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There are some online scams that are so funny, you can’t help but laugh when you stumble across them. Like the one with the Nigerian prince who’s still waiting to be saved, or when Beyonce didn’t have money for rent so she decided to DM people on social media and ask for money.
Unfortunately, other scams are better planned to the point that you don’t question even for a second that what you’re looking at is a scam. Knowing examples of some common online scams might save you from a lot of trouble, but what do you do when the scams aren’t that obvious?
Dealing with them after you’ve been tricked can be a long, and sometimes, unsuccessful process.
And statistics don’t look good either – 50% of people who experienced fraud on a website lost their money.
But learning how to identify online expat scams can save you from a lot of problems. What’s more, you can even spread the word and teach others about it so you’ll make the internet a safer place!
How Do You Spot an Online Expat Scam?
Unfortunately, scams put a bit more effort into tricking people nowadays. Everyone can recognize an online expat scam when they land on a weird-looking website with flickery animation and weird texts all over the place.
However, things changed a bit for the worst in the last decade and so, online scams look professional today. But just because a website looks trustworthy doesn’t mean you also need to believe its claims.
We got you a list of 4 important red flags that you should look out for when browsing on the internet.
1. It’s Too Good to Be True
Always keep in mind that if you find something that’s too good to be true, it most certainly is.
Most of the time, these offers create a sense of urgency by using scarcity and time-limited offers. Here are a few examples:
- 80%-90% discounts
- You buy 2 items and you get 5 other items for free
- Incredibly low prices for luxury items
You don’t miss anything by ignoring these offers, trust us. People were tricked into buying fake, expired, or damaged products. And believe it or not, this was the least scary part. Many times, people didn’t receive what they ordered and they didn’t even get their money back!
If you’re looking to buy high-end tech items or luxury goodies, it’s better to purchase them from the original website even if they cost a bit more. You’ll get a certificate of originality and if there is a problem with the product, you can always contact the seller.
2. The Scammers Are too Pushy
In marketing, there is this technique called FOMO (“fear of missing out”) that gets people to buy something impulsively.
But keep in mind that there is a strong rule against making people feel pressured into doing something.
Scammers don’t care about this part at …….