Beware, these people know how to hook gullible Internet users.
They will play cat and mouse with you, they will rub into your trust, and everything in order to spread money or gain access to personal data (passwords, bank cards).
Fraud is a common crime.
A fraudster is one who deceives others by abusing their trust for selfish purposes; swindler, cheat.
There are a lot of fraudulent schemes, some are even outdated, but they still work. Because whatever one may say, the free cheese is the tastiest. More sophisticated methods appear, where the calculation is on the inattention or interest of users.
And in a separate category, I want to designate amorous nets. Well, what should a swindler deceive a single woman or girl with passionate confessions, incredibly pleasant compliments. Dating sites are full of such goodness. And all these suitors want only one thing - to catch a naive fool and take possession, but not a heart, but a wallet.
Why did I start this topic? I have such a feature - it is called curiosity. If something new appears, I do not refuse scammers and start a correspondence. I am very interested in where this can come. I make it clear what interests me: job offers, meeting a rich boyfriend, inheritance from relatives, etc.
There was a case, a long time ago, it was true, I even went to some dubious link and received, well, a very unpleasant surprise.
I will gladly share with you the information I have collected, I even recorded some moments of the correspondence. It will be interesting, I promise. Let's confuse the cards for some crooks.
Letters of happiness from wealthy relatives
This was lucky, this was lucky: there was a rich relative who turned out to have a decent fortune. Isn't that great? And so I want to believe it! Have you received such letters? Not? It means that they simply haven't reached you yet, or rather, your email address.
An amazing thing: the letter contained my name. There are also relatives abroad. And immediately the first trick: even if this is not a relationship (with a rich, suddenly deceased relative), but just a coincidence (namesakes), the fraudster writes that the inheritance business can be arranged as it should (the main thing is that the names coincide).
The first letter was crocheted. This news came to the mail (later I will explain why such letters most often get into the mailboxes). I replied that I was ready to act according to the instructions, to keep confidentiality, in general I agree. Well, it started.
Here are fragments of correspondence with crooks
When these people were already rubbing their pens, expecting a profit (according to the terms, in order to get “big money” it was necessary to pay just a little $ 100), they had to be disappointed. I will not show this fragment of correspondence with my answer (contains profanity).
And one more thing, after my categorical refusal, they sent me a file with a virus. I didn’t open it because it’s dangerous. I angered my comrades, they could slip anything.
I hope there is no doubt about the inheritance?
And about email. A new feature - now, letters about transfers for some amount began to arrive right in batches. This is also a divorce. You should not make transitions to questionable sites.
How do scammers find out the addresses of e-mail boxes?
Addresses are leaking (selling) “bad” sites. A database is formed and resold with all the giblets (user data). A simple example: children asked me to take part in a promotion from a popular manufacturer of children's yoghurts. I went to the site, everything is very decent, but. First, it was necessary to register. Then fill out a form with personal data (full name, number of children, age, mail address). And without this data, the site did not pass further.
Oh, and did not want to give me such information, but okay. I filled it in, passed the registration and, naturally, we won nothing. The conditions there also turned out to be a trick, only you can find out about this if you go through the full registration.
And so: the owner of the site has complete data, how many more people have registered? I think a lot. A database is compiled and sold to fraudsters. There are similar buy / sell ads on the Internet. Letters of happiness are even harmless compared to what they can slip in an email (hacking viruses). Be vigilant: do not open files from strangers, create strong passwords, and of course, never enter your email password on third-party sites - this is a trap.
Tip: The most reliable mail at the moment is GMAIL. I will not describe the technical issues, you can read about it on the Internet. From myself, I can add: I have two e-mail boxes Gmail.com and Mail.ru. And there were no problems with the first mailbox, this is a reliable working address, and on various dubious portals where mandatory registration is required, I leave mail, and then a lot of spam arrives at it.
Sellers are scammers on classified sites. How can you figure out a dishonest seller
Oh, this is generally the most common scheme for deception. Advertisements are sold and bought on sites. If you want to sell - well, act honestly, decently and everything will be ok. And what to do if you need to purchase a product, how not to get caught by a fraudulent seller and not swell. Here are some tips you might find useful. The main thing is not to lose vigilance.
Sending goods from individuals
- If the seller insists on 100% prepayment and does not agree to other conditions, this should alert.
- If the price of the product is much lower than the usual cost, doubt the decency of the seller. It is very rare that the information is true (like money is urgently needed - I sell cheap, etc.). For scammers, this is the hook on which naive buyers cling, thinking that they are lucky to find such an inexpensive one.
- Pay attention to the ad itself, how it is written, whether it attracts. Arrange a correspondence, ask questions that interest you. This is normal. It is not normal for the seller to freeze, not answer questions, or answer inappropriately.
- And most importantly, there are sites with lists of unscrupulous sellers. There are such sites in every city, in every country. If you have any doubts, check if this seller is already featured on a similar site. And yourself, if you suddenly come across a dishonest seller, do not be too lazy to enter his data on such a site, maybe this will help someone.
