Scams are Evolving: How to Avoid Online Scams in 2025

On February 4, 2024, CNN World reported a multinational firm employee in China lost $25 million to an online scam. The employee was led to believe he was attending a video call with his coworkers, when the 'coworkers' turned out to be deepfake recreations. While initially suspicious of the call, he ultimately set his doubts aside because the people attending the video call “looked very much like his coworkers”, according to him. 

This is just one of the many examples of online financial scams made possible by advanced technology. Ten years ago, scammers used simpler methods, such as telephone calls or letters, to lure their targets. Now, with the further advancement of technology, new methods of fraud have emerged. One example is deepfake technology, which allows people to carry out elaborate scams by editing and generating realistic digital images and videos using artificial intelligence. In an age where technology makes everything possible, we find ourselves asking one question: how to avoid online scams in 2025?  

How to Protect Your Personal Information from Online Scams 

To avoid scammers targeting your finances, staying alert and safeguarding your personal information is important. Personal details are your first line of defense, which is why it’s essential to keep them private. Passwords and bank account numbers should be kept private at all times, including addresses and phone numbers. If you ever need to give them out to third parties, be sure to verify their credentials first.  

Additionally, remember that you always have the option to say no. Don't be afraid to ask questions! Knowing what, why, and how your personal data is collected and used helps you protect and retain your privacy. In addition to scams, there’s also the chance of your data being used for unsolicited promotions, which can be equally uncomfortable.  

The Australian Government recommended safety measures you can do to in the event of being targeted by scams, losing money to scams, and losing personal information due to scams: 

• Report the scam to official platforms. If you’re an Australian citizen, you can file a report through Scamwatch and ReportCyber, depending on the severity of your case.
• Report to your bank or financial institutions.
• Stop all communication with the offender.
• Secure all of your accounts.
• Immediately change the passwords on all of your accounts.
• Alert services that may use or hold your personal identity documents.

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself from Online Scams 

Besides keeping your personal information private, here are other preventive measures you can take to safeguard your financial activities. 

Enable Extra Protection 

Most digital platforms now adopt two-factor authentication (in addition to a regular password) so users can protect themselves better. This might be in the form of one-time passwords (OTP), authenticator apps, or even security tokens.  

Halal Money is one example of a safe way to manage your money. As one of the digital finance platforms that takes personal safety very seriously, Halal Money employs the Face ID feature. Users are advised and highly encouraged to enable the feature, which allows them to log into their account by doing a deep face scan. This way, users can only log into their own accounts.  

Turn On Push Notifications 

Enabling push notifications helps you keep track of your transactions within an app. By activating the push notification feature, you will be notified of all transactions made in your account, whether they were successful or failed transactions.  

Choose Carefully, Update Regularly 

While simple passwords are easy to remember, they’re also easy to crack. The standard for a safe password is usually eight characters long or more, with a mix of lowercase and uppercase letters, symbols, and numbers. That being said, your password doesn’t have to be overly complicated – just make sure it’s not easy to guess. Avoid using personal information such as birthdays or easy number combinations like 1234 for your password. In addition to choosing your password carefully, it’s also important to update your password periodically.  

Do Periodic Checking 

Regularly checking your statements for unauthorized transactions helps you to identify potential losses and prevents further fraud activities. Spare some time to really run through your statements and check your transactions one by one. If you spot any suspicious transactions in your statement, remember to report them immediately.  

Most apps require you to click through multiple screens to access your transaction history. Others can only provide transaction history from a limited period. With Halal Money, it’s never been easier. You can log in to your account and retrieve the transaction history right from the app. The simple interface also allows you to check your transactions carefully.