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Nine Internet Scams to Watch Out For

By
Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty 0575737

Hacker DudeThere is no question cybercrime is on the upswing. WHY these people who either try to hack our various accounts, steal our credit card or personal information, or install malware or spyware on our devices for nefarious purposes it is either deviousness or just robbery for money. Anyway make passwords ten characters or longer with numbers and symbols and capital letters, change them often, put them everywhere including your phone to avoid theft problems.

But as an FYI here are nine internet scams to keep you top of mind of these people trying to irritate your daily life:

  1. Fake prizes, sweepstakes, gifts, lottery scams. There is no free pizza. Think if something is too good to be true, and you are not even a customer of the business or wanted to be on their email list, just hit delete.
  2. Phishing/Spoofing emails. It looks like something came from Bank of America or Chase, but HEY you do not even have an account there despite their nice logo and signature block. DELETE. No one will ask for your passwords or social security number that is legitimate.
  3. Fake arrest warrant, court appearance, or government prosecution scam. The FBI may show up at your door but they won't be sending you "emails" scaring you. Delete again.
  4. Click-Bait scams. They lure you with celebrity news, images, fake media footage, the cute cat video. Click in NO links or images. Again delete. They want to load viruses.
  5. Fake email addresses. They are CLOSE to legitimate but off a few letters or adding in some dots. LOOK at the details closely even if you are not a good detailed person.
  6. Fake emails. They have poor spelling, poor capitlization, poor grammar. Probably overseas originators. Delete.
  7. Social Engineering manipulation. The troublemakers READ around on you and try to guess your answers to security questions for online accounts. Don't divulge anything that is privileged information to any "friends" and be aware of the type of profile you are showing to the world. Don't click on all those personality tests on Facebook.
  8. Spear phishing. This is "targeted" within one company phishing. Like human resources wants you to validate your internal password, or needs to verify you social security number with your company's logo in the email. It is fake hitting everyone in the organization. Whaling targets top executives across industries and surprisingly a lot have fallen for giving up sensitive information.
  9. Craig's List Scams. Used like for work at home ideas where you become a transfer agent using your bank accounts to money launder and transfer money through. You're winning cause you are promised to get a cut of the money but this is ILLEGAL and is used heavily with wire fraud. Do not deal with people you do not know. Craig's list people also counterfeit organization's checks for small under $2,000 amounts that the FBI does not want to deal with, so know WHO you are dealing with.

In summary, be cautious of any requests for sensitive information via email. Pay attention to site's URL and emails closely. Gmail and Hotmail are hacked the most so you might want other email providers. Hold your cursor over links to ensure the URL is correct. Deploy security patches in a timely manner. Create strong passwords and never give them out.

Comments (38)

Diana Dahlberg
1 Month Realty - Pleasant Prairie, WI
Real Estate in Kenosha, WI since 1994 262-308-3563

I am very suspicious when I get an email from someone I don't know ... and if it's a Realtor looking for a referral, I look them up online and call them directly.  So far when I had that "bad feeling" I have been right everytime.  Call it women's intuition.  Great information Gary.  Really appreciate you bringing this to our attention.

Jun 16, 2016 03:53 PM
Kimo Jarrett
Cyber Properties - Huntington Beach, CA
Pro Lifestyle Solutions

Unfortunately, the Internet is a great tool for legitimate and illegitimate use. Thanks for the information and reminder to be vigilant before taking any action regardless if it's from the Internet, email, phone, text or regular mail.  Great post.

Jun 16, 2016 04:43 PM
Gary L. Waters Broker Associate, Bucci Realty
Bucci Realty, Inc. - Melbourne, FL
Eighteen Years Experience in Brevard County

The Internet is different from your home...vigilant protection of what is important. These scammers want you to unlock the door and open the windows!

Jun 16, 2016 09:33 PM
Chris Lima
Turtle Reef Realty - Port St Lucie, FL
Local or Global-Allow me to open doors for you.

This is a great reminder for all.  I had an email come through the other day.  It appeared to be legit.  It was from the title company that I was working with and the other agent was copied.  It all looked perfect.  The document was ready to view and I simply had to enter my password. However, my gut said "something is not quite right".  I would rather err on the side of caution than to expose not only myself, but possibly my clients' information. 

Jun 16, 2016 10:20 PM
Rose Mary Justice
Synergy Realty Pros - Dandridge, TN
Synergy Realty Pros

A helpful reminder.  Had an incident within our office where an agents email was hi jacked and the scammer intercepted emails to the title company and in short was trying to get them to deposit money into an account from a closing.

The agent was unaware it was happening, but quick thinking on the part of the title lady and a call to the broker stopped this culprit.

Jun 16, 2016 10:42 PM
Nancy Bittman
eXp Realty - Richmond, VA
Your Source for Everything Home!

Great Post, thanks for the info. Recently I have received a dozen phone calls from Microsoft "internet service" or Dell to tell me that I have had internet hacker issues...NOT. Scam all the way. 

