Careful! That most of this online fraud can be used to grab your personal information.

9 Types Of Online Fraud

On a daily basis, many Indians fall victim to internet fraud. Here’s how to protect your internet information from hackers. 

To defend ourselves online, we must also be familiar with the various ways cybercriminals can attack us. So, these are some of the numerous forms of internet fraud that can be used against you and should be avoided. Also, see – Be Wary! Fraudsters are using many accounts to commit Facebook scams. 

1. OLX Fraud: Scam on OLX has grown quite widespread in recent years. Kejriwal’s daughter was also a victim of similar type of deception. In this case, scammers act as legitimate sellers and take money from the customer without delivering the merchandise. Many bogus vendors have previously posed as Indian Army officers on OLX in order to acquire the trust of buyers on the marketplace and subsequently scam them. 

2. Email scams or phishing: Phishing is among the most popular types of internet fraud, in which criminals obtain your personally identifiable information by impersonating a legitimate firm or individual. Phishing is the practice of scammers sending bogus emails and web pages to steal the person’s banking and other important financial details. Most of these emails contain attachments or links that direct you to a bogus website where you have been requested to enter your UPI number or bank information. Remember that clicking on such links might also infect your systems with viruses or malware. 

3. Theft of one’s identity: In this sort of fraud, a scammer hacks your identification and acts like you to address banks and friends or family for loans and financial assistance. If these loans are granted, you will be responsible for their repayment. These hackers may also utilize social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to contact your pals (acting as you) and request money. 

4. Lottery deception: Lottery fraud is one of India’s top three frauds. In this case, scammers send emails and WhatsApp messages claiming that you have won a jackpot worth lakh. To collect the Jackpot, you must deposit a small sum in the form of tax on a specific number. After you pay, the scammer decides to delete their number and vanishes. People are sometimes prompted to make payments using credit/debit cards through bogus websites. Be careful! These websites may be used to steal your credit card details. 

5. Scam of working from home: This is a form of scam in which scammers offer people an online job opportunity in consideration for a rich payment for only a few hours of effort. Some unemployed people are required to deposit a particular amount in order to be eligible for the chance and acquire the online recruitment kit. These crooks vanish without a trace once the money is placed. 

6. Fraudulent online shopping: In online shoppers’ fraud, hackers hack a bogus online shopping and entice customers to buy items from it at meager costs. After you make a payment, the website will either mail you a fake product, or you may never receive it. The Escobar Phone is a prime example of such a fraud, with many individuals deceived into ordering the phone from its online webpage with the promise of receiving a foldable smartphone for less than Rs 30,000. 

7. Tax evasion: In India, this type of fraud is most prevalent during the tax season. Here, taxpayers are asked to respond to SMS and WhatsApp messages sent by scammers, in which they are requested to provide their bank credentials and other private information in order to receive a tax refund. 

8. Fraudulent matrimonial arrangements: Matrimonial websites and apps now have millions of users who pay a fee for their services. Because the marriage market in India is continually thriving, scammers are constantly on the lookout for flaws in the system that they may exploit. Here, these shady characters construct bogus profiles and steal money from users after creating confidence with them. This is a widespread technique in India, and you should be more cautious. 

9. Credit card reward point theft: In India, millions of people use credit cards. When a user makes a purchase, points are added to their cards. Scam artists take advantage of this system. Certain criminal actors promise credit cardholders assistance in collecting their reward points in this form of fraud. They also try to instill a sense of urgency in buyers by emphasizing that the deal would expire soon. This causes many cardholders to panic, and, as a result, they frequently make the error of revealing their card information with scammers. 

Even though not everyone is a victim of cybercrime, they are nevertheless in danger. Crimes committed by computers vary, and they do not necessarily take place behind the computer, but they are carried out by computer. The identity of the hacker ranges from 12 to 67 years old. The hacker may be three continents away from the victim, and the victim would have no idea they were being hacked.

Crimes committed behind a computer are the dilemma of the twenty-first century. Thanks to advances in technology, criminals no longer need to rob banks or be outside to commit a crime. On their lap, they have all of that they require. Their weapon is no longer firearms; instead, they attack with mouse cursor keys and credentials.