- Oh, hold up a second. A Nigerian prince wants to give me money. Here's my banking information. Deposit that shiz right now! So if you're a citizen of the internet, i.e., you shop online or
you have online profiles, you've definitely seen a scam or two, and although the majority of the time most people can realize
a scam for what it is, that's not always the case. Online scams are getting
more and more sophisticated and it's not just your grammy and grandpa who are being targeted, it's you. So since it's the holiday season and this is the time when
scammers are out in full force, I've wrangled up the biggest
scams out there right now so that you can be prepared. So here they are. These are 10 online scams
you might get fooled by. #1 is the Apple offer scam. Okay, literally every social
media site in the last year has had the Apple product scam on it. Apple products are pretty popular, but because of their high price point, people are always looking
for a deal on them. Well, that's where the scammers come in. There have been everything
from Instagram spam accounts dedicated to giving away a
free iPhone if you tag a friend to fake YouTube comments
under creators videos, including mine, pretending
to be that person, saying "Hey, click this Google link and you'll just get a free iPhone! It's so easy!" But of course my favorite
is the Facebook ad that use influencer pictures which happened to me and iJustine
multiple times this year, where fake testimonials are
giving using our pictures and different names of course or thumbnails from the videos that we make saying "Hey, my name's Brian and I got this iPhone for a dollar." In fact, this very thumbnail that was from an old vlog of mine was circulating on these Facebook scam ads for like three months with people that were tagging me saying, "Hey, your name isn't Brian
and you're not from the UK." But seriously, these scams take advantage of your desire to get the
products that you want by talking your banking info so that you only pay a dollar, only so that they can actually steal a lot more money from you. So at the end of the day, just make sure you think critically. If an offer online seems
too good to be true, it probably is. #2 is the long lost relative scam. This is one of the most popular scams, as well as one of the oldest. Since email has become a thing,
scammers has become a thing, scammers both domestically
and foreign will email you claiming that they're
your long lost relative, and that an uncle that you
never knew that you had has left you a ton of money,
like five million dollars and you were the only one in his will. How generous! This scam takes advantage
of people's deepest dreams of having someone show up and just drop a pile
of money on their lap, and while a lot of them are clearly fake, like the Nigerian prince
who just chose you at random to send you money, they're getting smarter with them. You'll get a random email from a person seemingly offering free money, and some of them will actually
search your online profiles and mention real family members of yours to sound extra convincing. And of course all they need
is your banking information so that they can deposit the money to you. How convenient! Except of course you won't get a penny, and instead you'll likely find that your accounts have
been drained faster than you can say Prince Abdullah III. #3 is the online pharmacy scam. There are multiple websites online that you can get your drugs from, and some offer discounts,
which can be great, especially if you don't
have health insurance, but some websites prey on the fact that some people and
families need certain drugs and just can't afford them. So they take your credit card information for a product that you'll
never receive or worse, charge crazy amounts to the
card and steal your money. And what's scary about it is that these websites look
like legit online retailers and they invest a lot of
time into building a site that's warm and inviting. Maybe even showing a picture of a doctor. Look how happy he is! He's gonna steal your money! Really though, your best bet is to just ignore unsolicited
offering popular cheap drugs, and if you do shop online, make sure you pay attention to the URL. Safe websites almost always
have a lock of some sort in the URL showing that it's
safe, secure, and encrypted. Scam sites do not invest
in this technology, so just avoid them. #4 is the fake gift card scam. Gift cards are super popular, especially at this time of year, so wouldn't free ones
to your favorite stores just be amazing? A lot of these scams operate the same. You get a free gift card
by filling out a survey or by clicking a link, and it sounds simple enough. You'll get that much closer to that thing that you really want, and it just takes a
little bit of your time. Easy peasy! But these sites are a lot more devious than simply wasting your time. To participate for the free card, the questionnaires end up elaborating on your personal information that's either scattered
throughout the survey or they ask for your information
all at once at the end in order to claim it. In a way it's actually kind of smart because they don't immediately
ask for your information, which seems to add legitimacy
to the whole thing. Well, they wouldn't let
me spend five minutes filling out a survey just
to scam me at the end . Oh no! But they do, and all of this information is then sold to other criminals who steal your identity, and that's just a whole
other can of worms. Obviously the promised gift
card is never received, and Wanda Robinson is
Texas just became you, and that's great because she loves buying expensive Faberge eggs. Lucky you! #5 is the lottery scam. We have all seen these scams pop up at least once in our email. Congratulations, you just
won five million dollars in the totally real, not a scam
at all, online sweepstakes! (laughs) Send us $1,000 and we'll
cover the wiring costs and send you the money right away. Now, a lot of people
would not fall for that, but believe or not, these
emails can be quite convincing and even look like they're
from governmental agencies. Not just that, but there
are ways to fake the domain of where the email is coming from, so sometimes it can be impossible to know if it's a legit email or not. The best way to protect
yourself is to use common sense. If you don't play the lottery,
especially an online one that you never played
