|
  |
|
|
Spotting online fraud
By Steven Dale
How to spot online scams
The online world is populated by the same people in the real world so its no surprise that there are criminals intent on parting you from your money. The difference is that it is much harder to spot them coming your way. However, there are some simple rules you can follow to spot the fraudsters from the genuine individuals. Rule 1:
Use a secured browser to minimize risks. I recommend installing an add-on such as WOT (Web Of Trust) which will help to identify sites that are unsafe. This means they have a poor rating as regards child safety, privacy, vendor trustworthiness and reliability. Visit WOT. Another to consider is McAfee's SiteAdvisor from McAfee. Rule 2:
Never respond to unsolicited emails that appear to be from your bank or other site that you use a username and password to access via the web. Your bank or other genuine organization will never ask you click on a link and then re-enter your logon details. Such emails are known as 'phishing attempts'. Many email programs now have facilities to spot such scams but if you never click on such links you will never fall victim such scams. Rule 3:
Avoid lottery scams. Usually if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is, especially if it was unsolicited. Such scams ask you pay upfront fees etc but you will never see your money again, nor any prize. Rule 4:
Always check that when you think you are on a secure site that you really are. Check your browser's address bar (at the top of the page that shows what site you are on) and make sure that the url starts with https://. That 's' means you are on a secure server and your details are encrypted when they travel over the web from your computer to the vendor's site. There should also be a locked padlock symbol, usually just after the site's url. You can also click on this to check the site's security certificate. You can also install various add-ons to your browser to further protect yourself. Examples for Firefox include: Locationbar² 1.0.3 - get it from here
LinkExtend 1.0.1 - get it from here Finally, if you want to keep your kids safe whilst they browse the internet, consider KidZui 0.6 which turns Firefox into a kid-safe environment with over a million kid-friendly websites, games, pictures, and YouTube videos. Get it from the Mozilla site here |
10 easy ways to boost your online security
|
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
No reactions yet.
Please login or sign up to rate this intel.
Please login or sign up to add a comment.
The copyright for this content entitled "Spotting online fraud" has been specified by the contributor as:
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Details 
This content may be copied, distributed, or modified as long as the original author is acknowledged with a link back to the content page.
If you use this content according to the license specified, you must link to the following URL:
http://celtxian.qondio.com/
|
 |
February, 2012
| | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | | | | |
|
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February
|
|
Not a member yet?
Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to
promote, we can help.
Sign up and get in on the action.
|
|
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.
|
|
