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Cybercriminals are lurking around, trying to capture your information and promote cyber scams. Understand how to protect you and your business to avoid problems.
We are living in full connectivity – from smartphones that have become the focal point of several transactions, from our watches that collect information about our health, to our virtual assistants always on standby, just waiting for a command to play a song, narrate a news or close a curtain. Data is valuable and serve as a bargaining chip for many services and infoproducts that claim to be free.
Our data is very, very scattered around and all it takes is a security breach in one of these channels for information into the hands of all types of scammers. To give you an idea, there was an increase in 164% in cybercrimes committed in 2021 over the year 2020, reaching the figure of US$ 6.9 billion. only through phishing were US$ 2.4 billion. Little is not.
In Brazil, also in 2021, the largest data leak of our technological history. Only CPF numbers were 223 million (among living and deceased citizens), in addition to name, date of birth and income, among other information.
This scenario is, in itself, a warning about how we should pay extra attention to our information and how we can avoid falling into virtual scams. And for those who have a business on the internet, things get even more serious. It is necessary to preserve our information and that of our customers.
protect your website
Having the site hacked or having the data leaked takes a toll on the reputation of any brand – in addition to material damage. It’s needed build a safe environment to ensure customer trust and gain positions with search algorithms.
The first step is to have your own domain and place your communication emails under that domain. Many scammers use free email accounts to communicate with victims, so if your company emails are from this type of domain, they may have a lower open and click rate. Web Host has a website builder with free domain and e-mails, according to the chosen package.
Have one SSL digital certificate also guarantees the protection of your data and the data of your visitors. One of its functions is to encrypt data, making it difficult for cybercriminals to act. Search engines are also capable of analyze website reliability through the SSL digital certificate and this helps to position it better in the results, in addition to increasing its relevance.
At Web Host you can subscribe to an SSL plan with a single domain or even with the inclusion of unlimited subdomains, covering all the pages of your portal. Know more details
Phishing: protect your data
our best chance to protect our information is to know a little about the universe of digital fraud, the types of traps and how we escape them (be careful, Bino!). In case of phishing, the fishing metaphor is didactic: the cybercriminal throws the bait and sees if he can catch any data that can be traded or sold, or if he can hack the victim’s device – and then things get very complicated. This contact takes place through different channels, in which he impersonates a close person (a relative, for example) or known companies (telephone, bank, etc.).
Some scams are more easily recognizable: the messages contain Portuguese errors, there are uppercase words, excessive exclamation points, the sender’s email has a free domain and encoded names, and the originator’s phone numbers are uncommon.
These tips can significantly decrease your chances of falling for scams:
- Recognize the communication policy of the services contracted by you. If you have an official message channel, write this number down in your calendar.
- Register your login and password on the service portals. So, if you have any doubts about the content of the message received, just enter the portal and confirm that the information is true. Most companies ask the customer to choose how they want to be contacted, making it easier to recognize communications outside the chosen standard.
- Be wary of phone contacts where the person asks you to provide information. The correct thing is for the attendant to say the information he has, for the customer to confirm.
How to protect yourself on social media?
In social networks, remove the indication of kinship or restrict this information to the chosen connections.
Your agenda should only contain the names of the people, without indicating what relationship she has with you (mother, nurture, personal, psychologist etc).
- Email is the central channel for recovering passwords for most people. If this is your case, the ideal thing is that it is always off when not in use.
- Avoid using public WiFi networks or connecting to unknown computers. They may have malicious programs that steal your data as soon as you connect to them.
- If you receive messages saying: “I lost my cell phone and I am using this number temporarily”, with a request for money then, it is most likely a scam. A simple thing to do is try to contact the person through the usual number.
These tips cover the basics of information security. Other virtual scams and ways to deceive people are often created. Always be on the alert!
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