Tips for avoiding internet fraud from Deloitte & Touche
GENERAL TIPS 

Beware of email or website impostors.

• You could receive an email or visit a website that looks like that of a well known company.

• If you’re not sure of whom you are dealing with, you should first contact the legitimate business by telephone to verify the legitimacy of the website.

• Be suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account, asks for information that the business already has.

Be careful to whom you supply personal information.

• Don’t provide personal details such as credit card and bank account numbers unless you are actually paying for something.

Don’t believe the “get rich� schemes.

• The most common scams include: earning money with little or no work, obtaining a loan or credit card if you have bad credit, or making money on an investment with little or no risk.

TIPS ON EMAIL USAGE

Be careful about unsolicited emails.

• If you don’t want to receive further messages, you can send a reply asking to be removed from the mailing list. This should only be done if you are familiar with the company that sent you the email.

• Responding to unknown senders may simply verify that yours is a working email address and result in more e-mails from strangers. In such instances simply delete the email.

Investment Fraud

• Don't invest in anything based on appearances. Just because an individual or company has a flashy website doesn't mean it is legitimate.

• Don’t invest in anything you are not absolutely sure about. Do your homework on the investment to ensure that it is legitimate.

• Do your homework on the individual or company to ensure that they are legitimate.

• Check out other websites regarding this person/company.

• Be cautious when responding to special investment offers (especially through unsolicited e-mail).

• Be cautious when dealing with individuals/companies from outside your own country.

• Inquire about all the terms and conditions.

• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Nigerian Letter Scam

• Be sceptical of individuals representing themselves as Nigerian or foreign government officials who ask for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts.

• Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation.

• Guard your account information carefully.

TIPS ON DOWNLOADING FILES

Beware of “potentially dangerous downloads.�

• In downloading programs to see pictures, hear music, play games etc, you could download a virus.

• Only download programs from websites you know and trust.

• Read all user agreements carefully.

TIPS ON MAKING ONLINE PURCHASES

Establish whom you’re dealing with. 

• Deal with reputable organisations.

• If you do not recognise the seller or organisation, you should do some background research on the organisation.

• Look for an independent review of the organisation or seller, or a customer satisfaction rating based on actual customer reviews.  There are many of these ratings that can easily be manipulated by the sellers themselves, so beware of false ratings.

• Try to obtain the physical address and phone number.

• Ask others if they are aware of the organisation.

•  If the website has a feedback forum, contact other people who dealt with the organisation.

Business Fraud

• Purchase merchandise from reputable dealers or establishments.

• Try to obtain a physical address rather than just a postal address.

• If you have a telephone number, call the seller to see if the number is correct and working.

• Send them e-mail to see if they have an active e-mail address and be wary of those that use free e-mail services.

• Consider not purchasing from sellers who won't provide you with this type of information.

• Purchase merchandise directly from the individual/company that holds the trademark, copyright, or patent.

•  Beware when responding to e-mail that may not have been sent by a reputable company.

Internet Auction Fraud

• Understand as much as possible about how the auction works, what your obligations are as a buyer, and what the seller’s obligations are before you bid.

• Find out what actions the website/company takes if a problem occurs and consider insuring the transaction and shipment.

• Learn as much as possible about the seller, especially if the only information you have is an e-mail address.

• Examine the feedback on the seller.

• Determine what method of payment the seller is asking from the buyer and where he/she is asking to send payment.

• If a problem occurs with the auction transaction, it could be much more difficult if the seller is located outside South Africa because of the difference in laws.

• Ask the seller about when delivery can be expected and if there is a problem with the merchandise is it covered by a warranty or can you exchange it.

• Find out if shipping and delivery are included in the auction price or are additional costs so there are no unexpected costs.

• There should be no reason to give out your identity number or drivers licence number to the seller.

Non-Delivery of Merchandise

• Make sure you are purchasing merchandise from a reputable source.

• Do background research on the individual or company to ensure that they are legitimate.

• Establish whether the seller makes use of a reputable courier service.  The seller or courier service should preferable provide online parcel tracking information.

• Try to obtain a physical address rather than just a postal address.

• If you have a telephone number, call the seller to see if the number is correct and working.

• Send them e-mail to see if they have an active e-mail address and be wary of sellers who use free e-mail services.

• Consider not purchasing from sellers who won't provide you with this type of information.

• Check out other websites regarding this person/company.

• Don’t judge a person/company by their website.

• Be cautious when responding to special offers (especially through unsolicited e-mail).

• Be cautious when dealing with individuals/companies from outside your own country.

•  Inquire about returns and warranties.

• The safest way to purchase items via the Internet is by credit card because you can often dispute the charges if something is wrong.

• Make sure the transaction is secure when you electronically send your credit card numbers.

Look for information about how complaints are handled.

• If the seller or organisation is located in another country, it may be difficult to resolve complaints.

• Try to ascertain how the organisation resolves any disputes as well as its return/refund policies.

• The fact that no complaints are recorded is not a guarantee as fraudulent operators start new sites regularly.

Make sure you know what the offer entails.

• A legitimate seller will give you time to make a decision.

• They will give you all the details about the products or services, the total price, the delivery time, the refund and cancellation policies, and the terms of any warranty and will answer any questions or concerns you might rise.

• If the seller demand that you act immediately or won’t take “Noâ€� for an answer were cautious, it’s possibly a scam.

Credit Card Fraud

• Don't give out your credit card number(s) online unless the site is a secure and reputable site. Sometimes a tiny icon of a padlock appears to symbolize a higher level of security to transmit data. This icon is not a guarantee of a secure site, but might provide you some assurance.

• Don't trust a site just because it claims to be secure.

• Before using the site, check out the security/encryption software it uses.

• Make sure you are purchasing merchandise from a reputable source.

• Do your homework on the individual or company to ensure that they are legitimate.

• Try to obtain a physical address rather than just a postal address

• If you have a telephone number, call the seller to see if the number is correct and working.

• Send them e-mail to see if they have an active e-mail address and be wary of sellers who use free e-mail services.

• Consider not purchasing from sellers who won't provide you with this type of information.

• Check out other websites regarding this person/company.

• Don’t judge a person/company by their website.

• Be cautious when responding to special offers (especially through unsolicited e-mail).

• Be cautious when dealing with individuals/companies from outside your own country.

• The safest way to purchase items via the Internet is by credit card because you can often dispute the charges if something is wrong.

• Make sure the transaction is secure when you electronically send your credit card numbers.

• You should also keep a list of all your credit cards and account information along with the card issuer’s contact information. If anything looks suspicious or you lose your credit card(s) you should contact the card issuer immediately.

Pay by credit card.

• At present credit cards is the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or the offer was misrepresented.

TIPS ON SECURING YOUR OWN INFORMATION

• Any computer connected to the internet is networked to the rest of the world.

• We expect our service providers to protect our information stored on their systems, such as banks storing our personal financial details and account information.  We should protect the information stored on our own computers with as much diligence.

• Install a respected anti-virus software application, and regularly update the anti-virus definition files.

• Install a personal firewall application on your personal computer.  This will greatly reduce the risk of unauthorised access to the information stored on your computer.

• Password protect your computer, and make sure you change the password regularly

Some of the information listed here was obtained from:

  http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/fraudtips.asp