The internet age has been here for awhile….and so
have hackers,
thieves, criminals,
internet burglars. Whatever you choose to call
these internet criminals.... they exist!
Very often people fall victim to
fraud by unscrupulous people with clever tricks used to
“steal” personal information, bank records, credit card
numbers and more. What many people don’t know, is that
there are several ways to protect yourself, and
virtually eliminate any chances of being “ripped off” by
an internet hoodlum!
The following
prevention methods can be implemented by any adult who is
able to browse the internet, and should ALWAYS be practiced, to
prevent many types of internet scams.
Here are several tips:
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1.)
Do not pay bills or
conduct online transactions dealing with the exchange of
money or banking, on public computers such as those in
libraries, internet cafes etc. Also, do NOT pay
bills or conduct online transactions while using a
“public” network. It is much easier for thieves to
access information that exists on a network that has no
security/encryption, and when financial activity is
conducted on public computers that are used by
“everyone,” “financial Russian Roulette” is
played. Dangerous !!
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2.)
Do not conduct
financial transactions on websites that aren’t
“secure.” How do you know when a website is
secure? One determining factor is HTTP, and
HTTPS. HTTP stands for Hyper Text
Transfer Protocol,
and HTTPS stands for Hyper
Text Transfer Protocol Secure. When browsing
the internet, your web browser includes an HTTP or
HTTPS, prior to the web address (for
instance: http://www.webscams.com)
When you enter a secure website, that address would
(hypothetically) show as: https://www.webscams.com.
(Notice the “S” in that
address?) HTTPS is the protocol that provides
encryption (i.e. protection) and secures the
identification of the user.
HTTPS is often, but not ALWAYS
used, in payment transactions that take place on the
internet. Get to know your internet browser; many newer browsers
display a warning across the window and many display the
site’s security info in the address bar. Most browsers
also pop up with a warning notice to the user, when they
attempt to visit a site that contains a mix of
unencrypted and encrypted content.
In
summary, HTTP is insecure
and is subject to attacks, while HTTPS withstands said
attacks, and is secure. (there are many more factors
involved in security/encryption that may be addressed in
another article)
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3.)
Use PayPal when
possible! Did you know that Paypal (www.paypal.com) is
virtually THE most secure payment processing
website/merchant currently on the internet? When a
company accepts Paypal, it is always advisable to pay
using Paypal as opposed to the company’s merchant.
Paypal is a very secure merchant, and many companies
that sell online actually uses Paypal’s security methods
when creating security standards for their websites.
**Beware of “fake” Paypal sites i.e.: www.paypalcompany.com or ww.mypaypal.com,
www.paymentpals.com,
etc. (those sites are examples only and in the event
that any of the aforementioned website’s are actual
“legit” websites, please accept our apologies and change
your website’s name! )
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4.)
Do NOT pay your
bills and access your bank account(s) etc, while using
the computer(s) at your place of employment! Why
you ask? Believe it or not, there are unscrupulous
people who work in IT departments,
and who may use your information for fraudulent
purposes. Most employers heavily monitor their
employees’ internet usage, and most if not all people
who are employed and use computers daily – know this
fact.
For instance,
you decide to log onto www.wellsfargo.com to
balance your checkbook online. You are prompted to
enter your user name and password
to access the site. There are many scenarios that
can occur, which could be devastating to your finances which
include:
a.)Your employer has a
“key-logger” installed on your computer, to track what
you type; your passwords, user names etc. The
key-logger also catches your account information as you
type it into your online bank.NOT
GOOD!
b.)
Your employer requests that the IT department keep an
indefinite “usage history” for internet browsing. The
internet history contains which sites you visited, when
you visited them, what you clicked on during your visit;
and lastly – constant SNAPSHOTS (or pictures) of the
website during your visit. Guess what?...YOUR
account information is included in that snapshot, in the
exact form that it showed when you viewed it!BAD!!
c.)
You decide to log onto www.wamu.com to check your
account balance. When you are finished, a
co-worker runs to your desk asking you to come with them
to lunch. You
close down your browser, but you don’t log out of your
account, or your computer. A temporary employee is
instructed by your supervisor, to use your computer
while you are at lunch. He opens the browser on your PC,
goes to “History” and notices www.wamu.com,
was you’re the last page viewed. He clicks on the link
and WOILA…the browser opens up and your account information
is staring him in the face. How did that happen?
You never logged out of your
session.HORRIBLE!!!
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Now that you’ve read this article,
you are prepared to browse the internet, and conduct
business safely and securely. Stay tuned, another
part to this article may be released
soon.
Please use this as a reference, and
do not become the next CYBER FRAUD
STATISTIC!!
