How to Avoid Internet Scams That Take Advantage of Decent People
It’s no secret that there’s a vast, ambitious, creative, and cunning
collection of cybercriminals, hackers, thieves, and scammers who seem to
haunt those on the internet. Many are looking for weaknesses to exploit
and opportunities to steal peoples’ information and money. Thankfully,
there are many steps people can take to avoid cybercriminals and protect
themselves against scams. One step is to keep your information secure
and private, including learning how to remove personal information from Google searches.
Unfortunately, there’s an insidious collection of scams and cons that prey on otherwise shrewd and cautious internet users in the most devious and cynical way—by appealing to their decency. The following describes a few of these scams and how to avoid falling victim to a costly scam for trying to do the right thing.
Sick Baby, Sick Pet, and Troubled Vet Hoaxes
The “sick baby” and “sick pet” hoaxes are far older than the internet but first spread online via email. Nowadays they often target social media platforms and crowdfunding sites. The premise is simple: you are contacted, typically by a friend, about a sick child or sick pet that needs a donation for a desperately-needed medical treatment. The message is almost always accompanied by a moving photo of the sick youngster or pet. While these messages may be sent by a friend’s hacked account, they can also be sent by friends who’ve been fooled by the scam. The name of the child or pet is sometimes real—the information and photos have often been stolen from the parent or pet owner originally posting it. (All the more reason to remove personal information from Google searches.)
The “troubled vet” scams work in a similar way. A tragic story about a homeless or otherwise troubled veteran is shared and donations are requested for their care, treatment, and recovery. Unfortunately, the money donated goes directly into the pocket of the scammer. They can be less obvious, however. For instance, a scammer can simply be requesting a “like” or share, or claiming that for every like, share, comment, or reposting, the social media platform will donate money. But that’s virtually never the case and those likes, shares, and comments aren’t harmless. When it’s a hoax, those actions are driving traffic and often personal information directly to scammers.
Password Security Question Phishing
Have you ever seen those posts on social media that start with something like “what’s your superhero name?” Superhero could be substituted for anything—celebrity, adventurer, mafia, royal wedding name, and so on. Often you’ll be given a list of information to use to create your name, like the street you grew up on, the name of one of your grandparents, or the name of your pet. Sound familiar? That’s because these are common password security and recovery questions. A cybercriminal can use that information to reset a password and effectively lock you out of an account while gaining access to it themselves. Some of these posts can be harmless if they’re just asking for details such as the item to your left and the color of your shirt. But watch out for the ones that aren’t harmless.
How to Avoid Being Scammed
One of the easiest ways to avoid being taken in by one of these scams is to do a little research. Contact the friend requesting the click or donation and ask them if they actually sent it. If your friend has been taken in by a scam, a Google search is often sufficient to debunk it. Search for the name of the child, pet, or vet (or whatever cause is being solicited) by itself or with the word “scam” after it. Thankfully, these scams are often identified quickly, and a search can help reveal the truth.
Additionally, you should never provide personal information in response to emails or social media solicitations. Never providing personal information in response to any unsolicited messages is a solid rule of thumb to follow on the internet (and offline too). If someone shares one of these hoaxes to your profile, definitely don’t share it, and if your friend actually sent it, immediately let them know of its illegitimacy and potential for harm.
To avoid having your profile hacked—and becoming an unwitting accomplice to these sorts of schemes—be sure to deactivate any old, unused profiles or email addresses to reduce your risk. You should also contract with a company that removes your personal information from data broker sites and Google search results. Getting as much of your private, personal information off of the internet as possible will help keep it that way, and out of the hands of those with ill-intent.
About DeleteMe
DeleteMe is a standard-setting innovator within the data privacy and online security industry. Headquartered in Boston, DeleteMe’s reputation for efficient, effective internet security strategies has been established by their expert privacy team’s proprietary technology and cutting-edge innovation. Since their founding, DeleteMe has accomplished over 10 million successful consumer opt-outs. To ensure superior data security and privacy through personal information removal from Whitepages and 30-plus other data broker sites, choose DeleteMe. A DeleteMe subscription will make sure your personal information stays private year-round.
