13 Ongoing Online Scams (and How to Protect Yourself)

Romance scams are disturbingly straightforward: trick someone on Tinder, Hinge, or Trek Passions into believing you’re in love with them, then ask for money. The consequences can be even more devastating than what’s shown in The Tinder Swindler, with some victims losing far more than just money. Take the tragic case of Australian grandmother Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto. She met a man posing as “Captain Daniel Smith” online. He first convinced her to give him all her savings, then coerced her into smuggling a backpack filled with methamphetamine through customs in Kuala Lumpur. This unsuspecting grandmother was caught, tried in a Malaysian court, found guilty, and sentenced to death. Fortunately, her appeal was successful, and she was spared a death sentence but spent several years in prison. At least, some romance scammers do face justice!

How to identify this scam: If someone you meet online is evasive about their background, declares love for you too quickly, or refuses to meet in person, be suspicious. But the most obvious red flag is when they request money. Never send money to someone you meet on a dating site.

Fraudulent investment schemes have existed for ages, but decentralized, unregulated markets provide a prime environment for criminals who prefer financial scams over face-to-face theft. The difficulty in tracing money in these markets makes NFTs and cryptocurrency scams highly profitable and easy, with scammers stealing $14 billion in 2021. They use advanced tactics to target victims and collect payments, but many crypto scams follow the same patterns as traditional “fiat-currency” scams and phishing operations.

How to recognize and avoid this scam: The key to steering clear of crypto fraud is to remain extremely cautious. Always research before investing. Avoid anything you don't fully understand. Secure your wallet. Double-check all URLs. Remember, there is no safety net.

Not long ago, I listed a futon for sale on Craigslist and received far more scam responses than genuine interest. The scammers all played the same trick: They’d text me, saying “I want to buy your futon, but to prove you’re not a scammer, please reply with the verification code I’ll send.” Shortly after, a Google Voice verification message appeared on my screen. If I had shared the code, the scammers would have linked a Google Voice number to my phone (they needed to initiate the process to get the verification code) and used it to scam others anonymously. (And, of course, they weren’t interested in buying my futon.)

How to recognize and avoid this scam: Google sends verification codes only to confirm that you are the one who requested the phone number. You should never share these codes with third parties. If your Google number has already been claimed, here’s how to recover it.

There’s a whole category of humorous YouTube clips featuring pranksters messing with scammers behind various virus schemes, but these are no laughing matter for the real victims. The scam typically unfolds like this: An unsuspecting person, unfamiliar with technology, sees a pop-up claiming their computer is infected and includes a tech support phone number. They dial the number and get connected with a scammer who convinces them to grant remote access for a “virus scan.” From here, the details differ, but the scammer might ask for payment to “fix” the computer or employ simple HTML tricks to create the illusion of an accidental large deposit into the victim’s bank account, suggesting they need to repay it. Regardless of the method, the final step always leads to “send me gift cards.”

How to identify and avoid this scam: This scam often targets elderly individuals who lack computer knowledge. Remind your parents, aunts, and uncles not to call these types of numbers.

This malicious scam mostly targets men with specific desires. The scammer, pretending to be a woman online, starts a conversation with one of these men and requests an intimate photo. Once the photo is received, the scammer shifts to blackmail. The message typically reads, “I will send this photo to everyone in your contacts unless you send me money.” Ashamed and fearing the consequences, the victim complies. A variation of this scam involves the fraudster sending nude images to the victim and then claiming to be the woman’s 'father,' threatening to report the victim for possessing child pornography by saying, “My daughter is only 15, and if you don’t pay, I’ll call the authorities.”

How to recognize and avoid this scam: A straightforward way to prevent this is by avoiding sending photos that could be easily shared with others. If you’ve already shared sensitive pictures, chances are you’re safe—the scammer is unlikely to spread them. Scammers have no reason to do so since it wastes time they could use scamming others. Simply block, report, and move on.

The sale of third-party warranties for used car repairs isn't always illegal—it depends on your state and the warranty terms—but the frequency of robocalls in this industry is so annoying, and the sales tactics are so questionable, it feels like it should be outlawed. While there may be rare cases where purchasing such a warranty is useful, if you decide to buy one, choose a trusted, established company instead of responding to unsolicited calls.

How to avoid falling for this scam: Register your number on the national Do Not Call list, and use your phone’s features to block unwanted calls. If that doesn’t work, simply hang up on every robocall.

