The Internet can be compared to one of the indispensable needs of society. Since most people around the world use smartphones and most of these transactions take place online from the comfort of their homes, the internet plays a major role in them.

However, scammers also use the internet for their nefarious purposes. Scamming online is common, and the only way to avoid falling prey to such scams is to have knowledge about these scams and how they are perpetrated.

How Do I Avoid Internet Scams?

If you understand and remain alert, the chances of you falling victim to such scams are slim. Although we must possess key insight when it comes to handling our finances, most of us do not have adequate knowledge about it, and falling prey to such common internet scams is easy.

When it comes to finance, scammers will bombard their potential victims with heavy financial jargon and will not care if they understand it or not. Most fall easy prey since these con artists will project a fake persona of a seasoned financial advisor.

Others fall prey due to a lack of knowledge about scammers using apps to blackmail their potential victims.

They may also phish their victims by practically handing over their sensitive details, which can make them vulnerable to future online scams through identity theft.

Top Online Internet Scams To Watch Out For

There are several online scams; however, there are a few more that are new, and one needs to be aware of them. We have listed below a few of the latest scams to look out for in 2024.

AI-Powered Scams

There is a big buzz about AI helping us in our daily activities. However, scammers are using the same technology to swindle many out of their money. Scammers make use of AI tools to swindle their potential victims.

Scammers will create a fake account with a fake person’s photo and entice their victims into a romance scam. Once these charlatans have won the confidence and trust of their potential victims, they will frequently ask for money. The scam continues until someone alerts the victims about their victimization or they realize it.

Trading Bots

Trading bots are software that will allow you to enter and exit the market, allowing you to maximize profits and reduce losses. A huge amount of money is spent on their research and development. They are also field-tested to guarantee maximum wins against losses. These programs enter and exit the market based on historical data, charts, and graphs. These are very expensive, but they are highly reliable.

Scammers have also taken advantage of the situation by creating a bogus trading bot that is not field-tested and has an appalling win-to-loss ratio. They offer their fake bots at a competitive price and will only ensure huge losses instead of maximum profits.

DeepFake

Technology has advanced to such a degree that you can substitute a person you like in any video you want. The technology is quite famous in Hollywood because it allows the director to replace an old or deceased person in their movies. The old or deceased artist will have the same facial expression, tone of voice, and physical attributes to such a degree that one will think that they played the role in that movie.

Scammers will also create deep-fake videos that will aid them in making financial profits. They make a fake video of celebrities endorsing a fake product. They can also be used to blackmail their prey in a fake sex video.

Fake Calls From Friends and Family

Scammers will also fool their victims by mimicking someone close to their friend or family circle. Scammers hack into the victim’s smartphone and ask for sensitive details while impersonating someone close to them. With these social engineering tactics, many give away this information because they think that they are in touch with their loved ones instead of a smart scammer. Many fall for such internet fraud. 

Phishing emails and Texts

English is not the primary language of most scammers. With the help of an AI tool, they will create a message that appears to originate with the firm they are impersonating. Many fall for such scams, as they find it extremely challenging to determine if the letter originates from the firm or if it was created by scammers.

QR Scam

A QR code allows the user to transfer money to the recipient at a quicker pace. These codes can be found at a restaurant, a parking lot, and so forth. These QR codes also allow patrons at the restaurant to view the menu card. Thus cutting the cost of printing menu cards and indirectly saving the environment. The applications are limitless.

Scammers have also tapped into this latest technology by creating their own QR code that contains their bank information. They make stickers of it and stick them over the original QR code. At the time of payment, when the patron accesses the QR code, the money goes directly into the scammer’s account. Such bogus QR codes are quite prominent at the parking meters.

Sometimes, by merely scanning a QR code, malicious software gets downloaded. Once downloaded, the scammer will collect all the sensitive data from the phone. This is also a form of phishing. There are times when the scammers have full control over the smartphone and demand a ransom to release ownership back to its rightful owner.

Robo Calls

You get an automated call from your air ticket provider if your flight gets canceled, a reminder, or some other updates. Nowadays, it has become the norm for firms to send in an automated voice call rather than a human interaction to save time and money.

Scammers have caught on to it and are now using these automated calls to their advantage. They will mask their phone number so that it appears to be genuine on the caller ID of a potential victim.

These calls can be from an IRS agent threatening a serious civil case for not paying the correct taxes, a call from a prominent tech company like Apple asking for sensitive information in the name of a survey, or they could be a free fake product that would be sent if a few questions about sensitive information were answered.

Sim Swapping

Scammers will assign your number to the smartphone they control. Any notification you get, they too receive it. Scammers will then hack into your accounts with all the credentials and steal your money.

One-time OTP Scam

Scammers will call you and ask you to verify your identity when you are shopping online. They will ask you to provide an OTP that you will receive on your smartphone. These are all scams, as the scammer would make a call from their Google account, and once you provide them with the OTP, they will take control of your account. You may fall victim to identity theft and also be a victim of an online scam.

Crypto Scam

As we are approaching the halving cycle of Bitcoin, many scammers are enticing their victims into sending fake crypto against their money. Many con innocent crypto newbies by misleading them into buying fake cryptos.

Where Can I Report Internet Scams?

Scammers use all the tricks in the book to pull off a scam; thus, it is impossible to avoid falling for a scam. What then ought to you do if you discover that you have been duped? Internet frauds and scams can be reported by following the steps mentioned below:

Break All Contacts With The Scammer

Once you realize that you have been scammed, break all contact with the scammer. Do not message, reply, or call the scammer.

Preserve The Evidence

Preserve all the correspondence shared by the scammer. Do not destroy them. If necessary, a case can be made using this evidence to bring the fraudulent individuals to justice.

Make A Detailed Account of The Scam

Write down all the details that have occurred from the onset of the scam until your realization of it.

Contact Law Enforcement Agencies

Visit your local police department and file a complaint with them. File the same complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center and provide them with all the details.

Contact FTC

Contact the Federal Trade Commission and rely on all the accounts that led to the scam.

Contact Bank and Credit Bureau

Contact the bank and fill them up with the details of the scam. Inform the credit bureau about the scam by getting in touch with them. Ask them to temporarily put a freeze on your accounts until the investigation is complete. Request a free credit report and search for any suspicious activities. Report them once you find any unauthorized entries in the report.

Final Thoughts

You should limit the information that you share online. Scammers are known to stalk their prey before converting them into a potential victim. Although not all scams end in a monetary loss, victims of identity theft can be targeted in the future.