Tech Support Scams
Technical support scams are one of the most successful types of scams as usually the victim initiates the interaction by calling a fake support number found online.
These types of scams can start in a range of places from a user having a legitimate problem with their device or a fake popup website claiming that the victim has a virus. Scammers engage ad networks and Google search to list their websites and phone numbers as legitimate support numbers. Many times, the agents will answer the phone pretending to be official representatives of companies like Microsoft, Brother, Epson and many more.
Unfortunately victims think they are getting legitimate support and happily pay. When confronted, many victims of this scam will say they weren't scammed at all.
Read MoreRefund Scams
These types of scams work a bit differently as they are initiated by the scammer in one of several ways. These are, thankfully, slightly less successful than technical support scams.
The most common is a cold call either from an agent or, more often, an automated system. The caller makes a claim that the victim is due for a refund due to one of many reasons including but not limited to having been over charged, paying for a service or product that can no longer be offered (and never existed) or a service that the victim never wanted to begin with.
The second method is an email to the victim with a fake invoice for a product or service that the victim never purchased - along with a number for disputes and refunds. The victim calls the number and is led by the agent to request a refund.
The goal of refund scams is to trick the victim into thinking they were refunded an enormous amount of money by accident and the scammers job is on the line. The victim is asked to send the "extra" money back to them using untraceable methods.
Read More
Invalid API key or channel ID.