Top seven cyberscams revealed by Europol

A new public awareness initiative aims to educate consumers and companies on the most common ways cybercriminals try to steal money online.

The #CyberScams campaign is being rolled out across social media channels, national law enforcement, bank associations and financial institutions and focuses on the seven most important scams, namely:

• CEO fraud: scammers pretend to be your CEO or senior representative in the organisation and trick you into paying a fake invoice or making an unauthorised transfer out of the business account.
• Invoice fraud: they pretend to be one of your clients/suppliers and trick you into paying future invoices into a different bank account.
• Phishing/Smishing/Vishing: they call you, send you a text message or an email to trick you into sharing your personal, financial or security information.
• Spoofed bank website fraud: they use bank phishing emails with a link to the spoofed website. Once you click on the link, various methods are used to collect your financial and personal information. The site will look like its legitimate counterpart, with small differences.
• Romance scam: they pretend to be interested in a romantic relationship. It commonly takes place on online dating websites, but scammers often use social media or email to make contact.
• Personal data theft: they harvest your personal information via social media channels.
• Investment and online shopping scams: they make you think you are on a smart investment… or present you with a great fake online offer.

“Scams featuring a long-lost deceased relative or Nigerian princes are not the only tricks in the book anymore,” says Europol. “The tactics used by cybercriminals are becoming increasingly innovative and harder to detect.”

Europol and the EBF offer the followng tips toguard against the scammers:

• Check your online accounts regularly.
• Check your bank account regularly and report any suspicious activity to your bank.
• Perform online payments only on secure websites (check the URL bar for the padlock and https) and using secure connections (choose a mobile network instead of public Wi-Fi).
• Your bank will never ask you for sensitive information such as your online account credentials over the phone or email.
• If an offer sounds too good to be true, it’s almost always a scam.
• Keep your personal information safe and secure.
• Be very careful about how much personal information you share on social network sites. Fraudsters can use your information and pictures to create a fake identity or to target you with a scam.
• If you think that you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your bank immediately.
• Always report any suspected fraud attempt to the police, even if you did not fall victim to the scam.