or just doesn't exist, you probably didn't win it. #6 is the iTunes, Paypal, or Netflix scam. This one is probably the most popular scam out there right now. I personally get these emails daily. You're minding your own business, when an official-looking
email comes into your inbox looking like it's from
iTunes, Paypal, or Netflix. Usually it has account locked or service cancelled in all caps in the subject line to
grab your attention, and they proceed to tell you that they couldn't charge your credit card because of some problem, or either click this link
and update your info. How nice of them to warn you, huh? First off, no reputable organization will ever ask for your personal
information ever via email, so don't click on any
links inside of them. Secondly, if it does look legit, just Google their official
email or phone number and contact them directly. Never respond directly to the email. Thirdly, you can usually avoid these scams because of the terribly bad language that they start the email with and continue to use throughout the email, including "Hello Dear" or "So sorry to bother
you, dear customer." Companies don't talk like that. If an email contains any spelling mistakes or some other form of spelling that looks like it was
written from a five year-old who just immigrated to
North America, ignore it. #7 is the job offer scam. This scam is unique because it doesn't actually
offer you any products, but instead preys on
those who are unemployed or those who simply
hate their current job, which is like 90% of people. Wouldn't it be nice to make a ton of money just by staying home all day and doing some light work for us. Yeah, you can make five grand a week. Now send us your banking information so that we can pay you. A scam! Part of the reason that
these scams are so successful is that they run ads
on legitimate websites and also operate in sort of a grey area because some of them actually
do pay in the interim, but they usually end up selling
your personal information that you just willingly sent
your awesome new employer. Yeah, I just quit my job,
and I got this new job where like I can sit on my couch and I make five grand a week and all I have to do is like
email smiley faces to people. It's great. #8 is the catfish scam. The catfish scam is also very different because it isn't instant. In fact, it can take months
and months to execute, but when it happens, it hits you hard. Scammers will set up online profiles using other peoples pictures
and using fake names. From there, they will
randomly message people in a flirty way looking to
establish a relationship. If someone bites, they'll
create a friendship or even a love affair
that will last for months but never actually meet up with you. That is until one day they need help and being someone that
they've come to love, you want to help them, so you give them the thousands of dollars that they desperately need or plan to use to come finally see you! (laughs) Of course neither
of those things happen and they suddenly drop off the planet, never to be heard from again. The best way to protect yourself from this is if you're talking to someone online, Google image search their
photo to see what comes up. If you search these photo and a guy named Matthew Santoro comes up, they probably aren't
who they say they are. #9 are fake virus scams. This scam always comes
in a new pop up window that says you have a virus, so either download this
software to clean your computer, or call the friendly technicians by using the number on your screen. Both PCs and Macs get
these pop-ups all the time. In fact, some of them will
actually lock your browser, making you unable to do anything else, including exit it, until you
call the number on your screen. These scams are super convincing because they will tell
you that you have a virus and that you need to call
Microsoft or Apple immediately to scan and fix your system. And when things are flashing in your face and sometimes a voice even speaks to you, it can be a little scary, but there's two things you need to know. Neither Apple nor Microsoft care if you have a virus on your system, nor can they see what's on your computer. Secondly, these scams never
pop up on reputable sites, so pay attention to where it happens. Were you on Facebook, or
were on like goatlovers.com looking up some freaky deaky stuff, you know what I'm saying? I don't judge what you're into, just be careful of them pop-ups baby. (goat impersonation) And #10 is the greeting card scam. This one is especially important to pay attention to right now because it's that time of year where people send out a lot
of Christmas cards, et cetera. Over the years, e-cards
have become very popular. They're a quick and convenient way to send meaningful messages
to your friends and family, and they're nicer than a simple email. However, of course, scammers
figured out by sending an email saying that your mother or father have sent you a greeting card, they're preying on the good feelings generated by the season, and hope that you'll click the
link that they've sent you. Of course on the other end
is not a greeting at all, but instead a virus or malware which will not only infect your computer, but it will display inappropriate
messages and pop ups and sometimes it will actually send more of those virus-filled
cards on your behalf to the people in your address list. These viruses can also
cause your computer to send personal and financial information to the criminals controlling it. Your best bet is to either
just mail a real card or take the damn time to call yo momma. She misses you, baby. She likes to hear your voice. So those were the 10
most popular online scams that hopefully now will never fool you, but as always, thank
you guys for watching. Remember to subscribe to my channel because I release new videos Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. If you want to watch more, you can press or click either
of the two video thumbnails that you see on your screen right now and don't forget to check
out my second channel. The link is in the description along with all the other important links. Have a great day, and I will
see you guys on Thursday. Bye!
Y-you mean my third cousin's brother's aunt's dog twice removed didn't leave me a big inheritance? WHO HAVE I BEEN SENDING MONEY TO ALL THIS TIME?!
This guy's video thumbnails are an internet crime.
What is the online pharmacy scam?