People are scammed all the time. It happens online and offline. People get scammed on FaceBook, over the telephone, through the mail, and many other ways including face-to-face. Sometimes it is hard to see a scam for what it is until it is too late. We are going to look at signs of an online scam and a few other scams to look out for.
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In this post we are going to talk about some things that you should know so that you can see a scam coming and you don’t get scammed yourself. In the internet world we call these things, “Red Flags.” By the end of this post you are going to know most of the Red Flags that will tell you to run away from the offer and run away fast.
A Few Different Types of Scams
Below I am going to list a few different scams to look out for. Remember the red flags or the scam methods so that you are educated enough to avoid them.
Advance-Fee Scam or Lottery Scam
An Advance-Fee Scam is normally called a Nigerian Scam. This type of scam is a form of fraud that ask a person (the victim) to put down a small amount of money in order to secure a larger amount of money. This type of scam normally mentions a Nigerian Prince connection (hence the name, Nigerian Scam) or a long-lost relative that has left the victim a large inheritance in some other country.
A Lottery Scam is the same thing only the sender claims you won a huge amount of money in a lottery and they ask you to send them a small deposit. These types of scams are delivered by mail, Email, and even over the telephone.
Advance-Fee and Lottery Scam Red Flags
1) The first red flag is the story for why they are contacting you. If the letter claims you have a long-lost relative that left you some money and the letter is not certified or the phone call is not from an attorney that you can call back: then it’s a scam.
2) The second red flag is they are asking you to put down a small deposit in order to secure the larger amount of money. An attorney will never do this.
Phishing Scams
A Phishing Scam is normally sent by email or through links in message apps, like FaceBook Messenger. How this works is, the criminals send out link for the victim to click on. Normally, it is from a friend’s account that they hacked earlier, so you think it is OK. When the victim clicks on the link, personal information is downloaded from either his or her computer or social profile.
Emailed Phishing Scams are even harder to notice. During these types of scams, the criminals send out emails that look like the businesses they are trying to mimic. They claim there is an urgent problem with your account at the website and they ask you to log in to fix it. Only, the login page is a fake and all the information that you type into it is copied. Now, the criminal has access to your user profile on that website including; mailing address, credit card on file, passwords, and they can even lock you out of your own account.
Phishing Scam Red Flags
1) They send you a link through a messenger app or social website that claims they found a video of you. Don’t click on any link sent this way until after you directly talk to the person that supposedly sent the link.
2) You get an email claiming there is an urgent reason for you to log in and change or check something. Instead of logging in through the email, go to the website and contact support. They will help you if there is a need and they will thank you for alerting them to a potential scammer using their business name in disguise.
3) Take a look at the URL in the email. It might not look like a true URL for the website the criminal is trying to imitate. A funny looking URL is a dead give away for a Phishing Scam.
Online Romance Scam
It is sad to say, but people fall victim to Online Romance Scams all the time. These types of criminals target people who are looking for love online. They know how to pull a person’s heart strings and get them to send them money by money order and direct deposits. The people falling for this type of scam normally do not see it happening and will laugh off any friend that tries to tell them.
Red flags of an Online Romance Scam
1) They tell you about money hardships and then directly ask you or wait for you to offer to send them some money. They normally do this a short time after they “get to know you.”
2) You chat all the time through message apps or through email, but you never chat face to face either in person or online. They will normally make up excuses for why they can not use live visual chat. This red flag is common, but sometimes a criminal doesn’t care if you see his or her real face because they are sure they will never see you in person.
Online Money Making Scams
I have been the victim of Online Money Making Scams. I didn’t have the correct guidance when I started to learn how to make money online and I wasted a lot of money on scam products. Online Money Making Scams promise the victim that they will teach him or her how to make fast money online.
These types of scams always fall short of their promises and always tell their victims the failure it is her or his fault because 
they didn’t put in enough work or commitment to make the product work.
The truth is these types of scams never make the victim any money. The snap shots of the criminals accounts, the accounts making all the money in his or her videos or sales pages, are snap shots of them selling the product to other victims. They make the huge amounts of money ripping people off and if you promote their product, then you too are helping them rip off other people just like you.
Red Flags of Online Money Making Scams
1) The person selling the product claims you will make money fast.
You can make money online, but it will not be fast. You need to create and build any business to be successful. This could a brick-and-mortar business or even an online business.
2) They claim the will do all the work for you: you just have to sit back and collect all the money.
