Frauds, scams, crooks — no matter what we call them, they all are the same.
Unfortunately, some people decide that working hard to gain wealth isn’t the best way to live.
So they start stealing money from other people.
The financial scam has been existing since the dawn of time.
However, the scam activity gained momentum over the past few years.
There are many reasons for it, and oddly enough, but COVID-19 pandemic caused another spike in financial scams activity.
Even though the media try to shed light on this problem and how to counteract it often enough, people continue falling at scammers’ hands.
The statistics show there are categories of people, more and less exposed to fraud.
Among those who lose their money to online fraudsters are older people who lack knowledge of this issue and teenagers who order goods and services from unreliable services.
If you’re studying in college and often order papers online, do it using proven services like Speedypaper.com.
It’s the most basic rule many people forget to follow; however, it’s not the only way to protect your bank account from fraud.
We’ll never get tired of explaining the importance of responsible online behavior, so let’s check some ways to protect ourselves from scams once again.
You may face scams in the following situations:
- when transferring money;
- while investing in something;
- while visiting online dating services;
- if your PC is infected with malware;
- when paying taxes.
You need to be on the lookout all the time because it’s impossible to predict when the danger will catch up with you.
Personal Information Stays Personal
People’s carelessness causes the majority of all incidents.
They share personal information when it’s unnecessary or do it on unreliable services.
Personal information isn’t just a name and surname.
It’s a broad term, including ID card data, bank card data, social insurance number, passwords.
Sometimes, sharing one password with fraud is enough to lose not just the money from bank accounts but even your identity.
Avoid posting this information on your social media — scammers monitor many people, and you can’t be sure you aren’t the alleged victim.
If you get a call from a bank worker or policeman who wants to get access to your bank card data, hang up.
Two-Factor Authentication is a Solution
The majority of apps nowadays offer such an opportunity, but people continue ignoring it.
If you still haven’t enabled it, check all your apps and do it wherever possible.
We agree that it makes the login process longer, but all arguments are powerless regarding your security.
Password is no longer a reliable security measure.
When using two-factor authentication, you have to submit your identity by mobile phone, face scan, a control word among other options.
Download Files from Reliable Websites
We mentioned that fraudsters get access to your data through malicious software.
Therefore, one should be attentive when browsing sites and downloading content.
Listening to music, enjoying video content, and watching movies are possible on video streaming services.
If you’re a responsible person, you download the licensed software you paid for.
Therefore, there are only a few file types you can still download.
Don’t click on the first link you see; check the website and define which one is safe.
Don’t Believe Emails
There’s nothing difficult in finding out a person’s email address.
It’s not personal information, and we share it on social media, job-seeking websites, and many other places to let people contact you.
And scammers often use email to find new victims.
Did you ever get emails containing links from unknown people? If you ignore them, you act right.
Such emails are safe until you click the link that usually contains malware that can harm your computer and disclose your personal information.
Research Each Website and Company
No matter what you plan to do: purchase something, get hired, or visit a website.
Keep in mind that you live in a world full of scammers, so everything around you may pose a danger.
Researching a company and checking online reviews won’t take much time but can save money you’ve been earning for so long.
If people had any issues with this service or institution, you’d quickly find it out.
No matter how hard the company tries to hide negative reviews, people won’t let them do it.
Change Passwords Regularly
It’s not enough to set a password for a website once and forget about it.
Those people who care about their security know that it’s crucial to change passwords from time to time and set strong combinations.
The wide variety of password generators on the Internet lets people save time on time creating strong combinations for each website they use; artificial intelligence does all the work.
We recommend you set different combinations for each service and avoid repetitions.