Open Source Intelligence 101

It is shocking to discover how many fake degrees are actually out there and they are becoming a massive global problem! Buying a fake degree certificate is only a small part of the problem; those who already have degrees are also faking their academic transcripts and adding or altering their qualifications on their CVs. Fake credentials such as fake degree certificates are a growing issue in South Africa. Just a year or two ago the country had a large increase in the number or fraudulent qualifications reported and those were just the fake credentials reported, the real number is probably through the roof. As a business or university,  it can be worrying, who amongst your employees was actually telling the truth about their qualifications? Here’s how you can identify if it is a fake degree certificate. DESIGN Always inspect the design of the degree and be aware that a genuine certificate will be embossed with a watermark visible under a light. The signatur...

Twitter is a social media network that is a great way to stay in touch with what is happening in the world. You can take a look into celebrity lives, connect with your local business and communicate with friends. However, not everyone that uses Twitter is there to use it in a positive way, many users are on Twitter to try and scam you. So how can you spot a Twitter scam? At the moment Twitter scams seem to be targeting the financial world because almost all users like to stay involved with their bank online. For the common user, these scams can be quite hard to spot. So firstly, a Twitter user may need help logging onto their account or they simply have a general question. A scammer will join in the legitimate conversation and steer it towards them. How do they do this so easily? The answer is that they use a fake profile they have created. These fake profiles can easily trick users because they are so hard to spot! Spend a few minutes studying the profil...

Guess what, dating bots are a real thing and falling for one is easier than you think. Online dating is supposed to be fun and convenient, you get to chat with new, fascinating people that could potentially turn into love interests plus it takes away that first-date awkwardness. But it’s never that simple. Dating online has many pitfalls including dating bots that clog almost all the online dating sites you use. Did you know that almost 60% of traffic online is generated by bots? This includes dating websites and social media sites. Online dating bots are specifically designed to chat with you and trick you into paying membership fees on dating websites; they can even trick you into giving out your private information such as your banking details. Here’s how to recognize a dating bot: Their profile picture is a professional glamour shot. They profess their undying love for you a day or two after chatting. They make promises to meet you in person, but somet...

Online ticket scammers usually target various, popular events or destinations to try and take advantage or all the people who are desperately rushing and searching for tickets for buy. Fake tickets for various events include: - Concerts - Conferences - Plays - Sporting events - Live performances - Shows - Flight or train tickets - Other special events In general, all the tickets that these scammers sell are completely fake. Other times the tickets don’t exist, to begin with, so you pay but never receive anything. Since 2015 online ticket scams have been increasing and occurring more often. Scammers have been having a field day because of all the popular shows and events that are happening these days. Here are some tell-tale signs to lookout for: - The prices are much higher than the regular ticket price OR the prices are suspiciously low. - Before you buy tickets from a website, always check the contact details to make sure it’s legitimate. - If t...

Social media has made it possible for people to interact with each other from all over the world – everyone knows what everyone else is doing, where they’re going on vacation, when they got married, etc. However, social media networks have also made it possible for more users to become victims of scams. Over the last few years, social media scams have basically quadrupled with fake accounts popping up everywhere. Don’t become the next victim of a scam – here’s how to spot, prevent and deal with social media scams: - There is an ad or poster offering an amazing deal or job that sounds too good to be true. - A job, prize or loan application asks you to pay upfront beforehand. - A popular company uses a Yahoo or Gmail email account to contact you. - You are urged to act immediately! - They ask you to share your private information. - You get a friend request from a “friend” but they ask you random questions or for money. How to prevent social media scams fro...

Facebook is an awesome way to stay in touch with your friends and family members, however, you need to remember to always be careful about the private information your reveal because it might end up in the wrong hands! These days a range of financial scams can be used to try and steal your money, one of them is cybercriminals making fake Facebook profiles and sending friend requests in order to gain your personal information. This is why it is vital to be careful when you are using Facebook as well as any other social media network. Here are 5 important Facebook security tips: 1. Always verify all Facebook contacts. Make sure that you are actually talking to the person you think you’re talking to and not a criminal trying to gain your personal information or money. 2. Protect your financial information. Never tell anyone about your private banking details such as your bank account details, credit card numbers and passwords or any other financial data on Face...