Somehow I wanted to buy a little thing on the Internet, contacted the seller, the girl persistently insisted on prepayment, sent plates with inscriptions why she needed prepayment.
I began to ask questions, the girl answered stupidly, although she should have known exactly what she was selling. In general, the situation alerted me. And after a while, that lady, I found her on the site of “bad sellers”. The scammer.
Work for which you also have to pay. Online job offers from scammers
How many similar ads on the Internet. There is no longer free cheese, they offer to pay a certain amount and get access to a high-paying job. There are agencies that make money from this. It's okay, you pay money - they look for a vacancy for you. It is important: that the agency has a good reputation (reviews will help). This is suitable for people looking for work online (not on the Internet).
Well, for freelancers, they offer the following options: work from home, good earnings, flexible hours (when you want, then you work). Important: if you are offered to buy some methods of earning money, manuals, paid webinars, don't get fooled. A freelancer is a freelancer in order to earn free, but not pay. For personal development, of course, you can and should acquire some knowledge for money. I have already written about how you can really make money on the Internet. The rest is from the Evil One.
There was a situation: a sweet girl wrote to me in one of the social networks. She offers to buy from her a method of making money on the Internet. Oh, I've been waiting for you. We start a correspondence, the girl tells how her method works, how much you can earn per day. The prospects are excellent. Provides a link to its supposedly main page. There were even reviews, of the type super, earned, thanks. All this is whim, as I thought. I show moments from personal correspondence:
After I replied that I could also sell her my method of earning (it was of course a bluff), the girl for some reason evaporated, even the page was gone. That's it. Remember: work such as comments for sites does not cost a lot of money, they pay for such work, but a pretty penny. That's true, I know, they swam.
Wealthy suitors are waiting for us. Touching letters from supposedly wealthy suitors
This is just wow, my favorite topic. How many are there, lonely, rich, crying, looking for their only love. What a delight when they write to you that only you are the one and only, beautiful Rose who melted the stone heart of a lonely widower. He is already such an experienced, accomplished man, he understands a lot in life. And he is so in love that he somehow does not care that there is a husband and children. He is ready to throw the whole world at your feet, without a trace.
I love such letters, at first I write that I'm just interested in talking to a man from another country. I answer politely, telling about the difficult fate of a Russian woman. Somewhere in the third letter I am already beginning to get tired of the sweetness. And now I send ardent greetings with parting.
Interestingly, the letters are written very competently, without errors at all. That is, perfect knowledge of the spelling of the Russian language. For a foreigner, this is somehow too implausible. In the last letter I wrote that, asked me to send money to my electronic wallet (well, why not, if I’m so rich), otherwise I will not answer any more. In response, I received “pink snot” that he does not understand what I mean and what an electronic wallet is.
I found a whole site of such suitors. People were not too lazy, collected all these letters from imaginary boyfriends on one portal. There only the photos change, but the meaning is the same. And they have the same ultimate goal - they need to transfer some amount of money to help the elderly Romeo, to send a huge amount of money to the account of any woman, which he collected for a very long time. Is everything clear, with foreign suitors?
Dodger on dating sites. Swindlers looking for victims
It was like this: I registered on a popular dating site. I wanted to pick up, not a boyfriend, a swindler. When my husband was interested in what I was doing on the Internet, he said that I was on a responsible assignment. Filled out the questionnaire: a single woman of 40 years old, without financial difficulties, is looking for a reliable companion for a long-term relationship. She put her photo.
Let me tell you briefly. Among all the applicants, she chose the most corny. We talked for a week, corresponded. The boyfriend scouted where exactly I live, where I work, whether I have any relatives. She answered as it should so as not to frighten off. I was waiting for him to act. He realized that I was such a fool, as it should be and began to sing songs about the fact that now he is working abroad, and now he urgently needs a sum of money. He promised that as soon as the employer pays the salary, he will immediately repay the debt to me. Well, he also pressed on pity. Disappointed, no originality.
What else can they offer
Cash a check (money laundering), receive a package (contraband). Scammers do not always ask for money; they look for single women on dating sites in order to play scams. If they offer this, do not be naive, do not participate in dark deeds. You can pay very much for this.
How scammers get access to bank cards, electronic money
An e-mail comes from an unknown user. The goal is to make you interested to go to the site or open the sent file. Fraudsters even disguise their letters as advertisements, for example: sales of goods, inexpensive jewelry / accessories, and the like.
Or, as an option, the type of important information associated with bank cards / electronic wallets appears. They write that you need to specify a password / phone number / bank card code. And if you do not specify, then access will be blocked for you. Nonsense, of course, but it can work if you panic. Even bank employees do not have the right to request / demand such data.
After opening the file or going to a dubious site, your information is downloaded and stored in e-mail.
Tip: do not save emails with passwords for activation on any services. Scammers can get to your registered accounts through such letters.
What else could happen?
A virus can be launched through a file into a computer system (hacker attack). Simple Internet users are interested in scammers as training material. The goals of hackers are larger (banking systems, government sites, etc.), but you need to train on someone, so they can do something wrong.
