How to Mitigate the Risk of Online Scams

How to mitigate the risk of online scams is an important topic that everyone should be aware of. Many people don’t realize how much information is being stolen and used by criminals.

Scammers can steal your personal information through emails (phishing), phone calls (vishing), or text messages (smishing). They can use this to commit identity theft and financial fraud.

1. Protect Your Information

Online scams come in many forms, but most attacks have two goals: identity theft and financial fraud. Identity theft is when criminals use your personal information without your permission to perform or aid a crime, and financial fraud is when criminals steal your money to make a profit.

The most common scams are imposter fraud (the criminal poses as a government or company representative and claims that you owe them money) and phishing scams (the attackers use email to attempt to obtain private user credentials).

To prevent online fraud, always be skeptical when it comes to unsolicited emails, phone calls or texts. Remember, legitimate companies will never ask you for sensitive information via these methods. It's also a good idea to keep your software and apps up-to-date and use 2FA to protect your accounts.

2. Check the Credentials

Online fraud can be a massive pain for any merchant, whether it’s in the form of identity theft or financial fraud. Both of these can lead to hefty chargeback fees that take away from your bottom line.

One of the best ways to avoid online scams is to stay up-to-date with software updates. This includes your operating system, apps and other software solutions, as well as equipment firmware.

Another way to protect yourself from online scams is to avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments in emails. Many of these files contain malware that can infect your computer. This can give hackers access to your personal information, including login details for online accounts like email and banking. You can check whether your account details have been made public on the website Have I Been Pwned.

3. Change Your Passwords

You wouldn’t give your ATM card and PIN to a stranger, so don’t provide your login information to anyone. Scammers are always looking for ways to access your personal information, such as passwords and security questions, so change your passwords right away if you think you’re at risk.

Passwords should be at least 12 characters long and include a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. You should also use different passwords for each site so that if one account is compromised, other accounts are protected.

Also, avoid using security questions that are easy to find answers for by avoiding common words and phrases like your birthday, mother’s maiden name or pet names. For more security, you should also consider setting up two-factor authentication.

4. Check the Reputation of a Company

Scammers can steal your personal information in a variety of ways. Keeping your computer protected with antivirus software, updating passwords, and never sharing your login details can help reduce the chances of scams.

Look at the website address to make sure it is not similar to the company’s, and check to see if there is a privacy policy or terms of service and an exchange/refund policy. Also look for pre-checked boxes that sign you up for email updates.

A money-back guarantee and good business ratings are good indicators that a company is legitimate. You can also order a business background check to learn more about the legal and financial history of a company. Services like CS Business Screen can provide details about the company’s credit report, criminal history, and officers/owners.

5. Keep Track of Your Credit Card

Being a victim of online fraud is more than just an inconvenience, it can be costly and difficult to recover from. To avoid it, always check your bank and credit card account online or with a budgeting app to spot suspicious activity.

Be wary of anyone asking you to provide personal information over email or text – no legitimate bank or supplier will request this via these channels. If in doubt, call the company to verify.

Scammers often get your card number from data breaches at major retailers or by hacking into the websites of smaller companies. The numbers then end up in so-called “carding shops,” where they’re sold to people who can then use them online. Make sure you set up alerts in your bank account and regularly check your credit cards against these to detect scams.