Is Cyber Crime A Threat To Me?

Simply yes

The idea that cyber criminals are big organisations or lonely sad little people in their bedrooms is true. Governments, criminals and individuals are a constant threat. Broadly speaking they have one aim and that is to find weaknesses and exploit them. 

What do I mean by that? 
To give you an example lets say you don’t run updates on your devices, you open dodgy email links or share way too much personal information online you are asking for it! I know this sounds harsh but it’s true. You can never assume that a mobile phone provider or broadband provider offer you total protection against cyber threats, they don’t. These are the types of weaknesses the criminals are looking for and will exploit them to their advantage.

You may see news stories about big businesses being hacked or Cybersecurity threats being thwarted and think yes but that doesn’t apply to me at home. It would be nice if that wasn’t true but it is. Cyber crime happens at all levels all the time, these lowlifes never stop. These days you have to be careful all the time whether you are out and about on your mobile or sitting at home on your computer the threat is real.

The sad reality is cyber crime is on the increase and AI is helping the bag guys please see link for more details. According to the National Crime Agency millions of people and businesses are victims of cyber crime every year in England. The most popular types of cyber crime are phishing, online fraud and ransomware attacks as explained below.

Phishing

It is essentially cyber criminal scumbags impersonating trusted entities such as banks, companies and even friends to steal your money or I.D. one way or another. Phishing can be done by email, text messages or phone calls which are designed to trick you revealing sensitive information such as passwords or credit card details or install malware with the same goal of stealing from you. You can report scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.

Online fraud

Romance fraud is one of the most popular areas of online fraud and preys on the vulnerable. This is a particularly cruel and heartless form of deceit these scumbags use to steal money from their victims. Essentially they usually set up a fake account on social media pretend that they are forming a relationship with you, get you trust them and then make up lies about needing money for a sick uncle who needs urgent surgery for example. There is always a pull to make their victims feel sorry for these lying lowlifes and usually add a sense of urgency to needing the money quickly.

They prey on lonely, vulnerable victims who are looking for love and will do anything to make their new found love happy. These utter lowlife scumbags have no conscience or sense of guilt, they are there to rip off their victims and disappear with their money.

This is a nasty form of extortion used by criminal lowlifes to you’ve get guessed it to steal money. They will one way or another gain access to your computer and lock it out so you can’t use it. It is useless to you and all your files and folders are gone unless you pay a ransom to get access again. Usually payment is required in Cryptocurrency so it can’t be traced and you may or may not regain access. There is no guarantee as you are dealing with heartless, soulless people who don’t care one way or the other.

Ransomware

This is all about stealing money from their victims essentially they gain control of your computer often times by ringing you up and saying something along the lines of your security has been compromised and we need to update your settings or check a payment on your bank account because of fraudulent activity

Other times it will be a link to them on an email allowing them to load their evil software onto your computer. One way or the other these sneaky lowlifes gain access and lock out your computer so that it is unusable. You can’t logon or access anything, then comes the sting, they ask you for payment usually in cryptocurrency so that it’s untraceable and demand you pay or you will not be allowed back onto your own computer and they will not let you back in until they are paid.

Even then there is no guarantee they will let you back in, not forgetting these people are extorting you and conning you out of money, not exactly the trustworthy type. Sometimes people are so desperate they pay and take the chance that they will be able to regain access again, they feel like they have no choice.

Ransomware in explained in detail.

Summary

I know all this sounds scary and if you avoid the traps and use common sense you are likely to be safe. Now that you are more aware of the methods scamming and extorting scumbags use you can watch for these traps and know what is happening and why.

Whether it’s a scammers email link, a fake romance or somebody asking for personal details over the phone you are now one step ahead. Please see my other articles to learn to educating yourself and be much more aware