MyTrendingStories suggests advices about avoiding online scams in 2021? Warning points: Needing to verify your account or details – don’t respond or click on any links in the communication even if it looks like it’s from a real organisation. Trying to get you to move outside of an online trading or booking website or app (like Air BnB) – don’t pay outside of the normal website or app processes. Offering money or a prize in exchange for something up front – they might say that it’s a “processing” fee or something similar. Being asked for money by friends/partners you’ve met online – this is a very common tactic, do not pay the money. Unusual ways to pay for something – scammers try to use payments that can’t be traced such as pre-loaded debit cards, gift cards, bitcoins, iTunes cards or money transfer systems. Asking for remote access to your device – never do this unless you have actively sought out the service they are providing. Pressuring you to make a decision quickly – this could be to avoid something bad (e.g. account being closed, trouble with the IRD) or to take advantage of something good (a deal or investment).
Live news from MyTrendingStories online platform: Hacking is an attack directly on computer systems or websites that contain financial information. Merchant account takeovers is a type of fraud that have been trending upwards over the last few years but exploded in 2020 and 2021. This is when a fraudster logs into a person’s merchant account (Amazon, Uber, Venmo) and uses saved payment information to make purchases for themselves. Merchant account takeovers can happen when a person uses the same password across multiple online accounts. If that log in information is leaked from any one website, scammers can do something called “credential stuffing”, where they use programs to test that log in information across hundreds or thousands of popular websites, hoping to get a hit. The best way to combat this type of fraud is to use strong, unique passwords for online accounts. Use a password manager can create and store unique passwords with ease. Learn more about password managers here.
MyTrendingStories anti-scam tips: “The phone scams keep on coming — here are tips on how to avoid them” was the headline of a recent Boston Globe consumer protection column. Tips to avoid scams? Nice in theory, but with so many scams coming from so many directions, your best bet is to be generally aware of the new twists out there while you actively prepare for what you’ll do if one day you’re on the receiving end of a threatening message that actually makes you anxious or even terribly frightened. Talking to a local businessperson the other day, the “Professional Photographer/Copyright Infringement” scam came up. An email arrives filled with threats of legal action and a link the recipient is supposed to click to see the supposedly outrageous “copyright infringement” for themselves. This gentleman had just gotten the “Professional Photographer/Copyright Infringement” email again that morning, but he was not alarmed because he’d seen it about three times before. Find more info on https://mytrendingstories.com/haywood-lige/best-internet-scam-prevention-guide-on-mytrendingstories-gxpfux.
Mytrendingstories discuss how to defeat scams: “Somebody can place a property on their website, make it look like as legitimate as possible, but at the end of the day, it’s actually just a shell of a listing,” said Duquesnel. Talk to the homeowner by phone — not just through email. That way you can ask detailed questions about the property and local attractions. If they give vague answers, that’s a red flag. Look up the address online using Google Street View to confirm the property exists and matches the pictures you saw. Always pay with a credit card – not a debit card. Don’t wire money or use a pre-paid card. That’s like sending cash. “My sister-in-law was scammed out of a vacation rental because she sent a check. She got down there, and that house didn’t exist,” Duquesnel explained. If you pay with a credit card, charges can be disputed.
However, if you’ve used the same password on other sites, it’s important you reset it on those accounts too. Since stolen data often includes both your email address and password, fraudsters who get hold of it may try and use it to hack into other accounts of yours. To fully protect yourself, use different passwords for all your online accounts and store them in a password manager, or see password help for full info. You then need to take steps to make sure you’ve not suffered any financial harm, and to report it. See what to do if you’ve been scammed for more on this. The safest way to secure your accounts is to use unique passwords for all your online logins. If this sounds impossible to remember, try a password manager. These can generate randomised passwords for your various accounts (or you can set your own), and store them all to be accessed with one master password – the only one you’ll actually need to remember. If you prefer to create your passwords yourself and keep them stored in your own login, see Martin’s Password help blog. Read more details on https://www.sitelike.org/similar/mytrendingstories.com/.