Internet criminals are becoming more and more creative. They keep coming up with new ways to scam people. Outsmart them!
phishing
Phishing means fishing for sensitive information. Cyber criminals try to lure you to a fake website of a bank or credit card company via an email, text message or WhatsApp message. It looks like the message is from your bank itself and the fake site often looks real, but in reality, criminals are behind it. They hope that people enter their username, password and other information on the fake website. And so you unsuspectingly hand over your data. The consequence? Fraudsters loot the bank account. Read all about phishing here.
whaling
A so-called acquaintance contacts you because he or she is in need and needs money. This ‘friend’ asks if you transfer money to an account that he can still access. But in reality, the well-known knows nothing about this: it is a scam. This form of fraud is also called whaling, the English word for whaling.
malware
Malware is a collective term for malicious software, such as viruses. The goal: damage the computer, intercept privacy-sensitive information, display advertisements or take control of the PC. Malware can get on the computer in several ways. For example, by installing a free program via an unreliable website. A good virus scanner protects the PC against most malware. Windows PCs today have a built-in antivirus program (Defender) and less viruses are created for Mac computers. Nevertheless, our advice remains: always use one virus scanner and have it perform a full system scan on a regular basis. It is also recommended that you always install the latest updates to your PC’s operating system. With this, the maker closes any security holes in the operating system.
ransomware
Ransomware is a very aggressive form of malware. Internet criminals take the PC hostage; a message appears on the screen that you can only access your PC after paying a sum of money. Furthermore, ransomware scammers operate in different ways. For example, they sometimes pose as police and say they confiscate the computer because a traffic fine is still outstanding. Only after you have paid will the ‘police’ release the computer. Of course, in reality this message is not from the police and the PC remains locked after payment.
Been a victim of ransomware? Never pay the requested amount! There are several ways to remove ransomware. Boot the PC in safe mode and run the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware program. Read here how that works. Doesn’t it work? Reinstall Windows. If necessary, call in a specialist for this.
spam
Spam is junk e-mail. Many email services have a spam filter that collects these emails in a separate folder. It’s often about advertising. Never respond to these messages and do not click on hyperlinks in an email. This may install a virus or land you on a phishing website.
Safe internet
Criminals are also active in other places online. Therefore, make sure that you only buy stuff from reliable webshops. But also check on places such as Marktplaats whether the buyer or seller is not a scammer. Read here how to do that.