The Internet is not as safe as is commonly assumed to be. In fact, as a medium, it is not as transparent as it ought to be. For instance, a lot of snooping is undertaken by online service providers that can bewilder a naive net user, should he be made aware of them. You can imagine what felons with access to such facilities can do!
It is a fact that more and more criminals are warming up to the prospect of using the internet as their hunting ground. It offers them the easiest and the most carefree of ways to commit a crime. Internet crimes top the list of unsolved crimes anywhere in the world. When they are online, criminals feel particularly safe under the legitimate insight that it is virtually impossible to trace a crime to them.
There is a plethora of techniques available to criminals to commit crime online. Each new technology makes them feel more empowered and self-assured while acting out their scams. They are quick to master the latest developments or gizmos that have arrived on the scene and use these to hoodwink online by making their fraud all the more credible.
Still it is easy for a user to be safe online. However cunning online fraudsters might be, innovation is clearly not one of their attributes. Most online scams run along well-trodden lines. As a matter of fact, the most successful scams would be either entirely new or an old scam that has been tweaked and twisted to such an extent that it bears little or no resemblance to the original. However, these are few and far in between. In effect, a simple awareness of their methods can guarantee any net user a safe online experience.
You can achieve this
simply by learning:
- about internet frauds and scams online.
- how to verify offers you receive online.
- to take small precautions that can prevent your being conned.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Being aware of common scams is enough to tip you off!
Have a basic knowledge about common scams that are perpetrated online. Know how online fraudsters work and what are their most commonly used scams. These are enough to be endowed with the power of being able to smell scams at any distance.
I recommend: A good site to start off with is the one run by
The FBI. Major types of fraud are listed here along with tips on how to avoid them.
Cross Check any offer you receive online to uncover established scams!
Do not act on any offer received through the internet without checking out on the individual/s or entities involved. Running a simple search would alert you to an established scam if it is one.
I recommend: Good websites you can use to this end are the
US Department of Justice and
The Better Business Bureau online websites.
Buy only from trusted sources online!
It is easy for fraudsters to build a credible presence online. Therefore buy only from places which are most reliable and have a reputation for the same.
I recommend: Typically, look for companies that have a sizable and well-known online presence like
buy.com,
Amazon.com or
Nextag.com.
Be enabled to get help!
Have a handy place online where you can ask and get an informal community check on a company, website or an individual. Google and Yahoo Groups offer an easy avenue of asking and knowing more about a scam. Social networking sites also provide a space for you to get informal help.
I recommend: Forums dealing with fraud and scam are especially good for this purpose. Forums have a built-in search feature that can make all information in the site about any scam revealed in a trice. Get registered to one (its usually free) and have a resource with which you can know instantly whether a website, company or individual is connected to scam or not. A good example of such a forum is
419legal.org. It also features a searchable
Fraud and Scam News blog that gives detailed info regarding scams.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Don't entertain offers that seem too good to be true. All of them would eventually turn out to be outright scams having one or the other ulterior motive lurking in the background.
- To prevent worries of identity theft, invest on an anti-spyware for your computer. It is as simple to load and as easy to run as your anti-virus software. This is particularly relevant for people who buy online using their credit cards. Anti-spyware can prevent such critical information like your credit card number from being stolen from your computer.
- Use the Man-on-the Street rule before divulging personal information online. Before giving away such information, ask yourself whether you would disclose these to a stranger you encounter on the street. Treat an online request in a similar vein.
- For an unbiased report of a particular product or an online seller, check out some reviews in an online industry trade magazine. You can search for these sites by using the term "(product-name) review". These sites can be relied upon to give authentic and knowledgeable reviews since it is on the credibility of these that they survive.
- Judge an online retail website by its refund policy. All good sites offer a full money-back refund feature if the product is returned within a specified time. This is the only cover that an online buyer actually has should the product turn out to be anything less than what was offered online. Good manufacturers do not shy away from including these terms because it is the best way to show the confidence they have on their products!
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