What is a Scam?
According to the dictionary, 'scam' is defined as a fraudulent act, a swindle, a dishonest scheme, where people cheats another individual or group out of money by presenting them with false information during a deal or offer.
No matter what the definition is, falling for one of these scams mean much more than the loss of money, but also psychologically. And sometimes, victims even suffer physically due to these frauds.
How Does a Scam Works?
Scams works simply of 3 reasons:
- Everyone is a target.
- Look like the real deal, or even better than the real deal.
- Based on psychology and human nature
These 3 reasons may look simple, but they are very deep, especially the last one. By using psychology findings, such as conformity, sometimes it is easy a unknowing person to sway and fall into the traps of the scammers. Click here for the elaborated explanation on the 3 reasons of how scam works.
Tell Tale Signs
Although scams look like or even better than the real thing/deal, there are signs a scam can never shake off, especially when you do a bit of research into them.
When the offer or deal is so unbelievably attractive, it is probably because they cannot be believed. This is the first sign that the offer is likely to a scam and we should be cautious.
The Company
The Website
Before making any deal, it is essential to know who you are dealing with. Most of the time, scammers will introduce themself as representative from a company and offer you an deal, package, etc. Even if the representative is someone you know personally, it is crucial to find out about the company. In Malaysia, we can search for the company using Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM), aka Companies Commission of Malaysia.
It is important to understand that even if the company name look similar to a reputable company, it may be a fake and not really part of the company group. Also, any company with paid-up capital of RM 2.00 is also highly suspicious.
A large number of scams are web-based. Before we make bought and pay for their services, there are a few things to look for to determine the validity of the website.
Firstly, the website address. A reputable company will spare no effort in acquiring a proper domain.
Secondly, contacts within the website. Are there any telephone numbers to their office? If yes, it can be used to determine the operation of the company.
Thirdly, spelling and grammatical errors. Typos are arguably very common. However, a proper website to present a company and their services will be properly and carefully taken care of. Thus, finding a bunch of errors within the website is a big give away that no efforts are put into the making of the websites.
If the deals contain all these signs, it is highly probable that it is a scam and we should avoid it.