How I fell for the bait
A letter arrived with a tempting offer from the site, supposedly inexpensive gifts. The site address looked dubious, but I didn't attach any importance to it. I made a click on the link to find out more. I was asked to wait a few minutes (sort of like an internet connection). In fact, the process of downloading my information was already in progress.
They opened my mail, all letters for activation on websites were stored there. On one of the resources where I worked part-time (there was also a personal account with money there), my funds disappeared. The administration of the site could not help, the money was gone forever.
After that, firstly: I opened a second e-mail box, and secondly: I no longer store letters in mail with passwords.
So what do you think? Draw conclusions, be vigilant. The Internet is a virtual world and it is not always beautiful. As in life, different people live here, and it is easier for fraudsters to hide behind a monitor screen on the other side. Learn better from other people's mistakes.
Your Glasha
Tags:,Remember, as Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote in his novel "Earth":
The only real luxury is the luxury of human communication.
Alone, we are deprived of this luxury.
Maybe that's why we try to avoid being alone all our lives? We run from him, not knowing where, not knowing why and not understanding who we are running after, driven by the fear of being alone.
This can be used both for the good and for the detriment of a person. Abusing our insecurity and ignorance, fraudsters are waiting everywhere, including in the virtual space.
- What security measures should be kept in mindso as not to be trapped by clicking on tempting banners and responding to invitations to meet you?
- How to recognize scammers?
- On what sensations should you sharpen your attention when dealing with a stranger?
- How dignified get out of the situation, in which you still fell for one reason or another?
Let's figure it out.
1) People living fictional lives on the internet love introduce themselves as foreign names and register in the Latin alphabet. Be careful!
Although it is difficult to adhere to this rule. After all, there are real people living abroad and communicating in different languages \u200b\u200bof the world. But in the case of fraud, the bait is our hope for a better future. After all, I really want to hope that this is exactly the one (the one) you have been looking for all your life!
If you caught yourself on this feeling, it's time to remember F. Bacon's aphorism "Hope is a good breakfast, but a bad dinner!" And so that your dinner is as good as breakfast, surfing the Internet, make it a rule not to enter into correspondence with strangers. At least until you study the questionnaire for inconsistencies, check the photo or enlist the support of mutual acquaintances and friends on social networks.
Feel free to ask questions of those you see the prospective prince as friends. Previously victims may well understand your interest and, perhaps, delicately hint at the bait that you are ready to swallow or have already swallowed.
2) As a rule, the scammers have no intention of showing their faces. Well, since without a photo a profile or a page on social networks and on dating sites is not so attractive, other people's photos are used. Moreover, very attractive faces are selected, their photos are posted with friends. But the page itself or the questionnaire seems to be lifeless: there may be no posts or few of them, there are no own thoughts and reasoning. You have this feeling right away. Don't miss it.
And if it does, know that there are software resources to help you find a person by photoin the Internet. Now so much information has been collected that search engines can give you those pages where a photo of your stranger is found. And then you can finally be convinced of the reality or illusion of your acquaintance. Before responding to an offer of communication, check the photo of your interlocutor!
3) If you neglected the first rule, deciding to follow the dictates of the soul, and came into contact with a stranger, be on the lookout. After all, the hunters for our souls start a dialogue very easily and naturally. Before you have time to look back, your imagination will carry you so far that, relaxing, you may miss important calls. And they will certainly be, despite the fact that often such people have a good knowledge of interpersonal psychology.
Men act very assertive not skimping on compliments, creating an aura of attention around you, which you, of course, miss. How can you not melt when you are called nothing other than my queen, they ask carefully what you ate today. After all, maternal care is difficult to resist, it is better to obey it.
Well, you are not in a hurry with obedience, but it is quite acceptable to swim in the luxury of royal regalia! At least there will be something to remember! Feel like a queen: this is possible only in fairy tales ... Let go of your imagination, imagine that you are living in luxury.
By the way, there will be time to reflect, what is luxury for you? But just do not tell your interlocutor that you are dressing in Piccadilly and relaxing in Nice. Luxury requires a careful attitude towards itself, and it should be demonstrated only in trusted places and trusted people. If you cope with the role of the queen, you will have the strength to part with the deceiver with dignity. Cross yourself boldly when this happens.
If women are caught for the royal title, then men are supposed to be caught for pity. You will be told stories about how bad it is to be ill, it is boring to be in the hospital, there is no one to talk to. The next step will be asked to put money on the phone, which, of course, you will not answer after they have obtained at least 300 rubles from you. If they managed to pity you so that you are already ready to leave the house and run to the nearest terminal, it is time to remember the proverb "A string of threads - a naked shirt!" and sober up a little.
4) Who can resist the interest in your children? After all, fathers are not often interested in how their children live, but here is a stranger ... For him, of course, it is very important whether your children live with you. After all, your prince needs to understand how free you are and are provided with housing, he has nothing for his soul, and for a person sitting, for example, in prison, this is especially important.
In the meantime, the issue of housing is not announced, enjoy the advantage of the royal title. However, be on the alert and do not be surprised if the previous day you talked about your daughter, and the next day you are asked: "How is your son?"
