Watch out for these three scams

 New scams are emerging daily; staying aware of the trends can help avoid them. Keep an eye out for these tricks.

Scams have unfortunately become a part of everyday life, with thousands of banking customers targeted each day.

Some of these scams are pretty easy to spot, due to an unlikely backstory, spelling errors or unreasonably demanding language. Others are a little trickier.

In fact, fraudsters are now becoming more aware of the moves that work and changing their strategies and targets to increase their likelihood of success.

We’ve taken a look at some of the more recent scams to add to your radar.

1. Loyalty points scams

Some scammers have now moved beyond cash and are trying to collect people’s loyalty points.

This scam involves a text or email to a customer advising points about to expire and a link to a fake website, Scamwatch explained. Once you log in, the fraudster can collect your hard-earned points and identity information to commit fraud.

It’s catching people out because some loyalty schemes do, in fact, advise customers when points are due to expire.

A quick way to avoid this scam is to go directly to the loyalty program’s website, instead of accessing the program through a link.

2. Artificial intelligence (AI) scams

In the past few months, we’ve begun to see the power and potential of AI to help with various aspects of life. We’re also starting to see the potential for harm, through digitally altered images known as ‘deep fakes’.

Deep fakes digitally manipulate a person’s image into a new setting to make it look real and have been used to create several types of illegal content, including revenge pornography and child sex abuse material. However, they’re also being used for illegitimate investment schemes.

At the moment, deep fakes are often spotted by identifying small details you wouldn’t see in a true image, such as unusual shadows, robotic movements and changes in skin or hair tone.

3. Live chat scams

Various websites use chatbots to help visitors answer simple questions or navigate the site.

We’ve been informed scammers have recently been duplicating legitimate websites and getting people to interact with the live chat function. The pretend chatbot then tries to gain remote access to the customer’s computer for a phishing scam.

To avoid this, be extra careful about the URL of websites you frequent, especially if accessing them from an email link.  

If you’ve seen a new scam, you can report it to Scamwatch.