Technology has made your life fast and interesting. However, it comes with certain inconveniences too. If you're unable to use technology in the best possible manner, then you can potentially become a victim of a financial scam. Check out the 4 financial scams where people lost their money in the year 2012.

1. Cash advance loan scam

Nearly 4000 complaints have been registered against payday loan scams in the past 2 years. The key complaints of the payday loan borrowers are given below:

(a) Excessively high rates of interest: Usually, payday loans are taken out by financially weak people. They don't have surplus cash in their checking accounts. As such, it becomes very difficult to pay 500 percent or more interest rates.

(b) Threatening calls: Payday loan borrowers often receive threatening calls from the lenders/debt collectors. Borrowers are asked to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars within a short notice. Moreover, lenders/collectors threaten to garnish wages if they don't receive payments from the borrowers.

The cash-strapped consumers get panicked by these calls very easily. They just don't know the way to get out of debt trap. Consumer advocates advise consumers to not get panicked. Rather, they advise consumers to not share their personal details with the lenders/debt collectors over phone. Consumers are advised to ask the collectors to prove the debt in writing.

Consumer advocates advise consumers to terminate the calls if required. If the predatory payday loan lenders get the bank details by any chance, then consumers should contact bank immediately and revoke ACH authorization immediately. They can in fact close the existing bank account and request the banker to open a new one for them.

2. Cyber scams

Be extra careful when you're attempting to connect to your hotel's Wi-Fi through your laptop. It is said that imposters are transmitting viruses through malicious software. Don't click your mouse on any 'download' button without actually knowing what you're downloading. Check the URL of any website. Find out if the URL of the website is beginning with 'https'.

3. Free-trial scams

Everyone loves to get free deals. People love to get products and services free of cost. Free trial advertisements have conquered the web world. Thousands of people are falling for them and losing money. The result of a recent survey has revealed that some companies are 100 percent fraudulent. They'll withdraw some money from the bank accounts of consumers every month.

Recently, FTC tracked down a firm charging consumers nearly $80 per month for goods and services they assumed they were receiving for free.

If you really want to shop online, then do it via debit cards. Restrain yourself from the temptation of using credit cards. Your banker can annul the charge if there is any discrepancy. Glance through your bank statements every day to make certain that financial transactions are correct.

4. Bank related scams

This is a popular scam wherein you'll get emails from the bank regarding your account. You'll be notified that there's an error in your most recent financial transaction. You'll be asked to click on a link to solve the matter. Once you click on the given link, your computer will be infected with virus or spy ware. This will help the fraudster to get your confidential information easily.

If there is really an issue, then your banker won't hesitate to talk to you over phone. Your banker is less likely to send you an email. Still, if you have any doubt, then go to the bank and find out the truth. You can even make a call to the banker.

Fraudsters of 2012 are very smart and tech-savvy. They use innovative techniques and strategies to scam people. Thousands of people have already become victims of the aforementioned scams. Don't let yourself to be their next target. You can't afford to lose your hard earned dollars. Be super-smart and avoid the scammers.