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TL;DR
- There are an increasing number of scams online which pose a danger to everything from your identity to your bank account, but Bitdefender can protect you from this growing range of threats
- Bitdefender's robust anti-phishing protection can protect you from scams such as fake online shops, and dedicated AI-powered Bitdefender Scam Protection features can combat the likes of delivery text scams or fake job adverts on LinkedIn
- Even when it comes to more advanced and sophisticated scams, such as those which use AI deepfake videos to impersonate friends or family, they can be dealt with by Bitdefender's own armory of AI defenses
Scams are an increasingly prevalent threat to your online life, not to mention your real-world existence. Whether they are sophisticated phishing stings designed to trick you into falling for them by using personal information about yourself that make them seem more genuine, or fake shop websites attempting to steal your credit card details, there's an ever-growing host of dangers these days.
It's a stressful thought, but you don't have to rely solely on your wits to avoid falling victim to such attempts at fraud. This article will consider a range of common scams, showing how Bitdefender's security products provide a raft of countermeasures to prevent these con tricks from working.
Fake online shops
The rise of fake online shops is an unfortunate trend, but Bitdefender can detect these and prevent you from visiting them, acting as a 24/7 guard against such scams.
These are retail sites which are designed to look like a popular store, often mirroring them with an authentic appearance and the same branding, although there's usually one way to tell a fake, namely that they'll generally offer shockingly low prices. These so-called 'deals' will almost always rush you to buy a product – it might be a 'flash sale' about to expire – as the scammers want you to hurry through to checkout without fully vetting the site or item details, or properly thinking about what you're doing.
You might end up at a fake online storefront such as this by clicking a link you received in an email tempting you with a supposed bargain. Often, these kinds of scams will use a link that looks very much like the real name of the retailer, but with a letter changed, or added – such as 'Amazom' or 'Neweggg' – or the top-level domain (the ending of the URL, such as .com) may be slightly different.
A momentary lapse could mean you miss those small altered details and click the link thinking it's genuine – and the site it leads to will likely look authentic enough, too. Or, if entering a URL manually, you may even mistype the web address of a site and end up at a fake store (made specifically using that mistyped URL, to catch out people who make a typo mistake and don't realize). Then if you go through with buying the scam item, not only will you lose the money made in the purchase (possibly), you'll also have given up your payment details (which is often the real target).
Not with Bitdefender on the case, though. Bitdefender Total Security (and the firm's other plans) all have strong anti-phishing protection to detect websites, whether retail or otherwise, which are faked. It'll block you from visiting a fake store even if you click the scam link, keeping your financial details safe.
These defenses are running constantly with Bitdefender installed on your device, and more broadly, wherever you go in your browser, real-time web filtering is scanning for malicious content online, or odd behavior from websites – and this will protect you from anything suspicious that it detects.
Delivery text scams
SMS messages (texts) which claim to be from a courier or retailer relating to a delivery are a danger you've likely encountered at some point, and they're a problem that Bitdefender has multi-layered defenses to combat.
Some scam delivery texts can be quite generic, claiming to be from, say, a national post office informing you of a missed delivery. Or they may be more specific or personalized, and refer directly to an Amazon delivery, for example, in the hopes that you are indeed expecting a package from that retailer – in which case, you're more likely to believe that it's a genuine message.
You won't fall into this trap with Bitdefender on your side, though. Bitdefender Total Security (and its other plans like Bitdefender Premium Security) give you access to the Bitdefender app for Android smartphones which offers the Bitdefender Scam Protection feature. This automatically monitors not just the text messages on your phone, but other messaging services and phone notifications, warning you proactively of any scams or suspicious links before you even get to thinking about tapping on that link.
There's a Bitdefender Scam Radar feature, too, an AI-powered anti-fraud capability that's even more proactive in that it detects scam campaigns in your area and warns you about them, including examples of the kind of message you might encounter. So, there's a double layer of protection here against scammers who may try to trick you via your phone.
Job advert scams
Fake job ads have become more commonplace in recent times, but fortunately Bitdefender can keep you safe from them with AI-powered scam protection that can pick up on these social engineering attacks.
