big Scammers against similar types of confidence schemes and social manipulation tactics.

The main reason why crooks and scammers look for unsuspecting victims in LinkedIn is because this is where a lot of users go to find better job opportunities, freelancing gigs and prospect partners for viable business ventures and investment deals. Many LinkedIn users, especially those who have just recently signed up at this professional social network, don't expect to be victimized by cyber fraud in an online platform where professionals and businesses converge to talk about job offers and income-generating opportunities.

These criminals exploit their vulnerabilities by enticing them with fake job offers. A lot of victims end up unknowingly participating in product fencing operations and money laundering scams among other forms of cyber fraud, as they indicated in their anonymous scam complaints at BigScammers.Com. To help you quickly recognize these bogus offers in LinkedIn before it's too late - Here are some of the most prevalent fake job opportunities in this professional network today:

Most Widespread Forms of Cyber Fraud in LinkedIn This 2017

1. Reshipping Job Scams - Posing as representatives of popular international companies and multinational corporations, crooks send home-based job offers to new LinkedIn users. They entice their target victims with the promise of huge salaries and very minimal work, which mainly involves receiving products, re-packing them and shipping it to provided delivery destinations. Users who take this bogus job offer end up participating in global product fencing operations and other types of cyber fraud without their knowledge.

That's because the products are purchased by scammers using stolen credit cards and hacked bank accounts. This fraud is mainly used to provide them with layers of protection from being tracked down and identified. They pre-sell these products at very low prices to other criminals in the Deep Web. These buyers have anonymous safety drop-off points, making them difficult to catch.

2. Pre-Payment Scams - This fraud works by sending bogus offers to job seekers in LinkedIn. These are placement services that guarantee good jobs with lucrative salaries. All the user needs to do is to fill out an online application form and pay a certain sum of money to start processing his or her job application.

This means victims don't just lose money to this cyber fraud, but their personal information and private details are also stolen. Many fraudsters use their details to sell fake identity packages to other criminals in the Deep Web. These are used for committing other more serious types of Web crimes, such as purchasing illegal porn, drugs, firearms and the like.

To avoid similar forms of cyber fraud, you should learn about the newest Web scams and online crimes the moment they happen. This will allow you to devise suitable ways to quickly recognize potential scams and safely avoid related Internet crimes before it's too late. You can do this through BigScammers.com. Just simply sign up at this online community, and you'll receive instant fraud alerts in your email inbox.

How To Distinguish Girlfriend Scams from Other Different Types of Cyber Fraud

Online dating sites work hard to eliminate scammers from their sites. That said, it is inevitable that some profiles are fake and yet get past fraud checks. These form the basis of cyber fraud related to girlfriend scams and other potential romance scams. No one wants to be a victim of a scammer, yet few people know what to watch out for. Some of the most notorious romance scams (including the treacherous girlfriend scams) are being discussed here, in the hopes of helping folks to differentiate between the scams and not fall prey to them.

#1 Nigerian/Ghana Emergency Scam

One of the most notorious forms of cyber fraud in the dating world, Nigerian and Ghanaian scams are widespread. Scammers are aware that people are catching on to the scam and therefore, pretend to be from “bona fide” countries like Australia, Canada and the UK.

With a fake identity in place, the scammer proceeds to establish a bond. Communication goes on for weeks and even months. You think you know them as a result of this. The standard scam is that some sort of emergency necessitates you to share your cash (and sometimes even your bank account/credit card details) with the scammer to ensure that the “emergency” is nullified. The basic plot can range from businessmen who have had accidents in Nigeria for work, to helpless ladies being stranded in Ghana. Asking for charity donations or money for sudden medical emergencies is also a ploy used by these scammers. The emergency is the only way to exert pressure on you and get you to part with your cash.

#2 Plane Ticket/Visa Scam

This is a ploy used by Russian as well as Filipino scammers to make off with your money. In this type of cyber fraud related to girlfriend scams or a romance fraud, this generally involves a story where the loved one is unable to visit you due to lack of money. So your “girlfriend” then asks you to send cash for the visa or plane ticket. When the trip fails to materialize, they will think up some excuse or vanish into thin air. Rest assured, neither will you see the money or them ever.

Scanned copies of tickets may also be sent to convince you of the genuineness of the scam. The aim is to convince you that a last minute glitch stopped them from visiting you and they will then request for even larger amounts.

#3 Medical Emergency Scam

In this cyber fraud or dating fraud, the online partner will be faced with a “medical emergency” such as a brain tumor operation they cannot afford. Someone pretending to be their doctor may even call you. By coming up with various medical complications, the scammer will try to get as much money as she or he can. Most scammers will be very adept at cooking up stories to land the perfect recipe for a scam.

#4 Advance Fee Scam

Also called the Nigerian or 419 cyber fraud, this cyber fraud/romance scheme involves around asking for advance fee to recover huge sums of money that your “special someone” claims to have. The real deal is that they will make off with the fee and not give you a single cent of the supposed gold or cash, and neither will they give you the time of the day after that.

#5 Fake Police Scam

This scam is even more ingenious. The cyber fraud or romance scam revolves around first swindling the person and then pretending to be the police. To top it all off, they will ask for money to catch the criminal. This romance scam is unusual because people generally don't have an idea of how law enforcement in other countries work and may be swindled by the scammer.

How to Avoid These Two Types of Cyber Fraud

Cyber fraud is a type of online crime that involves the use of Internet services, or software using Internet access. The main goal is to defraud the victims, or steal personal information from them. These crime schemes extract money from unsuspecting individuals, and lure brand new victims using various different methods. Plenty of these online frauds have claimed so many victims throughout the years, including customers and investors. In fact, these schemes have been going on even before the Internet came about. 

Types of Cyber Fraud

1.       Identity Theft and Fraud

A couple of these online fraud schemes deal with stealing people’s identities. This unlawful usage of other people’s personal information is almost always for economic gain. If you happen to be unfortunate enough to become a victim of identity theft, then this can result in a cyber fraud that can damage your online finances. It can also make it hard for you to acquire loans, apply for credit cards, or mortgages until the entire issue has been solved. But identity fraud doesn’t always work just by stealing a person’s information. It only happens when the scammer uses their victim’s identity to perform cyber crime or steal their cash.

Identity theft is best described as stealing a person’s identity to engage in criminal activities online. A criminal or hacker can use your name and personal info to grab credit cards, open up bank accounts without your consent, and order goods in your name. The scammers can also gain access to your other banking accounts, and acquire real documents like passports and driver’s licenses.

2.       Business E-Mail Compromise

One of the more complex types of online fraud. This one focuses more on businesses in touch with foreign suppliers, or businesses who conduct wire transfer payments. The scam is performed when the scammer sends out several fake emails that pretend to be from a legitimate company or business. They use the most sophisticated techniques to hold secret money transfers online.

Plenty of fraud victims usually encounter the perpetrator through wire transfers. That’s because wire transferring is a quick and easy way to send in cash for the sake of business. But some of these victims have also used checks as a way to pay. The scammers will then use the method mostly done by their potential victims, to get closer to them.

3.       Data Breaching

This deals with a spill or leak of data, from a highly secure Website to an unreliable environment. These can happen at the personal and corporate levels, and can often include private, sensitive, and protected info. This info will be copied, sent, viewed, or even stolen by the scammer without the owner’s permission.

A data breach happens when a hacker makes their way inside a corporate network to steal private data. But not all of these cyber frauds are dramatic – A data breach can also mean viewing a person’s info by accident, without the intention of stealing them for their own use.