This will be the last piece in our phishing, social engineering and scamming series, we promise! Well. At least for a little while 😊
From the time the internet was made available to the public, there have been people trying to take advantage of others. We have all seen or heard of the “Wealthy Nigerian” scam which involved a theme of a wealthy spouse, royal family member or government official needing your help in getting large sums of money out of the country. Naturally there is something in it for you, if you can just help with the legal fee’s. Apparently, even the super wealthy need to be spotted some cash occasionally.
This scam wasn’t even new or original. It is a variant of a scam known as “The Spanish Prisoner” from the 1920’s. Only the story characters and the method of delivering the scam had changed.
We all look back and laugh at this now, but at the time, this scam claimed its fair share of victims.
Online fraud is such a big issue, and costs Australians so many millions of dollars a year that the government has dedicated a website to it. We highly recommend you check it out
The site is a wealth of information with real world examples of current scams. These examples and warnings are accompanied by easy to understand stories of how the scams are implemented.
Unfortunately they are unable to help you if you have been a victim of online fraud, But you can report it via the website. This will help prevent others from making the same mistake. There are also tips on where you can get help if you have been scammed.
Have a look at the statistics. This is particularly interesting. You can see demographics, points of entry and amounts lost.
Knowledge is power. Especially in regard to Fraud. The best way to protect yourself is to be aware of current activities and trends.
Have a look at the website, they also have a Twitter account which is well worth following.