You may have noticed that more and more attempts are being made to lure the unsuspecting into a trap using social media posts, and in the tougher economic climate we're facing, tempting job adverts can be used as bait by criminals on the likes of LinkedIn.
Bitdefender is very aware of these kinds of scams, which come in all manner of forms, but they commonly offer what appear to be highly-paid roles that are remote-based (so anyone can apply for them), and they're generally jobs that sound way too good to be true – because they are. Some are surprisingly sophisticated and may even lead to an 'interview' on the likes of WhatsApp with a fake recruiter.
What the scammer behind any such fake ad wants is for as many people to apply as possible, who they can then either attempt to extract money from – by, say, charging a fee for a deposit on equipment needed for the 'job' – or more commonly they target personal details. The scammer could ask for various ID or personal data from you, which can subsequently be used in identity theft, or they may be after your banking details or other financial data.
Now, you can use your common sense to avoid some of the more obvious attempts at this kind of fake job advert, but sometimes it's not so easy to tell – particularly with those more convincing scams – which is where Bitdefender comes in. As a first line of defense, you can use Bitdefender's Scamio online chatbot to check over an ad you're not sure about. It's an AI-powered assistant trained specifically in scam detection, as the name indicates.
If you want this kind of protection running constantly on your device, then you can benefit from Scamio Pro if you subscribe to Bitdefender Premium Security. This has the anti-scam AI constantly operational in the background, scanning your chats, emails, or social media posts for all manner of scams, including these fake job adverts. The AI is trained specifically to pick up on common types of scams, and it's an integral part of Bitdefender's Scam Protection Pro service.
Does Bitdefender Scam Protection Pro defend against the more sophisticated AI attacks that are around these days such as deepfakes?
Yes, Bitdefender's Scam Protection Pro deals with some of the more convincing threats that you might face which leverage AI to make deepfake videos.
If you've used AI-powered image or video generation, you'll be aware that the results can be quite jaw-dropping in some cases. Unfortunately, scammers are very much aware of that too, and the power of a video clip to lend an extra helping of authenticity to an attack they've cooked up.
Deepfake videos can be concocted to look like they're made by a loved one, or a boss at work, which can help a scam seem all too realistic. Equally, AI voice cloning is becoming more common as well, allowing for audio-based scams and fake phone calls from friends or family members who are made to seem like they're in trouble, often requiring 'emergency funds' to be sent across to them urgently.
While there are clues you may spot – particularly with AI videos, in terms of, for example, lips being out of sync with the audio – these scams are becoming more convincing as AI tools get better at this, and people, particularly if panicked, can fall prey to them.
This is where Bitdefender Scam Protection Pro comes into play, with Scamio Pro able to provide an instant evaluation of a possible deepfake. If the video is hosted on a suspicious URL, Bitdefender will flag that as dangerous, and on top of that, if you describe the scam to Scamio Pro, the AI agent will be able to recognize common scenarios that suggest an attempt at fraud. Or better still, you can upload a screenshot of the video for Bitdefender's AI to analyze, and Scamio will pick up on clues – like artifacts or glitches in the image – that indicate the footage is AI-generated and not authentic.
Bitdefender security: a painless way to foil scammers
It's clear enough, then, that Bitdefender's security plans offer a great way to turn the tables on scammers.
Even when they make use of AI to develop more sophisticated swindles, you have Bitdefender's AI to defend against them. Bitdefender Scam Protection Pro in Bitdefender Premium Security gives you a host of extra features to fight more advanced attempts at fraud that could lead to serious financial loss or identity theft (or maybe both). The anti-deepfake countermeasures in particular stand out as a great example of AI-driven threat detection.
The entry-level Bitdefender Total Security suite still delivers all the key core defenses against scams – on PCs and mobile devices – and whichever Bitdefender product you choose, you'll be guarded against all manner of contemporary attacks, not just run-of-the-mill malware infections. With real-time web filtering, anti-phishing tech, and dedicated features to tackle the common scams highlighted here – and many others besides – all running in the background automatically protecting you, your online life will be a lot less stressful.