By John Heneghan Jan 1·4 min read
Are you familiar with Social media Crimes? If you’re like most people, your social media networks are an important part of your life. You probably share a lot of personal information with them, and that makes you a target for cyber criminals. Social media Crimes are one of the many ways these criminals profit.
They trick people by posing as someone else. A simple click can lead to your money or identity being stolen. Here are some tips for how to protect yourself from social media scammers.
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1. Pay attention To Your Social Media Accounts.
Social Media Crimes: Pay attention to your security settings on all your accounts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, etc.
You probably already have several different security settings turned on for your account. Make sure they’re set up properly. Some accounts, however, will be automatically enabled so that anyone looking at a password, and then taking it over for themselves, will just know how to get in from their settings. These settings should include:
The number of times you’ll need to reset passwords. One way to avoid this is to keep your password a maximum of one or two letters. Don’t use four letters, or any longer than that. For more detail about keeping your password private, check out our guide for using long, complicated passwords.
Use a password manager if possible. It is free and safe to use right now, but don’t underestimate the value.
2. Avoid clicking suspicious links.
Your location. When you sign into your account on any platform, make sure that your region is selected in the setting box. This means you’ll be able to see who you’re connecting with (and who you’ll be interacting with on your account).
Sometimes when you click or open an email attachment, there may be things in there that just don’t add up. There are other websites that promise to send you something, and often the thing you think has come from them is nowhere near what it really is. Do your research on emails before signing up.
Go straight to the source or sender where you found it. Most people will trust emails from friends and family—especially if you know them well. And because sending a friend an email often doesn’t mean they’ll actually respond, don’t be too trusting of anything too good to be true.
Also remember that we’re always online, and anything that seems new is likely suspect. Especially things from companies selling legitimate goods or services.
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3. Research whether a website is a scam.
Social Media Crimes: As much as possible, do a little digging to check facts before visiting. Even a basic Google search won’t hurt, because you’ll find out exactly which site is authentic and which isn’t. An excellent place to start if you find an unfamiliar website is the World Health Organization website.
The WHO website contains real-life examples of fake sites promoting Covid-19 cures when the virus hasn’t officially been detected yet. Check some of those websites out and see if you can spot any common ground between them. Be careful about downloading any downloads, though, too.
Remember what Google says? “The best tool for finding out about viruses and malware is Google.” So when you visit a link on your computer or smartphone, don’t click it just yet. Search for the domain name first, then go to that site.
Then look again for signs of a scam and look to verify it’s a genuine and trusted business. If the site gives you false hope and promises to fix a major problem, stay away.
Many times, hackers have gotten hold of access to the user’s device simply through public Wi-Fi. Don’t let your mind wander to a malicious site just yet! Read up on how to prevent hackers from accessing all your devices.
In fact, the easiest way to do so is by putting your phone in airplane mode and turning off Bluetooth on all your devices before leaving home. That’ll ensure nobody even knows you’re gone until you return home safe and sound.
4. Keep all your information separate.
Whether or not to keep everything you need on your computer hard drive separate is completely up to you. But one secret key rule of thumb is to make sure you’re only saving your data on your computer. The same goes for all apps, photos, documents, etc. Just write down whatever you want to save on your phone.
We’ve all had the unfortunate experience of losing all our important files on our cell phones. We’ve also lost precious time, especially since we try to take pictures of my coffee instead.
I’d say it’s worth every minute you spend in editing all that stuff and storing them somewhere you have control over. On top of the extra protection, having all your data separated will give you peace of mind that your crucial information is still under control.
5. Download and install all antivirus software.
Social Media Crimes: Antivirus software is vital to protecting your computer against malicious attacks. Microsoft Defender, Malwarebytes, McAfee and Kaspersky are the three main ones we recommend. Each of these helps scan your pc for malware, and tells you when to update or secure your system.
There’s a range of paid and free options, and either of them will do the job for you. What’s more, you don’t need to run each program, and once downloaded all the programs are kept on automatic updating, which means that, at least in theory, no updates should ever arrive for your data.
Since malware is designed to be disguised as something else, it frequently looks identical to the original form of the file.
So, if you’re sure the file is genuine, download it immediately. Or download the free version. Both will let you get started in seconds rather than hours or days. However, if you’re after something even better, the company NextGen Security offers its own anti-malware protection
. While paying money upfront doesn’t seem like a big deal, it does guarantee real-time protection for 30 days, so you can test risk-free. With a $99/year subscription, you get 3GB of storage as long as you want, 100% uptime. For a limited period they’ve waived the price of their service after 10 years of trying products. If you’re looking for a reliable provider, Get Secure is the choice for you.
Finally, the hardest thing for humans is learning to recognize new things. Everything becomes easier once you learn the basics. If you’re struggling to understand technology or a certain industry, there are always courses available to cover all bases. There’s a great chance that you can quickly pick up a few skills to build a successful career from these resources.
A Quick Tip: Don’t feel ashamed about asking questions and sharing your opinion. People are smart, and they will appreciate hearing opinions. Plus, with new tools constantly becoming accessible and affordable, finding out more and learning from others is never less exciting. More importantly, you’ll also learn how to grow personally and professionally.
Social media fraudsters aren’t easy to catch. If you don’t catch them when they’re getting a little bit closer and closer to your bank account then the damage they can cause will be severe. That’s why it’s so important to be wise about social media and how to keep tabs on what’s going on.
Always remember that social networking works. It’s just another way that you interact with people. Be mindful of the messages you share and the stories you tell them. Are you telling the truth? Does it make sense exactly how you read it? Do you have your reasons? Is your story believable?
Maybe there are any errors, such as typos in text or photographs? Whatever the case, it’s wise to double check before posting anything. All we need to do is ask the question and the issue gets sorted out. And, of course, it’s very likely that the person who sends the message has done the same with someone else. Now the tricky part begins… How do you catch up to them?
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Here are a couple of steps to follow to fight back social media fraudsters:
Never ignore a post or account.
Social Media Crimes: Posting an article or letting everyone in can definitely raise suspicions if things aren’t exactly how you described them the first time you saw it or even thought about doing so. If a post is making you uncomfortable or displeased – maybe you shouldn’t be reading it.
Unless it’s just too ridiculous – especially if you can’t resist the urge to reply and say something negative – ignore it. Ignore the post or account, and move on. Noticing someone else’s actions is rude and quite possibly illegal. Yes, you can complain to the police. No, the person was right to post something.
No, you’re wrong. But try and do more than just sit by and watch. If you notice someone following you around and talking to you without asking permission or even acknowledging what you did with their conversation, it isn’t the action you expected. Let them know you have seen them and moved on. Try to guess whether you were being followed.
Did he or she stop and stare while they talked? Were they chatting at other times while standing next to you? Does he or her move on?
