Online scams may try to:
- take your money
- steal your personal details.
Criminals most often send scams by email. They send out millions of emails to random email addresses in the hope that someone will respond.
Some examples of online scams include:
- unexpected money or winnings
- fake charities asking for donations
- dating and romance scams
- the buying and selling of illegal products.
Top tips
- Read the terms and conditions carefully before agreeing to any offer.
- Check your credit card and bank account statements regularly.
- Be careful not to click on links in suspicious emails.
- Don’t open emails from people you don’t know – delete them straight away.
- Use spam filters to block spam before it enters your email inbox. You can get these from most email account providers.
- Don’t give out your email address or phone number unless you know how that information will be used.
- Remember – if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!