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:
Don’t get scammed! Watch out for these 10 online scams in the
Philippines
One of the things we could learn in life, there is truth in what
they say there will always be 2 types of people in this world – the
“manloloko” and the “niloloko”.
Online Shopping Scam
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.
SIM Swap Scam (Online Banking Scam)
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.
ATM/Card Skimming (Online Banking Scam)
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.
Phishing or Email Phishing (Online Banking Scam)
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.
SMSishing
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.
Fake Online Lending Companies
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.
Lottery Scam
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.
Email/SMS Spoofing
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.
Money Mule Scams
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.
Identity Theft
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.