{"id":1293,"date":"2024-03-13T13:27:09","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T19:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grownuptech.com\/?p=1293"},"modified":"2024-08-12T18:27:37","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T18:27:37","slug":"guarding-your-digital-doorstep-a-beginners-guide-to-outsmarting-online-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oakwoodexperience.com\/staging\/2633\/guarding-your-digital-doorstep-a-beginners-guide-to-outsmarting-online-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Guarding Your Digital Doorstep: A Beginner’s Guide to Outsmarting Online Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In an era where our digital footprints are as significant as our physical ones, protecting yourself from online scams is not just advisable; it’s imperative. This guide demystifies cybersecurity for the everyday tech user, offering straightforward, actionable advice to fortify your online presence against digital predators. Drawing from expert insights, we’ll navigate the murky waters of online scams with a conversational yet authoritative tone, empowering you to secure your digital doorstep with confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome to the 21st<\/sup> century, the time of the Jetsons! Not exactly what we envisioned, is it? Instead of Rosie, we have online scams, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to talk about today. In 2023, consumers reported losing more than ten billion dollars to fraud, the highest amount ever. That\u2019s 14% more than the previous year. Of that, almost half — $4.6 billion \u2013 was due to investment fraud, and that alone is up 21% from 2022. Imposter scams are up, too, where the bad guys pose as trusted entities or representatives of a company.  \u201cYour social security number is about to expire.\u201d That accounted for almost $2.7 billion. The most common way fraudsters reached their victims last year was by email, passing up the number scammed by text messages. In fact, text messages were number three, after phone calls<\/em>! They\u2019ll use the method that works best for them, and they\u2019ll shift as required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now more than ever, it\u2019s important that you, yes you, take defensive and protective measures to guard your digital life. Basic cybersecurity is essential for safeguarding your personal and business information. Cyberattacks can steal data, disrupt the flow of operations, and cause significant losses. Cybersecurity plays a critical role in preserving trust and confidence in technology. We all rely on technology for everyday tasks, communications, and other critical operations, and we\u2019re all connected. It\u2019s also not just about data. It also affects public safety and health. In several cities last year, hackers tried to meddle with municipal water supplies by gaining access to operations systems. While you may not have the level of responsibility that would allow or prevent that, your devices connect to a lot of other devices, and you do have some level of responsibility to see that you don\u2019t infect another device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve made a transition to the person in the family that \u201cknows a lot about computers\u201d to a PC technician, then to a System Administrator, and I\u2019ve gained expertise in cybersecurity through a bachelor\u2019s degree from Purdue University, and several industry-recognized cybersecurity certifications. I eat, sleep, and breathe this stuff, so you don\u2019t have to. We, the security professionals, can put in place all the defenses on the market, but if you, the users, aren\u2019t careful, all our work can be swept aside. This is a quick guide to keep you safe. Later this year, I\u2019m publishing a book that goes a lot deeper on the subject, but this is a good start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding the Threat Landscape<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The most common online scams involve phishing, malware, and social engineering. There are a few that don\u2019t fall under these three categories, but not many. Get a good handle on what these are and how they operate, and you\u2019ll be ahead of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phishing: tricking you into revealing personal information. It could start with an email pretending to be a legitimate company, or it could be a website. It\u2019s pronounced just like \u201cfishing,\u201d as in, \u201cthey\u2019re fishing for victims.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malware: a mashup of \u201cmalicious\u201d and \u201csoftware.\u201d Viruses and malware used to be considered two completely different entities, but now we consider viruses to be one type of malware. Malware is software that does something to<\/em> you rather than for<\/em> you. Just about everywhere you\u2019re likely to go looking for software can be a source of malware, but malware also lives in other places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social engineering: a method of gaining information, access, or other valuables through manipulation, using human error. It\u2019s often facilitated by gaining trust, and by the fact that it is in our nature most of the time to want to be helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These aren\u2019t the only ways bad people do bad things online, but they\u2019re the ones you\u2019re most likely to encounter in your personal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Line of Defense: Awareness and Education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of how many tools and programs you have in place on your computer, tablet, or phone, they have limited ability to protect you if the threat isn\u2019t the kind of thing those tools are able to detect. It\u2019s up to you to learn to recognize suspicious behavior and content online. This is one area where it\u2019s critically important to be skeptical of the person on the other end of every transaction. To keep up on what\u2019s going around, Facebook is of mixed usefulness. There\u2019s a lot of useless information posted, among them the ones that say that holding your finger on a post will get rid of ads, and all of the similar ones. I don\u2019t know of any accounts on Facebook that are posting cybersecurity information for \u201cregular people.\u201d If someone you know posts about a scam, unless you know that they know about digital security, please don\u2019t just share it without checking it out. How do you do that? I\u2019m so glad you asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using Google Gemini or Bing Copilot to help you search is a great way to find out such information. Regular search engines without AI help limit you on how you can search. I typed this into Bing using Copilot: \u201cI got a call from someone purporting to be from the sheriff\u2019s department, but I think it\u2019s a scam. How common is this?