Looks like more of us have to be a lot more careful out there.
Last year’s total of US dollars lost to online fraud come in around $240,000,000. Just under a quarter billion. And a 20% increase from the year before.
The two largest categories were auction scams and the non-delivery of purchased goods. Pet scams and online dating scams were also very problematic.
Obviously, scam artists are mimicking legitimate business models (online auctions) and going after things that pull on the heartstrings (pets and the quest for true love). I hope the increase in dollar amount means that more and more people are going online, increasing the amount in the pool of who could be fooled as opposed to an increasingly higher percentage of netizens who are remaining gullible.
I’ve been getting solicitations daily now for the past week. From so and so asking me to send money to an account. Obviously, there still is a huge market.
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