Internet fraud is a matter of increasing concern for both civilians and law-enforcement agencies as it is not only difficult to track hackers, but also challenging to identify Internet frauds. The best option, therefore, is to avoid these frauds by changing over to a virtual private network or VPN. The aim of this article is to provide some insight into a few types of Internet frauds, how they work and benefits of using a VPN.
Online Auction Fraud/Non-Delivery of Merchandise
Typically, someone will put up a product for sale at the highest price on one of the auction sites. Money is collected by the scammers prior to shipping the product. The product may be nonexistent, not have the attributes listed on the site or of lower value. The buyer will have to sign on the delivery note and receive the product.
Spamming and Identity Theft
Spam refers to bulk emails posted to a large number of email addresses with a view to steal identities, corrupt computers, or make individuals pay for fraudulent products/services. Popular offerings made by spam messages include free credit checks, low-interest loans, relationship with singles and sweepstake winnings. Typically, scam mails request people to open the message and then click on some link, opening up the computer to a bug, virus or worm. In the case of identity theft, passwords, credit card information, Social Security numbers, telephone numbers and home addresses are accessed with the help of bugs.
Credit Card Fraud
Credit card frauds occur when fraudulent websites selling products and services require consumers to register their credit card information. They record the information, unlike trustworthy vendors, and make purchases for their own benefit without the knowledge of the consumer.
Benefits of Using a VPN
VPN offers a number of benefits, but the two key ones are as follows:
Changes and Hides Your IP: A feature of the VPN service is that your IP address is hidden and you access a site with a new address provided by the system. This makes it difficult for scammers to steal data. On the other hand, VPN helps you to anonymously browse the Internet.
Privacy and Security: On the Internet, you are being watched by your ISP, Network administrator, and many others. As and when you connect to the World Wide Web through a VPN service, your data (passwords, instant messages and financial transactions) is transmitted in the encrypted form. Thus, VPN helps you to avoid theft of identity and credit card information.
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