Everything is online — shopping, working, and socializing. Unfortunately, so is crime.
Cybercrime is increasing as fast as other technological advances. Over 85% of Canadian companies were attacked in one year. More than 50% of Canadians have experienced cybercrime at least once. Every year, we face a greater risk of encountering scams or malware than we did the year before.
Your actions can make a big difference to your cyber risk profile. These digital safety basics provide small steps to improve your odds against cybercriminals and hackers.
4 Mobile Phone Privacy Tips
Our smartphones are as much a part of daily life as toothbrushing. But all apps collect data. Almost without exception, they sell information about your habits to other companies. They do this knowingly or unknowingly via notorious real-time advertising bidding systems.
The takeaway is that companies are not yet taking people’s privacy seriously.
Apart from being data slurpers, apps can harbour malware. That’s the case even if you download them from trustworthy sources. Millions of people have unknowingly downloaded malicious apps from the official app stores.
- Don’t download apps you don’t need.
- Delete the ones you don’t use.
- Disable or limit the ad personalization and data settings on all of them.
- Disable cross-app tracking in your phone settings.
3 Top Anti-Scam Social Media Tips
Living in a world where you can take everyone at face value would be fantastic. Sadly, social media is crawling with unsavoury characters, scammers, and fraudsters.
Creating a fake profile is easy, and scammers are incredibly sneaky. They often use bots or hire people in low-income countries to set up fake user accounts and operate click farms. Once these counterfeit profiles are established, more experienced operators take control. They are skilled at spotting opportunities to gain people’s trust.
Sometimes, scammers prowl for romantic partners. Some sell non-existent goods. Others distribute investment scams. Another group focuses on people who play games on Facebook or other online platforms. Gaming account takeovers are rife in online gaming communities.
Other common scams include fake job offers. There’s also a massive scam industry centred on producing fake news and sensationalism. They use clickbait tactics around celebrity gossip, cringy people, or shocking events or deaths.
- Resist the impulse to click on these ads and links. Use an ad-blocker. At best, ads are annoying and seem able to follow you around for life. At worst, pop-up ads and links may lead you to a malicious site where an invisible, untraceable malware download awaits.
- Recently, major media companies in the U.S. have relaxed their moderation policies, leaving the field wide open for scammers and fraudsters. Become more aware that special offers or sensational content may be attempts at tricking people.
- Also, review your privacy settings to restrict what information you give away to strangers. It’s better to limit contact details and turn off location tracking settings.
The 2 Rules of Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are everywhere. They arrive in emails, texts, social media, and chat apps. The message content may vary, but the goal is the same. Someone is trying to:
(A) give you something awesome (e.g., gift cards or student loan forgiveness) or
(B) make you anxious or cross (e.g., threatening to close your account or not delivering your parcel).
- Phishing messages have become so common that it’s best to approach every message you receive with a bit of suspicion. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. If a message aims to make you anxious, it’s probably someone using FOMO or fear to trigger a hasty action.
- Don’t click on links in suspicious messages. They could download malware or lead to dangerous websites. Only provide personal information through legitimate, secure website portals.
5 Tips to Improve Internet Browsing Security
Scammers have learned SEO tricks and are paying for automated advertising placements. That means the top results in a Google keyword search can be a trap. It could lead to a fake or copycat website of a well-known company. It can be challenging to spot the difference, so be cautious while browsing.
- Always use a VPN app, which encrypts your internet traffic and masks your IP address as you browse. If you accidentally visit a malicious website, the VPN app can help safeguard your data and reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
- Don’t use connected apps like Gmail or Facebook to log in. We know hackers can get past Google App Store security to distribute fake malware apps. They can also get away with a fake Google login window.
- Delete unnecessary browser extensions. Some keep collecting information about you in the background, even when you’re not using them.
- Decline cookies on websites whenever possible.
4 Tips to Choose a More Private Browser and Search Engine
Search engines log everything you type into your browser. Unfortunately, Google’s famous search engine comes standard with Google Chrome. Microsoft’s Bing search engine comes standard with Microsoft Edge. Both these companies’ data tracking abilities are notoriously invasive.
- Consider using a privacy-oriented browser like Brave or Mullvad. If you insist on using the Chrome or Edge browsers, spend some time reducing the browser settings to maximum privacy. Switch off ad customization.
- Set your default search engine to DuckDuckGo. It will still give you results from Google and Bing. It won’t affect search results but will reduce your exposure to tracking.
- Remove unnecessary browser extensions. Some continue collecting data about you and your device even after you’ve closed the browser.
- Apart from your VPN ad-blocker, consider installing the Electronic Freedom Frontier (EFF) ‘s Privacy Badger to reduce tracking.
2 Cybersecurity Tips on Chat Apps
Protect your chats from snoopers by using an end-to-end encrypted messaging app. An outsider can see that you’re sending messages but cannot read the content. But choose the chat app carefully.
- For example, both Signal and WhatsApp use end-to-end encryption. However, Facebook owns Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. They get all the metadata (who contacted whom, when you chatted, and where you were).
- Also, if you back up WhatsApp messages to a cloud account (e.g., Google Drive), the messages get stored in an unencrypted state. Anyone with access to the cloud storage will be able to read them.
The 6 Basic Principles of Cyber Hygiene
There are a few standard cybersecurity rules that everyone should apply every day. You may have heard the list before, and with good reason. These basic rules can knock out thousands of attempts to hack or hijack your device or online accounts.
- A strong password must be a minimum of 15 characters long. Always include a random jumble of special characters, letters, and numbers. Choose the best password manager to help you create and remember good passwords. Don’t share passwords, even with your best friend. Their devices might be compromised without their knowledge, putting you in danger.
- Install antivirus software. A free antivirus has limited value. It’s better to buy a premium product with a good reputation.
- Don’t go online without the additional privacy and threat protection of a reputable virtual private network (VPN). A VPN encrypts your connection and ensures that your sensitive information (e.g., login details) stays hidden from prying eyes.
- Install software updates immediately. They protect against brand-new threats.
- Lock your device with a strong passcode, fingerprints, or facial recognition technology.
- Apply Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). It means an extra step before you can get into your accounts, but the extra security is worth it.
Stay Sceptical, Stay Cybersafe!
AI is becoming a great force — sometimes for good, but often for evil. Scammers and hackers are using new technology to become more successful criminals. Don’t become a victim!
Always approach offers and messages with a healthy dose of skepticism. Trust your instincts. Stay aware of scammer tactics aimed at provoking a sense of trust or triggering anxiety or urgency. “Steady is the key,” so keep making well-informed decisions.
