Online Scams
Scams have long existed. They have existed since the beginning of times. Online scams rose with the opening of the Information super highway. Money is exhorted from people on a day to day basis. These scams are usually presented as once in a lifetime opportunity. One of the most common scams is the scholarship scam. Hoards of students have fallen for this trap. This scam is one of the most perfected scams to ever exist. This scam is orchestrated by having adverts on the websites that offer a once in a lifetime scholarships and all the prospect students have to do is to send money to a certain account. For the scam to be successful it has to be believable so it will look too good to be true. The website will look genuine and when the scammers want a person to bite they will the most accommodating people and they will be providing every information the prospect needs and the most important information will be the bank details and they will ask whether the money has been sent and when the money has been sent the communication dwindles until the prospect student is the one sending dozens of emails asking for a refund. Scams will always look perfect until you take the bite then its true colours are revealed. Some of the most popular scams are one’s that claim that a person has won a certain price and to claim it they have to pay a certain amount. This scam is usually in a form of an email or text message and it the prize is usually in form of money and the zero’s at the end of the number are the ones that reel people in. To access the prize they have to pay a certain amount and the amount looks nothing compared to the prize. Another popular scam is that of a too good to be true job offer. The job is usually a well-paying job and people have to pay to get the forms or send money to get their accommodation fixed. Some online scams are ones conducted on different networking sites either in form of a loan or as a friend asking for money for a certain sick relative. Some of these scams are so profound and they have a way of striking the right chords and these usually are well scripted. In the recent years online scams have been on the rise and these have left people riddled with regret. Businesses have also been affected by these scams. Online businesses usually depend on great reviews for their products to be sold and scammers have found another outlet to use their skills and exhort more money. Some of these scammers even own some online businesses and some use online businesses to get money.
The tell-tale signs that it’s a scam are
1. The call, letter, email or text has come out of the blue
2. You’ve never heard of the lottery or competition they are talking about and didn’t buy a ticket
3. You are asked to send money in advance
4. You are told you have to respond quickly so I don’t get time to think about it or talk to family and friends before you decide
5. You are told to keep it a secret.
There is only one effective way to deal with scams and that is not to continue any communication with them. The second realise it’s a scam delete any form of communication with them. Ranting online about how much they scammed from you is not going to give you the money back. Be warned, fore armed