The internet is an endless place with millions of websites, databases and servers. The visible sites that can be found when you Google something are just the tip of the iceberg. Below the surface is the deep web and the dark web. It was once only available to hackers, criminals and law enforcement, but now because of new technologies it is possible for just about anyone to access the dark web! Did you know – The deep and dark web is so large that it accounts for 90% of all websites! Those who wish to access the dark web or the deep web need to use Tor, a browser software like Google, but the difference is Tor uses “nodes”, a random path of encrypted servers to connect users to the dark web without their tracks being followed. Websites on the dark web also use the Tor software to remain unnamed so you won’t be able to find out who has created them, who is running them or who is hosting them. Many people actually use Tor as a regular browser to search the surface ...

CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) surveillance cameras can be used as a useful tool when it comes to fighting crime, finding valuable evidence that can be used in court and ensuring the streets are kept safe. The very presence of a CCTV camera can sometimes scare criminals away and prevent the crimes from happening in the first place. Investigators such as police investigators and digital forensics investigators use CCTV footage from cameras in many investigations, often to find licence plate numbers and identify criminals. In movies and series, all their CCTV video evidence is conveniently shot in HD, with perfect lighting and no blurriness whatsoever. Unfortunately this doesn’t happen in real life.  OSINT and digital forensics investigators use specialised forensic software to reveal details in videos that you thought were lost forever, resulting in an almost perfectly clear video that you can use to identify someone or something! Call 021 110 0422 or email co...

You may not be someone who takes risks. You may be someone who follows all the rules, you pay your bills on time, you always wear your seatbelt and you even put on sunblock when it’s a cloudy day. But do you follow all the rules when you’re online? Are you exposing yourself and your money to the dangers that lurk on the internet? Here are 10 silly things that you might be doing that put you at risk! 1. You just assume that online banking websites are safe. Cybercriminals will go where your money goes, so going to a fake banking site and not noticing before you put in your private login details and password can easily lead to cyber theft. 2. You’re doing your online shopping in shady places. You see a great deal online, but you need to be cautious before you visit just any online shop and click “Add to Cart.” Always enter the URL directly and make sure the site is reliable and well-known. 3. You use the same password for everything. If you’re not taking the time...

Billions of messages are sent out every day by spammers, most of it is annoying advertising and harmless in general, but every now and again there is a dangerous file attachment in one of the messages! To trick you into opening the attachment, most spammers will pretend it is something useful or important such as a Word document, gift card, a PDF, etc. Here are the top 4 dangerous file attachments to look out for… ZIP and RAR archives – Cybercriminals like to use archives to hide the malware they are trying to send you! On Valentine’s Day this year attackers were sending out files named Love_You_0899 to people into clicking them and installing ransomware. Microsoft Office documents – Word documents as well as Excel spreadsheets are some of the most popular Microsoft Office files cybercriminals love to use. Most of the time, they will target office workers and disguise the malware files as urgent messages, contracts or bills. PDF files – A lot of people kno...

Perhaps one of the biggest, most popular stories involving the dark web, was the shutdown of Silk Road , an online black market that trafficked basically any illegal goods, from guns and drugs to private personal data and malware. A few years ago, the mastermind behind the Silk Road, Ross William Ulbricht aka Dread Pirate Roberts, was arrested and sentenced to life in prison. He was convicted of seven drug and conspiracy charges, including drug trafficking, computer hacking and money laundering. Ross was also accused of soliciting multiple murders for hire. Ross sent a letter to a U.S. District Judge prior to his sentencing, saying that he had made a “terrible mistake.” “In creating Silk Road, I ruined my life and destroyed my future,” he wrote. First let’s get this out of the way; Ross William Ulbricht is extremely smart. I mean, it’s not that simple to build and maintain a secret internet site, on which criminals traded drugs and assassinations for years! “People...

You’ve heard the words before, but you don’t really know what they mean except that they sound scary. You think it’s a place where all the hackers lurk, but the truth is you’re not really sure. Let’s clear the air on what each concept is and what you can find on them. DEEP WEB First of all you need to know that the deep web and the dark web are not the same thing, although they can sometimes overlap. The deep web contains pages that are not indexed, meaning they will not pop up after a search on most search engines such as Google. These pages are basically invisible; unless you know the direct link or click on the link once you get in the deep side of the web. Here are a few things you can find on the deep web: - Personal email accounts - Social media accounts - Online banking accounts - Businesses private databases - Medical record - Legal record s DARK WEB The deep web is deep, but the dark web is even deeper. It is like the deep web mea...

