Here Are A Few Tips On How You Can Avoid Cyber Fraud

If you have seen the web show called Jamtara, you would know that people fall for money and online frauds way often than one would think. Many people are still not conscious of keeping their CVV¡¯s and OTPs personal even, when almost every bank in the country advises to do so.

One of the most recent examples of people losing money to cybercrime is of a Bengaluru woman who lost Rs 50,000 while ordering a meal for just ?250.

A few years ago, in an attempt to raise awareness about cyber security, Mumbai Police released a video starring actor Ajay Devgn on micro-blogging site Twitter, urging people not to disclose any confidential bank details.

@ajaydevgn is aware that banks don't ask for any sensitive details over phone & we hope you know it too. Ignore his advice at your own peril pic.twitter.com/f0sOC4hmhX

¡ª Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) June 16, 2017

The Mumbai Police¡¯s move came in light of the fact that Maharashtra along with Uttar Pradesh, had the highest number of reported cyber crimes in the country. According to National Crime Records Bureau¡¯s (NCRB) 2016 report (for 2015), 11,592 cases of cyber crime were registered in India. Of these, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of cyber crimes at 2,208, while Maharashtra followed closely with 2,195 cases. The actual number of cyber crime cases in India could be much higher as many of these cases go unreported.

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Talking about online fraud, Kathy Koestner, Vice President of Information Security in the US once said, ¡°The Internet has become one of the most popular tools used to commit fraud and criminals are becoming more and more sophisticated with their hacking techniques. As a result, it¡¯s extremely important for consumers to use only trusted secured wireless networks when completing their financial transactions and understand all personal information shared online can be used by fraudsters to commit online fraud.¡±

People lose millions every year to online fraud, but there are some precautions and measures one can take to avoid falling victim to such schemes.

SET STRONG PASSWORDS

Do not keep any of your passwords as PASSWORD or 123456789. According to a report by Nordpass, the most common passwords in 2020 were 123456, 123456789, picture1, password, 12345678, 111111.

NordPass

A good password has a length of at least eight characters and contains a combination of letters in upper and lower case, numbers, and special characters. As you can see none of the most common used passwords have those attributes. The easier and more common your password, the easier it is to hack into your system and accounts.

KEEP YOUR DEVICES UPDATED

This refers to both mobile and computer devices, or any other that you could potentially use for storing personal information and making online transactions. The best protection against viruses, ransomware, and other online threats is to have the latest security tools, web browser, and operating system. Switch on automatic updates so that, when they become available, you get the newest fixes.

BEWARE OF PHISHING

Look out for scams like phishing. These emails are intended to encourage you to click on links given, ultimately to tamper with your account. The links included in the email are also ways for fraudsters to install malicious software on the machine or device that you use to access your email (also called malware). It is possible to use this malware to obtain personal information.

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These fraudulent emails and websites are used by phishing schemes to trick users into sharing private account details or login information. Do not click links or open any attachments or pop-up screens whose source you are not familiar with.

SECURE WiFi

Keep your home/personal wireless network secured with a strong password, set a password for your mobile hotspot as well. Always be careful of the data you send through when connected to the public wifi network. Also be sure of the data you send across through your wireless network.

KEEP YOUR DATA PERSONAL

It is never wise to share your ATM PIN/CVV/OTP with anyone. Mostly, banks do not send emails or text messages that ask for personal information, such as account numbers. In fact you might have received messages from banks saying exactly that - that they do not not ask for such details.

Banks would also not check account details in such a way. Never share sensitive and personal information via email or text, especially tax ID numbers, account numbers, or login and password information, with anyone.

Representational Image/Unsplash

Hackers can use social media accounts in the password reset tools to find out the passwords and address certain security questions. Lock your privacy settings down and stop sharing items such as birthdays, addresses, maiden name of mother, etc. Be cautious of requests from people you do not know. Befriending of strangers on social media is how many cybercrimes start.

CHECK WEBSITE AUTHENTICITY

Always make sure that the website you shop on is secure. Make sure the website uses safe technologies before shopping on it. Verify that the web address starts with https while you are on the checkout page. Also, check to see if a small locked padlock icon appears on the page.

This might sound tedious and something people seldom do, but read the privacy policy of the site. Privacy policies, while long and nuanced, tell you how the web safeguards the personal information it gathers. Consider doing business elsewhere if you don't see or understand the privacy policy of a web page.

Just making sure of these few basic things can help you dodge an online fraudulent scheme.

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