Contrary to popular belief, criminals don’t discriminate when it comes to who they target for their nefarious schemes. Many online scams are implemented at a mass scale, targeting thousands, if not millions, of unsuspecting people. This means you are just as likely to encounter fraud as the person next to you.
But did you know that men have a greater chance of falling for certain online swindles than females? Keep reading to learn more.
Here are the top five frauds men should guard against.
1. Romance Scams
Dating apps, social media, and even messaging platforms such as WhatsApp can lead you to potential love interests you know nothing about.
For instance, you might find someone you like on Tinder and start a conversation. Or, you could receive a flirtatious message on social media that eventually leads to love. But if you are not careful, these could get you entangled in a meticulously planned romance scam.
The fact is, criminals can easily hide behind fake female profiles to lead you on. There have been incidents of using AI-generated women, too.
But what do these scammers want? Often, money. Once they befriend you and win your trust, they will come up with various schemes to target you for financial fraud.
2. Fake Investments
These can take the form of phony overseas real estate projects, cryptocurrency investments, and other get-rich-quick plots.
You might come across them through random emails, DMs, or even online ads.
Once you make an inquiry, conversations will usually take place online, either via email or DM. Sometimes, the promoters could provide a contact number for you to reach them. However, they will typically avoid meeting you in person or giving an appointment for you to visit them at their office. After you hand over your money, all conversations will cease.
3. Online Gaming Fraud
Gamers can encounter scams through phishing, fake gaming item sales, malicious gaming apps, and countless other ways. The motives are simple—data or financial theft.
For instance, scammers can use unsolicited emails to promote mobile gaming applications that download malware and steal personal data from your device. Or they might DM you on social media to sell virtual gaming items to dupe you into paying for products that don’t exist.
They could also imitate your favorite gaming platform to trick you into divulging your account login credentials.
4. Gambling Scams
Cybercriminals could use fake gambling sites to steal your personal information, which they could use for a variety of financial fraud and identity-related scams.
Sometimes, they could mimic legitimate gambling websites to get you to create an account with them. Once you link your credit card, they can use it for fraudulent purchases without your knowledge. You could also experience account takeovers on legitimate gambling sites, exposing you to similar risks.
5. Online Shopping Swindles
For many people, this could seem an unlikely type of fraud that men could fall for. However, male shoppers can get carried away, too, especially when purchasing tech gadgets, tools, sporting gear, gym equipment, health supplements, and similar items.
What Makes Men More Vulnerable to Certain Scams?
Most men are natural risk-takers. They are more likely to experiment, try out new things, and take a gamble. This can increase their exposure to scams.
Their over-confident nature is another factor that could make them extra susceptible to certain fraud. The majority of them believe they can identify a swindle and protect themselves from malicious actors. This could lead them to put their guard down more often, making it easier for criminals to dupe them.
Men are also less likely to report a scam. As a result, many frauds go unreported, preventing law enforcement and other government agencies from taking necessary action to curb deceptive schemes.
Proven Steps to Protect Yourself From Online Fraud
Physical prowess will not help tackle scammers in cyberspace. To ensure your safety, you must take essential online precautions that could thwart criminal advances.
Stay Alert
Repeated grammar mistakes, contradicting details, vague information, unusual behavior, and similar red flags could easily alert you to fraud.
By remaining vigilant, you can identify these and sidestep a potential scam.
Use Password Protection
Adopt strong and unique passwords for all your online accounts and devices. Avoid using names, birthdays, and similar details that anyone could guess. Instead, create a random combination of numbers, letters, and symbols that is difficult to predict.
Keep account credentials safe and secure, and never write them down or disclose them to others. Enabling two-factor authentication is important, too.
Encrypt Your Online Activities
Encryption can help shield your digital identity, making it challenging for cybercriminals to track you. The easiest way to achieve this is by using a virtual private network or VPN.
Avoid Public Wi-Fi Connections
Unsecured Wi-Fi networks are easier to hack. They can allow cybercriminals to monitor your activities and steal valuable data such as account credentials.
To maintain privacy and data security, always use an internet connection guarded by a username and password.
Opt Out of Data Sharing
Online accounts, websites, browsers, and mobile apps can all track your activities for various purposes. The data collected can be transferred to third parties as well, with or without your consent. For instance, the original data collectors can sell your personal information or inadvertently expose it to a data breach due to weak security practices.
To prevent such privacy and security threats, opt out of the data-tracking options provided by online service providers. In addition, remove website cookies and deactivate special features on your browser that require data collection.
Verify Information
Doing your own research is essential when making an important decision, whether it involves purchasing a product, giving someone money, or sharing personal information.
Confirm the identity of anyone you meet online. Review their social media profiles, reverse search their contact numbers on Nuwber, and check with your network to identify any mutual contacts.
Wrapping Up
The hard truth is, no one is immune to fraud. However, innate characteristics, personality traits, inclinations, and behaviors could make specific demographic groups more likely to fall for certain scams.
Men, for instance, can be extra vulnerable to romance fraud, fake investments, online gaming scams, gambling fraud, and online shopping swindles.
Identifying risks and taking extra precautions to guard against them can go a long way in ensuring safety.
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