Is Email From Amazoncom Asking People to Complete a Survey for Item Reviews a Scam?
I've been using the Internet since 1997, style earlier the invention of popular social networking websites similar Facebook and Twitter. Since then, I've seen my fair share of email scams, hoaxes, and other types of cyberspace spam. I've even fallen for some of them myself. Chances are, if you haven't fallen victim to any of these scams, you lot've at least come pretty close.
Cybercrime is a very lucrative business for Internet con artists, and this is why these scams are so prevalent beyond the spider web. Thieves are out to steal your money, and if they can't get y'all to direct hand over the password to your online bank account, they'll effort to steal your identity or infect your computer with spyware – which, in plow, tin can be used to procure personal information to access your coin.
While there are many ways you can be duped online, you tin arm yourself by learning to recognize the almost common scams. Keep your guard upward, and ever go on an eye out for anything that looks suspicious.
E-mail Scams
Some of the earliest forms of cybercrime were email scams, which continue to this day. Hither are 5 of the most mutual types:
Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations have an average render of 618%. For $79 (or merely $1.52 per week), join more than 1 million members and don't miss their upcoming stock picks. 30 24-hour interval money-back guarantee. Sign Up Now
1. Foreign Lottery Scam
The foreign lottery scam is one of the most mutual types of email scams, in which yous receive what looks like an official electronic mail from a foreign lottery corporation. The subject field line offers a congratulatory announcement, and may include the supposed amount of coin you've "won."
Here are the certain signs your winnings are false:
- The Sender Is a Person. If the sender is an individual – or is, at least, plainly not an official lottery email – then you know yous've got a scam on your easily. For example, mikesmith1453@earthlink.com certainly is non going to be the guy to tell you that yous've won several meg dollars.
- Your Name Is Non in the "To" Field. If your name is not in the "To" section of the email, then this phishing email has likely been sent to thousands of people, all in the hopes of snagging a few bites.
- The Lottery Doesn't Exist. Practise a unproblematic Google search. Does the lottery even exist? You may find that non simply is the lottery imitation, but that it's a well-documented scam.
- Request for Data. Scammer emails routinely request your full proper name, date of birth, street address, and telephone number. This is known every bit a phishing scam, which is designed to go y'all to reveal sensitive personal information. Once you reply with this data, you've been hooked, and may ultimately terminate upward with a stolen identity or, fifty-fifty worse, a tuckered banking concern account.
The best way to avoid the mutual email scam is to realize this one simple rule: If you did not enter the lottery, you will not win the lottery. And even if you do enter the lottery, you lot probably will not win.
2. Survey Scam
This common email scam looks innocent enough. You lot've expressed interest in social issues, such as global warming or the state of war in the Middle East, and you've been sent a survey that requests your input. Why non participate? Unless you've specifically requested to be on a survey mailing list, what y'all're getting is cipher but spam.
When you click on the link to accept the survey, malicious spyware or malware is installed on your computer. Once this occurs, cybercriminals can spy on every movement you lot brand on your computer, collecting passwords, banking concern account information, and more. Suddenly, you may see thousands of dollars worth of charges on your credit card bill for purchases you never made. This is upshot of identity theft, and it tin can ruin your life.
3. PayPal or Online Credit Card/Banking Scam
This ane got me several years ago, and it was incredibly irritating. At first, yous may really believe there's something incorrect with your PayPal account, equally yous will receive an email that appears to be from PayPal with a alert message such equally, "Act now, or your account will be deactivated," or "Security breach on your account." This can cause you to panic, open the email, click the link, and log in to your account.
The trouble is that you're not really on PayPal's website, simply rather a false website designed to look identical to PayPal. You've merely given your email address and password to your actual PayPal account to a cybercriminal, who tin at present use that information to change your password and make clean you out. They may even use this data to scam your friends and business concern associates.
Here are some surefire means to tell if an email supposedly from PayPal is naught but a scam:
- The Sender'southward Electronic mail Address Is Suspicious. Just because the sender'due south name is "PayPal Security Center" does not make it legitimate. An address such as "security-paypal-center@int.paypal.u.k..org" is a expressionless giveaway that you're being taken for a ride. PayPal only sends emails from addresses that terminate in "@paypal.com."
