How to prevent your information and money from being stolen online
The internet has revolutionized the world and has put all existing information one “click” away, but it has also opened a new path for criminals. This is demonstrated by the progressive increase in the number of cyberattacks carried out year after year. That has affected not only companies but also to private users.
Possibly, the greatest threat that an Internet user has to face on the internet is phishing: the emails in which a cybercriminal impersonates a third party and uses social engineering to trick the victim into sharing their data, and their money, without realizing it.
This type of attack can also arrive through a WhatsApp message, SMS (known as smishing) or even a phone call (vishing). Here are some tips that can help the user to protect themselves. It contains ways to proceed against the 30 most common threats on the internet.
Cybercriminals, Impersonation of third parties and social engineering
For a phishing attack to be successful, cybercriminals often impersonate well-known companies or banks with which the user may have contracted some service. In recent months, fraudulent emails that appear to be from official institutions, such as the Ministry of Health or the Tax Agency, have also become common. Criminals even impersonate the World Health Organization, taking advantage of the concern generated by the Covid-19.
The attacker throws a bait. Generally, it is usually an urgent message or a promotion, to motivate us to click on the link or attachment, or to share the data.
A link usually accompanies these malicious emails. This can hide the download of malicious code or redirect the victim to a page created from scratch, which is sometimes very similar to the official site it impersonates. Its objective is to obtain personal and banking data of the users, making us believe that we are sharing them with someone we trust.
It is essential to observe all the details that make up the message To protect yourself from this type of attack. Messages sent by criminals, whether through the mail, WhatsApp or SMS, usually have grammar errors. Besides, it is essential to pay attention to the hyperlinks: “we must enter the URL directly in the browser, without copying and pasting.
Likewise, you should not download any attachment before analyzing it with the antivirus. In the case of vishing (scam through a phone call), we must not download any file requested by the attacker, nor give them control of our computer through some remote control software.
