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When Poliana Okimoto stepped onto the podium with a 10km open water Olympic bronze medal around her neck she thought her life was about to change forever. Gleefully accepting Brazil 's first ever swimming medal , the 34-year-old allowed herself to get caught up in euphoria sweeping the country. Fast forward 12 months , though, and things feel very different. After the athletes left Rio , so too did the optimism as political scandals, including millions of pounds of public money allegedly stolen in bribes for Olympic constructions projects , plunged the country into economic chaos.  Rio de Janeiro itself declared itself bankrupt just days after the Olympics closing ceremony , with no more money to pay suppliers to the Games, while hospitals, schools and the police have born the brunt of drastic cuts to public services . public money allegedly stolen in bribes for construction projects , which have plunged the country into economic chaos. Pictured: Brazilian athlete Poliana Oki...

CLOSE Not all scams are easy to spot. Scammers are getting more and more sophisticated. Defend yourself. USA TODAY Browsing Facebook and checking email? Beware of these online scams. (Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto) Many people laugh at scams. We see an email from a mysterious stranger. The note is full of odd phrases and terrible misspellings. We instantly share it on social media. “The Prince of Nigeria wants to send me bars and bars of gold!” we write, along with laughing emoji. “Should I take it?”  But not all scams are so easy to spot. Spammers get more sinister every day, and they use real- sounding email addresses , personal data, well-phrased letters, and actual corporate logos to lure their victims. The savviest con artists work remotely , coaxing money out of people they’ve never met in person.  Related: Learn more about a convincing tech support scam that people are falling for. In this era of rampant data theft and cyber-crime, it’s more important than ever to be aware...