Every year, millions of people across the world lose their hard-earned money through online scams. The thing with online scammers is that they craft their schemes so deviously that anyone looking for a money-making opportunity or a juicy purchase deal online would fall for it.
And they often use different means to lure their prey. A scam can be in the form of a suspicious investment scheme, an illegitimate buying & selling platform, fake charity, dating & romance fraud, false billing website and more.
If you are not keen enough to notice the telltale signs of a scam, you might end up being a victim.
So, here are 8 quick ways to spot an online scam from the onset:
1. No Contact Information
Before buying a product or subscribing to a service online, it’s always important to find out whether the company you are dealing with has all the contact details i.e. telephone number and/or email. If there is no contact info listed anywhere on the company’s website or the details simply don’t work, it’s a warning sign that that might be a pure scam.
But why are contact details so important? Because it’s through them that you’ll be able to inquire more about the company’s products or services and/or ask for help when you have a problem making an order or accessing
subscribed services.
2. Too Much Pressure
Since most scammers are out there to make a quick killing by swindling unsuspecting persons, they’ll tend to hurry your purchase decision. They will often state that their offer is expiring soon or that you’ll be a fool not to take advantage of it.
One thing you should understand is that, if a product is worthwhile, then the seller won’t bother putting too much pressure on you to buy it.
Always take time to breathe and think through things before making a decision to buy a product or subscribe to an online service. A company or service that includes pressure tactics in their offer(s), which make you feel rushed, simply can’t be trusted.
So, unless you are absolutely certain that the offer is genuine, never make any online payment or bank transfer.
3. Price Too Good to Be True
If a product is way cheaper than the standard market price or a service promises humongous returns over little investment, that’s a real sign of a scam. And you need to run away from it as soon as possible. Honest or legit transactions often indicate clearly how each party (buyer and seller) involved in the offer will benefit from it.
No business is out there to make losses and one can’t possibly sell you a genuine product or service at a throwaway price. If the price is too good to be true, then the person you are dealing with is probably trying to steal money from you, sell you a fake product or illegally obtain some personal information from you. Never forget that cheap is always expensive.
4. Counterfeit Sites
Scammers don’t just use their own websites to defraud people. They can actually go to the extent of setting up fake websites masquerading as sites for well-known market brands.
So you have to be extra careful, especially when shopping for products online. If an online store or company’s web address doesn’t have https and a padlock icon, then that site isn’t authentic neither is it secure.
Some scammers can simply alter the spellings of a company or brand name by adding extra letters or words. If you
realize the website you visited has a company name (which you already) misspelled, probably with an extra letter like an ore, or includes extra words like best, store or latest, be wary of such a site. You might be staring at a direct scam.
5. Unreal Promises to Get What You Want Quickly
For you to earn genuine money online, you have to really work your ass off. Anyone that proposes an online system that will make you huge sums of money over a short period of time using minimal effort is a pure scam. Wealth is not something that can be acquired in a day or two. It takes years and years to build.
So should anyone send you an email or should you bump into a website that hits you with get-rich-quick promises like earning $10,000 a month or $1million in 3 months without lifting a finger, don’t even bother wasting your time. Delete the email or leave the site immediately. Tempting as they might be, you need to resist the urge to subscribe to such schemes.
6. Requires You to Pay Before You Get the Product
If a website requires you to make an upfront payment before it can reveal the kind product it’s going to sell you, then
you are most certainly dealing with a scammer. Any genuine business that’s operating online usually gives a CLEAR overview of what its product or service is all about and goes ahead to sell it based on its merits.
Most scammers will often brag how they can help you make good’ money at home, build a business or bank on yourself, without really showing you how it works. Then they go ahead to present several fake and baseless testimonials (written and/or video recorded) in a bid to make you think it’s genuine.
The question you should be asking yourself is, why should you pay for a product you absolutely have no idea about leaving alone testing it?
7. The Details About How the Person Making the Offer Will Benefit Are Vague
If someone promises to help you make a lot of money’ overnight using a little amount of money, then they should explain to you how they are going to benefit from the arrangement. For instance, if it’s not clear how the seller will get profit from selling you a Premium’ product or service at an extremely low price, then you should be a bit worry.
Scammers usually don’t want their victims to know or see how they are making money. That’s why they usually hide behind such taglines as get sweet deals’, be a millionaire in a month’ or date a super hot girl tonight’.
In the real sense, they want to get money from you real quick or may be on the move to steal your personal information. So you need to be extremely careful when planning to make transactions online.
8. Ask You to Download Software From an Unreliable Website
Majority of scams sites usually have pop-up windows that may prompt or sometimes coerce you to click and download software updates to your computer.
When you get such messages from unreliable websites, those that typically have no solid reputation in the business; you should NEVER ever follow through any procedure to download software. That might be a set up to phish crucial personal and/or bank information from you. So don’t even think twice.
How to Protect Myself from Scams
There numerous ways of steering clear of online scams. One of them is checking and confirming the https and padlock icon on the site URL before you embark on any activity on the page.
To avoid holiday booking scams, you need to check whether the company in question has the required third-party accreditation or is a member of ATOL, ABTA or any other travels organization.
Also, be keen on noticing phishing emails. Legit companies will often address you by your name while scammers tend to vague in their mode of address. Emails that feature numerous misspellings or grammatical errors are also indicators of scams. Don’t fall for them.
Where to Get Help if You Get Scammed
If you fall prey to online fraud, the first thing you need to do is contact your bank and/or credit card company. They’ll often try their best to recover the lost funds or may institute a process that will freeze or block your account.
They may even change your current passwords so as to protect you from further financial losses.
My Final Words
Scammers can be very enticing with their sweet deals’ but you should stay woke not to fall into their trap. If you can follow the steps enumerated above to the latter, then you’ll enjoy a safe, secure shopping experience or online job hunting mission. Always consider going for reputable brands and a little research about the company or service you are dealing with can go a long way in saving you from a deadly scam.
What about you? Do you know other ways to detect an online scam? If so, feel free to share it in the comments below.
