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Digital Fraud

digital fraud

The internet has allowed people a large amount of freedom. They can socialize and shop from the comfort of their home. Yet this means that more and more of your information is online and if it is online, it can be accessed by hackers and fraudsters. This has led to an explosion in the amount of digital fraud that occurs. Tens of millions of people are defrauded each year and this number is increasing. But the good news is that security measures are also getting better and less money is being lost with respect to previous years. This is due to banks and similar institutions constantly improving their loss recovery technology.

Forms of Digital Fraud

With the amount of information most people post online, fraudsters have a smorgasbord of personal details they can use to impersonate you. This means that even if they don’t have your credit card details they can use your personal information to extract account information from your family, friends or even your bank. Often a bank will try to verify your identity by asking personal security questions. So, hackers will use your personal details found on sites such as Facebook to pass these tests.

With the advent of online shopping, people have become more comfortable with using their credit card on wide range of online shops. The problem is you may not know how secure these shops are when it comes to protecting your credit card details and this is assuming that they aren’t already scamming you.

So, this sounds scary and it seems that nowhere is safe on the internet, but due to the diligent work of many security professionals, these situations can be dealt with.

How To Stop It

There are people who refuse to use online stores and have social media accounts. In theory, this should work for them, but the problem is that they are far less likely to check their online statements and it will take longer for them to spot fraud. It is essential that you are constantly vigilant because every second matters when it comes to stopping a card that has had its details stolen.

Instead of living like a technological hermit, the best approach is proactive security and regular checkups. Most social media accounts offer two factor authentication which requires that you verify your identity via a separate device before you can log onto the site. This will alert you to any suspicious activity as it is happening. This feature can also be set up for your online banking, increasing your security.

Most banks have a transaction notification system which will notify via a SMS or an email after every transaction. Ensure that you have activated this feature because it will be vital to detecting fraud.

Finally, the best form of security is caution. If you are making a purchase online, check that the store is reputable. A quick search will let you know what others have experienced when using the store. If there is any possibility that they do not honor purchases or have sloppy security, take your business somewhere else. This is the same for social media. Make sure that they take security of your personal details seriously, because often sites will sell your information to ad companies.

If you are vigilant on the internet you should be able to deter 99% of fraudsters and you will be able to fight the 1%.