Open Source Intelligence 101

Social media sites such as Facebook have a range of scams, one of the most recent being fake fundraising campaigns! The scammers will make an emotional post, provide their banking details and add a couple of sad comments as well. The post will usually be a plea for help for a terminally ill child or to help an animal rescue organization. New scamming groups appear every month, each with similar details and posts and even though they are shut down on a regular basis, people still fall for the scam and pay money to the scammers anyway. How can you spot an online charity scam? Age of the group. The fake charity group will only be a few weeks old and contain barely any posts, but they have been shared and reposted thousands of times. This is usually the first signs that the charity is a scam! A real organization or charity will take a long period of time to become established and there will be multiple posts as well as more information about the cause. Pressure to...

As humans, we’re basically wired to social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And because of our obsession scammers are taking advantage and more and more people are falling for social media scams. Here are the 5 most common social media scams to look out for. 1. Chain Letters. You’ve probably seen this one before. For example, retweet or like this and we’ll donate a million dollars to charity! The truth is both the post and the claim are obviously fake. Either a post like this is done by someone looking for a laugh or simply sharing it from someone else; otherwise, it could be a scammer trying to trick you into clicking a dangerous link. 2. Cash Grabbing. We use social media to stay in touch with friends, right? But how well do you really know half the people on your friend's list? Always think twice if you get a request from someone claiming they need cash for an emergency. Rather call your friend first to double check if it’s really them o...

An online shopping scam will usually include a scammer using a fake website or fake social media account/ store to trick you into buying something from them. The scam will usually also involve using fake adverts to try and lure victims in. A scammer will try and use unbelievable deals and services such as shipping overnight and free delivery to trick victims into not thinking twice and just acting on instinct. The goods that the scammer is offering are usually fake or you just never receive them. They will often ask you not to pay by card, but to use an EFT payment, gift card or cryptocurrency. Not only that, but a scammer will try and trick you into giving out your personal information, such as your bank information, by asking you to fill in a form to finish the order or to sign-up. Online shopping scams continue to increase every year, here’s how to spot and online shopping scam: - You receive an email from an online store, but you cannot find any info about...

While most of us are used to using Facebook and social media networks, a lot of teens are just starting out and exploring the online work. Unfortunately, there are many bad guys online, especially on social media platforms such as Facebook, who are there to take advantage of new or naïve members. Use these safety and security tips and share them with your teen to ensure everyone has a safer experience. Never register for Facebook if you’re under the age of 13. Some teens want an account when they’re only 11 or 12 – not even a teen yet! However, Facebook specifically forbids anyone younger than 13 from registering. Avoid using your real first and middle name. Facebook does not allow fake names, but you can use your nickname as your first or middle name. This will keep online criminals and potential predators from obtaining more information about you. Set strong privacy settings. Not just anyone should be able to see your profile as well as your content and pho...

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...