Though the internet can be a tool used with good intentions, some people use it for malicious purposes. Thieves use different sites to scam innocent victims out of valuable information, belongings and money.
While some users do their best to avoid these schemes, others fall victim to them.
Junior Johnathan Endsley was once a target of scams while using the internet. While using free media apps for music in his teenage years, web pages resembling alerts came on Endsley’s laptop screen.
“It would say things like, ‘Download this software now to help protect your phone from viruses,’” he said. “The website would lead me to a page where I was asked to enter all my information such as my full name, address and credit card number.”
Luckily for Endsley, he left the page before entering any information because he was sure that the site would steal his billing information. Although he dodged a costly mistake, Endsley avoids these kinds of scams by spending less time on free music sites.
“My interest has changed since I was younger, so I tend to spend less time on these risky apps,” he said.
Endsley encourages everyone to avoid sites that lead to those kinds of pop-ups. He feels that any website that exposes you to clickbait is not worth the risk.
Scammers targeted Georgia State junior Antonio Rucker, but he managed not to fall into their traps. Rucker encountered scammers using different methods, such as fake group chats and fraudulent money schemes.
He feels like these pages are easy to identify, so he quickly stops them in their tracks.
“I typically avoid these scammers by blocking them and instantly deleting any message they send to me,” he said.
Rucker feels people should use social media for socializing with people they know personally. He feels it is best to take caution with the things shared on social media and not be so open.
“It is important to be very persistent in observing anything and anyone on any form of social media,” he said. “Most people are only looking out for themselves, so if it seems like they are trying hard to persuade you, they are most likely trying to scam you.”
Senior Nigel Walton once found himself at the center of one of these schemes. Thieves targeted Walton after they took his pictures to create a fake page on Instagram.
“They created another account with my likeness and tried to lead people to donate various amounts of money to it,” he said.
Walton got enough people to report the account, and eventually, Instagram took it down. This situation led Walton to keep an eye out to avoid it ever happening again.
“I make sure that I change my Instagram passwords often,” he said. “Unless it’s someone I know, I don’t follow any Bitcoin or Forex pages because those are usually the pages scammers use.”
The internet has many potential monsters harming users, but it is easy to avoid them with the right steps, such as not exchanging personal information online, not using the same password for everything and not signing in to social media accounts on public computers.
