Every year millions of consumers are victims of cybercrime. According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, in 2015, consumers lost more than billion euro for scams initiated through the web.
The Internet has become one of the most popular tools for committing fraud, and criminals are becoming more sophisticated with their hacking techniques. As a result, it is extremely important that consumers use only secure and reliable wireless networks when completing their financial transactions and understand that scammers can use any personal information shared online to commit online fraud.
In this article, we will give you some tips to prevent internet scams and cyberfraud to never be a victim of it.
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Keep your mobile devices up to date
Have security software, web browser, and latest operating system they are the best defenses against viruses, malware and other online threats. Turn on automatic updates to receive the latest fixes as they become available.
Set strong passwords
A secure password is at least eight characters long and includes a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Avoid using personal names, the street where you live, or even the name of your pet. There are many password generators on the internet that provide you free secure keys, but be careful, do not forget to write them down somewhere.
Beware of phishing scams
Phishing scams use emails and websitesaudulentes to trick users into revealing private account or login information. Do not click on links or open attachments or screen pops from sources you are not familiar with. That is, if you are not waiting for any package but you receive an SMS from a suspicious number to "change the delivery address"... DO NOT OPEN IT, it is possibly a fraud.
Keep personal information anonymous
Hackers can use social media profiles to discover your passwords and answer those security questions in the password reset tools. Check your privacy settings and avoid posting things like birthdays, addresses, mother's maiden name, etc. Be careful with requests from people you don't know.
Secure your Internet connection
Always protect your network home wireless with a password. When you connect to public Wi-Fi networks, be careful about the information you send over them.
Buy safely
Before you buy online, make sure the website uses secure technology. When you are at the payment screen, verify that the web address starts with https. Also, check if a small closed lock symbol appears on the page.
Even so, there are times when it is difficult to recognize when the email or SMS we have received is malicious or not. Every time more precise and imperceptible techniques are used to attack your device, especially if you are a person with public information on your social networks.
How to detect scams online?
If you're having trouble detecting cyberattacks, these features could help save you a lot of trouble in the future.
Identify mysterious emails
Phishing attempts are growing in number every year, you should be careful before clicking on links from unknown sources or clicking on attachments. Normally, these emails are not usually corporate, but rather have a suspicious address, with numbers or special characters. It goes without saying that users should never reply to such emails as any response could lead to continued attacks.
Be aware of unusual password activity
If a user is not logged in and receives an email stating that the password has been changed or that there has been an attempt to break into the account, it is important that you know that they may be trying to break into your system or have already done so. made. Security best practice is to ensure that all users create a strong password for email and update it every six months. But if they are already inside, change it as fast as you can.
Identify suspicious pop-ups
These are very common, you should avoid clicking web pop-ups even to close them. These are pop-ups infected with malware or spyware which in the long run, could infect your entire system and leave you without a computer. You should avoid entering pages where these types of malicious ads are frequent to avoid them completely. In addition, with an antivirus you will have real-time notifications of whether the page where you are going to enter is safe or not.
If you liked this article on cyber security, you can continue reading similar ones on our blog where you will find articles on finance, savings, investment, lifestyle and more. Take a look at this post about the best bank accounts without commissions.
