As usual, our beloved and very friendly scammers always find a way to deceive us and steal our money even online. All “noble” professions evolve with the development of technology, which is why it is possible to get scammed even on the web. In this guide we discover how to avoid online scams
How many times have you come across a very strange message, an email you didn’t ask for or even an SMS asking for your credentials to access your account making you believe it was an emergency? These things are commonplace, which is why we strongly advise you not to trust these messages for anything in the world, they are often a scam. Maybe you also managed to create a secure password because you read our guide, but as we have already mentioned, a strong password is not enough. There are many cybersecurity rules to follow. Now let’s see together how to avoid online scams.
Email, SMS and calls | How to avoid online scams
As we said before, the most classic methods to deceive you are SMS, emails and phone calls sudden messages that come to you from what appear to be known entities. Often they pass themselves off as banks, Italian post offices and so on and so forth. The first thing you need to do, therefore, is verify the origin of these communications, especially if they ask for personal data, credentials or codes. You can tell if it’s trustworthy by looking up the phone number that contacted you online, but also check the sender’s address and the text of the links they contain. They often use very similar fonts to companies, but if you check carefully, you will notice the differences, as well as several spelling errors.
Don’t rush | How to avoid online scams
More often than not, these communications that reach you push you to act immediately. For example, it could warn you of an expiring service, an unsuccessful payment or the possibility of a bank account being blocked and therefore invite you to act immediately. Avoid them at all costs. When these communications arrive there is always time to retry the payment or renew a service, therefore Don’t panic and take your time to verifyfor example with a phone call to the company providing the service.
Check the web pages you purchase from | How to avoid online scams
Another fundamental method to know to recognize whether it is a scam or not is to verify that the site is trustworthy. You need to pay particular attention to presence of some basic elements. Check if the site starts with the address “https” with the appropriate padlock next to it. This padlock indicates that the site is protected by international security systems. Then check the seller’s details, such as the VAT numberregistered office, telephone numbers and the secure payment system which reports the shipping costs. If the site has these characteristics, then it is a safe site.
Protect your data
One last thing we want to tell you before saying goodbye is check who asks you for personal data. Don’t give them lightly and above all identify the person asking you for them. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them to anyone, but make sure the person asking you for them is a trustworthy person, as is the context. If perhaps you come across a job offer and the advertiser asks for your personal data, better not to risk it. Send them only when you are sure that it is a safe thing, such as participating in a state civil service project. Finally, in addition to periodically changing passwords, update operating systems, whether they are applications for PC or smartphone. In particular, check that the browser you use is updated and periodically delete cookies and temporary files.
We hope the guide was helpful to you! Continue to follow us on techgameworld.com for other guides from the world of the web and much more. Stay safe and protect yourself!