In an increasingly digital world, digital criminals are finding more inventive ways to target and scam victims. Victims of scam range from the highly intelligent and educated to those with lower levels of education. We have to be vigilant and alert to protect ourselves and those around us. The following are some signs that you are being scammed:

Look out for Grammar and Spelling Mistakes

Not all grammar and spelling mistakes should raise a red flag. If you are dealing with an individual who portrays himself as highly educated, sophisticated and a resident of an English speaking country but he or she still makes basic grammar & spelling mistakes that is a sure sign that you are being scammed.

Go through the individuals’ emails or messages to make sure that you are dealing with a genuine individual. Do an online search with his/her details and if you don’t find anything to back their claims. Run for the hills you are dealing with a scammer.

I once got an email from a “Chinese” individual who claimed to be a CEO of a recruiting company; they were recruiting workers for a British international hotel and the money they were willing to pay was mind boggling. I was curious and played along, after a few weeks of communication; they sent some bogus documents which had the letter head of the hotel, the documents included letter of employment, immigration documents and employee manual. All of them were legitimate copied from the originals. They then asked me to pay something like a 1000 US dollars for processing my immigration to Britain.

I knew it was a scam; the emails had so many spelling mistakes while the documents they sent me were well written and very professional. At the hotel’s website, there was no indication of any ongoing recruitment. I marked all future emails as spam and that was the end of it.

Frequent requests for money or conversations that only involve money

Most scammers will present themselves as legitimate by sharing personal information about them to create an emotional bond with their victims. They will usually have done a background check If you find yourself in a situation where you are being asked for money, be very wary. Scammers usually look for victims in desperate situations who will think emotionally first rather than logically.

This is what usually happens in dating scams; single people, widows and widowers who are looking for love. Once they have invested emotionally, then they can’t see through the scam until it is too late.

Always ask for a meeting in person and if the person refuses to meet; you are dealing with a scam. Always do an online search and if that person isn’t on any social media channel. This is the time to cut off communication.

Scammers will use information and pictures of other people which they have downloaded from facebook and other social media platforms.

Promises of huge returns on investment or winning bogus money prizes

The principal human emotion that scammers prey on is greed hence the term “get rich quick” scams. If you are dealing with individuals who promise to double or triple your money without incurring and losses, you are definitely dealing with a scammer.

The scammers will have a website where they give out massive discounts and unbelievably low prices for products or services or they will send you messages that you have won a huge amount in a competition you never participated in.

They will ask for a small amount so as not to trigger suspicions but once you have paid, they will ask for more using every excuse in the book. Since you don’t want to lose your initial investment, you will pay again and again until you ask for your money to be refunded. At this point they will then disappear and start a new website or scam. This is how pyramid schemes works.

A typical scam is the Nigerian scam; where the individual claims to be a family member of the late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha who stole billions from Nigeria. They will claim that they want to deposit a huge amount of this hidden cash into your account and you will be given a small percentage. So for you to earn their trust, you have to deposit a small amount of cash before they transfer their money to your account. One of my friends almost fell to this scam but he consulted widely before he took the risk and sure enough he later found out that it was a scam from some of the victims.

Bernie Madoff scammed the elite of American society (movie stars, politicians, businessmen) for billions of dollars. Any person can be a victim of a scam. To be safe don’t share your personal details like location, phone number, bank account details, place of employment. Never send money through wire transfer and if you are selling products or services always ask to be paid in cash.

Be safe, listen to your inner voice and always get a second, third or fourth opinion before you become a victim of scam.