Scammers are incredibly resourceful, finding ways to profit from everything—even the political outrage fueling division in society. These fraudsters exploit sensitive issues to gain your trust, whether it's seemingly official COVID emails, urgent requests from a ‘relative’ stranded in Ukraine, a Gofundme for a border wall, or a future scam revolving around the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Once they’ve convinced you they share your passion for [THE POLITICAL ISSUE], tricking you into falling for phishing or other scams becomes effortless.

How to spot and avoid these scams: If you’re deeply engaged in politics, online activism can be fulfilling, but consider investing your time in actual volunteering efforts instead. When donating to causes, ensure you’re sending money to a credible, well-known non-profit or political organization, such as the ACLU.

Digital kidnapping refers to a particularly unsettling online activity. There are obscure online spaces where individuals role-play as families or children by using images of unsuspecting children, often taken from social media. This phenomenon seems to function more as a strange hobby, with odd individuals leaving comments on these stolen images or even engaging in 'virtual adoptions.'

While it can be deeply unsettling for parents whose children’s photos are misappropriated, it has the potential to lead down even darker paths. Len Edwards, the director of the Commission of Missing and Exploited Children, explains, “People are creating fantasy adoptions, people are creating virtual fantasies. It may be just an obsessive act on their part but it can be manipulated to become dangerous. This could turn into a real child abduction or even child pornography.”

How to spot and avoid this scam: If you must share pictures of your children online, ensure your social media privacy settings restrict the visibility to only those you trust.

Nearly everyone shops on Amazon, and scammers have found a way to exploit its popularity to steal money from unsuspecting users. According to the NY Post, the number of Amazon scam emails has surged by 500 percent in the past year. One of the most common scams involves sending fake receipts or shipping orders for purchases that the recipient never made. The email urges recipients to ‘Click this link to take care of it/verify your account.’ This leads them to a convincing (or sometimes very poorly made) ‘Amazon’ page where they unknowingly provide their personal details.

How to spot and avoid this scam: Always visit Amazon’s official account page by typing the URL directly into your browser, not by clicking any link in an email. Remember, Amazon will never ask you to verify your password through an email, and any legitimate Amazon email address will end in “@amazon.com.”

If you get a call, email, or text claiming you’ve won the lottery, you haven’t. Disregard it. If you follow through with the instructions to collect your supposed fortune, you'll likely be asked to pay a fee (usually in gift cards) or reveal your personal details. But you won’t see any winnings because they don’t exist. Instead, your ‘prize’ will be spending months trying to recover your identity from the scammer.

How to spot and avoid this scam: If you didn’t enter a contest, you didn’t win. Even if you did, no legitimate lottery will ever ask for cash to claim a prize.

It’s astonishing, but some people are still falling for the 'Nigerian Prince' scam in 2022. This scam, which originated in Nigeria in the 1980s, has been around for centuries. In fact, it dates back to the French Revolution, where it was called the 'Spanish Prisoner Scam.' No matter the name or the method of contact, the scam remains the same: a scammer tells the victim they have a large sum of money tied up, and if the victim sends a small amount of money, they’ll share the windfall once it's released.

How to spot and avoid this scam: Delete any emails from unknown senders and remember: If a foreign prince has $35 million worth of gold, he doesn’t need your help to access it.

At their core, online shopping scams are fairly simple to grasp, yet the internet's anonymity allows criminals to execute these schemes with minimal risk and great reward. The scam works as follows: a fraudulent online store is created, and customers pay for products that are never delivered. In addition to stealing your money, the scammers also gain access to your credit card details.

How to identify and avoid this scam: Avoid dubious retail websites and shop with established retailers. Ensure the website URL begins with https:// and displays a lock icon, which signals that the site is secure. Use PayPal or a credit card for payments, as both offer fraud protection to some extent.

Impersonating authority figures is a longstanding tactic used by scammers. The methods may change, from a phone call to an email, but the underlying strategy remains the same: fear. It’s intimidating when a police officer or the IRS contacts you, and the prospect of being involved in a crime or facing severe consequences can overwhelm some individuals. This fear can cause them to act irrationally, often leading to the submission of gift cards (the classic scam payment) in an attempt to resolve the situation.

How to recognize and avoid this scam: If you’ve truly committed a crime, the police won’t call you – they’ll arrest you. They don’t give you the option to pay them to avoid arrest. In general, avoid engaging with law enforcement unless absolutely necessary, and always ensure you have legal representation if the situation arises.