Online, have you ever:
1. Clicked
on a pop-up ad?
2. Played
solitaire or other games?
3. Opened
an email from someone unknown?
4. Read
a newspaper?
5. Signed
up for a free trial offer?
6. Kept
in touch with someone in Facebook or Twitter?
7. Sold
some merchandise in an auction?
8. Checked
the weather report?
9. Sent
funds through an Internet money transfer service?
10. Watched
a TV show?
11. Posted
your address, phone number, vacation plans, etc. on social media?
If you checked only even-numbered activities, you’re among
Internet users least likely to duped by fraudsters. If you checked any of the
odd-numbered choices, you may be putting yourself in harms way, i.e. in a
scammer’s sights. An AARP directed Fraud watch Network survey of about 12,000
Internet users was studied to figure out the differences between online fraud
victims and nonvictims. A surprising discovery: age doesn’t matter. Nonvictims
rarely engage in certain online activities (such as the above odd-numbered
examples). Victims often have had recent experiences of a stressful event such
as illness, job loss, or relationship difficulties. Scammers tend to target
those who are emotionally vulnerable because they tend to be more easily forced
into making poor decisions.
Based on AARP article 03/2014
