Every year, there is an increase in financial scams: more than 50% of all thefts were online. Due to their experience, criminals have managed to deceive many users. They have pocketed not millions, but billions. And this is not surprising, as more and more people have switched to online payments: buying various goods, paying for services, taxes, utilities.
The methods of operation of fraudsters are constantly changing: they incorporate more modern and effective methods of deception. But there are typical signs of financial fraud by which you can independently recognize a scammer. Let's consider the main "red flags" of fraudulent actions.
What are the most popular fraud schemes
Internet scams include various methods. Crooks can create cloned company websites of well-known brands, send emails requesting updates of personal information or passwords from personal accounts. There are also many fake brokerage organizations, phishing attacks, and investment projects online. Phone scams. Crooks call pretending to be bank employees, police, or other official institutions. They may talk about account blocking or winning a prize. In this case, you need to provide some personal information or transfer money.
Real estate fraud. Scammers offer to rent or sell real estate (apartments, houses, rooms, commercial premises) at an attractively low price. Fraudsters show photographs of the property, documents. But as soon as the payment for rent (purchase) is transferred to the criminals, they disappear, and the real estate turns out to be nonexistent or belonging to another person.
Social media scams. Scammers hack pages and ask for a short-term loan in the name of friends.
Fake lotteries and competitions. Scammers inform victims that they have won a cool prize, even if they have not participated anywhere. But there is a catch: you can get it only by paying a tax or an administrative fee.
Online store scams. Scammers post their goods at very low prices. As a rule, purchases from them are made only by full prepayment. When the buyer pays for the product, no one sends it. But there is a second option: the product arrives with defects or of poor quality.
How to recognize a scammer
To identify scammers, you just need to be a little attentive.
Your own observance can help avoid financial losses.
These characteristic traits of scammers are highlighted:
- Scammers themselves look for and contact their future victims. They can do this through a phone call, sending an email, or SMS to the phone. Scammers are always the initiators of contact with a person;
- Crooks try to extract confidential information: login and password from online banking, PIN, and other bank card details, code from a message. It should be remembered: bank employees never request such information;
- The conversation with scammers always revolves around financial matters. The pretexts can be very diverse: you need to pay a commission, receive a gift, buy a profitable product;
- Psychological pressure. This is a trick that most criminals resort to. They use phrases such as “This needs to be done right now”, “If you do not pay, all the money in the account will be blocked”.
If at least some of the above actions have been identified, then there is no need to even think – these are scammers.
How to distinguish a scam from a real deal – helpful tips>
In financial markets, it's easy to recognize a scammer – there is no licensing agreement, which means you cannot trust a brokerage or investment firm. In such a case, investing will be accompanied by high risks of losing money, and making deals on a brokerage platform will be fictitious.
When there is a need to rent or buy housing, do not “bite” on low prices. Be sure to sign a contract with the landlord (seller) and carefully study the conditions specified in the document. Never send prepayments. The scammer will disappear, and it will be difficult to get the money back.
A characteristic trait of scammers is the request to pay an advance for receiving a gift or a job offer. Such an offer is 100% a scam, not a real deal.
Signs of deception
Be vigilant if you see ads with lucrative offers. This is especially true for fake investment projects. A low initial investment, 200% profit in a day, and promises of no risks are the main signs of deception. Crooks may even allow you to withdraw a small initial profit. Such "fairy tales" are concocted by criminals who want to extract more money from their victims.
The presence of both grammatical and spelling errors. They can be observed everywhere: in the content on the company's official website, email newsletters, or advertisements. The presence of errors indicates illiteracy, as well as the fact that the company is a gang of criminals.
Another sign of financial fraud is urgency and moral pressure. Scammers often use various psychological tricks based on intimidation. For example, fraudsters say that if within 5 minutes a person does not pay a commission of several thousand rubles, they will be jailed or all their property will be confiscated.
Usually, criminals act in four stages:
- Develop a scenario – what exact method will be used for the scam;
- Establish contact with the victim;
- Gain trust and lure into the trap;
- Disappear – as soon as criminals achieve their goal, they vanish.
Knowing the characteristic traits of fraudsters, as well as the schemes of scammers, you can protect not only personal information but also money. Financial literacy is the first step to protecting funds from fraudsters. Be sure to warn your relatives about how they can be deceived with money so that they do not fall into a financial scam.