You, of course, have the right to be indignant and ask if they have confused you with someone else, but they will explain to you that this is a spelling mistake. I wonder in what language you can confuse the spelling of the words son and daughter? Who knows, tell me!
Doubt about your uniqueness has already settled in your soul? And it is right! Thank your interlocutor for the mistake that helped you get closer to the picture of the reality of your acquaintance.
5) What woman would not like her chosen one to know her tastes, make gifts?
And therefore, the everyday question of your favorite color, favorite fruits and metals can lull your vigilance and, since you are a queen, take you to the interiors of Buckingham Palace.
But somehow your interlocutor's questions are often repeated in a slightly different version, and the feeling that you are being tested begins to haunt you. Indeed, in a normal dialogue between living people, it is assumed that your answer has already been heard. Therefore, there is no point in asking about this. However, it is in tests that the questions often have similarities, but carry slightly different meanings, this is just the principle of their compilation.
When you find a question that you just answered, or perhaps the day before, it is worth remembering Ostap Bender's simultaneous chess game, where “on the third move it turned out that the grandmaster was playing eighteen Spanish games”. Add to this the annoying "spelling" error from the previous paragraph describing this article.
6) What else can help you see Ostap Bender in your interlocutor?
Perhaps you were offered dialogue in a foreign language... Don't be alarmed, modern programs will help you cope with translation difficulties.
In fact, no difficulties are foreseen, because your chosen one studied English at a nearby school. You can determine this by the phrases, the construction rules of which are familiar to him as well as to you. And remembering the school dialogue at the blackboard will help turn on the logic, which they try to turn off with ordinary compliments.
By the way, to confirm your guesses, you can ask at least the simple historical features of the place from which your interlocutor allegedly writes. Do not be surprised if he changes the topic of the conversation or answers with some common phrase, which may not even be relevant to the question.
And you do not be lazy to turn to the Internet and do not hesitate to repeat the question containing some nuances that a person really living in this area may know about. And if he arrived there under escort, although he has Internet access, he will not be able to answer you. Well, and taking into account the conditions of a session of simultaneous play in different languages, sooner or later he will surely "pierce" on some little things. You just have to draw conclusions.
7) Another hint can be given profession, which is indicated in the registration data of your interlocutor, or the one that he indicated to you in the dialogue. Try to ask about his career, ask where and how long he worked, why he quit, what his job is.
Believe that a person living in the Internet space of someone else's life owns a fictional profession by hearsay and will certainly give himself away in detail.
It is worth remembering that our whole life consists of little things, so do not deny yourself the pleasure of paying attention to the details that will reveal the true intentions of your stranger. Perhaps it is they who will give you confidence that your relationship does not in any way fall under the situations described above, and you are really lucky in this life!
Carry over loneliness everything is different. Someone hides it in the most secluded corners of their souls, and even the closest people do not know how lonely a person lives. Outwardly, this is imperceptible. Pain, carefully packed, is stored in the deep basement of the subconscious and reliably covered with a layer of everyday dust. In this case, she may not bother her owner for years. Others have not yet healed.
In any case, having identified an unscrupulous interlocutor, the pain of loneliness can again respond in your soul with a wave of not very positive emotions.
What to do? How to get out of the situation with the least losses?
- First, if it's already overwhelmed, breathe deeper! Lock in on your condition and identify your feelings. Feeling angry, annoyed, disappointed, rejected, pity for yourself? Don't run away from them, live them: let yourself feel!This can take time. If it becomes unbearable, see a psychologist. Perhaps it is time to remove the protections and seek help.
- Second, mentally thank a failed challenger to your heart for reminding you of a hidden and possibly long-held problem. This will inform the space that you have noticed this problem. No wonder they say, forewarned is forearmed!
- Thirdly, acceptto myselfresponsibilityfor creating this situation. Indeed, who else, if not you, responded to a dubious proposal: they didn’t push you in the shoulder, and no one moved your hand with a mouse. But now you have looked again into your pain, and it depends only on you whether you will do something with it or again leave it gathering dust until better times. However, the paradox lies in the fact that better times may not come if you do not tackle the problem right now.
- And finally, in order to exit the correspondence with dignity, write the last message to your interlocutor, remembering that do not drive the enemy into a corner... Perhaps he is also lonely, it is loneliness that pushes us against each other, signaling possible problems, and equalizes us. Just express confidence that your interlocutor is grateful to you for brightening up his loneliness, and wish him good luck.
This outcome of the case will be natural and possible for you if you have already lived and let go of the feelings that you experienced at the initial detection of deception.
If you are still in them, the letter is not worth writing yet. Perhaps you are stuck at this stage, or vice versa - you suppressed your emotions too quickly. In this case, you need help of a psychologist.
Igor Kachalov, President of the Agency "Katchalov and Colleagues", Moscow
After reading this article, you will learn
- How to recognize a fraudulent partner - three factors of dishonest partnerships
- What fraud schemes are used by business scammers - dishonest buyers and sellers
- Warning signs in the work of the counterparty
- What can be requested from a counterparty before starting cooperation: expert opinion
Often dishonest counterparties exploit the weak position of suppliers. And there is enough fraud on the part of malefactors-sellers. I will tell, how to recognize a fraudster among partners, clients and contractors. Three factors can betray an attacker in a potential partner:
- Dealing under the influence of deception: how to prevent yourself from being fooled
The first is limiting information
Fraudsters in business may talk about the unavailability of information at the moment or the falsity of market data. Or they may argue that there is no information because the product has just entered the market.
