By Roberto Gallo, coordinator of the Security and Cyber Risks Committee at ABES
Find out the four signs that that great opportunity on the Internet is a scam
The Internet is great and brings many facilities to people's daily lives. Shopping, banking, relationships with friends and family - all of which make her almost irresistible.
But there are also those people who abuse this means for shady purposes, either to commit small crimes, or to commit crimes of a higher caliber. So it is important that you protect yourself by paying attention to some signs that may indicate that something is wrong.
Regardless of where a fraud attempt starts (email, WhatsApp message, Facebook link, etc.), they usually share a few things in common:
1 – Feeling of urgency, such as a promotion with limited time or a limited number of items available. Attackers use urgency so that you do not have time to verify the veracity of the “opportunity” presented, making the victim act impulsively;
2- Personal information requests, such as address, document numbers, telephone numbers, e-mail. It is important to understand that even simple data like your email has value for criminals. The data provided can be used in crimes such as opening credit with third parties;
3 – Suspicious attachments, that is, they are not immediately displayed by your email application or webmail. Attachments are often used to infect the victim's microcomputer. It usually has the extension RAR, EXE or even DOCX;
4 – Too good to be true, that is, opportunities that look great with little or no counterpart. A recent example that spread through WhatsApp was a fake AirFrance company page that would be donating a few hundred airline tickets for its 85th birthday. It only required two things: that you share the opportunity with some friends and some personal data;
As a rule of thumb, if you asked for your personal details, turn on the red alert and search the internet for “the offer, the opportunity” offered - if it is a fraud attempt, you will often find references.
Roberto Gallo has been working in the cybersecurity area since 1999. He is the founder and executive director of KRYPTUS Information Security and coordinator of the Security and Cyber Risks Committee of ABES.
But there are also those people who abuse this means for shady purposes, either to commit small crimes, or to commit crimes of a higher caliber. So it is important that you protect yourself by paying attention to some signs that may indicate that something is wrong.
Regardless of where a fraud attempt starts (email, WhatsApp message, Facebook link, etc.), they usually share a few things in common:
1 – Feeling of urgency, such as a promotion with limited time or a limited number of items available. Attackers use urgency so that you do not have time to verify the veracity of the “opportunity” presented, making the victim act impulsively;
2- Personal information requests, such as address, document numbers, telephone numbers, e-mail. It is important to understand that even simple data like your email has value for criminals. The data provided can be used in crimes such as opening credit with third parties;
3 – Suspicious attachments, that is, they are not immediately displayed by your email application or webmail. Attachments are often used to infect the victim's microcomputer. It usually has the extension RAR, EXE or even DOCX;
4 – Too good to be true, that is, opportunities that look great with little or no counterpart. A recent example that spread through WhatsApp was a fake AirFrance company page that would be donating a few hundred airline tickets for its 85th birthday. It only required two things: that you share the opportunity with some friends and some personal data;
As a rule of thumb, if you asked for your personal details, turn on the red alert and search the internet for “the offer, the opportunity” offered - if it is a fraud attempt, you will often find references.
Roberto Gallo has been working in the cybersecurity area since 1999. He is the founder and executive director of KRYPTUS Information Security and coordinator of the Security and Cyber Risks Committee of ABES.
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