Hey everyone, I hope your week is going well. Sorry I didn’t blog last night. I switched my Thursday with a Wednesday off this week. I want to congratulate JessicaB; she is the winner of my contest. Apparently 3 times was a charm. Thanks for entering everyone. I will have more contests all Spring and maybe Summer long. If you want a chance to win, check back here often. If you don’t want to wait, just purchase one of my e-books. You will get the same three months of tutoring as well.
I heard about a close friend of mine that got here facebook username and password stolen. It was a phishing scam that stole her information. It’s very important to protect yourself from phishing scams. Phishing scams are the newest way to steal someone’s identity and bank account information.
Phishing scams can be very misleading since they are designed to look like trusted websites. Phishing scams through ebay and paypal have been popular for years. But, now the crooks look to social networks. Once they access most peoples personal profile; they have all they need to steal that person’s identity. The crooks can find personal information they need, like your name, phone number, and address. That’s all they need these days to steal your identity. Your social security number can even be stolen from this information.
It was reported this year that 90% of the time that someone’s identity was stolen online, was from facebook, myspace, or a similar social network. Social networks have become a breeding ground for scam artists. Be careful who you let be your friend on social networks. Make your profile private to protect your identity.
It has also been reported these types of phishing scams involve some getting to know you until you trust them. Then the victim is hit with a friendly link or message that contains malware. Malware(virus) is a very bad program that can do everything from ruin your computer to stealing your identity. The scammer may also send you a website link or program without you realizing it. Some scammers are reported to leave these links in their profile, so innocent victims click on to them while looking at profiles. They never know their identity was just stolen.
These phishing links are also known to steal your social network username and password. Once the thief has this information, there are no limits to what they can find out about you. Stealing identities is a very serious business. The thieves are very good at what they do. Don’t underestimate them.
Take extreme measures to protect yourself from con-artists. Don’t use the same password you use for other websites as you do on social networks. Make your social network passwords totally different. Believe it or not, some people even use the same bank username and password as their social network. It is reported that this is how thieves are logging into bank accounts online and stealing money from their victims.
I know it’s a pain in the neck to remember another new username and password. But, protecting your identity is well worth the hassle. If you have ever had your identity stolen, you know how important it can be in the long run. Add some initials to the beginning or end of your usual password. Keep the same username but change the password. Anything to throw the thieves off the trail.
Don’t ever click on links sent through your email. Try and go directly to the sites you are registered. Clicking links in emails are a big way phishing scams have ripped people off. People click the link and it brings them to a website that looks just like a website they are a member to already. The person logs in and BAM, your username and password is stolen. The website just brought you to the scammer’s webpage and stole your username and password when you logged in to the site. Ebay and Paypal have been hit with this email phishing scam big-time in the past few years.
Be careful and protect yourself at all costs everyone. If you have any questionable content let me know. I can help.
Thanks for reading!
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