The second factor is time pressure
Business scammers try to provoke the victim to make hasty decisions, without the ability to think them over. For example, he claims - a high-quality and profitable batch of goods, but it is already running out, a decision must be made urgently.
The third factor is the possession of "exclusive" information
Attackers often claim that they have access to classified and exclusive information, and argue that this is why you are very lucky with such an acquaintance.
Even one of these criteria should make you think. If a partner uses 3 tools at once in his work, the probability of deception can reach 90%.
Popular fraud schemes today
When a buyer is a fraud... This fraud scheme contains 4 stages, and gained particular popularity three years ago:
- You enter into a long-term contract with a buyer for a large amount with a phased provision of services.
- The buyer makes an advance payment of 10-20%. You are fulfilling your obligations. The buyer himself seeks to create excitement as much as possible, adjusts the timing of the work under the contract.
- The partner delays the second payment for several days, referring to technical nuances. But at the same time he continues to rush: it is necessary to continue to supply goods or services, "the deadlines are running out."
- When it is no longer possible to delay with payment, it becomes clear that there is no need to count on payment. As a result, 40-50% of the total order was made, but the payment was no more than 10-20%.
Fraudulent seller schemes.Recently, an American fraud scheme has come to Russia, the so-called "Beautiful numbers and graphics". It was relevant in the United States in the 90s of the last century. This scheme is extremely effective when selling companies. The attacker seeks to demonstrate as clearly and informatively as possible the ideal dynamics of the company's sales, an excellent market share. At the same time, charts and figures, as a rule, are based on real data, but distorted by a different interpretation, or the emphasis is on unsupported forecasts.
- Effective business management: 10 questions every leader should ask himself
>
How to recognize a scammer: five effective methodsBased on my own experience and information from friends, I can recommend several proven ways to recognize a fraudster.
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This is the CEO speaking
Mikhail Krapivin,General Director of Verity Advisors LLC, Moscow
Guzal Makhmudova,Consultant, Verity Advisors LLC, Moscow
To begin with, it should be noted the difficulty of recognizing the intentions of fraudsters. But you can suspect a possible fraud on some grounds.
- The company has existed for several months, although it has a large volume of business with your company.
- Registration of a counterparty company at the address of mass registration. If the counterparty's phone number coincides with the number of a recently dismissed employee of your company.
- Registration or actual location of a group of suppliers at the same address.
- If a group of suppliers is interconnected by the interests of its beneficiaries.
- You periodically receive complaints from potential suppliers about the inability to work with your company. Although at the same time you offer more favorable conditions compared to competitors.
- If the partner, when concluding the contract, offers to pay the invoice to a third party, and not directly.
- The counterparty pays extremely low taxes in relation to its turnover.
- The costs of your company increase, the profit decreases, despite the preservation of the previous structure of counterparties.
- When a client buys all your products, with the resale of a large company - to your other buyer.
- The counterparty did not disclose its involvement in a serious litigation that could affect its solvency.
- The contractor does not have sufficient competent personnel and experience to carry out the relevant work.
- In case of contradictions between the business partner and government agencies or with certain persons who have political and administrative influence.
- The counterparty does not have ownership of its fixed assets.
In fact, these are just a few points - this list can be continued for a long time, depending on the specific industry. All of the above signs can be a signal of the partner's inability or insufficient resources to cope with the task, attempts to fraud, withdraw funds from your company.
- Planning your time: step by step instructions from the time management guru
What to ask a potential partner before starting cooperationThe package of documents with which the partner company can confirm the seriousness of intentions and good faith includes the following:
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reference
Igor Kachalov Graduated from Samara State University. He teaches at leading business schools: Institute of Business and Business Administration of the Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation, Graduate School of International Business, The Chartered Institute of Marketing, Grenoble Graduate School of Business, etc. In 2005-2007 he was included in the Top 10 marketing consultants in Russia (research of the company "Romir Monitoring"). Author of the book "Sales planning with an accuracy of 90 percent and higher" (St. Petersburg [and others]: Peter, 2008). Currently, the St. Petersburg publishing house "Prime-Evroznak" is preparing to release his new book "The crisis is the best time for growth."
"Kachalov and Colleagues".
Business profile: consulting and educational services.
Organization form: LLC.
Location: Moscow.
Number of staff: .
Major clients: Adidas, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Dirol-Cadbury, Guinness UDV, Knorr.
Experience of the General Director in office: since 1992 (since the moment of foundation).
Participation of the General Director in business: the main shareholder (70%).
Verity Advisors LLC
Business profile: consulting services in the field of risk management, financial and IT investigations, due diligence.
Organization form: LLC.
Location: Moscow.
Number of staff: 11.
