We often write on The Defence Works blog about online (and sometimes offline) scams. Scams, no matter where they originate, follow trends and patterns. They are also a global phenomenon. And, it is worth knowing about scams from other parts of the world because what happens in one place may be replicated in another.
In this article, we will take a look at scams around the world and also have a look at what you can do to protect yourself, no matter what form a scam takes.
What is Happening Across the World of Scams
Before we look at some scam examples from across the world, let’s look at what the world is dealing with.
In the USA, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), handled 1.4 million fraud reports in 2018 with losses of $1.48 billion USD (£1.2 billion). The most prevalent scam types were focused on identity theft, debt collection and imposter scams.
In Australia, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, recorded over 177,000 scam reports with losses of over $107 million AUD (£59.4 million).
In the UK, online scams recorded by CIFAS reached a recorded 305,564 in 2017. Many of these cases involved identity theft. Money mule scams, where individuals are tricked into allowing their bank accounts to move money using ‘unauthorised push payments’ (APPs) were also an issue in the UK.
Being scammed is truly a global phenomenon.
Examples Scams
USA
The Medicare Imposter Scam is a well-known trick that attempts to extort personal information from an individual. In the USA, Medicare is a health insurance scheme. The fraudsters call the victim, asking for personal information, and on occasion money. The fraudster pretending to need this to process a claim or send out an updated Medicare card. They then use these data to commit identity fraud.
Australia
Over $5 million AUD (£2.8 million) was lost in 2018 due to fake billing scams. These scams take many forms but tend to target businesses. The company will be sent an invitation to renew a website domain or to list in a trade magazine, or similar. Scammers target the administration department in the hope they won’t be actively aware of any specific business activity.
Canada
The immigration scam targets new immigrants. The individual will receive a phone call from someone pretending to be from the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) department. The victim is tricked into believing that have forgotten to fill out certain important immigration forms. They are then put under pressure to pay an immediate fee or face deportation.
UK
The money mule scam increased by 11% to 2017 in the UK, with over 32,000 bank accounts showing ‘mule accounts’ activity. Younger people aged 21 and under, were disproportionately at risk of this scam. The scam uses social media sites, like Instagram, to trawl for victims. Posts using hashtags like #instantcash, #activebankaccount offer financial incentives to allow money to be transferred using the victim’s bank account.
Tips to Avoid Being a Scam Victim
Scams take many forms and it may feel impossible to keep track. However, there are certain things you can do to help reduce your risk. Here are five tips to do just that:
Be scam aware
Issue:
Being aware that scams exist is a first good step towards reducing the chances of you being taken in by any scam, no matter what type it is. Many scams, especially those that originate in emails, like phishing scams, have similar tell-tale signs. Learn how to spot phishing emails and ‘SMShing’ text messages. Security awareness training is the perfect medium for training yourself and your staff to spot the signs of many online scams.
How to stay safe:
- Be security aware
Know your scammer
Issue:
Many scams use social engineering to trick people. The end result is usually revealing to the fraudster your personal and/or financial data or downloading a malicious file and infecting your computer or mobile device with malware. If you ever need to give out personal details or download an attachment, make absolutely sure you know the individual you are dealing with. Also, be very aware that some more complex scams involve the fraudster going to great lengths to create a trusted relationship with their victim.
How to stay safe:
- Be security aware
- Double-check any requests for information
Be phishing aware
Issue:
Phishing emails are still the number one way that malware is installed. Malicious links or downloads are the issue. If you click on a link it may take you to either an infected site, which will infect your computer or a spoof site which closely mimics the real one. In the latter case, you may be tricked into entering personal and/or financial details, including login credentials, which are then being sent directly to the fraudster. Alternatively, if you download a malicious attachment from a phishing email, it could infect your computer and steal data, including login credentials.
How to stay safe:
- Be security aware
- Patch your computer/mobile device and any software you use as soon as an update is available
- Avoid clicking any links in an email unless you are 100% sure they are legitimate
- Avoid downloading any attachments unless you are 100% sure they are legitimate
Be wary of phone calls from strangers
Issue:
Especially if they ask for personal or financial information or access to your computer. Many scams are phone call based and known as ‘Vishing’. Be careful what information you hand over to people on the phone. Also, Fraudsters can also keep a line open even if you hang up. So, be aware that if you do call your bank, etc. soon after the scam call, you may end up talking to a fraudster again.
How to stay safe:
- Do not give out personal details via the phone, this includes passwords
- Do not call your bank or other company to check the call within ten minutes or so of the scam call – the scammers may have kept the line open
Don’t overshare
Issue:
Social media is used by fraudsters to look for victims. Be careful about sharing any personal information on social media. Also, be careful who you connect to. There are large numbers of fake accounts on platforms like Facebook. Fraudsters can use your connection to not only build a relationship with you to groom you for a scam but also with your friends and family.
How to stay safe:
- Be careful who you connect to on social media
- Do not overshare persona; information on any social media platform
- Check your privacy settings on the social media platform and set them to as high a setting as you feel comfortable with
- Recheck these settings regularly as the platform may change them
Scams are a global phenomenon. But because they are based on manipulating human behaviour, they often use the same types of tricks. Being cybersecurity aware will help you to build defences against the fraudsters that are after your money and your data.
Interested to learn more about how we can empower your employees security defences? Why not sign up for a free demo and find out how we’re already helping organisations just like yours.
© 2023 . The Defence Works. All rights reserved.