Online fraudsters and cybercriminals use dishonest techniques to make money illegally while causing a loss to another party. Online fraud occurs where the fraudster makes a false representation on the internet.
The internet has provided fraudsters with a sea of opportunities to defraud people.
Unfortunately, a lot of the safety and preventative measures don’t prevent the most adept criminals from committing fraud.
Types of Online Fraud
The most common types of online fraud include:
> Government agency scams – when fraudsters send out official-looking emails and letters, giving the impression that they are from a government department and have authority, asking for money or personal information.
> Online dating fraud – these fraudsters create fake profiles on dating sites with the intention of persuading you to hand over your personal information and often your bank details. This can also occur through social media such as Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to name a few.
> Bank scams – when fraudsters send out official-looking emails, letters or even text messages giving the impression that they are from your banking institution. They may ask for personal information, say your account has been compromised or request you move money to a new account they will help you set up
> Cryptocurrency scams – many fake companies promise big returns from cryptocurrency investment or trading. These scams often require you to send payments in difficult to trace cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, without ever returning your money or the promised gains.
> Work from home scams – these fraudsters create fake job adverts to steal your personal information or your money. These scams make it look like you’re being offered a job where you’ll be able to make easy money working entirely from home.
> Online shopping fraud – these fraudsters misrepresent items online or fail to deliver items after buyers have paid.
> Internet dialler scams - this is when a persons’ computer settings are changed, and their internet connection is re-routed via an expensive phone line. This can happen when a person opens a spam email or clicks a pop-up box.
These are just some of the examples of computer and internet fraud. Other common examples include identity, lottery, loan, domain name, internet auction, and business directory fraud.
How We Can Help
Our fraud investigations team uses sophisticated techniques to find the fraudster behind the keyboard.
The dedicated team at Global Investigations have years of experience tracing online fraudsters to bring them to justice.
We use the latest technology, research skills, background investigations, and high-tech psychological profiling to tackle cybercrime and online fraud.
Get in touch with our specialist team today on 0800 073 3555 to discuss your situation.
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