Individuals can stay safe by protecting their privacy online

The rise of the internet has helped our community and economy by making so many things easier, faster and smarter but with its numerous advantages also comes a scary disadvantage popularly known as online fraud and theft, which has brought havoc to individuals and cooperate organisations as well. Online fraud and theft has been on the play and is evolving as time changes even with the great awareness and sensitization against its tricky practices.
As we spend more time online, It’s important that we are well equipped and informed on ways to keep safe while surfing the internet and going about our daily transactions so we don’t fall victim of these cyber-crimes. Among the various cyber-crimes known to man Identity theft and online stalking would be our major focus.
Identity theft is a term used to describe the illegal obtaining and use of an individual’s information such as a name, social security number and the likes for financial and economic gain usually to the detriment of the owner of this identity. In 2018, almost 60 million Americans encountered identity theft according to an online survey by Harris Poll. Stalking on the other hand is an unwanted and usually consistent monitoring and surveillance of a person by another individual or group.

Below are 5 basic ideas that would help ensure that you’re safe, watchful and guided as you surf the internet.
• Utilize good and up-to-date Antivirus and Network Security Solutions
Network security solutions make use of software and hardware technologies to ensure the integrity and usability of a network data. These would act as an extra layer of security when surfing the internet. Antiviruses also help protect one from malicious websites.

• Discarded Computer and mobile phones
Delicate information should be removed from mobile phones and devices that are not being used anymore. Contacts, text messages, photos, browsing history are some of the important things that need to be removed. Any used SD card and sim cards also need to be removed. Ensure that you disconnect old phone from account, Wi-Fi, list of trusted devices.

• Social Media Etiquette
Personal and private life should be kept off social media and the purpose for which a profile is opened should be followed strictly. Content creators and internet celebrities who need to share some personal information online should ensure that this information is scripted and reviewed before posting to ensure that only harmless personal information gets out to the public.
As we communicate with other individuals on social media platforms and even dating apps and forums, be careful not to reveal sensitive information to any individual whose identity is not well known and who you have not met physically. You should also be careful and plan any first time meetings in public spaces.

• Be watchful and observant when asked for sensitive information online
When required to provide sensitive and personal information online for business and financial transactions, be vigilant and observant. Individuals make use of methods like Phishing and pharming to obtain sensitive information. Phishing is a fraudulent process of sending emails posing to be from reputable companies so as to convince individuals to enter and reveal personal information while pharming is the illegal practice of redirecting an internet user to a site that looks very identical to a legitimate site so as to obtain personal information from such a user.
It’s best to avoid links in emails directing one to a website to perform a certain transaction. A safer alternative would be to type the website address directly into a secure browser. It’s very common for such links to lead to fraudulent websites that have been cloned to look like legitimate sites. So next time, before typing in any sensitive information you’ve been asked for, look for signs of legitimacy and inspect the URL carefully to ensure its well spelt and identical to the site you intend to visit.

• Make use of only trusted applications and service providers
It’s important we use only companies such service providers, network providers and even mobile phones that have customer security and privacy as their top priority. These providers most times have access to our private information and we need to ensure that this is in the best hands. Some time ago, there was a case of a man who was detained unlawfully in Nigeria after his personal information was disclosed by his network provider.
It’s also very important that we ensure we use only secure networks to carry out sensitive transactions e.g. online shopping, internet banking etc. Ensure public networks found in hotels and cafes are avoided especially when a transaction needs to be made.

It’s important to be very watchful as even a seemingly harmless child interactive doll can give out sensitive information to a third party. Developing safe and healthy habits for internet surfing is very vital as we have to ensure that we don’t fall for the tricks and scams criminals come up with periodically. Practicing all of these points stated above would go a long way to ensure that you are safe and protected.

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