Cyber criminals are everywhere, they’re even terrorizing your social media news feed! In this day and age your personal information such as where you go, what you do, who you chat to and what you like can be used as valuable data by cyber criminals. These cyber criminals will sell your private data to people who will use it to target ads, launch campaigns and other malicious operations. You may be thinking to yourself, I’m only one person; no one is going to target me. Well, you’re very wrong! Should you fall victim to a social media scam it not only affects you, it affects your entire network of friends and contacts. Make sure you know these common social media scams and avoid them as best you can… 1. Quizzes, Surveys & Contests. These scams are cute enough to make you think they’re completely innocent. And while you might think it’s all fun and games when they ask you your mothers date of birth or maiden name so you can see what Game of Thrones character yo...

On the internet everything is easy, from ordering takeaways to paying your bills. However the stakes become a little higher when you’re looking to apply for a loan. When it comes to a personal loan, you need to provide private information to someone you might not even know, so you have to be sure to be completely safe online, especially when you’re thinking of loaning a large amount of money. What are the risks when it comes to borrowing money online? Here are the three major risks that you could be facing if you do not look out for the red flags when borrowing money online: LOSING MONEY This is the most obvious risk. Fake loan providers will easy set up a fake business, promise you the world and then charge you fake fees to approve your loan. In the end you don’t ever get what you paid for. PAYING TOO MUCH Even if you do end up getting a legitimate loan, you may end up paying an arm and a leg to a bad loan provider. A loan provider that is reputable wi...

When you’re stuck in a situation where you can’t pay medical bills or your car needs repairs that aren’t covered by your insurance, a personal loan might be an easy answer to all your problems. However, you always need to be wary when it comes to personal loan scams; luckily there are a few red flags to look out for to help you spot the fakes and frauds! Here are the 8 signs of a personal loan scam… 1. There’s no credit check. All legitimate personal loan lenders will do a credit check before to ensure that you can repay the money. A scammer will not be interested in your credit score because they’re typically after your personal information instead. 2. The personal loan lender isn’t registered . In South Africa, as well as most other places, you have to register to be a loan provider. If you search for a loan provider or business and find they are not registered, you’ve probably found a fraudulent website! 3. The loan offer isn’t complete. All loan lenders n...

Dating scams cost unsuspecting people money as well as heartache each and every year, but still people continue to fall for the tricks and so online dating scams continue to rise. These cybercriminals will play a long game to cheat you out of your money, rather than using a simple phishing email or scam. If you are using an online dating app or chatting on social media, please be aware that these cybercriminals do exist and you could even dating one! Be sure to look out for these signs to tell if the person you’re dating online is actually a scammer! 1. Suspicious Profile A typical scammers dating profile will have only a few images that have been posted recently. Most often these images are model or glamour stock photos. They’re looking for singles in your area, but they work or live in another country. Be wary if the profile has limited information and only one or two photos. 2. Moving the Conversation Online dating scammers will try their best to move t...

Do you know what social media intelligence is? Well to put it simply, it is the collection, curation and overall analysis of data found online in order to provide a look into the actions and habits of a certain individual or group. In a time where most of the people in the world are on social media networks, social media intelligence can be used to learn a lot by just studying what they do online. Here are some interesting social media facts and stats: - The top eight social media networks are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter, WhatsApp and YouTube. - Did you know that more than half of the public use social media at least once a day? - YouTube is the most popular social media sharing website. - Facebook is the most popular social media sharing website – used by almost 70% of adults! - Social media use is higher for those who are younger – almost 90% of users are 18-29 years old. So why does social media intelligence and evidence found on social media matt...

Did you know that your SMSs, WhatsApp or social network inbox messages can be used as evidence against ? Well, for those who are possibly heading towards a divorce or a nasty breakup need to be extra careful about sending messages! Because of all the advancements in the area of digital forensics, including social media investigations and cellular forensics, there has been a massive spike in cases that use evidence found on digital devices such as smartphones and computers. Many people send messages without even thinking twice, this is known as “spontaneous venting”, however it can come back to hurt you, so always rethink what you’re saying before you hit send… When it comes to evidence in a divorce, usually a nasty one, things such as SMSs, WhatsApp messages and other direct messages are most commonly used as well as emails, phone numbers, GPS locations and search history. Most divorce lawyers will tell their clients to stay off social media platforms and avoid sending nasty mess...