How to avoid getting scammed online

Nobody likes to get scammed. It can be embarrassing to say the least, expensive and at times devastating and life threatening at its worst. But with the ease of online communication, sharing of data and transferring of funds…it is something that is becoming increasingly common,  as the scammers become increasingly sophisticated. And its not just adults getting duped. Many a young person has been led down the scamming path as they are enticed by the purchase of gaming add on’s (think Fortnite costumes, weapons and dance moves) where the credit card is handed over to fake sites for the purchase of add on’s that never come through. And just this week I helped report a scammer who was making contact with young people on Instagram, pretending they were someone else and threatening to reveal photos and secrets to contact lists in return for money. And if thousands of adults are getting duped online, it is little wonder our kids are too. Their ‘still developing brains’ are rarely up for the cognitive thinking that many of these scamming incidents require.