You never know when your safety is at risk online. When you see a story of a successful scam, you might think, ‘That would never happen to me, right?’ Unfortunately, it’s easier to be caught in the middle of a damaging virus or hack from a little mistake than you might realize.
It’s happened to many people around me—friends, family, peers. Hackers can really catch you off guard with new schemes, and before you know it, you’re buying a gift card for your ‘estranged’ cousin Susan who’s claiming she’s in a bad place. Please—don’t. Even I’ve nearly fallen for a scam or two hidden within harmless means. A lot of scammers are savvier than most give them credit for, and once you realize what they’ve been reaching out to you for, there’s a chance it could be too late; you’ve clicked on their link, or you’ve signed into a website that looks just like Amazon and handed them your login information on a silver platter.
Due to the adapting nature of online danger, it’s important to be able to tell a scammer from a trusted source, a strong password from a poor one, which information is safe to share with someone. It’s sort of like foraging—telling the edible plants apart from the poisonous. If something goes wrong, it could cause a lot of damage; just clicking a link to download an unverified file could let a malicious party into your computer to steal your accounts and information.
From us to you, we’ve created a guide focusing on what to look out for in terms of your cybersecurity, including:
● Phishing and Tech Support Scams
○ Among the most dangerous scams, making use of fake emails and websites, verification requests, and unsolicited phone calls to gain access to your device and/or to your personal information
● Identity Security and Online Shopping
○ The safekeeping of passwords and personal information, making sure you’re purchasing from reputable websites, as well as using safe methods of payment
● Charity and Romance Scams
○ Scams which prey on your empathy or emotion to gain access to you and/or your personal information
And many more. Some things to keep in mind:
● Always think twice about any new person you talk to and what to tell them
● Create strong passwords; try to diversify them across each account you have and try not to use easily guessable patterns (ABC123, etc.)
● Turn on two-factor authentication; this is an extra layer of security! In the case that your password is stolen, TFA prevents them from getting into your account when they need to answer a second prompt—one that only you have access to
● Try to avoid posting sensitive information on social media such as current location and plans
If you’d like to learn more, visit us at TheHelperBears.com or contact us at violet@thehelperbears.com. We hope to see you enjoying the internet without worry!
