Scammers are everywhere. Online is not much different. These days many scammers try to use the mass communication facilities of the Internet to try to trick people. In another name, emails…

You may or may not be aware of these, you may get an email claiming to be a bank or an email claiming you won a prize. Try not to be fooled, they all generally lead to getting your credit card or online bank details. Basically said to steal your hard earned money.. Scam alert..!

Why there is so many low people who do this type of fraud, that’s another question in itself and debate.  The best trick to avoiding or detecting these scams is to be very vigilant and aware. Look at common spelling mistakes, in these emails, dodgy redirects or password requests.. (Yes that is right, many online web scammers cannot spell. Not all..)

Also ask yourself why an email would ask you to update your bank or paypal details, or even say you have won something when you have not. Or why some prince would want to deposit large sums of his or her wealth to you to help them escape there country.. These are all scams, so don’t be fooled.

how to detect a online web scamThe second way scammers attack is via your browser. Make sure to double check bank URLs if you use online banking and check for SSL (gold padlock seen on browser). Also when shopping make sure to use a secure form of payment (such as PayPal or another SSL credit card processor) to disclose you credit card details.

Another tip is when creating an email try to be more unique, it can help heaps to make a scammer less likely to find your email account. Also if you run a blog or website be careful of exposing personal details unless you want unwanted spam or unwanted hack attempts.

Overall internet scams are really easy to spot when you know what you have to look out for. Below are the most important things to watch out for :

  • Fake Bank Pages. Pages asking for user name and password.. Ouch that has to be costly..
  • Golden Padlock assurance on the browser. ( Be careful of sites claiming SSL on a page for credit card details when on the browser it says otherwise.)
  • Bad Spelling. Not all scammers are bad spellers but it a wise note as most online scammers will go to jail sooner or later so education / writing skills is generally lacking.
  • Fake Websites. Websites designed to trick you into thinking it is another big site online.
  • New Dodgy Looking Website. This is a mild indicator, but a new site that looks dodgy is more likely to be a scam because it has not been closed down yet..

If you can think of any ways to a spot a scammer online, comment below.