facebook fraud

So I am a regular user of Facebook. I use it to maintain relationships with old friends. I think a lot of people use it in this way. But at the same time, I like to stay aware of potential threats that are active on Facebook. Facebook is a huge domain and many hackers thrive on Facebook because they have access to so many people.

For example I was searching some posts on my Facebook wall and I noticed a few messages from my friends that were unusual. They all said they were making money online and to go to this link they posted. I knew both of them personally and both of them were computer illiterate. Obviously their Facebook was hacked or hijacked. This method hackers use has a great success rate because people trust what their friends say!

There's one method called clickjacking, where when a Facebook user clicks a certain link, it automatically posts something onto their Facebook wall. They don't know they are posting anything and they are unaware of the attack. It can be any link, whether it be on Facebook itself or some external links. There's not much you can do to stop this, other than making sure you're aware of what you're clicking on and actively checking your social media accounts. This is so important because last thing you want is your computer being infected and then all your friends being infected as well!

One big thing I'd like to speak of is changing your social media passwords often. Please do this once a month. I know this could be annoying but it's a great safety tip. In the case your passwords are stolen, on the underground blackmarket your information could be traded or sold. If you change your passwords often then these lists are now worthless to hackers.

One last thing I'd like to touch on real quick is never using the same password more than once. Hackers use automated tools to match up one account to the other. I knew someone that had one email account hacked, and his Amazon, Apple, eBay, PayPal account got hacked as well because they were all using the same password! Always change passwords. Use a password remember program if it gets all confusing. This will help save you a lot of time.

new fraud and hacker techniques!

Today I'd like to discuss something about new techniques computer hackers are using. I figure this is very valuable to ID theft because a good percentage of thieves steal peoples identity over the computer! I want to make it clear that people who steal your identity are likely to have found your information online, people whom might have hacked into your computer, your bank or your phone. the days of people rummaging through trash and looking for your tossed out financial information is declining. now the criminals are sitting behind a computer, in the comfort of their own home and doing whatever they want.

I'd like to again mention fraud alarm, and their recent post which is entitled new computer hacker techniques 2014.

How are hackers getting into your computer these days? A big question a lot of people are asking, and a thoughtful question due to the nature of the underground community of hackers. The antivirus and anticrime industry changes so much, hackers are required to morph and change along with it.

Criminals are quickly moving to social media. Facebook, twitter, pinterest, everywhere where people congregate, hackers are coming too. So it's in your best interest to treat your social media account just as you'd treat your bank account! Always logout of your accounts when on someone elses phone or computer. This is so vital because the "remember me" function will keep you logged in and you don't know who's looking!

The article also talks about automated tools. Hackers have automated tools to do everything now. Automated tools to hack your facebook, automated tools to hack your email, almost anything you think of. And hackers are targeting victims by the millions on a daily basis! I believe this is how I was originally hacked months ago which resulted in my credit card and SSN being stolen. I even searched my SSN on google and found it on some "hacker" message boards that were somehow on google. My information had been floating around for months, being sold or traded again and again, all because of one computer virus.

Which leads me to say make sure your virus program is ALWAYS up to date. This is the make it or break it for many computer users. Some computer virus computers don't update automatically or some people even disable the update function. New viruses comes out everyday and it's up to you to remain protected. Always, always make sure you're antivirus is running each time you start up and its virus definitions are up to date.

Lastly, I was on facebook the other day. I saw a post by a friend saying "go to this website, they're giving out free stuff! xxxx.com". I googled the website that it said to go to and turned out it was a virus website. As I said above, hackers are using social media to infiltrate and mass send out computer hacking software. Hackers will break into other people's facebook accounts and then repost messages under your friend's name to make it seem legit! But in reality, it's not. If you see something suspicious, or a suspicious post by your friend, always alert him and tell him to change his password ASAP and remove the post! This is a big thing these days and is steadily growing, not on facebook, but everywhere.

My brief story

In 2012 I had my identity stolen. My credit card. My social security number. Everything. I tried my best to get everything back. But with no luck. A few years later and I'm still suffering from the consequences. It was so difficult. On the phone everyday with loan companies or insurance agencies. It never stopped. I could rarely apply to any new applications because my credit was near ruined.

I wanted to pinpoint where I messed up and how I got my identity stolen. I tracked it down with the help of a knowledgeable friend to a nasty computer virus I had. I read How do i know if i have a virus?  It helped me diagnose the fact that I did have a virus.

This was helpful because I didn't realize I had a problem to begin with. I cleared my computer of any problems and then  start working to repair my credit.

However, I kept researching and researching what causes ID theft and who does it, why do they do it.
I read up a lot on various websites, like wikipedia article on ID fraud, cyber crime and so forth. It was a big issue for me because ironically, 5 weeks later, my brothers ID got stolen. was it just a coincidence that mine then his was stolen within a 6 week period? i didn't think so... so i started doing some investigating. how did this happen? i thought to myself.

well, turns out it was cyber crime. yup. my brother logged into his bank account from my computer. i log into my bank account nearly everyday on the same computer. a month later i find out i have a nasty virus. So, no, there was no coincidence in my mind.

I want everyone out there to realize that the internet is a gateway into having your identity stolen, or some sort of financial loss, or some sort of fraud or scam. don't get me wrong, there's a lot of oppurtunities online, but, at times, it can also harm you if you aren't careful. I'll update my blog as i see fit, if I come across anymore articles. I hope I can really help everyone!