Beware of these threats in 2023! 4 new online scams can steal your money-McAfee report

Online scams have been rising ever since the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020 and the world had to rely more on the digital infrastructure. In just 2022, we saw some major online scams take place that didn’t even spare the celebrities. From TV actress Aman Sandhu to Shubhangi Atre fell for these vicious crimes and lost their money. McAfee, a San Jose-based computer security software company, has now made threat predictions for 2023 and revealed four major online scams that are expected to rise next year. Know about them to save yourself from scammers and not to lose your money.

McAfee predicts four new online scams that can emerge 2023

In its press release, McAfee highlighted that for the year 2023, the old scams will continue to exist but with new hooks. What it means is that while the end goals of the scams will remain the same, the way to lure in the victims is expected to be different. This is something most scammers do as older tricks become well known and people stop falling for them.

1. The first prediction is for an online scam that targets cryptocurrency through an old Elon Musk video. McAfee stated, “We saw several online scams making use of existing content to make crypto scams more believable. McAfee expects this to evolve in 2023 and make use of deep fake videos as well as audio to trick victims into parting ways with their hard-earned money”.

2. McAfee’s second prediction points out a new investment scam. The report stated, “The financial outlook of 2023 shows that it will likely be a tough year for most people. During these times, people often look for ways to make some extra money which can leave them vulnerable to social media messages and online ads that offer huge financial gains for little investment”.

3. Fake loans are also expected to rise in 2023. The report explained, “Fake loan scam is one such scam still on the rise targeting desperate victims with attractive schemes by unauthorized providers. McAfee predicts that there will be a large increase in these types of scams in 2023. Fake loan apps have been seen to provide victims with a direct loan then charging high interest rates with short repayment periods”.

4. Finally, with big strides taken towards creating a more digitally connected and immersive space of metaverse, McAfee predicted the rise of online phishing scams in that space as well. “When these platforms are in the early stages, malicious actors will usually attempt to exploit the lack of understanding of how they work and use this to scam people”.