Best Tips To Keep You Safe From Online Shopping Scams

To say scammers and fraudsters are everywhere is not an overstatement but how do you keep yourself safe from online shopping scams?

Nowadays, several common scamming tools and tricks are being used by scammers to defraud unsuspecting victims. Scammers often use one or more of the tricks to help them commit fraud and hide their true identity.

Do you know that £1.2 billion was stolen through fraud across the UK in 2022 according to UK Finance?

With this article, we aim to keep you informed of common scams, so you can stay one step ahead of the criminals and avoid becoming a victim of fraud.

Online shopping scams

According to a report, £67 million was lost to online shopping scams across the UK in 2022. In fact, online shopping offers criminals the opportunity to trick people into paying for products and services that do not exist.

The majority of these are often advertised via social media and auction sites using stolen images to convince their potential victims that they are genuine.

Below are some important tips to help you spot the warning signs and avoid being scammed online. Remember…

• If you’re paying for high value goods, such as technology or even vehicles, don’t pay anything upfront unless you’ve physically seen the item. Be suspicious of offers that seem too good to be true.

• Avoid paying for goods via bank transfer. Using a debit or credit card offers you greater protection.

• Do your research and check the seller’s reviews.

No doubt, the rates at which unsuspecting people are being scammed via online shopping scams is alarmingly high. Unfortunately, it’s like scammers are everywhere and we are all potential victims if proper care is not taken.

This article highlights the effects of online shopping scams and it includes tips on how to protect yourself against becoming a victim of purchase scams.

Keep yourself safe from scammers

Be aware that criminals will call you pretending to be from your Bank, the Police or other well-known organisations or legally recognised authorities.

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These criminals will claim that fraudulent activity has been spotted on your account or that they’re concerned about the safety of your money.

They will get you to tell them enough account information or security details to gain access to your account. Mind you, their mission is to steal your money, or even get you to move your money to them yourself.

Beware of these criminals, they are looking for victims everywhere. Below are some of the best tips to help keep you safe from scammers:

#1]. Always check that the transaction is genuine

Always make sure that you know what you are getting into before giving out any personal, financial or bank account and security information to anyone.

As a matter of fact, it is easy to get carried away when you are talking to someone, especially over the phone.

For this reason, you should always check that the caller is genuine by calling back on a trusted number, for example from their website or from the back of your bank card.

#2]. Don’t rely on the caller ID alone

Nowadays, relying on the caller ID alone to determine the authenticity a phone call is not enough. In fact, it’s extremely dangerous because scammers have up their scamming games and tricks.

You should beware and always be at alert because criminals can easily manipulate caller ID to make their calls look genuine.

The fact is that criminals can even make use of virtual phone system services to exploit unsuspecting potential victims.

#3]. Don’t share bank security

Never share your bank security details in full and never tell anyone the One Time Passcodes, that the banks usually send to you in a text or email.

In most cases, the scammer on the phone call will be really persuasive to make you share your details. Please don’t share your bank security details with anyone and not even your bank.

SEE ALSO: Beware Of Online Social Engineering Scams

#4]. Bank don’t ask to move your money

Also, to keep you safe from becoming the next victim, never agree with anyone to move your money to another bank or withdraw your savings.

The is another common trick these scammers to convince their victims to think they are genuine.

The Bank or Police will never ask you to move your money out of your account to keep it safe or ask you to assist with a fraud investigation.

#5]. Don’t download software or app

Don’t agree to download software or an app on to your device that allows someone to access it remotely. This is a common tech support scams trick where the scammer usually request or ask you to log in to your bank account.

#6]. Avoid sharing your details

In most cases, remote tech support scams usually as for your personal details. Therefore, you should avoid sharing your personal, financial or bank details via links in text messages or emails.

Criminals will use fake messages to gather your information and will then go on to scam you later down the line, by calling and impersonating trusted companies in order to steal your money.

Be aware of money mule scams

One thing you should always remember is that criminals don’t want to get caught. This is why the scammers often recruit others to work for them in order to hide their identity.

In other words, scammers will use or recruit other people through a number of tactics to help them launder and disguise the profits of their crimes.

In short, scammers sometimes make use of money mules to hide their scams and identity. A money mule is someone who lets someone else use their bank account to transfer money, often keeping a little bit for themselves.

Criminals will ask money mules to receive criminal funds into their bank accounts and ask them to move the funds to another account. You should beware of this because it is a criminal offence and has serious consequences.

Some money mules knowingly become involved in this type of activity, but many are completely innocent and totally unaware of where the money is from or where it’s going.

 

References / Resources

• 👉 Money Mules (also known as Squaring). West Yorkshire Police.
• 👉 Watch out for the “Caller ID” scam. UK Police Action Fraud.
• 👉 Protect yourself from tech support scams. Microsoft article.
• 👉 How to spot an online shopping scam. Which? Article.
• 👉 Money mules – what are the risks?. InterPol.
• 👉 Personal fraud and how to prevent it. UK Metropolitan Police.
• 👉 How to avoid sharing too much information online. Government of Canada Cyber Safety.

 

 

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