As responsible citizens, we also have the duty to inform ourselves about the risks. Forewarned is forearmed! For parents in particular, it is important not to be naive and to know what risks their children are running. So read on and feel free to add personal experiences in the comments. With a little knowledge of how cybercriminals operate, you can better protect yourself and your environment.
Home burglary
That it is not wise to share your holiday plans on social media was recently experienced by a family in North Brabant. Shortly after departure, the house was attacked by the thieves' guild. A case that is not an isolated one. This development even inspired a consultancy firm to set up the site Breekbijmein . One caveat is that hard figures on this phenomenon are lacking. The judiciary does not register which home burglaries took place after the residents had announced their absence to the world via social media. This has been looked into in England. For example, research by Honeywell shows that 78% of former burglars think that their new colleagues use social media when selecting targets. Therefore, the general advice is to be careful with the information you post on social media. You never know who is reading along.
Identity theft / hijacked accounts
A phenomenon that is increasing rapidly is identity fraud. The abuse takes several forms. Such ecuador phone number list as emptying bank accounts and applying for credit cards under someone's name in order to then make large purchases with them. Unsecured connections on websites are partly responsible for this. The consumer fills in his personal data while the connection is tapped.
fake profiles on social media such as Twitter and Facebook. In this case, the fraudster pretends to be someone else, for example a well-known person. This happened to Bertus Hendriks (Middle East expert) among others. He was portrayed as an anti-Semite via a fake Twitter profile. The account was active for a month before Hendriks was alerted to it by a friend and took steps to have it closed. It is often well-known people who are taken advantage of in this way, but opening fake accounts also occurs in the private sphere to smear someone.
Identity theft is big business. In the US, 1 in 10 people have fallen victim to this form of crime. In 2009 alone, 11.1 million Americans lost an average of $5,000. Preventative measures that you can take include being cautious about providing information, installing anti-virus software and keeping it up-to-date, using strong passwords, changing passwords regularly and thoroughly checking bank statements, credit card statements, etc.
Pedophilia
With the advent of social media, pedophiles have a new hunting ground . Networks such as Hyves are used by many pedophiles to make contact with minors. They pretend to be someone else, often a peer, and encourage children to take compromising photos of themselves or persuade children to undress in front of the webcam. Sometimes this material is then used to blackmail the child and force them to meet in real life. It is therefore important for parents to know who their child is in contact with online and to inform children about the dangers. Pedophilia is a persistent evil that can enter your home without you knowing about it thanks to social media.
Scams