In a world of online scams, cybercriminals care about only one thing - your money! If they send out a thousand emails in one day, and only get a few people falling for their scams, then this is a WIN WIN for them. So this article is to inform you how to stay as safe as you can in an internet world of potential theft.

Phishing emails - whilst some emails are clearly bogus (you can usually tell this just by the content and the wording) others are much more believable. Furthermore, these criminals can "spoof" websites to look similar to the legitimate sites of Netflix, or Facebook, or your even your bank. These people also prey on the elderly and the unassuming. Romance spams are typical, with the scammers pretending to develop a romantic relationship online, only to later ask for financial support and disappear.

If your email accounts, or online social media accounts have been hacked, they can instantly pretend to be YOU, and this makes their scams even more harder to detect especially if you receive emails from "friends".

Staying safe in all of these situations can be difficult because often these scammers on the other end are very well practiced, experienced professionals. BUT, here are some key points that might help protect you from falling for an online scam.