Online scams
Nigerian Scam
Scammers will send you an E-mail which seems to be from a government official or a wealthy businessman or relative. They will ask for your help in retrieving a large sum of money from another country through your bank account and tell you that you will be rewarded with a huge sum of money in return. However, they tell you to help them pay for charges such as insurance, taxes and other fees. They might even send documents that look legitimate or "government approved" to convince you to pay for the fees. After paying and losing all your funds, the scammer escapes and does not give you the money you were promised. Your bank account information might even already be stolen so that they could hack into your bank account or sell it illegally to interested personnel.
How to prevent
The E-mail might be sent from another country and the content contains polite but broken English. Normally, government officials or even wealthy businessmen should know proper English so as to communicate with others easily.
You should also never submit any of your bank account information or personal documents online to people you don't know.
Fake Antivirus
Sometimes, a pop-up will appear on your computer screen telling you to download free antivirus as your device might be "infected". Scammers boast about their antivirus software and tells you it's free to tempt you to download it. Sometimes, these pop ups are made to imitate a message sent to you from Windows or the antivirus you are currently using, telling you that your computer is under attack by viruses so that you will be urged to download the antivirus. After downloading the software, a piece of malware is installed into your computer and could steal your personal information.
How to prevent
If the pop-up appears directly after you open a webpage, it is most likely a scam as it came from the webpage. Leave the webpage immediately as it might be dangerous. Always know what software you are installing onto your computer, and only use antivirus software you trust and pay for as free antivirus are more likely hoaxes.
Internet Love Scams
Scammers will pretend to be a single individual looking for a partner and they will target the elderly as they tend to lonelier and more willing to accept a partner. Scammers may also tell their victim about sad and tragic stories such as children leaving home, divorce, or even death of a spouse to make the victim be sympathetic to them. The scammers then start asking the victim for small favours such as transferring small amounts of money due to a shortage of cash, then later even convince the victim to buy expensive goods for them. After the unknowing victim has spent all of his or her money on the fake lover, the scammer then escapes, leaving the victim alone and broke.
How to prevent
Always be sure that who you are talking to over the internet is who you think it is, try talking with the person face to face. Do not transfer any money or reveal any personal information if you have not seen the person in real life. Sometimes scammers may try to take the conversation off the dating site you are using to avoid its security measures and use text messaging or another communication platform where he or she can get your personal information.
Online Pharmacy Scams
Scammers will set up a professional-looking online shop that sells medicine and anti-aging products at a very cheap price or without the need for a prescription from a doctor. After you pay for the product online, you may not receive it or you may receive a counterfeit product that may be harmful to your health.
How to prevent
Legitimate pharmacies will provide their full contact details and will require a valid doctor's prescription to send out any prescription medicine.