Undoing the menace of online fraud Scam
Scams have become a menace these days, affecting millions of computers worldwide. This has also resulted in unnecessary fear amongst people with panic gripping many of the internet users. Taking advantage of the turmoil, scammers have found a new way to swindle off money by luring people into buying fraudulent anti-virus software.Frequent spam emails, adware pop-ups and high pressure sales tactics is the new modus operandi of fraudsters operating online. Very often, users are tricked into sharing confidential information which is then used to loot money from people’s bank accounts.
Unveiling the latest tricks to Scam People
There’s a new trend in market which is catching people off guard is the use of sudden pop-up advertisements. These ads pop up whenever someone visits a website or scrolling through a webpage, showing a fake warning that the user’s computer has been affected by malware and needs immediate repair. The fraudsters design the whole procedure in such a manner that one cannot hardly differentiate them from the legitimate ones.
These advertisements prompt the user to call some servicemen to deal with the virus issue. Most of the time, novice users fall prey to such social engineering tactics and gets convinced by scamsters that their computer is infected by malicious software. Once the user grants access of their computer to these conmen, they install certain spyware and adware instead of legitimate anti-virus software and gains access to all of user’s personal information and financial transaction. Aged people and inexperienced users are usually the soft targets of these scam.
FTC in action
The US government have started their operation against such scams/fraudsters after noticing large increase in internet fraud. The Federal Trade Commission which the chief regulatory body in this regard, is doing all in its capability to book the culprits behind the scam. Pam Bondi, the attorney general of Florida who is known to be operating closely with the Federal Trade Commission has told users to remain alert and report such crimes whenever they occur.
About 16 new enforcement actions by the FTC are said to be in the process of implementation to nab the conmen. Till now, the commission has received more than 96,000 complaints in this regard with people getting conned for a total amount of $24.6 million.
The FTC is working closely with internet giants like Apple and Microsoft to device ways to protect people from such internet scams and frame charges against the scamsters. Whenever users call numbers given in the pop-up advertisements, they are usually greeted by telemarketers who tries to convince that they are certified servicemen from legitimate companies like Apple and Microsoft. In this way, it’s easy for them to gain trust of the internet users. FTC warns people not fall for such social engineering tricks and instead call up service centers of Microsoft and Apple directly. It has also warned against replying to spam emails pretending to be from authentic sources.
