BREAKING: Students falling victim to online scams
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If, even for a split second, you actually believed you were about to be ten-thousand dollars richer, you are likely susceptible to being robbed of something far more than your dignity. Don’t worry though, it can happen to the best of us. Nowadays, scammers are lurking around every corner and up until not long ago they were pretty easy to detect, however the scammer’s craft has now evolved into something even the most alert of minds can be fooled by.
To break it down, scammers work in three main domains: false advertising, phishing and scrounging.
The ‘false advertising’ scam can only ever work if you’re buying from an illegitimate website. Facebook marketplace is the perfect territory for these types of scammers, alongside Instagram, Discord and un-heard-of clothing websites. Their ‘too good to be true’ sale adverts are the perfect scam to inflict on students, who have little money and will most likely jump at the prospect of acquiring a Versace shirt for $50.
“A couple of years ago I tried to buy a PlayStation from somebody on Vic Deals, which apparently came with loads of games and two controllers. I talked to the guy for ages and paid a big deposit, but as soon as I transferred the money, he blocked me. Turns out, he had done the same thing to loads of other people. We all went to the police, and they ended up catching the guy! He went to court they made him pay everyone back, as well as having to do community service. I have definitely learned my lesson now,” says Tyler Meir.
“I don’t buy clothes online much, but I thought I would buy a nice pair of party clothes for R&V. Scrolling through some websites I finally found a cool patterned shirt and shorts set that I thought would be perfect for my three-day bender. On the website, the fabric looked really well made. Unfortunately, when it finally showed up in the mailbox, it was like a pair of silky jocks that I definitely would have chucked away if I got them at Christmas. It was not at all what it looked like online, and I think the photo advertised was probably the only legit pair ever made in existence, and the website was a massive knockoff. So instead of spending $80 on a nice pair of clothes, I paid $80 for some shitty pyjamas,” says student Jack Warren.
The phishing scam is a term that’s growing more popular by the minute. It is basically the internet equivalent of pick-pocketing. It is also a good example of why you shouldn’t make your pin number 1234. Phishing scams generally operate through malicious software being sent to your computer, designed to trick you into revealing sensitive information. This sensitive information then allows scammers to consequently drain your bank account.
“On a trip around Europe a couple of years ago, my parents credit card was hacked. There was a scamming device over one of the ATM machine card-insert slots that pretty much stole all our data. Luckily we went to the bank (and the police) and we got our money back, otherwise we pretty much would have been rendered homeless in a foreign country,” says student Olivia Whelan.
The third and final most popular method of scamming is the scrounging scam, and the most manipulative of all. The scammer poses as an organisation or charity, using guilt-tripping tactics to bring money into their grimy paws. Fake charity warning signs include people collecting donations on behalf of a charity without any identification, people posing as banks and asking for a monetary deposit in order for a larger sum to be released to you, asking for a cheque to be made out to a name rather than the charity, and cold calls and emails such as the classic ‘Nigerian prince,’ scam.
“I was trying to sell my car and I had a person emailing me for three days straight about it, and they seemed really interested. They asked all the right questions and eventually agreed to buy it. They then told me they were working on an oil rig out at sea and that the only way they could pay me the money was if I paid the ‘bank’ $800, because the ‘oil rig was so far out of range of the banking transfer service’. They told me they would pay me back the $800 plus more, but I knew that it was a scam. It seemed very legit though,” says student Dora Wilkinson.
“My grandad almost bought into an email along the same lines as that Nigerian prince scheme. It was something about a refugee woman with children urgently seeking money to escape her country. I literally turned up at my grandad’s house right before he was about to make a payment. All it took was a quick Google search to confirm it was a scam, but my grandad’s not very knowledgeable about computers and scams and would have just sent his money,” says a Massey first-year student.
If you ever think that you have been scammed, or that something might be a scam, there are many places you can go to report the issue. The police are the most obvious course of action, but there are other websites such as ReportFraud.ftc.gov and consumerprotection.govt.nz that look into online scamming and shut down any dodgy accounts and websites. Most banks also offer refunds to victims of fraudulent activity.
The best way to avoid being scammed, both online and in person, is to take everything with a grain of salt. If you suspect a person or company might have a hidden agenda, do your research and find out as much as you can before making any payments. Also be weary of how much money you keep linked to your debit card if you have paywave, in case it ever falls into the wrong hands.