It’s no secret that cybercriminals are getting more ingenious these days. From advance fee scams and romance swindles to fake golden opportunities and banking or credit card fraud, no one can feel 100% safe these days. But just like scammers themselves, the targets of their con tricks are also getting smarter.
This person has recently shared an Imgur post captioned “Taking a Nigerian scammer for a ride.” In a series of screenshots, the author revealed how the scammer was eager to send him a very generous gift, asking for an address, an ID card and a Google Play gift card in return.
As you can suspect, the plans quickly turned sour for the con man who got trolled quite savagely. So tune in for the whole story right below and be sure to share your thoughts in the
This person has recently shared a hilariously savage chat they had with a Nigerian scammer
"3.4 million USD and a BMW? I'm interested!"
"That's obviously not a picture of me btw. But he liked it!"
"Cake. Do you like it?"
"Surely the claim that I don't have the internet should be a red flag for him?"
"He wants the cake? Ready for him when he arrives."
The author concluded that "this whole thing lasted about an hour and a half, I had a great time"
Image credits: chillirobot
As many as 59.49M Americans (23%) report having lost money as a result of phone scams in the past 12 months—up from 56 million (22%) in 2020. Moreover, nearly 1 in 3 Americans say they’ve fallen victim to a phone scam in the past year, showed the Truecaller report.
But scammers are now making use of the latest technologies, and with so many people spending a big part of their lives online, the con men are increasingly looking for their targets on the internet. So in order to find out more about scamming and how we can protect ourselves from it, we spoke with Daniel Markuson, a digital security expert at NordVPN.
Phishing and contact spamming are among the most common online scams these days, an expert says
“Right now, one of the most prominent online scams is phishing. Phishing is a scam technique that uses fake messages, websites, and social engineering to lure information or money from people and businesses,” he explained and added that Google has registered 2,145,013 phishing sites as of January 17, 2021. This is up by 27%, compared to January of 2020.
Another standard method of online scamming is contact spamming. The digital security expert explained that this is when a cybercriminal will hack into your email or social media account and reach out to your friends with a link and a message such as “I’ve seen this amazing video, check it out!” Daniel warned that we tend to over-trust messages that seem to come from our close friends. “If you click on this link, you will end up infecting your device with malware, and spread it onto your contacts.”
Both tech-savvy people and those who have poor online habits can become scam targets
It turns out that people who are the most susceptible to online scams like phishing are those who are not informed about the possible dangers lurking on the internet. “Usually, these are people who don’t have a lot of tech knowledge, have poor online habits, and are not interested in cybersecurity, which makes it easier to trick them,” Daniel explained and added that “For example, uninformed people would open every link in their direct messages even if it looked suspicious to a more advanced user.”
Having said that, people who may be more tech-savvy are another vulnerable group, as they spend a lot of their time online, but are ready to give up their privacy for convenience. “For example, these people would be ready to fill in their personal information on a phishy discount website promising a discount or a special deal.”
To be less susceptible to the fraudsters, keep yourself updated with the latest scamming techniques
The key to becoming less susceptible to these scams is understanding them and safeguarding against them, Daniel argues. “Keep yourself updated about the latest scamming techniques attackers may use. If you know what to expect, it will be easier to avoid the trap.”
Moreover, Daniel urges us to be more vigilant. “Double-check the identity of whoever you’re communicating with, especially if it’s an email, text, or call you weren’t expecting. Remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Using a VPN is a great way to mask your identity and protect against would-be scammers and hackers,” he concluded.
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