Wise To Fraud? Don’t Bank On It
Within business today, fraud is becoming an ever increasing problem. Whether you are part of a multi-national company or a small, one man business, there is a very good chance that you will be targeted.
Since the advent of the internet the opportunities for criminals to attempt to part hard working people and corporations from their cash have increased. We’ve all received the advanced fee scam emails from Nigeria and the phishing attempts through paypal and various banking institutions.
However, not all the scammers are dumb. Some are creating far more elaborate schemes in order to trick the unprepared. The natural progression from phishing emails is the use of pharming websites. Through nefarious means a fraudster will drop malicious code onto your computer which will lay hidden in the registry. Without you knowing it will be redirecting your internet surfing.
For example, you type in the url for your internet bank as you are wise enough to know that clicking bank links in emails is risky. However, what you don’t realise, is that this malicious code has redirected you to another website that looks exactly like the banking site you meant to visit. You then go ahead and enter your login details, giving them straight to the fraudster.
Then there are faux business opportunities. These often target vulnerable people who are desperate for cash in a hurry – work at home scams entice these people into paying up front for nothing more than lists of other schemes or for materials to make products that the company have no intention of buying back from them.
Remember – money is supposed to be the root of all evil – so if something seems too good to be true…. It probably is!