Top 7 online scams and how to avoid falling for them

Don't get scammed 

     The internet is undoubtedly a world of its own. It is a platform that allows people from various walks of life coexist and interact together. The varying uses of the internet has made it even more difficult for people to let go of it, instead more people are jumping on the internet users bandwagon daily.

 Due to the large number of internet users scammers all over the world are seeing it as a medium to prey on unsuspecting people. Today on Ranterholic I will be counting down the top 7 online scams and how to avoid falling for them.

   According to the Cambridge dictionary a scam an illegal plan for making money, especially one that involves tricking people.

Day in day out scammers come come up with new tactics to swindle people of their valuables. Take a look at the screenshot saved by me while browsing on Google, if people are searching for "how to scam" and "how to be successful at it" then you must equip yourself with the right knowledge.

Let's take a look at the scams shall we

• Flat Tummy Tea Scam

    If you are an ardent social media user then flat tummy tea shouldn't be no stranger to you. In case you don't know what this is, a flat tummy tea is basically a tea that is meant to suppress appetite, reduce belly fat and help in aiding weight loss. For someone interested in losing belly fat or weight this is like a jackpot. This could have been awesome if they actually worked but they don't, opppps.

 I love to call this the "coded scam" or the "broad day light scam" because the companies that manufacture them are confident enough to publicly swindle people, isn't that wickedness. These brands even go as far as paying a lot of celebrities and influencers to endorse this tea, this which is why we can't scroll through social media peacefully without getting bombarded by influencers posing with flat tummy tea.

Apart from the fact that these stuff don't work they also put your health at risk. 

 Based on findings by Medical experts long-term use of flat tummy tea can cause "cramping, constant dehydration, frequent urination, chronic diarrhea, stomach pain among others" Click to tweet

These side effects are caused by the ingredients used in making this tea which don't even have medical backings to prove that they actually work for fat reduction. Imagine paying for something and getting inconvenient by it, not worth it!!! 

DO you know the confusing part of this tea scam??? Those celebrities and influencers that advertise this product all have flat tummies already hahahaha, a good number of them also advertise waist trainers so which of the two products is genuinely working? Not to forget that some of these influencers and celebs have personal trainers and some rely on plastic surgery for the snatched body. Shocked? Don't be my dear not everything on social media is real. My post here justifies that, check it out. 

Please do not waste your money on this scam, those people you see promoting this product are paid to do so and some have even been caught editing their pictures just to make it seem like the tea works. Instead of consuming this dangerous tea stick to a healthy diet and exercise well. Visit verywellfit.com for an in depth analysis on flat tummy tea and more on fitness.

• Ponzi Scheme Scam

According to Wikipedia A Ponzi scheme also referred to as Ponzi game is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. The scheme leads victims to believe that profits are coming from product sales or other means, and they remain unaware that other investors are the source of funds. What ponzi schemes do is that they ask you to drop a particular amount of money called initial deposit and assure you double or triple the amount of your initial deposit when it gets  back to you. 

One of the terrible things about ponzi schemes is that they dupe a large number of people at the same time. They start off by gaining the trust of a large number of people by paying them their promised fee at the promised time, some schemes even advice the investors to start small and build as you go thereby gaining the participants trust. The painful thing is that ponzi schemes grow really fast as people are constantly referring others in order to increase their earnings. 

One of the reasons why you should stay away from ponzi schemes is that they usually get addictive. Once you start this scheme you get carried away by the huge amount of money you are getting in return and you continue to invest a larger deposit each time. I even heard of students investing their school fees into a popular ponzi scheme before it crashed back then in Nigeria.....nawa o. 

Another reason why you should stay away from ponzi schemes is that they crash suddenly with no one expecting it. Spoiler Alert!!! Investors dont ever get their money back whether big or small. Do not be deceived by any ponzi scheme no matter how long it lasts as it will end up leaving you in debt when it unexpectedly crashes, till today some people are yet to recover from their ponzi scheme loss. Because something is promoted publicly doesn't mean it's genuine, stay away from ponzi schemes at all cost.

• Partnership Scam 

This type of scam is mainly associated with makeup or beauty brands. They reach out to a bunch of people telling them that their company or brand is in need of partners to work with them. They present you with all the benefits you will enjoy if you partner with them and end their advert or message by telling you that this partnership will cost you a token. Already enticed the person sends the money quickly and get the products in return.

