People who use the internet regularly must adopt a number of
measures to prevent the possibility of online fraud. With a little bit of
awareness on the issue and by taking the necessary steps, you can easily
protect youself from this menace. Here are some simple tips to help you avoid
any type of online scams.
Data Breaches
Data breaches refers to the unintentional release or theft
of confidential data. It could be your social security number, bank account
details, medical records or driver’s licence numbers. The information could
have been leaked after a hacking attempt or even accidentally. This is often
known to occur in corporate offices where the details of employees have been
leaked. To prevent this from happening, corporations need to hire competent
computer experts to improve firewalls from getting hacked by outsiders in order to better protect themselves against online fraud. Access
to these records should also be restricted to most employees within the
organization making it impossible for them to get to it unauthorized.
Use Smartphones Smartly
The huge popularity of smartphones has also resulted in a
number of online scams. With millions of apps available for download, it has
become easy for cyber criminals to develop fake apps which are full spyware.
Once the app has been installed on your phone, it could cause a number of
problems all of which would be a direct result of online fraud. To prevent this
from ever happening to you, make sure that you only download apps that are
popular and have been well reviewed by customers. Nowadays, many antivirus companies
have released antivirus softwares for smartphones as well. Installing these on
your device might be a very good idea.
Unsecure Internet Connections
A lot of people have the habit of using public Wi-Fi spots
while they are travelling. During this time, it would be advisable to not make
any online payments. This is because these public Wi-Fi spots usually do not
require any passwords, which makes it easier for scamsters to track and monitor
users who use the service. If you are found to be making financial
transactions, chances are the criminals could see that as well. This could then
eventually lead to online fraud.
Suspicious E-mail
If you find any suspicious e-mails in your inbox, it would
be a good idea to delete them immediately. Fraudsters are known to randomly
send phishing mails to thousands of people at a time. These mails would look
very similar to financial companies like banks, Paypal and other credit card
brands. The mail would be addressed to you stating that there is a problem with
your account. You would then be given a link on which would direct you to
another site where you would be required to part with your confidential
financial information. This is a very dangerous type of online fraud and you
should avoid it at all costs. Never hand out your banking info or credit card
details with others through the internet, no matter how legitimate they may
seem.
Bank Statements
It is a good practice to regularly check your bank
statements to see if there are any expenses that were unauthorized by you.
Thanks to smartphones, users can easily download banking apps and check their
statements even while on the move. Many online criminals these days tend to be
very careful when they use stolen credit cards. Rather than make big purchases,
they feel it is more worthwhile to make a series of small purchases over the
course of a few months. This is a lot harder to detect and helps them spend
thousands of dollars without getting caught. So users need to go through their
statement with a fine tooth comb to avoid any instances of online fraud.