- They Don't Know Who You lot Are. Whether it'due south PayPal or your credit card company, if you do business with them, they know your proper noun and will apply every opportunity to use it. Any correspondence kickoff with "Dear valued customer" is a scam.
- The Linked URL Is Not Legitimate. Hover your mouse over the "click here" or "take action now" link, and if you run into a strange URL that does not take yous to PayPal.com, don't click.
- The Email Includes a Threat. This is how they got me. I was told that in that location was a security breach on my account, and if I didn't take the actions recommended in the email, my account would be temporarily suspended. I clicked on the link and input my email address, password, and account information. Thankfully, before long thereafter, I was tipped off and was able to phone call and cancel my account.
Remember, no legitimate company will always threaten to close your account if you ignore an electronic mail.
4. Mystery Shopper Scam
The secret shopper (or mystery shopper) scam has several unlike variations, merely all are designed to steal your coin, your information, or both. This common work-from-dwelling scam attempts to suck you in with an email featuring a subject line promising yous a large income, merely by working as a mystery shopper. Y'all need no feel or education, and you can make up to $200 to $300 a day doing only what y'all honey: shopping! Sounds likewise good to be true, correct?
It is indeed. Instead of being paid to store, hither are the 2 means in which you can be swindled:
- You Take to Pay Upfront. The coin looks good, but in order to get your "preparation materials," you must send the company coin via PayPal or with a personal cheque. You send the money and look for a packet that never arrives.
- You Receive a Fraudulent Bank check. This ane is even worse. Y'all provide the false company your address, and are sent a fraudulent check in the postal service as your first payment. However, you are requested to send some of the coin back to cover your study materials. You cash the check, wire the requested corporeality of coin, and so find that the cheque y'all deposited has bounced. You're responsible for $1,000 or more worth of fraudulent cheque charges, plus overdraft fees.
If you lot didn't apply for a job, you won't exist offered a task. They don't just fall out of the sky. Furthermore, if you're e'er asked to spend coin upfront for materials, you are probable being scammed.
5. Nigerian Cheque Scam
Another one of the more common email scams is the Nigerian bank check scam. If you are subject to this scam, yous receive an e-mail from an a royal-sounding person with the proper name of "Sir Arthur Von-Monsoon," or "Barrister Frank N. Stein" with a asking to aid recover big sums of money from an overseas banking company. As a reward, yous'll receive a handsome cutting of the greenbacks. Nice, huh?
Unfortunately, at that place'southward always a catch. Information technology seems like a win-win situation, so you lot respond with your willingness to help. You are told the coin will be transferred to your bank account; therefore, y'all must provide your bank account information. Also, there are transfer fees involved, and you have to pay those also. Once you pay a couple hundred dollars, waiting for your huge windfall, you receive another email stating there has been some type of holdup, and you must transport a bit more cash.
This continues until you lot, the unsuspecting victim, realize that money is only going one way: out of your bank business relationship.
Social Networking Scams
Cheers to social networking sites, y'all can connect with friends, relatives, and fifty-fifty celebrities all over the world. The problem? You can besides connect with a broad variety of cybercriminals who specialize in online hoaxes.
Here is a short list of the most common types of social networking scams:
6. Hijacked Profile Scam
Recently, a girl I'd gone to loftier school with suddenly sent me a message on Facebook that said, "Hey girl, if you get some time, will you give me a telephone call?"
I was immediately suspicious. We're nothing more than mere acquaintances, and we've never once spoken on the phone. Though I figured her Facebook business relationship had been hacked, I messaged her back and told her I couldn't make long-distance phone calls. She responded by saying she had this wonderful business opportunity for me to get in on, and sent me a couple of links.
At this point, I knew it was a scam. Her profile had obviously been hacked, simply the scammer was attempting to be clever by using personal details in our conversation, such as where we went to school. I ended upwardly deleting her from my friend'due south list because I couldn't get a hold of her to tell her she'd been hacked.
You should also be wary of requests for money from friends – especially because these hoaxes can seem very real. Say you lot have a friend who travels oftentimes and posts pictures and updates about his various exploits. All of a sudden, he sends yous an urgent message claiming to exist stuck somewhere overseas and needs some money to get home. Before you transport any, try to contact him another way. He could exist the victim of a hacked account.
vii. Quiz Scam
It may be in your all-time interests to delete all app requests, and never accept social networking quizzes. Turns out those "Which Twilight Character Are You?" quizzes could end up costing you a monthly accuse.
