Aidan Mortensen, KOAL News

Picture this: You’re browsing your favorite social media site one day, and you come across a post from what looks to be your favorite restaurant chain. And in big, bold letters the post reads that by simply liking and sharing, sharing and commenting on the post you’ll get a free dinner. So you do, and once you comment the page says to redeem the coupon you have to fill out a form. On this form, you’re asked to give things like your name, as well as your credit card information for “verification purposes.” But now you have it, the coveted free meal. But as you go to use it the cashier tells you no such deal exists. So now upset, you pull out your card to pay, but that declines as well. You check your bank account only to realize your account has been drained.

Surprisingly, this is not as uncommon as you might think. As the internet has evolved, scammers have gained more and more techniques to convince users that they are legitimate. But there are ways that you can identify when a post or link is legitimate and when it is simply something meant to fool you.

Background

It’s important to understand the origins of internet scams, as some of the tricks used within these original ploys are still used today. One of the first mainstream scams was the “Nigerian Prince” email scams, also known as advance-fee scams. Scams like these typically involve the scammer promising large amounts of money in exchange for a small amount upfront. The origins of this scam can be traced back to 18th-century Spain, where merchants were promised mass fortune if they gave the scamming party money to bribe prison guards who were keeping the son of a wealthy family prisoner.

This style of scam has made its way to social media, with scammers using fake Facebook accounts and oftentimes impersonating someone in the victim’s friend or follower list. These messages will usually ask the receiving party for some sum of money, usually providing a story such as “Hey, I’m on vacation and I forgot my wallet, can you wire me money so I can afford to eat?” A lot of the time victims will answer this without asking questions, leading to a financial loss.

A lot of the time, this impersonation occurs through another form of scam “phishing,” where a scammer will send a link that looks to be from an official entity such as Instagram or Amazon. These links typically say that your account has been compromised, sparking fear and causing the victim to panic and click the link, which typically then asks them to input their username and password. Once this happens, hackers gain control and can use that account how they please, whether it be to start an impersonation scam or take the credit card information associated with the account.

How to spot a scam

Now that we’ve covered some of the more common methods of scams that you may stumble across online, let’s go over tips and tricks on how to avoid and identify these ploys.

Some of the biggest indicators that you may be running into a scam are that you are being asked to give away either money or personal information. Looking back at the example given in the introduction, the verification processes required to get that free meal required credit card information. Most companies won’t require anything outside of your name, phone number, and email to enter a giveaway. If you are being asked to give up credit card information chances are you are being scammed.

Another sign you are talking to a scammer is poor grammar. This usually includes strange formatting choices and punctuation as well.

Another sign you could be facing a scam is that you will be asked to follow a link. A way to identify whether or not a link is legitimate is to look at the opening few letters. If this opening is HTTPS, then that means that the link is secured, making it so all data transmitted through it is encrypted and secured. However, if the link begins with HTTP, that means that the link is not secured, meaning unauthorized users can very easily access anything input on them.

Now, unfortunately, nothing is off limits for scammers, and that even means using death and injury as means of clickbaiting you. A scam that has had a major rise as of late is linked to articles with headlines like “Look who Died.” These links are used in phishing scams to gain your information. Sometimes these links can also be loaded with viruses, installing programs such as keyloggers on your computer, which send every keystroke you make to the scammer which can eventually lead to them grabbing important passwords or other personal information.

A different indicator you might be facing a scam is if a profile has been newly created and looks a little too perfect. Scammers often work with multiple accounts, many of which they create specifically for scamming. So if a profile photo looks a little too perfect it may be a scam; another thing you can check is their followers and who they follow. A lot of times these accounts will have little to no followers, but have a high number of accounts they are following.

For more resources on how to avoid online scams,  the Utah Department of Commerce offers a guide with tips on how to avoid not just online scams, but scams that you may run into while you are out and about. Through this website, you can also file an online complaint if you have fallen victim to a scam. You can also reach the Utah Department of Commerce over the phone at 801-530-6701.

Understanding is Key

In the case of online scams, are an ever-evolving trick, with methods constantly changing or being invented to target some of the most vulnerable people online. But by gaining a baseline understanding of how scammers operate, you can more effectively protect yourself and those you love from falling victim. And remember, if a deal seems to go to be true, it probably is.

Mining with KOAL is a new investigative journalism series for Castle Country Radio. For suggestions or tips email news@koal.net.