How to Avoid Falling Victim to Cybercrime

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Today’s technology is perfect for staying connected to the entire world, whether it’s to shop, bank, control your heating or television, or keep in touch with your loved ones. However, regardless of how much security you have on your computer there are always new scams surfacing that pose a threat if you don’t have the right security measures in place. 

Having good Network Security Services in place can help you remain safe from the risk of identity theft and internet scams. If you want to stay safe at school, at home, at work, and on your mobile devices, make sure you are aware. 

Most Current Internet Scams

Technology continues to evolve, and so do hacking techniques. More sophisticated techniques in order to exploit technology and steal your personal information, identity, and money. If you want to protect yourself from these online threats, you need to know what you should be looking for. Let’s have a look at some of the most common below: 

COVID-19 scams 

Unfortunately these have made an appearance. They often come as an email containing malicious attachments and/or links to fraudulent websites. They are designed to trick the victims into donating to fake charities, or revealing sensitive information. 

Take caution with any email that contains a COVID-19 subject line, especially if it has a hyperlink, or attachments. Be wary of COVID-19 related texts, social media messages, and phone calls as well. 

Imposter scams 

An imposter scam is when you receive a form of communication from a person telling you they are from the government, a friend, or family member asking for financial information/support, or personal information. 

They may try to contact you asking for information relating to your social security number, or ask you to make a tax payment. One of the most common is where they claim to be a family member stuck and needing money. These are often found through social media messaging as well. 

COVID-19 economic payments scams 

These have been designed to target Americans’ stimulus payments. Fraudsters are using the impact of Coronavirus to lure people into sharing their information to receive economic impact payments. 

What You Can Do

There are many ways to avoid fraud, but the best way is to learn what they are and how to recognize them. Double-check any message that conveys urgency, and consider the following advice:

Protect your logins

Make use of multi-factor authentication to ensure you get an alert if someone else has tried to access any of your accounts. Make sure you use it for everything, including email, social media, and work logins. 

Check Your Password Protocol

Be creative with your passwords, and never use the same password for all your accounts. Cybercriminals will find it harder to access all your information if you vary your passwords and make them strong. Try not to write your passwords down unless you store them somewhere on paper, or instead create a tip sheet to jog your memory. 

 Make sure to keep your information safe, turning things like your security software on for an automatic scan, and signing up for a few scam alerts can help you to stay safe online.