Open Source Intelligence 101

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11 Common Christmas Cyber Scams – The Gift that keeps on giving!

- December 06, 2019

As the festive season comes into full swing, shoppers will spend millions buying gifts online using their smartphone, computer, tablet, etc. Unfortunately, cyber scams are everywhere and they are especially common during Christmas time, so while you’re busy online, whether you’re using public Wi-Fi or your own, you could be at risk of cyber scams! Don’t become the next victim; keep an eye out for these 11 common Christmas cyber scams: 1. Email banking scams 2. Phishing scams 3. Public Wi-Fi scams 4. Fake free Wi-Fi 5. Fake updates 6. Ransomware and viruses 7.Unsecure websites 8. Online news scams 9. Fake virus checks 10. Phone scams 11. Cracked downloads Cybercriminals know that Christmas time is the busiest time of the year which means users will be online throughout the day using their devices to make purchases online. It is critical that you keep an eye out for scams and stay safe. And if it looks too good to be true, it probably i

Online Dating Scams: There are other fish in the sea, including scammers!

- December 03, 2019

In this day and age, many people turn to the internet and various dating apps to try and find love. However, it is sad that these online dating platforms have created so many potential victims for online scammers. Online dating scams can affect both men and women, so be sure to look out for these signs! 1. Limit the info you share. Never, ever give out your financial information, this one is obvious, but what’s not so obvious is that scammers will find out about you from your other social media pages and trick you into thinking that you have so much in common. If you suddenly have so much in common with someone, it might be a red flag. 2. Keep an eye out for professions of love. Watch out for someone who confesses their love for you after only chatting for a short while as well as asking for your number so you can chat exclusively. It’s okay if you don’t want to give out your cell phone number or your email address to someone who is professing intense feelings for y

3 Ways to stay Safe and Secure on Instagram

- November 29, 2019

Instagram is a great social media network if you love sharing pictures with your friends and family as well as the rest of the world, however, Instagram, just like all the other social media platforms out there can open you up to privacy and security risks. It is important that you know how to protect yourself, here are three ways to stay safe and secure on Instagram… Switch your account to private. Take an easy step to ensure your own privacy by changing your account to private and only your followers will be able to see your posts, here’s how: - Go to your profile and tap on the person icon on the bottom right corner of your screen. - Tap on the Settings gear icon. - Select Privacy and Security and then Account Privacy. - Switch on Private Account. Block specific followers. If you have some annoying followers, don’t worry you can block specific people from seeing your posts and they won’t even be notified that they’ve been blocked. Here’s how: - Tap Fol

13 Malware Warning Signs to watch out for on your Computer

- November 26, 2019

Imagine you’re working on something important and all of a sudden you start seeing multiple pop-up ads, plus your files or apps are taking ages to load. You start to ask yourself, is my computer infected with malware? It can happen to anyone of us, so always be extra careful! If your computer starts acting up, it could be compromised with a virus or malware; however, this is just one of the many warning signs that could mean that your computer is infected. This is why it is vital to take action as quick as possible. Here are the 13 most common warning signs of a malware infection on your computer. 1. Your computer is running slowly and your apps and files take longer to load than usual. 2. You keep getting blasted with pop-up ads or strange messages on your computer. 3. Your computer keeps crashing and/or it freezes and the blue screen of death appears. 4. You start getting this message on a regular basis, “you’re running out of disk space on Windows.” 5

5 Vital Tips to protect yourself from Online Travel Scams

- November 25, 2019

Thanks to the internet, these days it is so easy to just about anything, such as booking travel reservations! However, every year the amount of fake travel booking websites grows because it is so easy for cybercriminals to scam consumers. According to recent surveys, about 15 million online reservations are made every year on fake travel websites! That means that these websites trick people into thinking they are booking their reservation, but instead they are allowing cybercriminals to steal their private data such as their money and credit card information. Here’s how to avoid online travel scams… 1. When making a booking always go directly to the company’s official website, whether it is for a hotel, airline, airport shuttle service ( www.asct.co.za ) , etc. if you’re not sure if it’s the real website or not, give them a call to verify their website. 2. If you do need to use a third=party website, make sure it is a trusted and well-known brand. 3. Always try

The 4 most popular Spam Scams!

- November 15, 2019

If you have any sort of common sense you would know that there isn’t a prince or member of a royal African family that wants to send you their millions with no strings attached! However, even though this sort of scam has been ongoing for many years, the overall principals of a spam scam are still going strong and continue to grow and become more malicious each and every day. These are 4 of the most popular spam scams that like to pretend to come from an actual legitimate source, often tricking unknowing people into clicking on links and opening dangerous attachments. Fake password changes One of the most common scams is the password change alert or confirmation email that users will receive either from their bank, social media network or another trusted source. The scammers will trick the users into thinking their accounts have been hacked and urge them to click on a link or open a malicious attachment to reset their password. False bookings These scams ap

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