It's Dangerous to Go (Online) Alone! Take this.
If you've been on the internet for any length of time, you'll eventually come across a scam of one kind or another. From email phishing scams claiming "You're Our 1 Millionth Visitor!", to "Your Account Has Been Locked—Please Click Here To Continue" (scammers love to use Apple as their main hook, with Amazon coming in a close second), to the obligatory two-word "Hi handsome" on Instagram or dating sites (I don't judge—it happens to me too), there's no telling how far a scammer will go to bilk your hard-earned money—or worse, your identity. Not your soul, though; apparently they're not that greedy.
According to the FBI, there are at least 33 different ways scammers can defraud a person; ranging from business and credit card fraud, the always-popular "Nigerian Prince" email scam, and even something called "Sextortion"—a practice where scammers threaten or otherwise coerce children and young adults into sending provocative images of themselves (I didn't know there was a word for it, either). For the purposes of this discussion, though, we'll look at three of the most common online scams: Business Email Compromise, Internet Fraud, and Romance Scams; we'll also look at ways users can protect themselves.
Business Email Compromise
We tend to think that scammers only target personal email accounts, but they actually go after business too—especially if the business is high-profile. Because we sometimes get lazy at work and don't pay attention to every email that drops in our inbox, scammers have learned to take advantage of our lapses in judgment and concentration. That's where the Business Email Compromise comes in.
Business Email Compromises have four major steps:
Identification of a target (usually done through online searching)
Grooming (a process where the scammer uses intimidation or persuasion tactics to make the target feel positive or negative emotions)
Exchange of Information (by now, the target has believed that the scammer is a legitimate entity, and won't hesitate to exchange confidential account information with them)
Wire Transfer (the scammer emails instructions for wiring money to what looks like an authorized bank account, but is in reality run by the scammer)
How can businesses protect themselves? The following may sound like common sense, but businesses have lost thousands—if not millions—of dollars each year simply because they didn't pay attention.
Be careful what you click on. There's a reason this one's first—because it's the most obvious.
Look at the email address to see if it matches any addresses you know. One extra letter could mean the difference between a legitimate company and a scammer.
If the email asks for updated contact or account information, ask the real company first. If they reply in the negative or are confused, you have your answer.
Internet Fraud
Internet fraud is a blanket term for any fraud that occurs online, and as such is the largest culprit when it comes to scamming the public (it's also, unsurprisingly, the easiest way for scammers to target the unwary). From data breaches such as the one suffered by T-Mobile not too long ago, to Email Account Compromises, to phishing and spoofing emails that make people think the email they're reading is legitimate, scammers have a virtually infinite number of ways to make our lives miserable.
As with Business Email Compromises, the tactics against internet fraud are virtually the same no matter what kind of fraud it is—don't click on that email if you don't know who sent it (because our email services display snippets of what the email looks like, you can usually tell if it's fake before you open it); don't give the scammer any account information if they ask for it; and above all, pay attention to the email address. As the saying goes, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Romance Scams
Romance scams have been a thing since the first chat rooms and message boards went online, and now that dating sites like OkCupid and Tinder have taken over, they've become more prevalent than ever. Believe it or not, though, romance scams aren't just the domain of lonely singles looking for Mr. or Mrs. Right—they're also found on Instagram.
Yours truly has been the recipient of more attempted romance scams on the 'gram than he can count (and they still keep coming). It's actually pretty easy to spot one—the message will usually start with "Hi handsome", "How are you", "Where are you from", etc.; the fake account will often only have a few pictures (more than likely stolen from someone else), their bio will be made up with nonsensical English, and their followers will either be exclusively men, bots, or a mix of both.
It's also easy to verify whether or not that person you're talking to is really who they look like—ask them for a video call, or, failing that, a picture of them doing something uncommon. If they actually like you, a real person will make time to see your face on camera; a scammer will think of literally anything to keep you from finding out about them ("my camera is broken" is a popular excuse). In fact, you don't even have to waste a breath—if you find out they're a scammer before you talk to them (which really is the best outcome), just report and block them.
On the other hand, you could always string them along if you were feeling sadistic.
About the Author: Ronald Hamilton, Jr. is a graduate of Arizona State University's Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and Media Studies. When he's not writing for COM-GAP, Ronald is a volunteer with the nonprofit Live Forever Project.