Online Scams are on the rise as indicated by many of the major media sites. These attacks are becoming more frequent as our economy is in a downturn. More and more people are finding themselves in dire straits and are falling for get quick rich scams.
How do you know what’s safe and what’s not? In most cases you are at risk, and you may not even know it. Don’t fall victim to these scams or cyber attacks and surf the web with protection.
WOT (Web of Trust) is a free Internet security addon for your browser. It will keep you safe from online scams, identity theft, spyware, spam, viruses and unreliable shopping sites.
The Top 5 Online Email Scams
1. Phishing scams
Phishing emails try to trick you into visiting a fraudulent website disguised to look like a valid eCommerce or banking site. The victim thinks they are logging into their real account, but instead everything they enter on the fake site is being sent to the scammers.
2. Greeting Card Scams
Greeting card scams arrive in email pretending to be from a friend or family member. Clicking the link to view the card typically leads to a booby-trapped web page that downloads Trojans and other malicious software onto the systems of the unsuspecting.
3. Pump and Dump Stock Scams
Pump and dump scams send large volumes of email that pretend to disclose confidential information about a particular stock in an attempt to inflate the price. The person initiating this has in most cases bought the stock at a lesser value hoping this scam will drive the price higher so they can dump it and make a quick profit.
4. Lottery Winning Scams
Lottery winner scams attempt to trick recipients into believing they have won large sums of cash and need you to provide personal information in order to receive your cash payout. The victims will find out that their bank accounts have been cleaned out instead.
5. Rogue Antispyware / Fake Antivirus
Rogue software erroneously claims the system is infected and instructs the user to purchase a ‘full version’ in order to clean the bogus infections. You will see these messages pop up in the bottom right of your screen. Sometimes, fake antivirus software gets installed by the user who may have fallen victim to an advertising scam. Other times, a rogue antispyware scanner may be installed by exploit, a so called ‘drive-by install’.
Download WOT today and protect you and your family!
Check out our previous posts about WOT (Web of Trust)
https://www.techjaws.com/surf-safer-with-wot/
https://www.techjaws.com/fake-anti-malware-products-threaten-internet-users/
https://www.techjaws.com/how-safe-is-your-email/
https://www.techjaws.com/fake-anti-malware-products-threaten-internet-users/
I have first and last received just about all of these and then some. I never open any of it and have been fortunate so far.
You are one of the smart ones, but many folks still get fooled.
If you are not a tech-savy user, most of the time you’ll fall on the trap
Notice that it’s free. How do they pay for the staff or the many servers they have? Realize that they have access to ALL of your personal information. Not only emails and passwords but the websites you visit and your purchasing habits; what you buy and from where… That’s a gold mine of information that marketers would love to have. Maybe they sell it to them to pay for MyWOT? It’s actually a pretty great business model if you think about it.
Rob,
They don’t sell lists, trust me. As far as how they’re going to monetize the business, is not know yet, but I am sure they have a plan.
Well, I will not blindly download something into my computer that can monitor every site I go to. That just seems stupid. Especially when their CEO is stepping down and there are rumors flying about… no way jose.
Cheryl,
Than you are searching blindly, think about it. Do you know when a link in a search result is good or bad?
I didn’t see anything about the CEO stepping down in any press release. Would you care to share your source?