How to Spot Online Scams by TexasGumShoe

Millions of people around the world fall prey to fraudulent schemes and scams each year. With people adapting and integrating technology in their daily lives, there has been an increase in use of mobile devices and computers for shopping, business transactions and more. This behavior has made consumers vulnerable and more susceptible to fraudsters. From tricking people into revealing their personal information to getting money wired under false pretences, there is variety of ways in which scammers target people. Calls, text, emails, scammers can approach in any form. So beware! Don’t become the victim of common online schemes and scams!

Here are few points that will help you identify and spot online scams – 

• Do not immediately respond to emails that ask you to re-send or re-enter your account details for verification. No matter how authentic the mail may seem, it is better to call and confirm with your bank whether they have asked for these details or not.

• Avoid using suspicious looking websites for shopping or any other transaction. If you come across a site that has multiple pop-ups or poor design, avoid entering your credit card or bank account information. It is better to stick to known and reliable websites for shopping online.

• Don’t fall for too good to be true offers or free trials. Instead of simply relying on the testimonials provided, it is better to read the fine print and conditions involved in the “free” offer.

• Deceptive prizes, lottery wins or sweepstakes are amongst the most common online scams. Scamsters ask for your bank details to transfer the “prize” money or many even ask to wire money upfront as processing or transfer fees. Do not wire money to unknown sources as the transaction is impossible to track or reverse.

• Do not download any attachments or click on links in an email that you suspect to be a scam. Ignore these types of emails.

You may come across swindlers anywhere and in any form, Be wise, be alert and make cautious decisions to avoid becoming prey to online schemes and scams. If you feel you have been duped and scammed, cal 214 662 1006 to get in touch with the most reliable private investigator in Texas.

 

 

Don’t Become Target of Hackers – Avoid These Password Mistakes

Using an easy-to-guess password may seem logical as it is easy to remember, but it is not at all practical or secure. Whether you are discussing your email account or bank account, it is very important to have a strong password to safeguard your information and privacy. Remember, a decent password can make the difference between you and a possible hacking accident, A weak password makes you vulnerable to hacking, identity theft, monetary theft, leakage of sensitive information and more. Hence, it is very important that you create and use more strong and secure passwords.

It is common knowledge that a password should not contain your name, date of birth, phone number and other personal details. Apart from these common rules, here are few other password mistakes to avoid –

• Do not opt for short passwords. Remember, shorter the password, easier it is to hack it. Short passwords are not secure as a password of less than 8 characters can be easily broken with software.
• Avoid using a long sequence of numbers like “123456789” as password. This type of password is not at all complex and really easy to guess.
• A look at the list of 100 most obvious passwords reveals that “password”, “123456”  and “abcdefghijkl” are very common. These are the terms the hackers will try in the first place. It is better to check the list of obvious passwords to make sure you are not using any of them.
• Do not use the same password for all your accounts no matter how convenient it seems. It is important to create unique passwords as in case of data breach, a hacker is not able to access more than one account.
• People often tend to make a list password of all of their accounts and save it on their computer. Never save a list of password on sticky notes or text documents on your system.

Avoid these password creation mistakes and keep your accounts secure!