\u201d Bing with Copilot gave me a great answer on how common it is, some of the tactics used in this type of scam, red flags, and even how to protect yourself. That was more than I asked for, but it was extremely helpful, especially the red flags. I will also go so far as to say that even what you hear on the nightly news can\u2019t be completely relied on for accuracy. The anchor only has about a minute to tell you everything significant. By significant, I mean everything that will keep you watching, not everything you actually need to know. When you hear something that makes you wonder, use Gemini or Copilot to learn more. Unlike ChatGPT, whose currency is only as good as its most recent update, Gemini and Copilot are baked into the search functionality, so they\u2019re able to get the newest stuff. I asked, \u201cwhat kind of scams are most prevalent right now,\u201d and Copilot gave me statistics for the most prevalent scams reported so far in 2024. We\u2019re in March of 2024, so that\u2019s pretty current, and I\u2019m satisfied with the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practical Steps to Protect Yourself Online<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So what can you do to stay safe? I\u2019ll give you some brief pointers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Start by using strong passwords \u2013 more than 8 characters, a mix of upper and lower case letters, add some digits and special characters. Use a different password everywhere you go, and use a password manager to help you keep track of them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. As much as possible, use two-factor authentication. That means using a combination of at least two of the following: something you know (a password OR a user ID; using both a user ID and a password is still only one factor), something you HAVE (an ATM card, a smart card, a phone, a computer, or a token of some kind) and something you ARE (finger print or retina scan). When a website has you log in and then sends you a code to your phone or email account to enter at the site, that\u2019s an example of two-factor authentication. It\u2019s not perfect, but it\u2019s pretty dang good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Keep your stuff updated! Computer, phone, apps, keep it updated. You don\u2019t have to jump on an update as soon as you see it, but within a day or so, get it done. As soon as an update is released, hackers are downloading it to see what it contains, what it fixes. They know some people don\u2019t bother to update their devices very often, so whatever is fixed in an update is something that is going to be not-fixed for a large number of devices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. If you\u2019re using a Windows computer, Defender is built in and it\u2019s great just on its own \u2013unless you\u2019re a business owner. Protecting customer, vendor, and employee information is more important because it\u2019s more valuable to hackers. Your phone doesn\u2019t really need additional antivirus, and if you use a mac or linux computer, there\u2019s antivirus for them as well. Don\u2019t do sensitive business over public wifi, wait till you\u2019re on a secured network.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Back up your data \u2013 check out this article on figuring out how to make that happen.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    What to Do If You Fall Victim to a Scam<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The first thing you should do if you think you might have been scammed is to take a deep breath, because you\u2019re going to need a clear head to get everything done. Next you need to figure out what might have been affected \u2013 credit cards? Bank accounts? Social Security number? Contact whatever entities that you think might<\/em> be affected, even if you\u2019re not certain. Ask to speak to someone that handles fraud cases; every organization that handles money transactions is going to have one of those nowadays. Follow the exact steps they give you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The next thing you need to do is find out where you can report the scam. This can be intimidating, because there are a lot of places that might need to know, and you might not know any of them. Once again, AI-powered search to the rescue. I asked Copilot, \u201cIf I think I\u2019ve been a victim of a student loan scam, where might I go to report it?\u201d Copilot came back with a few places that will need to know such information. Use an AI-powered search to find out where to report whatever type of scam you think you\u2019ve encountered. If you\u2019re not sure, give the search engine a few details to work from, key words or phrases you remember, and then let it figure out what kind of scam you encountered and what to do next. It\u2019s important to make a report, because these statistics help agencies understand what resources people will need and where security is lacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One of the podcasters I used to listen to (I wish I could remember who it was) used to say, \u201cWhen you lose, don\u2019t lose the lesson.\u201d There\u2019s no shame when someone victimizes you, the shame belongs to them. Try to understand how it happened, what red flags you may have missed and where you can bolster your defenses. Don\u2019t let it make you cynical, only skeptical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Empowering Others: Spread the Knowledge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Once you\u2019ve verified a scam, it\u2019s fine to share the knowledge. Just make sure you know it\u2019s a scam. When people are inundated with what sounds like cybersecurity advice that really isn\u2019t, they get desensitized to the real information. Much of the \u201cadvice\u201d you see on Facebook doesn\u2019t do anything to make you safer, but it\u2019s almost always really easy to follow, easier than the real advice. Being easier doesn\u2019t in and of itself mean that it\u2019s wrong, just that people want to follow advice that is easy to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You don\u2019t need to be a cybersecurity expert to help other people stay safe online. You can help others be aware of scams and what to do if they get bitten. Unfortunately, most of the blogs and articles on cybersecurity are written for people like me, who love this stuff. That\u2019s why I write this blog \u2013 to distill some of that concentrated goodness into language that most people speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As a closing note, I\u2019ll share a scam that had me chasing my tail for a couple of hours. I got a phone call from someone purporting to be with the Sheriff\u2019s department in the next county. He said that there was a summons out for me for missing jury duty in that county. I probably wouldn\u2019t have paid it much attention, except that I had been notified of jury duty earlier in the year, but I got a letter in the mail saying my jury duty had been cancelled and that I wouldn\u2019t have to report to anyone. It was really difficult to understand him and he was talking very fast, and at some point, after I asked him to slow down and asked his name, he hung up. I called the Sheriff\u2019s department in that county, who referred me to the court system in that county, who told me that they have a list of all outstanding warrants, and my name wasn\u2019t on the list. As I looked at the caller ID record, it had a city name that is in my county, not the next one over. I never did find out what he was hoping I would do that would provide him a reason for calling, he never asked for money. I guess if he hadn\u2019t gotten frustrated and hung up, I might have found out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Have you had any scam calls? Have you been a scam victim? What did you learn from it? Drop a comment and share it with us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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