Can You Outfox the Fox? Online Scam Artists Are Busy Setting Traps

By John L. Fischer, Personal Finance Writer

online identity theft

It's hard to find anyone who loves their job more than an online scam artist. How great would it be if your only mission in life was to invent ways to rip people off? For the average online identity thief, it's all in a day's work. And that's why identity theft prevention needs to matter to you.

How do you recognize the "typical" online scam?

Any successful online scammer probably has a large number of tricks and traps standing by. But there are a few tried-and-true scams that online crooks love to use — and re-use. So preventing identity theft starts with knowing what's out there.

Before you spend too much time pondering identity theft prevention, though, put yourself in the scammer's shoes.

If you had to "bring home the bacon" as an online thief, how would you do it?

One answer might be by "keeping things simple." Here are a few examples:

  • Phish out of water? Computer hackers, identity thieves and other online tricksters may be lowlifes, but they're not stupid. These resourceful con artists often use "phishing" as a way to steal sensitive information.

    What's "phishing?" Just think of it like this: ID thieves cast lures online, often in the form of fake e-mails urgently requesting personal information, then wait around to see who bites.
  • Leave off the "s" for "scamming." Always look for the letters "https" on any site you use to enter personal information.

    If you don't see that "s" in the URL (an indicator that the site is secure), it's probably a fake.
  • "@" — not where it's at. If you see an "@" in the middle of a URL (online address), bet the house that it's a scam.

    Legit companies use the full name of the website in the URL — none that include "@."
  • Meanwhile … down on the pharm. Creating misspelled domain names can be a scam artist's bread-and-butter; this online trick is called "pharming."

So if you get an e-mail inquiry from "www.yohoo.com," or http://payrole.com/, back up the truck, and read it again.