The Internet makes it easier to accomplish many things -- banking, research, travel, and shopping are all at our virtual fingertips. And just as the Internet makes it easier for legitmate pursuits, it also makes it easier for scammers, con artists, and other online miscreants to carry out their virtual crimes- - impacting our real life finances, security, and peace of mind. Online scams are constantly evolving, but here are the most common ones today.
Phishing email try to trick the intended victim into visiting a fraudulent website disguised to look like a valid eCommerce or banking site. The victim thinks they are logging into their real account, but instead everything they enter on the fake site is being sent to the scammers. Armed with this information, the scammer can wipe out the victim's accounts, run up their credit cards, or even steal their identity. Examples of common phishing scams How to Ferret Out a Phish Where to Report Phishing ScamsThe shopper-needed scam sends the 'new hire' a check for a few hundred dollars, instructing them to cash the check and take their portion, then forward on the remaining funds to the "employer". Of course, the check is bogus, it will bounce eventually, and you - the victim - will be liable for the funds you spent from the check, plus the amount you forwarded on, plus any service fees or fines that result.
Scams, in general, are the new malware delivery method. Social engineering is the norm. Falsifying a link is the hallmark of phishing scams, seeded downloader Trojans, and other web-based malware. And it's all trivially easy to do, using basic HTML.
Fraudulent Link Scams Ferreting Out a Fake Verifying a LinkScareware erroneously claims the system is infected and instructs the user to purchase a 'full version' in order to clean the bogus infections. Sometimes, fake antivirus software gets installed by the user who fell victim to an advertising scam. Other times, a rogue antispyware scanner may be installed by exploit, a so called 'drive-by install'. Regardless of how the rogue software gets installed, the user is often left with a hijacked, crippled system. To avoid becoming a victim, before installing any software over the Internet search on the name of the product using your favorite search engine. Don't skip this step and you'll go along ways towards a safer online experience.