If you have been looking forward to some quality football and the barbecue season, you might be shopping for groceries and garden equipment online so you don’t miss your favourite team’s matches. However, online criminals know that you are too preoccupied with football and try to trick you. If you would like to survive the summer heat and all the excitement, check out the latest online scams you should look out for.
FIFA World Cup Tickets
Image via Wikimedia Commons
You might get an email saying that you won some FIFA tickets. While this might sound like a dream come true, it is a scam. If you never entered any competition, you are not likely to be the winner. Instead of clicking on the link in the email and giving fraudsters your personal information, mark it as spam or report it to your internet provider or the FTC.
FIFA Team Apparel
Image via Wikimedia Commons
The only place you can get the official merchandise and your national team’s clothing items is the official store. You don’t want to be paying close to full price for fake and low quality items. If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Work From Home
Image via Wikipedia
While you might be dreaming about running your business from home and having an easy life, not leaving the house or getting dressed unless you want to, most of the businesses advertised through email are about spamming other people and sending out the same messages. Do yourself a favour and put the email in your junk folder.
Tech Support Scams
Image via Marine Corps Systems Command
If you happen to get a call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft or your internet provider and says that they can sort out your internet security over the phone, the best thing you can do is ask for their name or callback number, apart from putting the phone down. If you give them access to your system, they will install a software and initiate a DoS or Denial of Service attack, which means you will not be able to access your files until you pay them.
Illegal Bitcoin Schemes
Image via Flickr
With the growing popularity of cryptocurrency, fraudsters are now targeting people to ask them to invest in Bitcoin and other funds. The difference is that these schemes are either illegal or don’t exist at all, so you can say goodbye to whatever amount you have invested.
If you get an email that simply doesn’t seem right, you should ask yourself whether or not you gave the company permission to send you offers. People who spam you are not likely to work for legitimate businesses. With the introduction of GDPR data protection, you can now report the sender to the ICO and stop scammers from taking advantage of innocent customers. If you are in doubt, give RepairMyPC a call and we will be able to advise you.