Main clients: companies working in the field of metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, real estate, law firms.
Experience of the General Director in office: since 2008 (since the foundation of the company).
Participation of the General Director in business: owner.
The more the Internet develops, the more various fraudulent sites appear.
To protect themselves as much as possible, users are increasingly becoming interested in how to check a site for fraud.
There are many useful ways to help you avoid meeting scammers on the Internet.
Even if the site's interface is not suspicious, it could have been created with the aim of misappropriating the user's money.
There are many deception schemes - from the creation of phishing sites and deceptive online stores to mailing lists with links to malicious addresses or files.
Tens of thousands of different trading platforms appear on the Internet every year, but not all of them are reliable. Money is leaking to scammers, and the buyer cannot prove anything.
There are several services that help you figure out how to identify a fraudulent site online. They allow the user to understand whether the resource is worth trusting or not.
This is a fairly popular service created to check the reliability of the site: https://advisor.wmtransfer.com/description.aspx. This browser extension, developed by the WebMoney team, helps to quickly receive information about the reputation of the site you are visiting.
The user can complain about any site that accepts WebMoney to the Arbitration system... The main task of the plugin is to help the user figure out whether to trust the site and transfer money to the seller's account.
Next to the button "Find a site" in the address bar, you must copy the link of the visited site. If the site is fraudulent and dangerous, the system will display a warning message: “Malicious site! Refuse visiting this site ”.
Also, the service helps to see various reviews, place in the ranking of sites and the traffic index.
If, after scanning a site through the WebMoney Advisor system, there are no reviews for it, and the rating is zero, you should doubt the reliability of the resource.
The Webmoney Advisor extension can be installed for the browsers Chrome, Opera, Firefox, Yandex.
WhoIs
Checking a site for online fraud is also possible using the WHOIS service, which allows the user to find out in which country the domain was registered, who is the hosting service provider.
TrustOrg.com helps determine:
The resource conducts analysis based on the complex use of reliable verification technologies: Yandex Catalog, Web of Trust, Safe Browsing.
If after verification it turns out that the trust level is negative, you should not contact this resource.
WOT
Web of Trust is an international website verification service... Its database contains about a million sites from popular providers. The resource will protect your device from viruses, spam, phishing and suspicious software algorithms.
It is intended to work only as a web browser extension. Address: https://www.mywot.com/ru/.
As soon as the user clicks on the add extension button, they are redirected to the official browser add-on store. The store allows you to safely install the extension.
All resource visits will be controlled by the extension. If the program detects phishing, a notification will appear and access to the site will be blocked.
This extension from Chrome allows you to interact with the new algorithm for secure Internet surfing from Google. Address: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-safe-browsing/ocnmoefelkcepadlbpbgemdjiifailke?hl\u003den.
You can install it using the official add-on store. Scanning can be done online. It is also possible to automatically check the visited resources.
VirusTotal
The tab corresponding to the scanned object is selected:
- File is for multimedia files and documentation;
- URL is for links;
- Search provides information about the address, domain.
Other ways to check
Consider how else to break your site for fraud in 2019.
If the site accepts payment, it should have been registered as a legal entity. An honest entrepreneur or legal entity does not need to hide information about their registration. If this information is not on the site, you can request it.
If your request is ignored, you should not contact such a resource. If information is available, it should be checked at the link: https://egrul.nalog.ru/.
This is the FTS website. But this check is also not a guarantee of the site's safety. Companies often register for lost passports.
If a company provides services that are subject to compulsory licensing (brokers, credit institutions), the site must have licenses. Their absence is a reason to refuse the services of the company.
Licenses are checked on the CBRF website: http://www.cbr.ru/credit/main.asp.
The user should pay attention to the license number, which is presented on the website, and to the number indicated on the CBRF website. The name of the legal entity must also match. If the license is revoked, the company should not be dealt with.
How do you know if you got to a scam site or not, using the age of the site? If the domain is less than one year old, it is a small age.
But if there is a valid license, and the legal entity is officially registered, it is likely that the company has just opened.
New companies need to be treated with caution. Pros: if the domain is more than three years old and you have all the documents.
You need to be wary if the age of the domain is large, but there are no documents, or they are fake.
Address and company information
Any decent company that provides paid services or carries out business activities should have a physical address. This information is more difficult to verify. But search engines and search engine maps will help.
If an office center is located at this address, it will not be superfluous to call the administration of the center and clarify the availability of the company you are interested in.
The absence of a company at the specified address or the presence of a residential building is a reason to forget about the company.
The seller's website must contain information about himself, his location, contacts available for communication. The more ways to connect, the better. Having only one phone number or just an email address is a wake-up call.
If the company is not a market leader that has been working for a very long time and values \u200b\u200bits reputation, and you have no experience with the site, you do not need to make an advance payment.
Also, when paying by cash on delivery, you cannot pay for the goods before opening the parcel.
Instead of the thing you need, scammers can put anything they want.
Money and suspicious prizes
Such fraudulent schemes have been common lately. Such companies send letters congratulating the user on winning a competition in which he did not participate, or receiving bonuses that the user did not expect.
