Mytrendingstories.com brings guides about avoiding online scams right now
How to avoid scams tricks by Mytrendingstories writing platform right now? Recent reports highlight the fact that online dating sites and apps are seeing massive increases in users and dates. It seems that love is logging in online. Before you run off to create your dating profile, consider the possible risks. According to the FBI, romance scams and similar confidence scams cost consumers more money than any other kind of internet fraud. And that negative trend has been on the rise. In just four years, from 2016 to 2020, consumer losses as a result of romance scams increased fourfold, eventually hitting a record $304 million in reported losses last year. But love doesn’t have to mean loss. We’re here to help with five tips to avoid becoming a victim of a romance scam. Like any encounter with a new person, it’s best to take things slow. Scammers are there for one reason only; they want your money, preferably as fast as possible. As a result, they may send gifts and flatter you with compliments, and even say the “L” early in the relationship. Take the time to ask a lot of questions and never give out personal information to someone online that could put your finances or identity at risk.
Trending news with MyTrendingStories online portal: Skimming is the act of stealing information directly from the card itself. Skimmers can be placed on card readers in public locations like a gas pump or ATM. Card skimmers have only gotten more sophisticated over the years. With new technology, criminals have shifted to using card shimmers. Shimmers are paper-thin devices that are jammed into a card reader, usually at an ATM or gas pump, to steal the data from a chip card. A shimmer is hard to see with the naked eye, but a telltale sign of a shimmer is a feeling of tightness when sliding the card in-and-out of the reader. If there is unusual friction, even slightly, there may be a shimmer in the ATM or gas pump. If you suspect shimming is happening at an ATM or gas pump, report the incident to the establishment and replace your debit or credit card. It’s also a good idea to cup one hand over the other when typing in your PIN at an ATM or gas pump.
Mytrendingstories anti-scam tricks: Free trial offer! (Just pay forever) How it works: You see an Internet offer for a free one-month trial of some amazing product—often a teeth whitener or a weight-loss program. All you pay is $5.95 for shipping and handling. What’s really going on: Buried in fine print, often in a color that washes into the background, are terms that obligate you to pay $79 to $99 a month in fees, forever. The big picture: “These guys are really shrewd,” says Christine Durst, an Internet fraud expert who has consulted for the FBI and the FTC. “They know that most people don’t read all the fine print before clicking on ‘I agree,’ and even people who glance at it just look for numbers. So the companies spell out the numbers, with no dollar signs; anything that has to do with money or a time frame gets washed into the text.” That’s exactly what you’ll see in the terms for Xtreme Cleanse, a weight-loss pill that ends up costing “seventy-nine dollars ninety-five cents plus five dollars and ninety-five cents shipping and handling” every month once the 14-day free trial period ends or until you cancel. Avoidance maneuver: Read the fine print on offers, and don’t believe every testimonial. Check TinEye.com, a search engine that scours the Web for identical photos. If that woman with perfect teeth shows up everywhere promoting different products, you can be fairly certain her “testimonial” is bogus. Reputable companies will allow you to cancel, but if you can’t get out of a “contract,” cancel your card immediately, then negotiate a refund; if that doesn’t work, appeal to your credit card company. Not all websites will lose you money–Youtube can make you a fortune. Discover more details on https://mytrendingstories.com/benjamin/mytrendingstories-scam-avoidance-tips-and-tricks-ewmjlk.
Mytrendingstories.com shows how to defeat scams: Melanie Duquesnel – the President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau, serving Eastern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula – recommends you only book flights on websites familiar to you. If you Google kiss&fly, the site pops up, but just below that, you find a slew of reviews warning you not to use it. So, what is the biggest scam the local BBB is seeing right now when it comes to travel? “The biggest scam is where you’re going to rent,” said Duquesnel. It’s called the Vacation Rental Con,where you’re lured into booking a house or a condo only to find out the property isn’t actually for rent, doesn’t exist, or is significantly different than what was pictured. Even reputable sites like Airbnb and Vrbo have had to deal with this problem according to Duquesnel.
There are 1,000s of ways scammers try to catch you out. Common methods include: Calls from someone claiming to be from a Government department or representative (or even MSE!), talking about reclaiming bank charges. Pension ‘liberation’ (more info in our Release Pension Cash guide). Vishing – where scammers tell you they’re from your bank and there’s been fraud on your account, asking you to call them back, but instead they wait on the line and then get you to hand over bank details. Miracle cures or miracle weight-loss pills – ketones are common, and appear on many people’s Facebook pages. Fake bank or Apple emails saying you need to re-verify your account details. Investment scams (the FCA has a site helping you to spot investment scammers – ScamSmart, which includes a database of dodgy companies to avoid), Deceptive prize draws and sweepstakes. Read more information at https://mytrendingstories.com/.