Do you remember so many people? This is such a sad reality in the world we live in that as much as we want to live in peace and harmony, some people want to gain something that would harm other people because of their wrongdoings. On the other hand, there is also a truth in what people say “walang manloloko kung walang magpapaloko”. This only proves being fooled could be prevented, agree? Speaking of panloloko, the most popular scheme these days are the scams online. Online scams are operated by those who pretend to legitimate, they are called online scammers. They use fake ads on an authentic e-commerce platform, social media sites, or fake websites. In case you’re wondering what online scams look like, or you had encountered them before but you were not aware, here are the 10 online scams you need to be careful of:

Customers are being tricked by paying for a non-existent product only to find out, no item will be delivered, and the money has been taken away. This is the “catch” here, online scammers are a little more clever and they are good at deceiving people with their fake pitch so that it would look like they are selling a genuine product. As a customer, you will receive a fake product or one that is entirely different from what you ordered from them.

This is also known as “palit SIM” scam. SIM swapping is a new form of online fraud in the country. Here, scammers pretend to be either as a legitimate mobile subscriber or an authorized representative of a mobile subscriber. They will request for SIM card replacement to telecommunication provider of the mobile number then they will use this to access your personal information including bank account and credit card details. Another strategy is the scammers will pretend to be one of the telco agents and they will offer an “upgrade” to your SIM card to improve their network connection and have access to it. When they already have their needed information, they will reset your online banking user ID and password and use it to transfer money from your bank account to anonymous digital wallets.

This is also called card skimming or data skimming. This ATM skimming involves copying your personal information on your bank account from the magnetic stripe on the back of your ATM or credit card. Scammers use illegal skimming devices to read the information on your card’s magnetic stripe and steal it resulting in them making a fake or cloned card to access your bank account and complete banking transactions like cash withdrawals and bank transfers. While this card skimming is also a way of scammers to steal your identity or pretends to be you with your details. They will use it to commit identity fraud so they can borrow money or take out loans under your name without you knowing it.

Do you remember receiving an email from your bank asking you to confirm your account information by clicking on a link provided? This is one exact sample of email phishing. Scammers will trick you and let you fill out a form with your email and password, credit card details, and other personal details via a fake website that looks exactly like a legitimate online banking facility. Scammers can perform unauthorized transactions using your information using this phishing scam.

This is somehow similar to email phishing. Scammers will send you an SMS and let you click or download a malicious link that would require you to provide your personal information.

During these times, there are wide varieties of online investments you can see all over the internet. They can be seen usually on Facebook enticing people to invest in money lending or financing businesses that turns out to be fake. Scammers will trick you into lending your money to a micro-financing or lending company that will earn profits as high as 12% weekly or 48% monthly. Too good to be true but they will make you believe that they run a legitimate online lending business.

This one might not be new to you because most of us have experienced this. Scammers will send you an email, letter or text message saying you have won a lot of money or fantastic prizes in a lottery or competition you are not aware in the first place.

Scammers create email messages with a forged sender address. They usually disguise as legitimate banks, newspapers, company and the like. Spoofing contains fake offers, asking for a person’s password, OTP and other personal information.

A money mule does transfers illegally acquired money. Scammers recruit mules to move money electronically bank accounts, to move physical currency, or assist the movement of money through a variety of other methods. To avoid this, watch out for suspicious signs such as receiving emails, messages from social media accounts, or others from unknown individuals; being asked by someone you met online to receive money in your bank, withdraw funds, and give it to another person; getting job offers from companies asking you to use your personal bank account to process or transfer company funds.

This refers to someone using your identity to gain a financial advantage or obtain credit and other benefits in your name. When your information is stolen, it could have a great impact on your finances such as paying bills, performing fraudulent online transactions, and transferring money out of your bank accounts. You can avoid any of these scams by not falling to any of these scammers’ strategies. Always check the legitimacy of any communication you are receiving and making sure it comes from someone you know or an authentic source, as they always say – “lamang ang may alam”.

[Home Credit](https://revamp-pilot.homecredit.ph/homepage) aims to ensure that its client won’t be a victim to any of these online scams by providing reminders and notifications from time to time. Make sure to read those to prevent yourself from getting scammed. To stay updated real-time, download the My Home Credit [App](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ph.homecredit.myhomecredit&hl=en&gl=US) on Google Play.