Fraudsters offer to enter information about yourself, name, passport data, SNILS and then they will tell you how much money can be “returned” or won.
You cannot enter your personal data on third-party sites!
Many people are still afraid that it is dangerous to order goods via the Internet: they will be deceived, they will not bring or bring the wrong size. If they only knew how many scammers lurk among the buyers! In this article, we will tell you about the most common fraud schemes and ways to protect yourself for online store owners.
Why do scammers need this?
It is clear why - in order to get both the goods and keep the money with you. Among the scammers, there are also ordinary buyers who act on the fool - and suddenly it will give a ride, and seasoned professionals who deceived more than one online store. There is even a database of blacklists of unscrupulous buyers. Now there are already 11,283 people in the database - and these are only those who were blacklisted by the owners of online stores. And how many more unaccounted for.
For each unscrupulous client, information is entered: description of the problem, losses of the online store, contact details. You can delete data from the site in one way: to repay the material damage.
Fraud methods
Story 1. And I won't pay!
The simplest and most stupid way described in the screenshot above. The customer selects the product and orders a courier delivery. When the courier delivers the order, the person goes to rejection: I have no money, I will not pay.
Who is practicing? Small-minded people who are not clearly counting on what: it is clear that no one will give a product for beautiful eyes.
How to fight? Request an advance payment.
To be honest, this is not a fraud at all - so, stupidity and unnecessaryness. The following methods are much more sophisticated and devious.
Story 2. Payment of not the entire amount
It is also a common method, implying criminal intent. Someone B.A. I ordered an expensive phone in the online store. Payment was expected after the delivery of the goods by courier. The courier left at the indicated address, but literally five minutes before B.A.'s arrival. called him and asked him not to go up to the apartment. He explained it simply: repairs are underway at the entrance, it is dirty, the intercom does not work, so I’d better go down to the entrance. The courier did not suspect anything wrong and agreed.
B.A. pulled out a wad of money from his pocket and handed it to the courier - he gave in return a box with a phone. When the courier started counting, it turned out that several thousand were missing. B.A. began to apologize and complain about his inattention, asked for the bundle of bills back and pretended to have brought the bills there. The courier believed and left, and upon arrival at the office, it turned out that several thousand were still missing. Needless to say, the client's phone number was no longer answered, and it was not possible to calculate the apartment: the building was multi-storey.
Who is practicing? Dodgers, magicians, card players who are famous for sleight of hand.
How to fight? First, count the money, and then hand over the order. Do not agree to meetings in entrances, unlit unfamiliar territory and other questionable places. Sometimes you can get it on the head!
History 3. Product substitution
Most often, scammers use such a scheme when buying clothes and accessories. Olga T. seemed to the manager as a generous customer: she put eight items in the basket - several dresses, trousers, a jumper, a couple of handbags. By sending a courier to get the money, the store owner was looking forward to a great profit, but things turned out quite differently.
The courier brought the ordered goods to the fraudster's apartment, and she retired to the bedroom to try on. She returned disappointed: not a single thing came up, cursed the courier, handed him boxes and literally threw him out the door. Already in the office, it turned out that the returned boxes were not brand new dresses and bags, but the fraudulent's worn junk. When the angry courier arrived back, the apartment was closed: Olga rented it for a couple of hours and evaporated.
Who is practicing? Sly ones who want to get the things they like for free.
How to fight? Check the contents of the boxes carefully.
Story 4. Substitutions for cheap replicas
The previous scheme has another option : new things are replaced not with old ones, but with the same new ones, but ... that are much cheaper. The trick is that even checking the boxes, the courier may not see the difference. To do this, you need to understand in detail the assortment of the online store in order to notice a fake in time.
Who is practicing? Experienced fraudsters who prepare for a crime for a long time: they pick up things that are similar to those ordered, only several times cheaper.
How to fight? To oblige the courier to study the assortment of the online store in order to distinguish branded items from a replica. As an option, you can enter your own markup system: for example, put the brand name of an online store on the label. One glance will be enough to understand whether the original is being returned to you or a pathetic fake.
Story 5. I demand a discount!
Nothing boded trouble: a large online home store received an order for a set of bedding. The customer chose the product, studied the characteristics in the description, agreed to the terms and placed the order. The linen came by "Russian Post" - the woman paid off without any problems, and the next day she started a real war against the online store. Complaints were sent to the email: what you brought me, the quality is terrible, I won't sleep on such linen! The manager's phone is red-hot: p an angry customer demanded to immediately provide her with a 50 percent discount, full refund or lifetime subscription.
Otherwise, she threatened to sue everyone, send complaints to Rospotrebnadzor, the State Duma and the President for reliability. At the same time, a simple replacement of goods did not suit her: the lady was interested exclusively in the monetary side of the issue. It was clear that, hiding behind the struggle for quality, the woman simply wanted to get a freebie.
Who is practicing? Meticulous people, bores, barriers. They usually have a lot of experience in litigation: they go to court for any reason.
How to fight? Difficult case. First, litigation is always dangerous for the store's reputation. - even if the court takes your side, an unpleasant aftertaste will remain. As in a joke: either he stole, or it was stolen from him, but they had some unpleasant story.
