3. Hidden Charges
"What type of STAR WARS character are you? Find out with our quiz! All of your friends have taken it!" Hmm, this sounds interesting, so you enter your info and cell number, as instructed. After a few minutes, a text turns up. It turns out you’re more Yoda than Darth Vader.
Well, that’s interesting … but not as much as your next month’s cell bill will be. You’ve also just unwittingly subscribed to some dubious service that charges $9.95 every month.
As it turns out, that "free, fun service" is neither. Be wary of these bait-and-switch games. They tend to thrive on social sites.
NEWS
Feb. 7, 2011- Now you have more privacy control over FaceBook privacy- Full-Session Encryption
Jun. 1, 2010- FTC calls for Input on Child Privacy.
By their very nature, social media sites make it easy for us to stay in touch with friends, while reaching out to meet new ones. But how well do you really know these new acquaintances?
That person with the attractive profile picture who just friended you -- and suddenly needs money -- is probably some cybercriminal looking for easy cash. Think twice before acting. In fact, the same advice applies even if you know the person.
Picture this: You just received an urgent request from one of your real friends who "lost his wallet on vacation and needs some cash to get home." So, being the helpful person you are, you send some money right away, per his instructions. But there’s a problem: Your friend never sent this request. In fact, he isn’t even aware of it. His malware-infected computer grabbed all of his contacts and forwarded the bogus email to everyone, waiting to see who would bite.
Again, think before acting. Call your friend. Inform him of the request and see if it's true. Next, make sure your computer isn't infected as well.
5. Chain Letters
You’ve likely seen this one before -- the dreaded chain letter has returned. It may appear in the form of, "Retweet this and Bill Gates will donate $5 million to charity!" But hold on, let’s think about this. Bill Gates already does a lot for charity. Why would he wait for something like this to take action? Answer: He wouldn’t. Both the cause and claim are fake. So why would someone post this? Good question. It could be some prankster looking for a laugh, or a spammer needing "friends" to hit up later.
Many well-meaning people pass these fake claims onto others. Break the chain and inform them of the likely ruse.
Bottom line: Sites that attract a significant number of visitors are going to lure in a criminal element, too. If you take security precautions ahead of time, such as using antivirus and anti-spyware protection, you can defend yourself against these dangers and surf with confidence.
To get a sense of how dangerous the Internet can be, check out the latest Norton Threat report.
