Tips to protect yourself from Cybercrime and scammers

Tips on how to protect yourself and others from becoming a victim of
cybercrime, lets take a look at what cybercrime means.
Cybercrime what is it? Cybercrime refers to crime conducted online. It
includes tax and welfare fraud, credit card fraud, and the nondelivery
of purchases. It also includes scams, such as fraudulent investments
and online auctions.
How does it affect people? Cybercrime costs the victims and society as
a whole billions of dollars. Consider an example. Sandy received an
e-mail that she assumed was from her bank asking her to update her
online banking details. Minutes after sending her personal
particulars, she was alarmed to see that €4,000 has been transferred
from her account to a foreign bank. Sandy quickly discovered that she
had been scammed.
What can you do to protect yourself frod cybercrime?
¤ Be wary: Do not be fooled by professional looking web sites, and
keep in mind that legitimate financial institutions will not ask you
e-mail highly confidential information. Before buying or investing
online, ascertain the company’s reputation. And be cautious when
dealing with companies located in foreign lands. If problems arise, it
c an be harder to resolve them.
¤ Analyze a company and its policies.
Ask yourself: ”What is the company’s physical address? Will my
purchase involve hidden costs? When will my order be delivered? Can it
be returned or refunded? You can also try their phone number to see if
it is correct.
¤ Be suspicious if an offer looks too good to be true.
If you are greedy and you are among those who want something for
nothing then you are prime targets for online thieves. The bait may
include big money for minimal work, a loan or credit card even though
you may have a poor credit rating, or large returns on ”low-risk”
investments. Just take your time in evaluating the legitimacy of any
investment offer, the higher the promised return, the higher the risk. Feel free share!