The evolution of online scams

How many people can remember when they first got internet and then added a Hotmail or AOL email address?

Do you also remember the random emails from a long-lost family member who died and left you $20 million because you were their only living heir? Forget that you had brothers, sisters and other family members — you were the only heir. Generally, they asked for your banking information or a payment of X amount of dollars to release the funds.

Man, those were the days.

Now, the scammers have become very sophisticated and devious. They tap into the very core of the human psyche. They play on loneliness or the ever-increasing need for money. It is diabolical the lengths these people will go to, and it is not just limited to email now. In fact, I cannot remember the last email I received with an offer of untold wealth. No, these demons come at you on social media, dropping messages into the various messenger platforms. They also send text messages to a seemingly wrong number.

So, what types of scams are the most common? Honestly, there are too many to list. However, at the top of the list are romance scams and advanced fee scams

So how do these all work? The typical romance scam will target a victim who randomly follows pages on social media. These are lonely individuals who see a good-looking man or woman and follow them. Sometimes they will just receive a random message from the scammer. Conversations start and common ground is found. Eventually comes the “let’s meet” message and then the scam really starts. The scammer will want to visit but may need gas money or money for a Visa. They will ask you to buy various denominations of gift cards or send money via PayPal. The money is sent, but more and more problems arise. Suddenly the person is trapped in customs and needs money to pay the agents.

It is an endless cycle that eventually leads to losing everything. It can be humiliating and can lead to people taking their own lives in shame.

Advance-fee scams are a little more sophisticated. One of their main prey is people looking for work-from-home jobs. The scammers create fake job postings on various sites such as Indeed or Monster. They lure in the victims with promises of high pay, great flexible hours and low qualifications. Once it starts, they will typically schedule an interview by WhatsApp or text messaging. They will offer a wage that is too good to be true — but when you are desperate, you can only see those dollar signs. Normal interview questions will be asked, then comes the job offer.

Well, how can that be a scam?

It is very clever. They will then either ask for your banking information to deposit a few thousand dollars or send you a legitimate-looking check for deposit. These funds are then to be used to purchase the equipment you will need for the job. They will tell you a specific website to use for the purchase. This website is a front. There is no product being shipped. You will have cashed a bogus check and then paid the scammer by purchasing nonexistent products. So, then you are suddenly overdrawn at your bank and must find a way to pay that money back into your account.

There is not a lot of legal recourse either. Most times, it must be chalked up to a lesson learned.

Learning how to protect yourself and your loved ones from these scams is crucial. Any friend or potential love interest asking for gift cards online is a major red flag. Some of the romance scammers also use celebrities as their cover. I hate to say it, but Keanu Reeves isn’t madly in love with you, or any of your family members.

As for the advanced-fee scam, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Most companies are not going to hire you with no skills for a job that pays more than the average engineer will make. Also, any reputable company would not ask you to buy the equipment. Legitimate companies would send the needed supplies to you as part of the employment package.

I have read recently that the romance scammers are more likely to hit our baby boomer parents and strip them of their savings, which is a bit ironic since they taught us not to believe everything you see. Advanced-fee scams typically are targeted towards younger tech-savvy people looking to get ahead in life.

There is one last scam I will mention, these are the people who say they can recover your money by finding and hacking the scammers. They will say that for $500, they can recover your money. Do not pay them. If you send them money, you might as well have used it to warm up your fireplace. That money will be lost as well, and you will never hear from them again.

Protect yourself, protect your elderly relatives. Tell them to ask you questions; help them research scams. Do not ridicule or belittle them when they tell you. Be compassionate and helpful. After all, they already feel bad enough knowing they lost money. Some stores are now restricting gift card purchases or asking questions of the purchaser and making sure they are legitimate purchases. The internet is a great tool, but always beware of the dark and dirty side. There are evil people everywhere.

Dustin would like to hear what you’re thinking about these days. You can drop him a line at dustinb@midco.net to let him know what you thought about his column, or just to say “Hi!”