When working on the internet, sometimes you don't want programs to track your location and disclose this information in data collection files. Therefore, there is an option to use VPN applications, and internet scammers also do not hesitate to use this technology. To confuse the victim and subsequently prevent the scammer from being discovered. Using a VPN, the scammer could be in the neighboring building but appear as a resident of some European country. To confuse the victim, the scammer simply needs to turn on the VPN and pretend to be someone else.
VPN Fraud
Scammers use VPNs to access dating sites to implement their schemes of deceiving people of the opposite sex. For example, posing as a foreign businessman looking for a partner, the scammer uses a VPN so that when checked, it appears in which country he is located. Believing such a fake businessman, many victims are deceived and voluntarily transfer funds to the account of the enviable groom. It will later turn out that this person is fictional and the money cannot be returned. Playing on the feelings of lonely people and using VPN technology, fraudsters enrich themselves at their expense.
Anonymous Networks and Crime
Using anonymity on the internet, scammers can pretend to be anyone:
- communicate with victims;
- execute their schemes;
- also use VPNs for blackmail;
- choose a victim;
- prepare material for a scam.
Scammers contact the victim, having first turned on the VPN, so that it is impossible to track where the signal came from and who is behind this scheme. Scammers can specify an account number located in another country and not subject to tracking. Finding the traces of a criminal online turns out to be very difficult; these technologies help fraudsters hide and get away with most cybercrimes.
Darknet VPN
To use the darknet, you need to work through a premium VPN version available on the internet. To access this network, special access is required. The darknet has an increased level of confidentiality and anonymity in the process of information exchange. In this case:
- information is transmitted in encrypted form;
- IP addresses are hidden;
- maximum protection against tracking.
Therefore, in most cases, the darknet is perceived as illegal activity. To access resources hosted on the darknet, special software is required.
Hiding Tracks Online
To connect to the darknet or hide your tracks online, you need to use a VPN that masks your location on the internet and protects against incoming traffic personally, connections will be encrypted, which masks the user and does not allow determining where they are located.
VPN allows the user to independently determine locations by choosing a country, using a special set of servers and relays.
Scammers in the Darknet
If we hear news about cybercrimes using the darknet network, it seems that only scammers are operating, selling:
- weapons;
- drugs;
- personal data;
- stolen IP addresses;
- access to credit card information storage;
- initial access to various systems;
- access to credentials;
- intellectual property of various companies that were cyber-attacked.
Such information is a tempting morsel for scammers dreaming of a big theft or making money from selling stolen data.
Cybercriminals and Anonymity
Cybercriminals use illegal accesses to websites and there is a large amount of criminal information on the internet.
In the depths of the underground internet, you can come across illegal markets selling various goods and providing services that may be illegal.
Fake VPNs
For legal browsers and search systems, fake VPNs are often created, aimed at collecting and storing data from users' internet browsers. Often, such programs are masked in illegal copies of popular games, after downloading illegal versions of games using torrent files, a malicious VPN extension may additionally attach itself, which installs automatically, even without requiring the gadget owner's confirmation. Thus, the program gains access to various device systems and can transmit this information to the organizers of this application.
Fraud Schemes with VPN
Most of the aforementioned fraud schemes occur with the use of VPNs, making it impossible to trace the criminal.
There are certain rules for working on the internet to avoid becoming a victim of fraud schemes:
- do not click on unknown links;
- do not disclose information to users you do not know;
- do not transfer funds to friends from the internet;
- if you realize that scammers are contacting you and working through a VPN, it's best to cut all ties with such people and secure your data, for example, by changing passwords.