Being internet smart is no longer protective. If I can get conned, so can other boomers.
by Gareth E on 06/03/2023
I connected to the internet in late 1996. That placed me among the first group of Australians to do so and one of the oldest. At the time I personally knew hardly any other boomers with a service, although that soon changed.
Those of us who have grown with the online world from the outset know well that cyberspace quickly became a whole new jungle. One that was unregulated and dangerous. Clicking on random, seemingly innocuous links in the late 1990s regularly brought up without warning child pornography, details on how to make explosives and plans for constructing makeshift firearms. Some content was even worse. Sickheaded individuals are typically quick to exploit new opportunities.
Obviously, that's all gone. Yet, one thing hasn't changed. The internet remains a jungle. Trying to regulate it, authorities are always fighting a losing battle. That means staying safe requires continual learning and constantly updating your internet knowledge and skills. Clearly, the bad guys are evolving their own methods at a frightening pace.
Despite over 25 years of online experience and strongly developed diligence, a few weeks ago I got caught out. On social media I saw an advertisement for one of my favourite clothing stores. Some items I wanted were shown at a cheap price. Delighted, I clicked on the link and was taken to the website. It showed identical prices, so I figured it was genuine.
I don't buy online, preferring to see items 'in the flesh' before parting with cash. So, the next day I went to one of their stores. To my dismay, I discovered the prices of those items were significantly higher. So, I asked a sales assistant if the cheap prices were online-only. At that point I discovered that I had been conned. The website I visited was a knock-off copy of the real one. The scammers had simply cut and pasted the pages, with cheap prices photoshopped in. Anyone who sent money to buy from that website would have lost their payment.
How did I slip up? Simply, I didn't check the URL closely enough. Instead of (example) myfavestore.com.au, the URL was myfavestore-online.shop. That's an easy thing to miss, especially on a small screen where the URL is harder to see fully. An even bigger surprise was that upon searching for the store, the fake website appeared at the top of the search results. The real deal was further down the page. These scammers had been thorough.
If I can get conned, people who are less internet experienced, or perhaps not strongly observant can certainly fall into a trap.
The lessons from this are -
- don't assume that you are clever enough not to be scammed.
- always fully inspect a URL before relying on it.
- always search for a store instead of simply clicking on a link - and look for anything suspicious. If the same store has multiple differing URLs, be very cautious and fully investigate why that is. Call the organisation concerned if necessary.
- be aware that major providers such as Facebook and Google, etc. aren't necessarily in a position to check every advertisement themselves to make sure it's not a con.
Most of all, understand that the internet is a jungle. Sadly, it's still a matter of the quick or the dead.