Jun 16, 2016 10:48 PM
Donna & Larry Johnson
Keller Williams Real Estate - West Chester, PA
Chester & Delaware County

Our life as a Realtor is full of scams and lead sales. We waste so much money on these things.

Jun 16, 2016 11:20 PM
Greg Mona
West USA Realty - Scottsdale, AZ
Professional Real Estate Representation for YOU!

Thanks for sharing this Gary Woltal.  Sadly, I have encountered just about all of the ones you listed at one time or another.  I'd rather delete something that turned out to be legitimate than click something that could cause harm to me or my computer.  As I've been saying for years; wouldn't it be nice if these same people invested their time into creating positive things versus scamming and causing trouble? 

Jun 16, 2016 11:58 PM
Terry McCarley
Coastal Real Estate - Cape Coral FL - Cape Coral, FL
REALTOR, SRES, CDPE - Cape Coral, FL

Great post!!!  I get these types of emails daily and I just delete them. 

Jun 17, 2016 12:07 AM
Ron Aguilar
Gateway Mortgage Group - Saint George, UT
Mortgage & Real Estate Advisor since 1995

And this is a big reason why Realtor email ads get tossed away. What should you do?

Jun 17, 2016 12:45 AM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

You also have to be careful of email from people you know. If it feels a little off - call and ask them if they sent it before you click on anything. 

Jun 17, 2016 01:34 AM
Bruce Hicks
Best Homes Hawaii - Honolulu, HI
Your Best Hawaii Realtor!

So we have to continue making "Rules" in our email programs in order to, at least, limit the amount of JUNK mail we get. Gary Woltal .  Have a wonderful day!

Jun 17, 2016 02:21 AM
Youree Lundy
Keller Williams Advantage III Realty - Orlando, FL
Your Realtor For Life

I keep seeing fake rental or for sale listings on Trulia and Zillow.  You know the ones that are for sale or rent at half of the going rate for rent or sale in the area.  I generally flag them on the site as fake so that the Trulia and Zillow people can investigate and remove.  I don't want anyone to be hurt by these nefarious scammers with no conscience.  Thank you so much for reminding us all to be continually on the watch.

Jun 17, 2016 05:10 AM
Theresa Akin
CORPUS CHRISTI REALTY GROUP - Corpus Christi, TX

Couple years ago I had a heck of a time with an attorney whose brother received an email supposedly from me being stranded in the UK. The attorney called me from the card her brother had. This was a couple years after Ihad even spoken to him and showed him some rentals. Asking him for money. I actually went to her office to show her and her assistant who was 'internet/scam savvy" some emails i had received that same day with similar requests. I finally convinced her but believe me I would not and will not ever call her for services to render.  

Jun 17, 2016 05:51 AM
Robin Miller
Mexican Beach Bum, Broker-Rocky Point MEXICO - Lukeville, AZ
Enjoy life and rental income at the beach

Thanks Gary, good info.

Sometimes when an email comes through, I tell them "Your mother would be ashamed of you if she knew what you were doing". They stop.

One guy recently said he had 25M to spend and I could get 25%, I said my fee is 90%, he said I was being greedy, I said I am happy to play this game but now my fee is 95%. Been waiting 2 weeks to take me up on the offer. Crickets. LOL

I feel like a cat playing with a mouse, may be an "only child" thing, that's cheap entertainment for me.

 

Jun 17, 2016 10:32 AM
Michael J. Perry
KW Elite - Lancaster, PA
Lancaster, PA Relo Specialist

I have been hit with a number of these Cons ! It's sad that many are injured by these depraved minds !

Jun 17, 2016 10:47 PM
Jerry Lucas
ABC Legal Docs LLC - Colorado Springs, CO
Notary Training, Consulting. Colorado Springs, CO

Good list of scams to watch out for.  My ESET Security Suite software does an excellent job of detecting spam and phishing email and email with a virus attached and sends it to my junk mail folder.

I use Microsoft for my email service provider. If I receive spam email from someone using a Microsoft email account, I report it by forwarding it to Microsoft email abuse.  They are very good at deleting abusive email accounts and send me a reply within a few hours.

Jun 24, 2016 12:02 AM
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

Thanks for sharing this Gary, it seems there is a new scam attacking us everyday.

Sep 17, 2016 04:22 PM
Sandy Padula & Norm Padula, JD, GRI
HomeSmart Realty West & Florida Realty Investments - , CA
Presence, Persistence & Perseverance

Gary Woltal All potential areas of trouble we need to be aware of and work to prevent problems.

Sep 18, 2016 12:14 AM
Dale Taylor
Re/Max 10 New Lenox Illinois http://dtaylor.remax.com - Frankfort, IL
Realtor = Chicago Illinois Homes Townhomes Condos

More social media exposure worthiness.  Thanks!

Aug 07, 2017 07:31 AM