Recognising online scams

– what to watch out for

There were 16,355 scam reports with 2,343 scams involving financial losses. The best way to protect yourself is to be aware that scams exist and understand the common tactics used to open up your wallet and spill your information.

What are some of the most common types of scams on the internet? You may have encountered some without even realising it.

Phishing scams

Phishing, or the fraudulent practice of posing as a reputable company to obtain personal information like passwords and credit card numbers, can happen to anyone. It can be someone posing as your bank, your Netflix account, or even an alternative email of yours.

Example: You open your emails to see your bank requesting you log in to check on suspicious activity on your account. The log in page looks exactly like it does on your online banking app!

However, when you click on the email sender, the email looks a little bit strange. When you look at the domain name (the part of the email address after the @ symbol), it misspelled the name of the bank.

If this is the case, contact your bank independently from details on the back of your card or from an independent search you can trust.

Romance scams

Through dating websites, apps, and even social media, dating scammers reach out pretending to be prospective partners. They take advantage of people using emotions to lure you in to giving them money, gifts or personal details.

A lot of romance scammers catfish people, or use fake pictures and details, and make up online profiles to lull people into a false sense of security.

The scammer will go to great lengths to gain their victim’s trust and to keep them romantically interested, from professing their love and even sending gifts. A lot of times they can take months to establish this trust and may even pretend to book flights to come visit but don’t actually come because of some excuse or another.

Example: One of the most common romance scams is pretending to have a personal emergency that requires a lot of money, like an ill family member or that the scammer is stranded somewhere without credit cards. They’ll then ask for money (or even manipulate the victim into offering it).

Shopping scams

A lot of online sellers are legitimate, but some scammers set up fake websites to rip off shoppers trying to find the best bargains.

These websites can use modern layouts and designs, even having a “.co. nz” domain name to make it seem like an actual New Zealand business.

Other times, the business even advertises on your Facebook or Instagram page, giving it an extra air of legitimacy.

Often, the fake website’s biggest draw are really discounted prices. The victim can either receive a knock off item or no item will ever come through the mail.

One of the biggest giveaways of a shopping scam website is they ask the customer to pay via money order or wire transfer. Legitimate companies will offer a secure payment option like credit/debit card, PayPal, and POLi payments.