A
scam is defined as a dishonest scheme or a fraud. While there are many types of
scams, the top two scams currently, are job scams and love scams. Many people
have suffered losses due to such fraud. In the year 2015, almost RM200 million losses
have been reported lost in scams. Highly advanced technology and internet today
has become catalysts in scamming people. The scammers trick the victims through
online transaction because it is difficult for the police to track them as certainly
they will use a fake identity and fake profile picture.
Love
scammers normally take advantage of people looking for romantic partners, often
via dating websites, apps or social media by pretending to be prospective
companions. They play on emotional triggers to get the victims to provide
money, gifts or personal details. A love scam is not easy to detect. With most
people chatting online and finding their partners through online dating sites,
it is difficult to distinguish a genuine person from a scammer. However, there
are a few signs to indicate a love scammer.
The
scammer readily shows pictures of himself/herself. Usually it happens even
within hours or days of the chat. Most of such pictures maybe shot with models
or friends of the scammer. In Malaysia, love scam is also known as African scam
because mainly the scammers are from Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Sierra
Leonne dan Ivory Coast. The scammers will use fake profile picture of European males.
Another sign is, the scammer confess his/her love very quickly sometimes it will
only takes a few days of chatting before declaring his/her love. The scammers may
buy parcels and send it to your place and request you to mail it to the address
mentioned by him/her. If the goods are stolen stuff, the victim can get into serious
trouble. The scammer generally takes more time (than the victim) to respond to
chats. This is an indication that the scammer is simultaneously chatting with a
lot of victims. The last warning sign of scammer is the money scene comes early
which means he/she will asks the victim to help with advance money to seek
medical help or for some other reasons. They somehow always promise the victim
to pay back the money in double. Love scammers usually will come out with a lot
excuses and will never reveal their original identity.
A
job scam occurs when a scammer poses as an employer or recruiter, and offers
attractive employment opportunities which require that the job seeker pay money
in advance. This is usually under the guise of work visas, travel expenses or
background and or credit checks that are required for the job. Once the money
has been paid, the scammer disappears, and the job seeker is left with no job,
and out of pocket. The scammers target job seekers from overseas where they use
the lure of huge salaries, work permits and paid travel as ways of enticing the
job seeker to part with their money. These scammers will take advantage of the vulnerable.
Sometimes, the victims are not only the average people but very smart people
might just have a moment of weakness. The scammers are often sneaky and are
becoming more skilled, they managed to mimic the site of a real employer, the
design and domain name that are similar to the real company site. It is becoming
more difficult to know and differentiate between a scam and a legitimate job
opening. Hence the very smart job applicants might have had their guard down
and thus fell to their scam. There are few warning signs to recognize the job
scam.
If
there any job offer that requires that you pay a fee in advance, it is probably
a scam. No legitimate company or recruiter will ask for money upfront. Job
scammers typically do not have company’s website and contact details. However,
if they have a fake company’s website then compare the contact number with
official company’s website. Any recruiter or company that corresponds from a
free email account such as Yahoo, Live, Hotmail or Gmail is very likely a
scammer. Legitimate job related emails will come from corporate email accounts.
Any job offer without interview is most probably a scam. A reputable company
will never offer a job without interviewing. The most important sign of job
scam is that they receive job offers from company that they did not apply for.
The high salaries always cloud the victims judgmental. The last sign of job
scam is that there are few details on job description and that no experience or
qualifications are needed for the job.
In
conclusion, there are those today that are willing to do anything to earn money
and to get rich in the easy way. Some may feel so desperate to get a job or to
be loved by somebody but caution is still necessary to prevent us from falling
into the fraudsters’ hands. Always be careful when it comes to online job or online
dating.
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