Most Common Types of Online Scams

🔥 Phishing 🔥

The top online scam today is Phishing. Internet thieves prey on unsuspecting users by sending out phishing emails. In these emails, a cybercriminal tries to trick you into believing you are logging into a trusted website that you normally do business with. This could be a bank, your social media account, an online shopping website, shipping companies, cloud storage companies and more.

Another type of popular phishing scam is the Nigerian Prince, or 419 scam. These are phishing emails in which you’re asked to help bring large sums of money into the country, cash phony money orders or wire money to the thief. The trick is that the scammer first asks you for a small fee because the larger sum of money is “tied up” whether it be in wire transfer fees, processing fees or some other tall tale.

🔥 Fake AV 🔥

One close to our industry is fake security software, which is also known as scareware. These start with a pop up warning saying that you have a virus. Then the popup leads the user to believe that if they click on the link, the infection will get cleaned up.Cybercriminals use the promise of “Free Anti-Virus” to instead implant malware on a victim’s device.

🔥 Social Media Scams 🔥

Social media scams are a variety of posts you will see in your news feeds- all with the goal of getting you to click on a link that could potentially be hosting malware.

🔥 Mobile Scams 🔥

Mobile scams can come in many forms, but the most common are phishing apps. These apps are designed to look like the real thing, just like phishing emails. It is exactly the same premise, however, instead of emails, the malware is passed through a fake app.

🔥 Social Engineering Scams 🔥

Social engineering is a way that cybercriminals use human-to-human interaction in order to get the user to divulge sensitive information. Since social engineering is based on human nature and emotional reactions, there are many ways that attackers can try to trick you- online and offline.

🗃 Cyber Safety for Kids 🗳

The online world is becoming every child’s favorite playground. With more children accessing the Internet with different devices, they are learning and growing more each day. When used appropriately the cyber world can be your child’s portal to achieve great things.

While every parent wants their child to have access to the latest and best information, they also know that safety is paramount.

🔰 How can parents help their child? 🔰

Learning is not limited to children alone. It is important for parents to know what is out there. With the launch of new apps and social media sites, children are exposed to new things – things with the potential to make or break them.

As a parent, it is best to stay fortified with all the information there is know about emerging threats, the latest school yard jargon and ways to deal with issues that emerge as a result of cyber behavior.

Learn About Worms

It is an type of virus only which affects drastically.

So without wasting any time let’s dive in it.❤️

🔶 What Is A Computer Worm? 🔶

A computer worm is a type of malware that spreads copies of itself from computer to computer.

A worm can replicate itself without any human interaction, and it does not need to attach itself to a software program in order to cause damage.

🌀 How Do Computer Worms Work? 🌀

Worms can be transmitted via software vulnerabilities.

Or computer worms could arrive as attachments in spam emails or instant messages (IMs).

Once opened, these files could provide a link to a malicious website or automatically download the computer worm. Once it’s installed, the worm silently goes to work and infects the machine without the user’s knowledge.

Worms can modify and delete files, and they can even inject additional malicious software onto a computer.

Sometimes a computer worm’s purpose is only to make copies of itself over and over — depleting system resources, such as hard drive space or bandwidth, by overloading a shared network.

In addition to wreaking havoc on a computer’s resources, worms can also steal data, install a backdoor, and allow a hacker to gain control over a computer and its system settings.

🔥 Stuxnet: The Most Famous Computer Worm 🔥

In July 2010, the first computer worm used as a cyber weapon was discovered by two security researchers after a long string of incidents in Iran.

Dubbed “Stuxnet,” this worm appeared to be much more complex than the worms researchers were used to seeing.

This attracted the interest of high-profile security specialists around the world, including Liam O’Murchu and Eric Chien of the Security Technology and Response (STAR) team at Symantec.

Their extensive research led them to conclude that the worm was being used to attack an Iranian power plant, with the ultimate goal of sabotaging nuclear weapon production.

Although the attack ultimately failed, this computer worm is still active on the threat landscape today.

🔰 How To Tell If Your Computer Has A Worm? 🔰

If you suspect your devices are infected with a computer worm, run a virus scan immediately. Even if the scan comes up negative, continue to be proactive by following these steps.

  1. Keep an eye on your hard drive space. When worms repeatedly replicate themselves, they start to use up the free space on your computer.
  2. Monitor speed and performance. Has your computer seemed a little sluggish lately? Are some of your programs crashing or not running properly? That could be a red flag that a worm is eating up your processing power.
  3. Be on the lookout for missing or new files. One function of a computer worm is to delete and replace files on a computer.