What are online scams?
Online scams are when someone tries to trick you into giving away your personal details, money, or financial information over the internet. A scam becomes fraud when a scammer gets your personal or financial details and uses them for their own benefits or receives money from under false pretenses. Fraud is criminal offence.
How it works?
While some scammers will ask you for money directly, others will be less obvious. They’ll try to trick you into giving them your personal details so they can use it to:
- Steal your identity.
- Buy goods or services.
- Get access to your finances.
- Common types of online scams
There is a lot more types of scams, but these are some of the common ones:
Phishing: is a type of email scam, where the sender pretends to be a trustworthy organization (like a bank, government agency or shipping company) tries to get you to give them personal information such as login details for your internet banking.
Social media scams: Social media scams happen when someone tries to get money from you through an interaction on social media. For example, someone needing money to help them get home as they are stuck somewhere with no access to funds, or they might need to pay off for an unexpected medical cost.
Invoice scams: Invoice scams affect both individuals and businesses. Scammers will send fake invoices requesting payment for goods or services that you didn't ask for or receive. They often say that the due date for payment has passed, or that your credit rating will be affected if they’re not paid.
Money and investment scams: This type of scam is common online. Scammers will attempt to get you to part with money or valuable information under the false assumption that you’ll receive financial or personal gain in return.
Romance scams: In romance scams, scammers will try to take advantage of someone looking for a relationship online. Scammers will use dating sites and apps or social media to build a relationship with you. Once they’ve gained your trust, the scammer will start to ask you for money, gifts or personal details that can be used to commit fraud. They often use fake profiles to make it harder to track them down.
Text message scams: Text message scams (sometimes called 'smishing scams' or SMS scams) are messages sent out by scammers who are looking to get access to your personal information, financial details, phone, or your money.