Secondly, publicity is also undesirable. Social networks are now available to every first person, and the grandmother, God's dandelion, may well roll up a complaint in Odnoklassniki. People believe what is written, and if the post suddenly goes viral, the resonance can ruin the reputation of the online store. Even if the truth is on your side.
What to do? Sadly, you may still have to give the bargainer the desired discount and permanently blacklist him. Alas, it is unlikely that it will be possible to permanently protect yourself from such copies: at the ordering stage, they successfully disguise themselves as ordinary buyers.
Story 6. Nothing came to me!
Probably every online store has come across this type of fraud: the client orders the goods, chooses delivery by "Russian Post" or a transport company and ... after a while he complains that the order was not delivered. You contact the post office or logistics company, they swear that everything was delivered on time or is about to arrive at the place. The buyer, meanwhile, vomits and rushes, accusing you of all mortal sins.
Another option - the goods are really delayed on the way, all the deadlines have passed, and you, as an honest person, are making a refund. And then it turns out that the package was delivered even with a delay, only the buyer decided not to tell you about it. As a result, he is left with the purchase and the money.
Who is practicing? Dishonest people who believe that the online store will not become impoverished if it pays the cost of the goods. Petty scammers, thieves - they can be in cahoots with the post office. That is, they receive the goods, but they do not sign for receipt anywhere. As a result, the goods seem to be missing from the post office and from the buyer. In fact, the latter has been using it for a long time.
How to fight? Track all the tracks and the location of the parcels yourself, be in contact with transport companies and the post office, so that if a conflict arises, you can quickly resolve the issue.
Story 7. Resale of goods
If you are running a huge sale, be careful. There is a high probability that there will be a buyer who will happily buy up all the goods and then resell them on their own at the usual price. Of course, this is not a scam, but a way to get rich at your expense. It is often used by our entrepreneurs, who buy goods for pennies on Aliexpress and sell them in Russia at exorbitant prices. You decide, do you want someone to make a profit at your expense, or is the main thing for you to sell the goods?
Who is practicing? Small traders, often not even individual entrepreneurs, who will sell it to friends and acquaintances.
How to fight? Set a limit on the number of items sold to one customer.
History 8. Account fraud
So the online store "Repka" was deceived: unknown scammers posted an advertisement on the site for the sale of expensive things at half price and began to wait for a buyer. He immediately found, which is not surprising, and asked the sellers for an invoice for payment. The sellers, who are also swindlers, turned to "Repka", having come up with a legend: they allegedly chose a product from them for the same amount and asked for an invoice.
The online store billed them, and the work began: the scammers changed the name of the product, the contact details of the store, but the price and details were left the same. As a result, the buyer did not even have a thought that he was being deceived. He transferred the money, confident that he was buying that very cheap item from the classifieds site. Fraudsters insured themselves: they contacted Repka on behalf of the buyer and clarified whether the money had come. The money came, and the online store, without a shadow of a doubt, sent the goods to the specified address.
The bottom line is that soon both the buyer and the online store discovered the deception, but the scammers were no longer found.
Who is practicing? Experienced criminals who are able to develop complex multi-moves.
How to fight? Check, check and check again. They found a way out in "Repka": now the goods are issued there only upon presentation of a passport.
Story 9. The product did not suit me!
Some buyers order things, put them on a couple of times and ... return them back. The reason for the return is usually the following: the size allegedly did not fit. In fact, everything fit perfectly, since the item was already worn. The return of used goods is called wardrobing (from the English wardrobing). Most often, owners of online clothing stores face this problem.
Who is practicing? Freeloaders who want to use a thing for free.
How to fight? When placing an order, make it a rule to personally contact the buyer and clarify whether the size, color or other characteristics are suitable. Say that the conversation is being recorded for security purposes. Also think over the rules of return in your online store, according to which you accept the goods back: not just on parole, but in compliance with formalities. This can be filling out a return form, indicating contact information, perhaps even a percentage for a return.
Do not be afraid that clients will not accept such conditions: they will only calm down an honest person, but they can scare off scammers.
There are other ways to cheat:
- front order: scammers place an order and call a courier. When he arrives at the scene and leaves the company car, the criminals rob his car;
- theft, robbery: a fictitious order is made for a large amount, and then the courier is simply robbed.
Who is practicing? The criminals for whom the prison cries. Alas, such episodes from the 90s are still encountered.
How to fight? If the product is really valuable, it is better to send two couriers for such delivery to be on the safe side. Also strengthen your security: install good locks and alarms on cars, introduce a ban on keeping expensive things in the car. And of course, contact the police!
How to recognize a fraudster
Pay attention to the person's behavior. You may be alerted by calls such as:
- the client specifies the composition and characteristics of the goods for a long time;
- or does not specify at all - as if it does not matter to him at all;
- often changes the composition of the order;
- the client asks if the courier will come alone;
- makes an appointment at a suspicious place;
- the card or account belongs to another person.
We hope you don't fall for a scammer and become a victim of deception. Be carefull!
