Imagine this. In 2020 alone, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received nearly 792,000 complaints about suspected online crimes. That’s a huge jump from nearly 300,000 complaints in 2016, five years earlier.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Report 2020 shows that growing numbers also lead to a record $4.2 billion in losses through various online scams.
Now imagine this.
IC3’s report shows a rapid increase in cases from 2019 to 2020, adding 325,000 claims and $700 million.
These internet fraud statistics show that the number of internet scams involving money is growing exponentially.
As Internet scams become more and more common, how can you protect your financial life from being ruined?
Here are five ways to avoid online scams based on new statistics.
1. Avoid sending money to people you just met
Love scams have been the most common and expensive of the past three years.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also found that the average amount people lost to online dating scams was $2,500 in 2019.
People trying to find love on social channels and online dating apps/sites lost more than $300 million in 2019 alone.
Victims told the federal government that scammers asking for financial assistance appealed for their sympathy and promised to return the money, but never did.
Scammers have also avoided face-to-face meetings, using advice on social distancing during the pandemic to avoid revealing their true intentions.
So you’ll want to avoid sending money to new friends and acquaintances in the hope that they’ll pay you or like you.
2. Meet in an open, friendly area
What does an open, friendly area look like in real life?
- Choose a place for the public meeting.
- Avoid carrying cash if you expect delivery. Instead, prioritize paying by phone — not even by credit card.
- The purpose is to avoid showing you any signs of cash, so you don’t encourage criminals to commit fraud with your information.
- Also, invite a friend, especially if you’re meeting someone for the first time.
- Decline any invitation to pay in advance to make a reservation at a restaurant or other location. Do this by hovering over the link in the message. Make sure the link that pops up matches the one you sent.
- If they are different, leave it at that. Maybe it’s a phishing connection.
Use reverse lookup sites to find out who they are
- You can look up someone’s number using a reverse lookup site. You can search the identity of unknown callers by reverse phone number lookup.
- Or you can do a quick or more in-depth background check on someone to make sure they’re true to what they say.
- Top reverse lookup services can provide more details with specific phone numbers, email or physical addresses.
- However, legitimate reverse lookup sites use publicly available information under the rules of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
- After all, you don’t want to be involved in illegal searches, tracking, or be tempted to invade other people’s privacy with the information you’ll collect.
Some of this information includes:
- Find out if there is a phone scam associated with this number
- Arrest and criminal record
- Name and address of the owner of the number
- Alternative phone number
- Marriage or divorce records
- Property records
That is powerful information.
4. Reverse Image Search
In 2020, many scammers have sought refuge by hiding behind screens and avoiding physical contact.
Others have downloaded images from the Internet to create fake accounts on social networks.
They will then use fake accounts to entice unsuspecting victims until they get some money.
One way to avoid falling into such a trap is to reverse engineer an online image search to uncover more details like where they come from, linked social media accounts and other online presence.
How to reverse image search?
It’s a seamless step when using a laptop or desktop computer. Go online and search for an image on Google.
- Enter images.google.com in the URL field
- Tap or tap the camera icon
- Drag the image from another window if you have it open in a separate browser window. Or click Upload Image to download from your computer’s storage.
- Alternatively, copy the person’s image’s online URL and paste it under Paste Image URL.
- Tap Search by image
Results: Search results will show images related to the one you’ve uploaded or searched for. Or you can find similar photos.
That’s what you want.
Now compare the different images to see if there are any inconsistencies.
Please note that if you can’t find many similar photos that indicate the person’s real online presence, then you don’t want to pursue that relationship. Similarly, you can reverse look up phone numbers.
5. Keep all your cards close to your chest
You don’t want to divulge personal information, either to your friends and especially to colleagues at work or the interesting circle you’ve wanted to be a part of for years.
The biggest online scams of 2020 all involved stolen personal information:
- Scam scam targeting more and more people working from home
- No-delivery scams have fallen victim to online shoppers who prefer to shop safely at their homes
- Direct extortion involving threats to disclose personal information has been collected
You know better than showing your social security number, credit card information, and consumer credit information.
But did you know that providing your full name, personal phone number, and email address can expose you to online scams?
If you use dating apps and websites, pay attention. The report shows that you are more likely to uncover these details while building a relationship with a potential lover.
So stay calm. Keep your financial life out of the romantic picture until you know more about the other person and have met in person a few times.
For example, you might mention that you have a job or a company. But keep your income, debt repayments, assets, and deep financial plans to yourself.
Wrap
Reports of online crime have tripled in the past few years.
They hit an all-time high in 2020 as COVID-19 related scams ramp up, including fake online transactions, delivery/payment scams, and more.
However, you can avoid online scams if you know what to do and be proactive about it.
Start by not sending money to people you don’t know well. Then use the top reverse lookup sites to verify phone numbers, addresses, emails, and even shared pictures.
Also, keep all information that identifies you private.
Categories: How to
Source: newstars.edu.vn