These 5 scams are now threatening visitors to the online space

• The Internet is full of pitfalls that lie in wait for the gullible and the unwary
• Google warns against five typical online scams
• Warns of deepfakes, phishing or crypto investments

The Internet is a good servant but a bad master. You’ve probably heard it before, but since there are online scams increasingly sophisticatedit’s okay to repeat this password here and there. Before the five types of traps that can lie in wait for you while surfing the Internet, now points out Google itself.

The Californian software colossus has its own own teams to detect and combat online fraud. In order to raise awareness of possible dangers, it is now running a regular information campaign.

“Frauds are increasing and becoming more complex. They are often carried out by transnational criminal organizations: bad actors who operate on a large scale, constantly adapting their methods and combining online and offline activities to lure people into their fraudulent schemes.” writes Google.

1. Deepfakes

Deepfakes, or “realistic imitations of public figures”, as Google itself defines the trend, se have expanded especially with the advent of artificial intelligence. Comprehensive tools for creation imitations of politicians or celebrities and putting something in their mouths that they would not allow themselves to say in life are relatively easily accessible even to amateurs.

How to recognize a deepfake? Google advises you to they focused primarily on faceswhich often do not seem completely natural. It can be a little worse with “photographs” depicting fictional events…

A fake image of an explosion near the Pentagon went viral in May

2. Investing in cryptocurrencies

Of course, neither Google nor we consider investing in cryptocurrencies to be a scam. However, security experts try to point out the cases where they are offered to you to incredibly advantageous schemes. Fake investments are often associated with well-known personalities – specifically, advertisements with actor Jakub Prachař or President Petr Pavlo are running around on Czech websites.

And how not to fly? It is important to work with critical thinking. If someone offers you a suspiciously easy chance to make money, you’re probably facing a scam.

3. Cloning applications and landing pages

Under the third point, Google alludes to nothing but good old phishing. Fraudsters try to lure users to fraudulent websites that are almost identical to the original website they originally wanted to visit. If they enter their credentials on a fake site, they lose them. We informed you about phishing, for example, in connection with fraudulent imitations of the Citizen’s Identity Portal.

“In recent months, employee login portals and third-party services have become a major target for fraudsters,” adds to the Google issue.

Fraudulent Citizen Identity Portal website

The company further advises that you always try to find information on the company’s official website. You are often able to recognize fraudulent websites the presence of spelling mistakes or random emoticons or thanks strange formatting. Google notes that you can also use the “Source Information” panel, which you can access by clicking the three dots icon next to a given search result.

4. Landing page masking

The issue referred to as “Landing page cloaking” is closely related to the previously mentioned point. Attackers sets up the fraudulent website to appear differently to robots (for example, to those who check for potentially objectionable content) and regular users. While automated systems are shown legitimate content, human visitors may encounter sales of fraudulent products or links distributing malware.

“Before clicking, note the displayed URL and then double-check the landing page you’ve landed on to make sure it’s exactly the same. You should also enable Enhanced Protection in Chrome,” recommended by Google.

5. Abuse of significant events

Fraudsters are particularly active around important events such as elections or major sports matches. With the help of artificial intelligence, they can quickly respond to them and adapt their fake challenges to them. For example, in connection with natural disasters, fraudulent charitable organizations are often created trying to extract money from people willing to help.

To avoid such a situation, you should only contribute through trusted organizations and verified websites.

How do you protect yourself from online fraud?

Source: Google