Speaking of the dark side of the internet, there are two most annoying things: unpleasant people and cheating on blogs, newspapers and even famous sites . This is not a complaint against the partisan press or against defamation on the net, but just an exam on how to recognize when you are visiting a site where someone writes that " tries ", sometimes devising tricks to influence people, other times by hiding or editing bogus cases and stories.
Obviously we must also consider the online scams coming via email, often so obvious, but which continue to make victims especially among the oldest and the least experienced with technologies and the web.
READ ALSO: How to tell if a site is dangerous
1) Product review sites, restaurants, hotels and more
The first thing to learn when surfing the internet is to recognize fake reviews of products, hotels, services, restaurants and all that you can buy online.
Online shopping is wonderful because you can read every opinion of a product or its supplier in real time to decide whether to spend money or not.
If it is true that most people leave sincere feedback and comments, it is also true that many reviews are falsified and released by the suppliers themselves.
They are generally easy to recognize because they are excessively good, enthusiastic, inflated and positive without reservations.
On sites like Tripadvisor or Amazon, but also on some blogs, false reviews are recognizable because :
- The first person is used at excessive levels;
- They are full of enthusiastic but empty positive adjectives;
- In a series of comments, they are all written in a short period of time;
- They do not speak of the characteristics of the product;
- The product name is repeated several times.
Ignoring the overly positive reviews that say nothing about the product is already a great way to orient yourself in online purchases.
In another article, you can deepen the topic on how to recognize false reviews on the internet
2) Sites of home rentals and online sales
Sites like Kijiji allow you to find houses for rent with ads similar to those of PortaPortese-style newspapers.
This is fine, only that, if it is true that the reviews can be false, it is also true that giving money to someone of whom nothing is known is absolutely to be avoided.
In sites where there is no review system, it is always better not to pay in advance.
3) Free program download sites
When you download a "free" program on the internet, you must always be very careful and they are often deceptive.
Some of the most famous software download sites, such as Cnet or Softonic, hide the direct link to download the program and push the visitor to download it using their proprietary downloader.
This is a useless program, the installation of which is full of adware, toolbars and sponsors that fill the computer with junk.
The general recommendation is therefore to download the programs from the official sites which, however, are not always honest.
In many cases the real download link is small and surrounded by large "download" buttons which are actually advertisements.
Furthermore, speaking of lesser known programs for Windows PCs, you could run into official sites full of symbols with the words "certified", "virus free" or "trusted" which should convince visitors that their program is not a virus.
These symbols, however, are only images that anyone can put therefore do not give any guarantee.
Also pay attention to all free programs and read the guide to install a freeware program without additional sponsors
4) Streaming video sites
Except Youtube and other famous sites, the sites with streaming videos have advertisements within them that are real scams.
For example, invitations to update Flash or to install codecs that are not absolutely necessary and that very often are malware may appear in the video space.
Never download players and updates from streaming video sites, they are always viruses
5) Facebook
Facebook is the most visited site in the world and it is normal, therefore, that it is used by scammers to deceive less careful users.
In this regard, I have already written How Facebook is used to infect users' PCs with malware.
6) Online shopping sites
The shopping sites for buying products on the internet are booming today.
There are large stores such as Ebay and Amazon, but also many other online stores such as Zalando, Dalani and others that also advertise on TV.
If you are looking for a technological product, a dress or any other object on the internet, before buying, it is important to check whether the site has a good reputation or is a scam.
In fact, there are many cases of shopping sites that take money without sending anything, untraceable or with fake locations.
In another article, how to check the reputation of sites to buy online without risk
7) Scams via Email
Online scammers are always active in finding new ways to deceive users and make them spend money.
The only way to avoid falling into a cheat is to recognize the signs that identify them.
Some recommendations are: never reveal your password, do not buy something from an unsolicited email, do not click on the email links from your bank, ignore messages that say to install an antivirus and so on.
Ignore also the emails with free trial offers of products and goods (which is then almost impossible to return or unsubscribe from the paid service on the second sending), requests for loans and prize winners.
The online security guide against hackers, phishing and cybercriminals should provide an effective scam defense tool.
In another article, the general guide to block spam emails and how to recognize Email with viruses
8) Do not give credibility to Facebook pages with fake fans or Twitter accounts with false followers
To determine the goodness of a website or source, you can look at the number of people who clicked like or follow on Facebook or Google+.
Unfortunately there are rather simple ways to buy fans and followers on all social networks: Facebook, Twitter and Google+ so this parameter is to be weighed very carefully.
It is quite simple to understand if a Facebook page has fake fans by clicking on the Like box in the center of it and comparing the number of fans with "the people who talk about this topic", also taking into account the number of posts published.
On Twitter it is possible to check the false followers for each account on the Fake followers check site.
9) Avoid ending up in discussions with trolls on forums and blogs.
Sometimes you can't help it, and you end up arguing with someone on the internet, especially when it comes to politics.
There are people who, to impose their idea and make others' disappear, begin to behave like "trolls" with repeated insults, complaints and interventions against that do not contain arguments.
The absolute best way to avoid trolls on the internet is to ignore them.
If you realize that you cannot come out with dignity in a discussion, you should delete all your comments.
10) Ignore too good job advertisements
Those who are unemployed and looking for work, can be prey to scams on work from home, on online work, with promises of high earnings.
They, as well as promises to make money easily from home, are always false and, often, even scams.
11) Dating sites
Most dating sites advertise themselves as free or are completely paid or are spam sites where nobody will be known, full of photos of obviously fake beautiful girls.
The most typical example is Twoo, the former Badoo, a site to really stay away from.
Many of the "online dating" sites just want to take advantage of vulnerable people.
Keep in mind therefore that profile photos do not mean anything and can be false, that you never have to pay any person to meet them, that you must not give your name on sites and chats that do not have a good reputation and, above all, in the case of first meeting, do it in a crowded place.
READ ALSO: Best truly free dating sites
If you have other examples of sites with online scams, please leave a comment
In other articles:
- Avoid identity theft and have your passwords stolen
- Online reputation check to find out who and how they look for me on the internet
- Defend against social engineering techniques to steal personal data and defraud
