Frauds through social networks

Social media sites are popular among the youth today and also among fraudsters.

It has been observed that victims get a Facebook, Twitter or Whatsapp invite to install different types of festive themes, Games, apps or links on their mobile or internet.

Once you click the link or download the App or software, a malicious browser extension gets downloaded on your computer, which monitors the users’ activities and leaks personal details to the fraudster.

Sometimes, the users are also redirected to the survey page and are asked to fill vital information like name, date of birth, mobile number, etc.

Remember NEVER SHARE your Card number, CVV, PIN, OTP (One Time Password), Internet Banking User ID, Internet Banking Password, Debit Card Grid values or URN (Unique Registration Number) with anyone, even if the caller claims to be a bank employee.

Sharing these details can lead to unauthorised access to your account.

Mentioned below are some safety tips which can be used to prevent frauds

Facebook Safety Tips – How to Protect Yourself

Whether you are new to Facebook or a long time user, you should be diligent in protecting yourself, your family, and your friends while using Facebook. Here are tips to keep your Facebook experience both enjoyable and safe:

1. Do not place your personal information on your Facebook profile. Items such as your residential address, your phone number, your cell phone number, your date of birth will all become very public information instantly.
2. Be careful when placing photographs of you or your children on Facebook. Please ensure that you have all your privacy settings set to maximum.
3. Do not ever think that your Facebook page is private amongst only your friends and family. Job interviewers, lawyers, investigators, the police and the entire world will be searching for information on your Facebook site at some point.
4. Do not accept all Friend Requests. Not every Friend Request is legitimate. If you do not know the person, then do not add them to your accepted friends.
5. Be sure to keep your Facebook clean and professional. Casual photos or information about you of school or college days can be quite damaging to your professional and personal life.
6. Be sure to watch what you place on your Wall. The Wall is like the bulletin board at work or in school. Hence, do not post any embarrassing Wall postings.
7. Do not leave your computer on with your Facebook account open. Leaving access to your Facebook account is equivalent to leaving your wallet or cell phone in public on the picnic table.
8. Be sure to have virus software for your computer and keep it updated. There are several viruses out there that attack your e-mail address library. The viruses then send out posts to everyone in your library asking them to become your friend in Facebook, while giving them the same virus.
9. Spend time checking your spelling and grammar. As you must have mistakenly typed a word that is offensive or leads to a direct contradiction in your intended message. Checking spelling on the front end when posting can save you hours in trying to correct a mistake that offends your employer, significant others or your family.
10. Be careful not to provide too much information. Do not update every detail of yours, your friends or family members' life. Respect their privacy.
11. If someone is being intrusive or abusive, remember you can always report and block them.
12. Remove anything you think is inappropriate. This could mean wall posts, images or statuses. What you may have found funny last night might not be as funny the next morning.
13. Don't display your year of birth. It slightly helps improve security settings and prevent identity theft.
14. Make sure you don't post any hurtful or mean comments / statuses. This can lead to all sorts of trouble.
15. If your child(ren) is(are) on Facebook and is(are) under 13, monitor him/her(them) weekly to see what's happening and make sure your child(ren) has(have) all the safety equipment on.
16. If anyone seems to be harassing you on Facebook Chat, then don't hesitate to go offline. This can be done by clicking on the bottom right corner of the page and selecting the "Go Offline" button.
17. If someone is continuously harassing you, sending you any messages that are mean, nasty, inappropriate and make you uneasy, you can remove them off your friend list - even better block them.
18. If you see any inappropriate images or comments, then e-mail Facebook at abuse@Facebook.com.

Twitter Safety tips

We want Twitter to be a safe and open community. This help page provides some information and tips to help you practice safe Tweeting and keep your account secure. Here are some basics:

• Use a strong password.
• Use login verification.
• Watch out for suspicious links, and always make sure you’re on Twitter.com before you enter your login information.
• Never give your username and password out to untrusted third parties, especially those promising to get you followers or make you money.
• Make sure your computer and operating system is up-to-date with the most recent patches, upgrades and anti-virus software.

1. Never share your e-mail, personal or business address, telephone numbers, etc. on Twitter.
2. Use strong passwords and keep changing your password every 4-6 weeks to ensure maximum safety. In addition to creating a secure Twitter account password, you should also do the same for your e-mail address associated with your Twitter account.
   
   Do’s
   Do create a password at least 10 characters long. Longer is better.
   Do use use a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols.
   Do use a different password for each website you visit.
   Do keep your password in a safe place. Consider using password management software to store all of your login information securely.
   
   Don’ts
   Do not use personal information in your password such as phone numbers, birthdays, etc.
   Do not use common dictionary words such as "password", "iloveyou", etc.
   Do not use sequences such as "abcd1234", or keyboard sequences like "qwerty".
   Do not reuse passwords across websites. Your Twitter account password should be unique to Twitter.
   
    
3. Preview Short URL’s Before Clicking as shortened URLs are often used to hide unsafe web addresses.
4. Beware Of Unsolicited Direct Messages that can lead to phishing as Direct Messages are often used to lure unsuspecting users to a login page, where they are asked to provide their username and password.
5. If you receive spam, block and report the account as spam.
6. Avoid being impersonated. Twitter permits impersonation only for parody. Even if you don’t use Twitter at all, someone else may be using your name to impersonate you on Twitter. This can lead to grave reputation problems for your business, professional and personal life.
7. Use up to date anti-virus and firewall to protect your computer.

WhatsApp Safety tips

All WhatsApp users must remain cautious at all times. Few simple tips for your safety are:

1. If any unknown person claims that your near or dear ones are in trouble, always confirm by calling them directly on landline or on a different number.
2. Delete data and restore factory settings on phone while selling or discarding the phone.
3. Never send private information like bank account details, PINs or passwords through WhatsApp.
4. Never accept files or begin downloads from messages sent to you by strangers or unknown numbers.
5. Never respond to suspicious messages that come from unknown numbers.
6. WhatsApp as a service will never contact you through a WhatsApp message. Never trust any message that claims to come from WhatsApp and demands some payment for the service.
7. Some scams say they can connect your PC with WhatsApp and send messages from a desktop. Do not believe these, as this is not possible.
8. Keep automatic downloads disabled, so that you can always keep a check on what is being downloaded.
9. Avoid using WhatsApp when you are connected to open Wi-Fi networks. These are hunting grounds for malware authors and data sniffers.
10. Always keep an updated antivirus security solution installed and updated on your mobile device.
11. While the aforementioned tips are useful for generic purposes, there are some steps you can take to protect your privacy over WhatsApp. Usually, messages can be received from anyone so this is a major loophole in the app. However, this is something that is a salient feature of the app, do not expect this to be disabled anytime soon. Nevertheless, you can take these steps to safeguard your privacy over WhatsApp.

Unfortunately, blocking all messages from unknown numbers is not possible over WhatsApp. However, if you have received a message from an unknown number and wish to receive no more messages from that number, you can open that particular chat window and block the contact from there.

With these small privacy tips for WhatsApp in mind, you can definitely ensure that your usage over this app is as secure as possible. Stay safe!

Gifts

Phishers send out spam promoting bargains for flowers, romantic dinners, jewelry etc. Clicking on the offer might take the user to a malicious site that could compromise a vulnerable PC, or a legitimate looking site which asks for your credit card, and other personal information to "complete the order".

E-cards

Personalized greeting card are good but receiving them from an unknown perso should be a teel tale sign for a malicious attempt.