Unveiling the Simple Pattern of Scams: How to Spot Them
According to what we’ve learned from the law drama series, human behavior is subjected to following a pattern. If someone has a history of, for instance, concealing evidence,
there is a greater risk that they will do so again. This is also true when it comes to scams. Because here is the thing – the most common scams follow a simple pattern, and if
you understand that, you will be able to easily recognize the signals in the future and avoid being a victim yourself!
What does the basic pattern of scams look like?
1. Attractive Offers
If something appears to be too good to be true, it most likely is. This indicator can be found in a variety of fraud instances, including loan scams, e-commerce scams, investment
scams, and job scams.
The following is how loan scams work:
• Licensed moneylenders may only provide loans in person at their licensed locations and cannot promote via social media, SMS, messaging applications or cold calls.
• Some loan scammers may imitate legitimate moneylenders by creating bogus websites utilizing data such as license numbers.
The following is how e-commerce scams work:
• The offer is promoted as a limited-time offer or an urgent flash sale.
• The “seller” account may have been created lately or may have few or no reviews.
The following is how investment scams work:
• You get an unexpected message on social networking sites such as Facebook, WeChat, or Line from someone pretending to be a stockbroker, bank or financial firm employee.
• A financial organization based outside of Singapore approaches you.
The following is how job scams work:
• The job promises high pay with little work.
• To secure the position, you must deposit funds to a bank account or bitcoin wallet.
2. Unusual Friend Requests
Scammers can “make friends” with you, invade your personal life, and access your personal information through social networking platforms, dating sites, and online forums.
Accepting anonymous friend requests online might put you at risk for Internet Love scams.
The following is how online love scams work:
An attractive individual, often a foreigner, approaches you online. He or she narrates a story about getting into trouble or going through a difficult period. As proof of affection, they
request that you transfer money, purchase gift cards, Google Play cards, Steam cards, or iTunes cards, or invest/receive money.
3. Requests for OTP
It’s surprisingly easy for scammers to conceal their identities and fabricate plausible stories to fool you into handing over your personal information including private information like
one-time passwords (OTPs). Look for this indicator in social media impersonation scams, non-banking and banking-related phishing scams, and China official impersonation frauds.
The following is how phishing scams work:
• You get a call notifying you that your bank account is having problems and may be closed. To fix the difficulties, you must submit personal information such as your bank account
information and OTP.
• You receive an email or message from what looks to be your bank, instructing you to enter your bank account information and OTP onto official-looking websites with slightly
different web addresses.
• You get a formal-looking email or other message that has spelling and/or grammatical errors.
The following is how Chinese official imitation scams work:
• You get a call from someone claiming to be a government official, a bank employee or representative, a courier firm, or a well-known organization.
• They connect you to current court cases, your cell number being used in a crime, an allegation that your Wi-Fi is hacked, or other urgent requests that demand your immediate action.
• They request personal information, bank account information, and OTPs.
• If you do not cooperate, they will escalate the situation to the police or someone in higher authority.
4. Immediate Money Transfer
Scammers may put you under pressure to make money transfers by generating a sense of urgency. Scammers hope that by doing so, victims will respond emotionally rather than
rationally. This symbol may occur in e-commerce scams, social media impersonation scams, Chinese official impersonation scams, internet love scams, credit-for-sex scams, or
money laundering schemes.
The following is how social media impersonation scams operate:
• You get a message from a "friend" asking for your assistance. They then request that you purchase iTunes or other gift cards for them.
• You may also receive a message from a "friend" requesting bank information and one-time passwords for online shopping accounts to collect rewards in a fortunate draw.
• A "friend" sends you a message asking for your WhatsApp verification code.
• Unauthorized transactions have occurred on your online or bank accounts, or your phone data bill is more than usual.
Not sure if it is a scam?
ACM provides powerful cybersecurity solutions and information that secure your organization at the network, application, and device levels so that you can spot and avoid scams
immediately. Contact us via our hotline at 6295 5962 or drop us an email at
info@achievement.com.sg today!