Learn about everything DeleteMe can do for your privacy and security, at Joindeleteme.com
Unfortunately, there’s an insidious collection of scams and cons that prey on otherwise shrewd and cautious internet users in the most devious and cynical way—by appealing to their decency. The following describes a few of these scams and how to avoid falling victim to a costly scam for trying to do the right thing.
Sick Baby, Sick Pet, and Troubled Vet Hoaxes
The “sick baby” and “sick pet” hoaxes are far older than the internet but first spread online via email. Nowadays they often target social media platforms and crowdfunding sites. The premise is simple: you are contacted, typically by a friend, about a sick child or sick pet that needs a donation for a desperately-needed medical treatment. The message is almost always accompanied by a moving photo of the sick youngster or pet. While these messages may be sent by a friend’s hacked account, they can also be sent by friends who’ve been fooled by the scam. The name of the child or pet is sometimes real—the information and photos have often been stolen from the parent or pet owner originally posting it. (All the more reason to remove personal information from Google searches.)
The “troubled vet” scams work in a similar way. A tragic story about a homeless or otherwise troubled veteran is shared and donations are requested for their care, treatment, and recovery. Unfortunately, the money donated goes directly into the pocket of the scammer. They can be less obvious, however. For instance, a scammer can simply be requesting a “like” or share, or claiming that for every like, share, comment, or reposting, the social media platform will donate money. But that’s virtually never the case and those likes, shares, and comments aren’t harmless. When it’s a hoax, those actions are driving traffic and often personal information directly to scammers.
Password Security Question Phishing
Have you ever seen those posts on social media that start with something like “what’s your superhero name?” Superhero could be substituted for anything—celebrity, adventurer, mafia, royal wedding name, and so on. Often you’ll be given a list of information to use to create your name, like the street you grew up on, the name of one of your grandparents, or the name of your pet. Sound familiar? That’s because these are common password security and recovery questions. A cybercriminal can use that information to reset a password and effectively lock you out of an account while gaining access to it themselves. Some of these posts can be harmless if they’re just asking for details such as the item to your left and the color of your shirt. But watch out for the ones that aren’t harmless.
How to Avoid Being Scammed
One of the easiest ways to avoid being taken in by one of these scams is to do a little research. Contact the friend requesting the click or donation and ask them if they actually sent it. If your friend has been taken in by a scam, a Google search is often sufficient to debunk it. Search for the name of the child, pet, or vet (or whatever cause is being solicited) by itself or with the word “scam” after it. Thankfully, these scams are often identified quickly, and a search can help reveal the truth.
Additionally, you should never provide personal information in response to emails or social media solicitations. Never providing personal information in response to any unsolicited messages is a solid rule of thumb to follow on the internet (and offline too). If someone shares one of these hoaxes to your profile, definitely don’t share it, and if your friend actually sent it, immediately let them know of its illegitimacy and potential for harm.
To avoid having your profile hacked—and becoming an unwitting accomplice to these sorts of schemes—be sure to deactivate any old, unused profiles or email addresses to reduce your risk. You should also contract with a company that removes your personal information from data broker sites and Google search results. Getting as much of your private, personal information off of the internet as possible will help keep it that way, and out of the hands of those with ill-intent.
About DeleteMe
DeleteMe is a standard-setting innovator within the data privacy and online security industry. Headquartered in Boston, DeleteMe’s reputation for efficient, effective internet security strategies has been established by their expert privacy team’s proprietary technology and cutting-edge innovation. Since their founding, DeleteMe has accomplished over 10 million successful consumer opt-outs. To ensure superior data security and privacy through personal information removal from Whitepages and 30-plus other data broker sites, choose DeleteMe. A DeleteMe subscription will make sure your personal information stays private year-round.
Learn about everything DeleteMe can do for your privacy and security, at Joindeleteme.com
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