For most purposes, mobile phones have made cameras, clocks, computers, and many devices redundant. With their ever-expanding capabilities, mobile phones today have also become increasingly vulnerable to online threats like nasty, damaging cyber-attacks and data pilfering. As per a 2022 study, mobile phones face more than 60 percent of digital fraud via stolen passwords and phishing attacks. To stay clear of these, one needs to avoid making some of the following mistakes: Installing fake apps on smartphones Scammers can create apps that look legit but are just viruses or other threats disguised as actual mobile applications. To avoid this threat, one needs to complete software and security updates regularly, provide personal information only if it is necessary, check customer reviews for any app before installing it on their phone, and verify applications they want to download from the app store for duplicates. Fake apps are among the most common smartphone threats, and taking these simple precautions can prevent a person from exposing themselves to a cyber-attack or another kind of online fraud. Not being careful during online shopping Most people choose eCommerce apps on their phones to make purchases. However, online shopping sites can contain threats too. For example, an individual may fall into the trap of giving away their card details to scammers via the aforementioned fake or fraudulent shopping apps.

While the Internet is great for completing translations in record time, watching entertaining content on the go, and doing work online, it is also an easy space for scammers to dupe innocent people. The Internet is fraught with scammers and fraudsters who manipulate individuals to steal their identities and money. The article talks about a few money-making scams that one should know about and how to identify them in case one receives messages from scammers. Here are four such scams to watch out for: 1. Pyramid schemes The idea of a pyramid scheme is for one to participate in a program where an individual is promised unrealistic returns on investments that don’t exist. The initial investors make quite a bit of money and end up recruiting new people and selling investment products to others. The plan primarily relies on money from recruitment fees and not the number of products or services sold. Most pyramid schemes present themselves as multi-level marketing operations; however, legitimate multi-level marketing operations gain profits from selling goods and services to customers, which is not the case with pyramid schemes. 2. Job opportunity scams This is a major scam where an unsuspecting individual receives an unverified email offering a job, which is usually not in their area of expertise.

The first few minutes, hours, and days following a cybercrime are often crucial for victims to recover their data and move on from the incident. Cyber blackmail, similar to hacking and other online crimes, tends to become a looping nightmare if not reported in a timely and proper way. People who experience a cyber-attack commonly make specific mistakes in a state of frenzy while reporting cyber blackmail. Here are a few of them to avoid: Not ceasing system activities that destroy blackmail evidence This mistake applies to a whole host of failed cyber-attack responses. The activities that destroy critical evidence for investigation departments include: Continued system usage after receiving a blackmail threat Multiple account lockouts due to multiple antivirus alerts Clicking on suspicious links Opening shady emails despite a cyber threat. Employees and desk staff not well-versed with cybersecurity protocols should pause all activities, including installing software, running antivirus or cleaning tools, or making various system adjustments. These activities can overwrite information that investigators may use as evidence of blackmail. To address this issue, the in-house staff of any organization must receive training to document any online activities. This documentation can be useful if those actions also become a part of the investigation.