How to avoid internet frauds

There are always more smart frauds attempts on the internet. I am interested here in those concerning the sites of second-hand sales, like ebay, and in phone phishing. How to advertise without any risk, more specifically without being exposed to attempts to collect personal information or scam? how to react to fraud attempts by SMS or voice call on his mobile phone?

1.Second hand sites.

The basic rule that I recommend is simple: do not give any information, do not provide any personal data. Your message should not include any. How to do this?

-Do not give your phone number, whether home or portable phone, because you would soon be faced with scams by voicemail, where a so-called customer service asks you to call an expensive number, or those with SMS trapped, containing a link to a dangerous website or a copy of a real website in order to steal your username and password, or, if you're unlucky, both at once. However, ask in your ad that those who answer you specify their phone number. By calling them you will understand who you really are dealing with.

-Do not write your name. Use your first name alone, it will be nice for people interested in your offer, and will not expose you to anything.

-Do not give your address. Indicate a neighborhood or locate a well-known place nearby, it will be more meaningful for your readers, and safe for you. You will only need to give an address when you set up a rendez-vous.

-Do not give your main email address, for example my.name@gmail.com. It's the most difficult, because you must give an address so that someone can answer you. My method is: regularly, I create a new email address. I use it if I need it, to place an offer, or to respond to an offer that interests me. Some time later, I delete it. Of course, I still have a main address that never changes, who serves me with my important correspondents: friends, family, work, bank, etc. Some e-mail providers also offer aliases (read some explanations on Wikipedia). Gmx Caramail, for example, offers the creation of free email and flexible management of aliases. Gmail, on this point, is disappointing, because Google removes one by one the possibilities allowed by standard computer protocols that they do not like, aliases for example; for this reason, in addition to an ever larger list of problems, avoid Gmail as much as possible, as well as Hotmail.

Interested people will contact you by sending an email to a temporary email address that can not be used for long periods of time by bad people. In their message, they will give you their phone number as you asked in the ad, otherwise do not answer. You will then have two ways to contact them: their email, necessarily present in their message, and their phone number. I repeat, talking on the phone is a human way of knowing who you are talking to, so do not be afraid; do not just offer a rendez-vous by email. Your voice and your answers will also reassure your interlocutors who, do not forget, may also fear that you are a thief.

By following these tips,and being careful, I wish you good business, and I hope we will get rid of the dishonest and thieves soon.

2.Frauds by mobile phone.

The morning of the day I write these lines, I received the following message: "Info at 7:42am (1) new voice message for the [...] 89 To ear it click here [...]" Since I do not have a smartphone, I could not click, and that's a good thing because I would have gone to a dangerous website, where I would have been asked to call an expensive number to listen to a message that actually does not exist, for the sole purpose of bringing money back to the owner of the number. It happened to me too, almost daily, to see that I had received a call that I had not answered, from a number I did not know. I thought then that they were trivial number-typing mistakes, as it happens. Today I entered the calling numbers on a phone frauds listening website, to check the number. I was surprised to find that it was referred to as those of bandits who rely on the curiosity of others to be recalled. I guess calling this number is expensive, or at least it brings one way or another to a paid number. Today, I decided that it would not happen to me anymore. How did I proceed?

I used the services of my telephone provider to block all incoming calls by default, except the numbers that can call me or send me messages, those of my contacts. Anonymous calls are also rejected. It's very simple to do, a bit long because you have to enter each authorized number(use copy and paste by Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V), but it is the price to pay once for the permanent peace of mind that follows.

SOFTWARE MENU