The 6 Most Common Internet Scams 2014

Every year we round up what Internet scams online fraud we’ve encountered the most prolifically during the course of the last 12 months.

We countdown the most common Internet scams that we’ve seen during the latter part of 2013 and the first half of 2014, from everything to Facebook survey scams to email malware fraud.

In no particular order…

1.Email Malware Attachments

This is certainly not a new scam but one that is still proving very successful, even in 2014. The number of different versions of this scam getting released into the wild is staggering with hundreds of variants being passed through our cyber doorstep every month.

This scam works by sending unsolicited emails to unwitting recipients that contain malicious attachments (that will typically be in a ZIP compressed folder) with the objective of the scam being to lure the recipient into opening and executing the attachment.

There are literally thousands of versions out there, perhaps amongst the most common variants is the courier theme that tells the tale that a parcel delivery has failed and that the recipient needs to open the provided attachment to retrieve the details on how to get the parcel delivered.

But there are countless other versions too. You can see 5 popular email malware attachment scams here.

If you think you’ve installed malware then run a full security scan with your antivirus software. If you’re looking to change/update or choose security software then click here for our recommendations.

5. Share-To-Watch Facebook Links

Get more information on the latest tragedy. Learn more about this celebrity’s latest scandal. Or perhaps win yourself the latest iPad or a $100 supermarket voucher…

…These are all popular types of bait for this type of scam.

Certainly one of the most prolific scams of 2013 and 2014, share-to-watch spam links spread through social media with “click-baity” titles, luring visitors to webpages that force them to share the page on their Facebook accounts in order to go any further.

Doing so helps these scams spread from friend to friend, thus explaining why they are so popular. This scam is used in conjunction with either malware downloads or more popularly survey scams that implore visitors complete spammy surveys or questionnaires that inevitably lead to them getting spammed.

You can get more information on share-to-watch Facebook spam links here.

4. Phishing Attacks & Spoof Websites

Another ageing scam that is still very much prevalent today are phishing attacks, which trick victims into handing over sensitive information like login passwords. The reason why phishing attacks are still very much a constant threat is because they evolve and adapt with the latest trends.

This is very much because setting up convincing phishing attacks is much easier to do than it was 10 years ago. Creating realistic spoof emails and websites designed to look like they belong to another company – for example Facebook – is much easier now thanks to a host of web building platforms and tools that are now available.

Victims are lured into handing over their information to the scammer, who masquerades as an official, trustworthy entity. Popular examples would include Facebook and PayPal who each have countless spoof websites in the wild whereupon entering information into them – such as a username and password – would result in that information being stolen and sent to a scammer.

Read our article on phishing attacks targeting Facebook here.

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3. Romance Dating Scam

Whilst perhaps not amongst the most prolific of online scams, dating scams still seem to be on the rise, especially with a handful of high profile cases coming into the public eye in 2014.

These scammers will target vulnerable, often middle-aged online-dating users with profiles on registered dating sites like Match.com. Sometimes though these scams can be initiated via unsolicited emails.

Scammers will contact a victim and develop an online relationship with them. Once a relationship and perceived trust have been established the scammer will concoct a seemingly legitimate excuse for the victim to send them money.

In a recent trend, as seen in a UK case this year, this scam is combined with a classic advance fee fraud whereupon the victim is promised a large cash reward on the condition that they pay smaller fees upfront. The pre-existing relationship is used to establish trust and once the victim pays the money to the scammer then contact either ceases or more excuses for money to be sent are given by the scammer.

2. Social media “competitions” and “giveaways”

If you’re going to be exposed to a scam this year then there is a high probability it will be some kinds of fake competition you’ll see on Facebook. It seems that many social media users can’t resist the prospect of getting something for free, and scammers exploit this with a variety of fake giveaways or competitions that aim to lure a victim into a deeper scam.

On Facebook, fake competitions are typically found on Facebook Pages or Events set up to look like the official page of a reputable brand. The page or event will post information on supposed competitions, luring users into liking, sharing and commenting on the posts that they make, thus helping them spread.

And just like number four, share-to-watch spam links, the end game more than often here is to also link to external websites that pressure users into completing spammy surveys, with the potential for nasty malware installations too.

It is also possible to combine these fake competitions or giveaways with number 4 too, forcing users to share links onto their newsfeeds before proceeding.

Reputable brands like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Dell, supermarkets like Tesco or Walmart, and even Disney are common targets for these types of scams. You can get more information on fake giveaway scams on Facebook here.
 

1. Advance Fee Lottery Scams

Advance Fee “Nigerian” scams are perhaps one of the oldest and well known scams on the Internet, with variants even pre-dating cyberspace that were distributed by classic snail mail spam.

Yet it is still prolific today, possibly due to how scammers have adapted with the times to create thousands of newer, different versions of this classic con that – despite boiling down to the same fundamental template – may be harder to spot for some people.

Advance Fee fraud essentially involves a scammer promising a victim a large amount of money that, unbeknownst to the victim, does not exist. However as the scam progresses the victim is instructed to send smaller amounts of money (advance fees) to the scammer in order to obtain the much larger amount of money.

Essentially the victim is being unwittingly extorted. The scam ends when the victim either catches on that it is a scam or refuses to send more money to the scammer, in which case the scammer ceases contact with the victim.

Whilst the classic “Nigerian Lawyer” or “Nigerian Prince” versions – which still exist – have become increasingly uncommon due to their notoriety, many variants have taken their place, namely the lottery scam.

The lottery scam scammer informs the victim they’ve won a lottery, but before they can claim their winnings the victim needs to pay some kind of cost. If the victim fools for the initial ruse, then the scam continues.

Of course these 6 are far from the only 6 scams out there that you’ll likely come across, but each one represents a common or trending scam that we’ve seen over the last 12 months, so remember to keep your eyes peeled and yourself and your friends informed!