It seems like online fraudsters haven’t had enough of get-rich schemes yet because almost all the forecast studies done so far for this year predict that there will be a sharp increase in the number of online scams especially those related to faulty money transfers and identity thefts.
When the world had just started to embrace the use of cryptocurrency by using trust wallet, peer-to-peer money transfer apps, and mobile banks, this threat posed a greater risk than we can imagine. However, one thing is for sure, being aware of where and how the fraudsters may strike can help us rectify the problem before it occurs.
Below is a short guide that will give you an idea about what’s going on and how you can be prepared to strike back.
Fraudsters Posing As Fake Online Banks
Digital-only banks are on the rise. Their numbers have considerably increased over the past few years and people are quickly signing up to such services to make it easier for them to transfer and save funds, as per need be.
In order to make it easier for the interested clients, such banks have simplified sign-up procedures and are appealing youngsters through discounts, sign-up bonuses, and additional features.
However, it can become difficult to judge who to trust. Certain scammers and fraudsters pose as bank facilities that are offering interesting sign-up bonuses and cash backs. These schemes lure newbies. When clients do not check the authenticity of such services at the time of joining, they may fall into the wrong hands and end up losing a considerable amount of money.
Online Programs That Offer Huge Rewards
Since a majority of us had to stay at home amidst pandemic, the interest in online programs and schemes that help you make money became more relevant. There are online surveys that promise huge cash-out, sweepstakes entries where you have the potential to win big, and even websites that are willing to pay you for reading emails or watching videos.
Sounds easy? Yes! But, wait right there.
Such schemes are designed to focus on the user’s lifestyle and demographics. Scammers tend to focus on applicants who seem “too desperate for money” and then make them offers they won’t turn down. Again, they request a sign-up fee or account set-up fee which isn’t much compared to rewards making it even more appealing to victims. However, they can gather this fee from a large number of people online within hours and they can amount up to a lot!
Romance Schemes May Just Be The Biggest Scam!
Did you know that one of the leading categories of websites is that of online dating? Australia, UK, and the USA have thousands of sites that are working to bring “soulmates together”. However, how easy it is to trust someone you have never met?
Lonely people can fall into such traps more easily. Dating sites and apps help fraudsters get in touch with such individuals and form bonds through which they can later target them from money. This coupled with the fact that peer-to-peer money transfer like Chime and cash app transfer method has become quite easy now, users end up sharing money to someone they are romantically involved with, without knowing much about them.
Commonly, online scammers request it for medical expenses, financial emergencies, or plane tickets that are ironically meant for their meeting. In fact, this illegal use of dating apps is expected to be one of the biggest scams in 2022.
