How To Protect Yourself From Online Scams

We all are living in a digital world where we can find any information with a single click. All the business and transactions are done online. Apart from the comfort of this digital world, there are many scams that happen online. in this post, we are going to show you how to protect yourself from online scams.

There are plenty of scams are happening all around the globe through the online World. let’s check some scams that are very common in today’s technology-driven world.

• Social Media scams
• Sextortion
• Ransoming
• Fraud transactions
• Identity theft

Here are some of the tips to protect yourself from online scams

These are some of the practical and simple tips that help you to protect yourself from online scams. Let’s check them out in detail.

1. Stop Clicking Unsolicited links sent to you

We all are getting tons of emails, SMS, Social Media messages, and WhatsApp messages. The majority of these emails are unsolicited. You have also noticed that links are also shared with these types of messages. Beware to open the links that come to you from different mediums. It may contain malicious codes and scripts.

When you open these links, it may spread viruses and spyware to your PC and Mobile phones. Later your device can be easily hacked by hackers.

2. Use Secure Websites to Make Transactions

Before making a transaction on a website, make your that the website has a valid SSL certificate. If the Site is secure you will see a secure logo in the browser. Also, read the website terms, and refund policy before buying anything.

Today spammers make duplicate sites to make fraud transactions. So, be aware of it. make sure you verify the site manually before making any transactions.

3. Avoid Joining Unwanted sites

We sometimes joined the website which is completely new to us. It may create a big issue for us. When we joined these types of sites, we shared some personal information, like name, email, phone number, etc. later they will sell your data to a third party and you will start receiving unwanted emails, SMS, WhatsApp messages, etc.

So, it is advisable that you should avoid joining unwanted and new sites. If it’s necessary to join them then do proper research about them on Google.

4. Use Verified Apps On Your Smartphone

We sometimes install the apps from other sources, but they might contain trojans and viruses that will hack our smartphone and all of your data will be tempered or deleted. So, Always use verified apps from the Google Play store and the IOS Apps directory.

Since we all are now using Banking apps and UPI payments hence it is very important to use verified apps on our smartphones to secure our transactions and prevent online scams.

5. Use Secured Internet Connections

Always use secured internet connections to browse online and make payments online. Avoid using unsecured Public WI-FI which is vulnerable and might expose your data online. You can also use a secured VPN to protect your data.

Use your mobile data to make transactions online and browse websites securely. When we use public unsecured WI-FI then hackers can easily monitor your’s phone’s data without even knowing you. So, always be careful.

6. Never Share confidential Data with Anyone

Never share your confidential data with anyone like credit and debit card numbers, PAN, Aadhar numbers, and any other document details which is confidential. This may pose risk to your identity if you share this information with anyone.

7. Never Respond to Unwanted and Unknown Messages and Calls

We all get fraudulent emails, messages, and phone calls that try to trick us into disclosing financial details. Fraudulent callers may pose as an employee with some bank or financial institution and ask you for your personal information, citing various reasons like card or service expiry, unused reward points, free cashback, etc.

Once they get your personal bank details, they will use them to draw money from your account without your knowledge. Sometimes, the fraudster may pose as a person known to you or your friend and ask you to transfer funds immediately citing some emergency. Do not entertain these communications.

Conclusion

These are some of the simple steps that help you to protect yourself from online scams. These simple yet practical tips can help you to protect your personal data from online fraudsters and scammers.

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