Cybercrime- Be Careful, Yahoo Plus is Real!
Tinee was in a lecture hall, preparing to leave the library. She started to get incessant notifications on her phone. She stopped to check, at first, it was N1000 airtime which was not credited on her phone.
Then deductions, first in tens, then thousands. School fee gone! Hers and her sister. She is still in possession of ATM cards and sim cards linked to her account.
What happened? Her bank says the transaction was from a foreign location and there was nothing they could do about it.
Bannie gets an email stating to click on a link that directs him to a page where he could get a bonus to bet on his favourite betting platform. In minutes, he was locked out of his email account, Bank Apps, all funds wiped out.
Source: Bank Of New Zealand
If you have not been a victim, someone you know certainly has.
Cybercrime is internet fraud, identity fraud, with the aim to steal, damage or extort. As technology advances, so is cybercrime. Just one access to your device could ruin you.
From clicking links on popup ads that could add malware to your system, webcam hijacking to spy on you, to email fraud, these crimes and many others are perpetrated daily.
These tips can help you stay safe online.
- Do not use the same password on several sites and Apps. Also, when choosing a password, desist from using any personal information like your date of birth, name, spouse name and phone numbers, you know, something anyone can easily guess.
- Install a good antivirus on your system and update them from time to time.
- Do not give access to your phone and system to anyone. Even when you need to repair, be present and look into it yourself.
- Do not leave your emails and Apps open, that is why we have a ‘Logout’ button.
- Be cautious with strangers both online and offline, cybercrime is advanced technologically, hypnotically and diabolically. When someone seems overly friendly when something looks too good to be a true, drawback and give it a thought.
- Pay attention to the web camera LED indicators (this sits next to the webcam of your laptop or desktop) . It turns blue on laptops when in use. This can be hacked into, and a user will be spied on. These days, the LED indicator might not even come on to show the camera is in use. Leaving the user no hint of what is happening.
- Do not click on suspicious links or any links at all which you are unsure of. Do not use codes you did not apply for.
You can keep yourself abreast with advancements in technology and happenings around you. That way, you would be able to take steps to protect yourself.
