Thursday, July 17, 2014

FRAUD TEST


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