online scams part ii

Welcome to the second part of our series covering online safety. In case you missed part one, you can read it here.

Part 2 looks at what online scammers are after and how to avoid giving it to them:

Most online scams are after money or access to ways to get money. Online crime is not much different than crime in real life. Your online identity is becoming increasingly tied to your real world identity, including bank account information, credit cards, social security numbers, and other sensitive data. Hackers and scammers use a variety of tactics to trick their targets into giving up anything they want.

This receipt may look real but it’s really not!

A scammer wants your money. How they go about getting access to it will be covered in a later post, but for now we will focus on the specific things they go after. 

Any account tied to your bank or credit card:

This one is simple but important, so it goes first. Online accounts that allow you to shop online and anywhere you access money should be secured with a strong password. If you get a message about the account, never click the link. Often the link will take you to a fake login screen and instead of logging yourself in, you are actually sending your username and password to a hacker. Always open a new tab or browser to access your account how you typically would instead of clicking from a message or email. 

Your email:

You may think of your email as just letters back and forth between you and coworkers, family, or friends. Sometimes email is used to send sensitive information like birth certificates, banking information, or tax documents. Email accounts are not typically not secure, meaning others might be able to access the data sent in your emails. Instead, use an alternative method of giving someone any sensitive information like a secure file sharing platform that uses encryption.

Suppose you’ve never sent anything even remotely sensitive over email. Are you safe? What many people forget is that every time you sign up for an account to a website it asks you for an email. Your information might be targeted through these websites. A hacker that gets your email may be able to change passwords to different accounts like your online bank account or online shopping account that has your credit card information saved. 

Your social media:

Some people do have bank account or credit card information tied to their social media accounts. Unlike other methods where hackers take your money, social media creates more ways for scammers to make money instead of directly taking it from you. They can use your account to advertise bad products or send your friends and family links to dangerous websites. If they send a message out with your account or if you receive a message from someone you know, you are more likely to trust it than if a stranger had sent it. That is how they trick us. If a scammer gets access to your social media login, they also gain access to your list of contacts and a way to message them. They might post suggestions, views, or requests that are coming straight from “you”. 

Wait, Anthony doesn’t sound like this…

Access to your computer:

It is hard to summarize the amount of information we store on our computer. Your computer is the ultimate treasure trove of information for scammers and it can be accessed remotely. Many programs can be turned against you if someone gains access to your computer. Any website that keeps you signed in or saves passwords become immediately accessible to anyone on your device. If they decide that it is too much work, they can make files inaccessible and charge you a ransom to get your data back. 

Scam-Buster Tip of the week: Never share or send your password with anyone. Even if you are on the phone with the company a password is for, remember that legitimate organizations will NEVER ask for your password. If for some reason you need to change a password, request a temporary password to allow you to change it privately on your own. Sending and sharing to individual people also opens you up to more security risks as emails are not secure and can easily be sent to the wrong person.

Join us next week as we continue this series to help keep you safe online.