It starts out innocently enough: You see the quiz on your friend'due south profile, click on information technology, and enter your prison cell phone number as instructed. The quiz pops up, you accept it and find out y'all're more an Alice than a Bella, and promptly post it on your profile for all of your friends to see and participate in.
When next month rolls around, you lot're shocked to learn that a $9.95 fee has been added to your cell phone bill for some dubious "monthly service." Think that the quiz asked you for your cell phone number in guild for you to accept information technology? You were then anxious to get the results that yous didn't even end to wonder why they wanted it. At present you lot know.
8. Suspicious Photo Scam
This is ane of the most common ways online con artists obtain login information to hijack an business relationship. One of your friends, whose account has been hacked, posts a link on your page with a message such as, "OMG! Is this a naked picture of you?"
This causes you to panic and you click the link, but to find yourself back at the Facebook login page. You lot figure it's just one of Facebook'south many glitches and login again.
Past doing this, you've but disclosed your Facebook (or Twitter) account login information. Now, some cybercriminal is out there using your profile to endeavour to scam your friends.
If you come across a suspicious link, merely delete it and send a bulletin via e-mail or text message to your friend to warn them they've been hacked.
ix. Hidden URL Scam
As a regular Twitter user, I always use TinyURL.com to shorten my links. Enough of legitimate businesspeople exercise this to get effectually Twitter's character limit. However, when clicking links, it's best to err on the side of caution.
When you receive a new follower on Twitter, bank check out their previous updates. Do they all look like spam? Do they follow thousands of people, yet accept few followers of their own? Is their profile pic worthy of a Victoria Secret or Maxim catalog cover? If this is the case, beware. Clicking on their links could take you to a website where spyware or malware might be downloaded onto your estimator without your knowledge.
10. Ill Baby Scam
This ane is ill alright. The sick baby scam works like this: A "friend" posts a photograph of an ill baby or young kid with a explanation beneath information technology that reads, "Little Jimmy has cancer. Click this link to donate $1 to help him and his family. Every trivial bit counts!"
Your heart goes out to this helpless trivial baby, and you click on the link, whip out your bank card, and donate some coin. What you don't realize is that the money isn't going to assistance some dying child – it'due south going straight to the bank business relationship of a con artist.
Also, call up that shares don't equal donations. Oft, instead of sending money to help the "ill infant," you lot're asked to share the photograph with everyone y'all know because each share supposedly earns $0.05. However, Facebook, nor any social networking website, volition donate coin based on how many times something is shared. This is most always an attempt to phish for personal information.
How to Avert Common Scams Online
Whether it's an email scam or a social networking scam, there are some dead giveaways when it comes to recognizing them earlier they get you. Here are v ways to avert mutual scams:
- Delete Unsolicited Emails. One of the best means to avert email scams is to delete unsolicited emails. Legitimate companies volition never send you lot pertinent information by email.
- Don't Believe Promises of Coin or Prizes. Any email or social networking link that promises complimentary money or prizes should be dismissed, as these are almost always scams.
- Question Requests for Donations. Whenever there's a national disaster, con artists have a field twenty-four hours sending bogus requests for donations. Instead of donating through email to an unknown charity, give to legitimate charities, such equally the Cherry Cross.
- Never Disclose Sensitive Personal Information. Any person who sends you an email asking for sensitive information, such equally your bank account number or Social Security number, is upwardly to no good. No matter what they promise y'all, mark the electronic mail equally spam and motion on.
- Hover Earlier You lot Click. Whenever y'all receive an unsolicited email asking you to "click here," beware – even if information technology sounds similar a legitimate company. The same goes for social networking links that take you lot to what appear to be login pages. These may be, in fact, sites designed to steal your information.
Last Word
If yous've fallen for whatever of these online scams, yous're certainly not lonely. Online con artists are very clever, using underhanded methods to get information and money from unsuspecting people. However, yous can protect your identity and your money past arming yourself with noesis – as well as alert your children and elderly relatives – and avoid falling prey to scammers.
Have y'all ever been the victim of an online scam? What did you do about it?
Source: https://www.moneycrashers.com/common-email-internet-scams/