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How to identify scams online [closed]

How to identify scams online [closed]

What are some common ways of identifying scams that take place in either email, or in banners and advertisements on popular websites? How do we determine if something is real or not?

Asked by: Guest | Views: 177
Total answers/comments: 5
bert [Entry]

"As with everything:

If it sounds too good to be true then it is.

Some specifics:

If you're told you've won a lottery you don't remember entering then it's a scam.
If someone offers to buy something for far more than it's worth on the condition you give them most of the money back as ""change"" - don't sell. The cheque will bounce and you will be left without your car/motorbike/boat and without the money."
bert [Entry]

"If you ever receive an email offering you a once-in-a-lifetime deal, like assisting a troubled Nigerian Prince in protecting millions of dollars from a rogue agency, it is most likely not legitimate.

Generally, a google search including a sentence from the email will turn up a great deal of information. It will, in most cases, tell you immediately if the email has been confirmed as a scam.

Check links. Many emails will ask you to login to www.yourbank.com, when in fact it is sending you to a completely different website that looks like yours. Be sure to always check your address-bar, to verify your location."
bert [Entry]

"Generally speaking anything that promises you money in return for:

Your own money up front
Your personal details - i.e. a copy of your passport, your bank account details, DOB etc."
"Generally speaking anything that promises you money in return for:

Your own money up front
Your personal details - i.e. a copy of your passport, your bank account details, DOB etc."
bert [Entry]

If you receive an email with bad grammar and notice that the links don't send you where you would normally assume they would go to then it is probably a scam email.
bert [Entry]

"I give them an ad-blocker with an automatically maintained whitelist, either standalone or plug-in. The only way I've been able to minimize scams is to prevent them from being presented in the first place. Some folks maintain a custom hostfile but that never seemed as easy for my end-users.

As for email, same as the given suggestions."