The Internet is all fun and games, right? Wrong! On the surface, it may appear that way, but there are actually lots of scams and viruses hidden on a wide variety of websites and in email attachments that you need to be careful of. To help you safe next time you’re on the web, set your "Spidey sense" so that it always picks up on the following common online scams.

The Free-Trial Scam

There’s a rule of thumb you should stick to when you are online - if something sounds way too good to be true, then it probably is! And this is the case with the free-trial scam. You will see an offer online for a month’s free trial for a certain service or product. People who play online casino games and shop online a lot are frequently targeted by these scams. All you need to pay is the postage and packaging, if required. However, there will be some sentences in the very small print that detail all the extensive fees you will be made to pay once the trial ends. And it will be very difficult to try and get out of them. So, if you come across a deal that sounds like a dream, it’s best to pass up on it as it is probably too good to be true.

Hotspot Hackers

Over the past few years, hotspots have been popping up all over the place. Thanks to these, you can now use your laptop or tablet device to surf the web in all manner of public places, including cafes and libraries. This sounds fantastic on the surface, but it actually comes with one problem: hotspot hackers. When you are in a cafe and need to use the Internet, make sure that you log into a protected WiFi source with a password. Hackers can easily create hotspots that mimic trusted ones. If you log onto these, you will end up giving your personal data away.

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Fake Antivirus Materials

We all know that it is incredibly important to have the latest antivirus software on our laptops and tablet devices. But have you considered that some of these antivirus softwares and programs aren’t exactly what they seem? In fact, there is now an increasing trend for these kinds of safeguarding methods to actually be a scam themselves. For example, one common occurrence is a pop-up message appearing saying that your laptop is at risk. There will be a button to click to take you to some free software. However, once you click on the link, you will actually download some malware or virus data onto your machine. So, it’s a good idea to only trust the reputable antivirus software that you have to pay for.

It can be difficult trying to keep up with all of the new scams and hacking methods that keep on popping up online. But it is really important that you do so that you don’t lose any personal or banking information while you are online.