For those of a certain age, the Internet remains somewhat of a digital mystery.
It's also virtually inhabited by unscrupulous individuals waiting to prey on the uninformed or naïve.
And that misstep usually exacts a monetary price.
Some of these scammers also look for people in vulnerable situations, like those recent victims of Hurricane Ian. They may demand up-front money for services never completed, or simply never show up at all.
But natural disasters like hurricanes or tornadoes — though ripe for ripoffs — are one-time events, the icing on the cake.
The unintentional stumbling into compromising situations constitute everyday occurrences on the world wide web, the scammers' sweet spot.
No matter the many public-service warnings issued, bogus schemes taking advantage of well-intentioned individuals continue to occur.
And when you least expect it, another one seems to pop up.
That's what can happen when surfing the Internet. A wipeout there could seriously deplete one's bank account — or life's savings.
That's what happened to a Maine couple — just one victim of an ongoing scam that's caught countless others in the same trap.
According to an FBI report, that couple hit upon a website that informed them their computer had been hacked, exposing their financial information.
To rectify the situation, an individual purportedly with Fidelity Investments told the couple to download a certain fraud-monitoring software on their computer.
Unfortunately, the fraudsters weren't done reeling in this now terrified and totally receptive couple.
That supposed Fidelity rep then told the couple to transfer some of their retirement funds and take out a home-equity line of credit and then wire everything to a cryptocurrency marketplace for "safekeeping."
That couple, identified by the FBI as one of the 65 victims in Maine last year, lost US$1.1mil (RM5.21mil) to the fake tech support scammer.
Though it probably devastated their finances, this example hardly made a dent in the US$347mil (RM1.6bil) lost by nearly 24,000 victims across the US last year, according to tracking data from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
That's a 137% year-over-year increase over those scammed in a similar way.
Among New England's 809 victims, Massachusetts, the most populous state, sustained the highest losses with nearly US$5.4mil (RM25mil) taken from 521 victims, nearly 4 1/2 times as much as the next highest victimised state in the region, New Hampshire.
And while the elderly represents the most susceptible scam population overall, their limited computer literacy makes them prime online targets.
Those 60 and older accounted for 60% of this scam's victims and 75% of the monetary losses.
Pop-up warnings like those experienced by the Maine couple noted in the FBI report are a common scam technique. For those less technologically savvy, that unsolicited Internet advertisement may appear to be a legitimate warning from their computer, or perhaps even their antivirus software.
So, it pays to know what antivirus device came with the purchase of your laptop or another digital component. And if you received it as a present, be sure to ask the person who bought that gift the name of that antivirus program installed on your computer.
That way you'll know that if an online suggestion directs you to run another antivirus software, it's undoubtedly a scam.
And if it tells you to call a "live technician now" and lists a phone number, that's another telltale scam indicator.
"Real security warnings and messages will never ask you to call a phone number," the Federal Trade Commission states. "If you're looking for tech support, go to a company you know and trust."
Unfortunately, internet traps abound. They may appear as phone texts asking for personal details for changes in a fictional account, or a demand for payment of an overdue bill that doesn't exist.
When in doubt, exit that website — and delete that spurious text or email. – Sentinel & Enterprise, Fitchburg, Mass./Tribune News Service
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