Despite being called a partner these brands won't send you a sample package just for you to try out the product and be sure you are still interested, instead you will be fed with lies about this product and false "testimonies" as the call it

When you get the products you realize that you have been duped as the product is substandard and the company was only looking for an avenue to sell the product by all means, you will now be left with the task of selling the product from your end and making atleast your capital back which rarely happens.

Before partnering with any brand request a sample pack to be sure of the quality of the product you are getting and if the company refuses it's probably a sign for you to run, why will you call me your partner and yet you can't send me a sample product, tufia! 

If you're wowed by the product's description and you really want to partner with them then reviews are the way to go, just make sure you read up reviews from different sources as the ones on their website can be fake.

• Work from home scam

There is nothing as amazing as hearing that you can make cool bucks from the comfort of your home by doing little to nothing. Sadly these sites are usually just a scam that rob people of their time and data. Any site that promises to pay you money without any form of investment or start-up fee should be checked well else you might end up getting your time and energy wasted. 

The most popular ways to make money according to these sites is by referring people and taking surveys with these two ways being a win-win situation for the website. By making you refer people you are generating more traffic to their site and more money for. They also make money from companies that own those surveys you are answering and they get a bunch of emails too. 

These sites also get you hooked by giving a minimum cash out amount which has to be reached before you can request withdrawal, to reach this amount you will have no choice than to complete all their task for you. When it's time for you to receive your payment you are either blocked for no reason or you endlessly keep on requesting payment which never comes. The best way to spot a work from home scam is by reading reviews outside the website, never trust those reviews you see when you open those sites. I personally don't believe in them sha.

• Pop up scam

Have you ever scrolled through your browser only to get a message that your phone contains a malware that needs to be fixed urgently? You will then be asked to click on the link to fix the problem. Do not click on the link even if they got your phone's name and model correctly, it is part of the way to trick you into believing that the message is genuine. Instead of clicking on the link open your anti-virus quickly and scan your device for any malware, you will be shocked to discover that nothing is wrong with your device and the scammers were only trying to get additional data that will be used in defrauding you.

The pop up scams also come in congratulatory messages, unlike the malware message you will be congratulated for winning an item after being the lucky winner. The item is usually something expensive and you will be asked to send your details so that your package can be sent to you. It is a Scam!!!! Some even ask you to send a little fee that will be used in shipping your package, once you send them the money you get blocked. Pop up messages are means of duping people don't fall for it.

• Percentage off or price slash scam

This type of scam is very popular among shopping sites and it is done by slashing the prices of products. This price slash is usually in two ways. The shopping site might discover that people are not buying a particular product upon discovering that it was overpriced, when this happens the company/site is left with no choice than to reduce the price of the product. It is advisable to confirm the price of a product from different sites before placing your order.

The second price slashing scam is by selling a trending expensive product for a ridiculously cheap price. When consumers see this they get excited about the price slash and order the product quickly little will they know that the product is fake until the order arrives. Apart from making a ton of money from selling the fake product they also generate traffic to sell their other products. Some companies are just so terrible, haba. Bare in mind that an expensive product suddenly becoming cheap on a particular website is a red flag.

• Bank account Scam 

Disclaimer! Disclaimer! Disclaimer!!! Your bank will never ask you to send you bank details to them online if anything goes wrong with your account. Ideally your bank is meant to have your necessary details with them but in a situation whereby your presence is required you will be asked to visit any branch closer to you to resolve your issues. 

Apart from tricking people online, scammers can also do so by sending messages to people's Sim cards. Let's say your bank is zeal bank for instance, when you receive a message from them the message sender should be zeal bank and not a regular number. If you try calling the number it won't connect because it isn't a regular phone number. This I believe is a way banks are using to protect their customers from scammers. Some scammers seeing this now pose to be bank officials just to collect people's banking details, don't fall for it instead block the number and consult your bank about the messages.

Messages such as telecommunication companies giving out free data, FG giving out money and Netflix offering free Covid-19 subscriptions are all fake....... Don't be a victim!!! 

In conclusion It is best to always remember that too good to be true might actually not be true.

 Feel free to drop your thoughts about this writeup in the comment section, share this post to curb the rate of people getting scammed through these means and check out my previous posts too...... Kisses