Just think about it… Why would anyone offer this type of deal to anyone. Why do they need you if they have done all the work. Why should they let you collect anything from his or her hard work?
3) They offer a program or software that rakes in money even when you are sleeping.
Once again, why would they sell this software if it makes so much money? Don’t fall for the line, “I just want to help others and that is why I am selling this software/program/scam.”
4) If the online money making method seems unethical to you, then it probably is. Just avoid it and look for another way to make money online.
Conclusion
It’s a fact of life, scammers will always be looking for victims that they can get money from. Now, you are educated in some ways that people get scammed every day. What out for these red flags and you will probably be safe from getting scammed.
Listen to your gut or your heart. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Be safe and safeguard yourself from scammers and the methods they will use to get your money.
The above scams are just a small list of the ways that people are scamming others. Check out this article by Helmdal Security to learn more about methods used by scammers.
I feel that this is something that anybody can benefit from, not just people trying to make money online and this points out some scams that I have personally seen. I would recommend for anyone to read this just to make sure that they are never taken in by scammers.
Hello Tony,
You hit the nail right on the head. This post is intended to be great information for anyone who thinks they may have seen or been a victim of a scam. I hope that by educating people on what to look for will help them avoid being scammed in the present and future.
Thanks for taking the time to check out the post and leave a comment.
Wow, what a great post! I never heard of some of these scams and now I know about them and what to look out for to avoid them. Thank you for educating me about potential scams.
Hi Brandon👋
Glad I could help😀 I am doing my best to educate people so they don’t get suckered out of their money.
Stay Great,
GMack
Great information. People need to be constantly vigilant to keep from getting pulled into these schemes. That’s especially true when times are tough. The phishing scams can be the toughest to spot. Some scammers are very sophisticated in designing fake websites that look like the real thing. But the other thing they can’t fake is the URL address. I’ve seen sites that look exactly like American Express, but it was a really weird URL, which was a dead giveaway. Many people will not check the URL address because the website that comes up looks so authentic. Nice work putting this together.
Hi Karl,
Great point about looking at the Url. I am going to add this to the list of red flags in a Phishing Scheme.
Thanks for reading my post and adding your thoughts,
Greg
I like that you laid out the red flags to look for because most of the time, all these red flags will be there when you are being scammed.
Some of the worst scams I have heard are the ones who call you on your phone with just enough information about you. They purport to be from your bank or some government institution and get you to give them more information and then use it to wipe out your bank account. It’s important for people to be alert especially when you are getting a call from a number you don’t know.
This is definitely a much needed post. Thanks for writing it.
Hi Debbie,
My grandma kept getting the type of scam calls where she would answer the phone, they would ask if it was her. She would reply with “Yes,” and then they would hang up. I had to warn her not to answer because they maybe just recording her voice so they can use it in automated calls to her bank or other businesses.
There are so many ways that people can be a victim of scam and not even realize it.
Thanks for engaging with my post,
Gmack
You made some good points on what to look for in scams. If it’s a money-making opportunity I usually just use BBB.org or ripoffreport.com. During these times, it’s important for us all to know what to look for if you think you are being scammed.
Hi Tia,
Those are some great places to research and find out if something is a scam or not. Thank you for replying with some great information and tips that my readers can use to help with his or her research.
Thanks again,
GMack
Hi Greg,
This is a very useful site for everyone who is making a business online. As everyone will encounter those scammers in his way to success.
Your writing is very convincing and inspiring. The reason that it is the opinion of a person who confronted scammers during his early business.
I will save your website because it is very useful to read your topics and posts to help me on my journey to achieve my dream. I really do not want to be a victim of those scammers again. I will apply your pieces of advice and go on
Rania
Hello Rania,
Sorry to hear you were a victim of scammers. It is not a very good feeling to have. Luckily, it is in the past and you learned from it. That’s what I did too and the reason why I wrote this post.
Best wishes for your journey,
GMack
This site is so important at a time where so many people are out of work and are looking for a quick, easy way to make money. People will be desperate for income and they are more likely to try anything to get it.
The content you are making is so vital right now. So thank you and keep up the good work!
Hi Sophie,
Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. You are correct that right now is probably a good time for scammers. It is important that people know how to avoid them.
Brilliant article to read, found it interesting to the point of commenting on how great a read I actually found it, well done and keep up the good work.
This I have book marked for reference to it in the future!
Thanks Jason
Thanks Jason,
I am glad that you got something worthwhile from this post. It is something that everyone needs to know.