Online scams have emerged and developed alongside the growth of the internet. During the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, online scams have increasingly risen. Before and during the Tết Nguyên Đán holiday, scammers tend to be more active.
To help the online community stay alert and have a complete Tết, cybersecurity expert Hiếu PC has compiled a list of the 7 most common scams today. These methods are not new but are becoming increasingly sophisticated, so users need to be very careful to avoid falling into traps.
Here is a list of 7 common scams during Tết according to Hiếu PC:
1. Impersonating the websites and fan pages of railway, airline, and bus companies to sell fake tickets, targeting the increasing demand for travel home for Tết.
2. Impersonating law enforcement agencies, government bodies, or organizations to threaten, blackmail, and extort personal property and information.
3. Scamming through multi-level investment schemes, binary options, cryptocurrency leveraging blockchain, or projects like gameNFT, gameFi… to lure victims and then cash out, leaving investors in tears.
4. Faking e-commerce sites and major brands to create counterfeit sites for selling fake products…
5. Scamming to extort property through prize notifications, selling cheap motorcycles… targeting greed to trick victims into depositing money and stealing personal information.
6. Stealing personal information, money, and assets through emails, brand messages, SMS texts, or messages via social media… then luring victims into malicious links resembling banks or e-wallets… or building relationships and then promising to send valuable gifts.
7. Scamming to seize phone numbers through messages claiming to upgrade for free to 4G or 5G SIMs, thereby gaining control over e-wallets, bank accounts, Facebook, Email…
Additionally, Hiếu PC also advises the online community to be cautious of other scams such as online loans, recruitment scams (easy jobs with high salaries), labor export… These scams can lead to victims losing deposits and personal information…